Boil Water Help

[boltsfan]

I have a 20qt stainless pot I use to brew with (5 gallon batch).

I usually only use 2-2.5 gallons for the boil as I am afraid of a boil over (has not happened.... yet). Is there any significant reasons to increase the amount of water in the boil (if possible) to make a better quality beer?

I plan to brew my first IPA (DFH 60 Minute) soon and will be using a lot of hops so I know the wort will be very active.

Just trying to make the best beer I can.

Thanks for the help... Cheers!

 

[Hex23]

Larger boil volume can help quality. Also since the boil gravity would be lower, you'll get better hops utilization and potentially be able to use less hops. But the other thing to consider is whether your heat source is up to the task. Many house stoves (mine included) are not even capable of getting 5+ gallons to boil. Or they could take an hour or more to get there.

 

[unionrdr]

My electric stove takes a long time to get hot. But it maintains temp real well. I'm going up to a 3G boil,since 1/2G steams away trying to get to a boil. And we do 5 & 6 gallon batches.

 

[boltsfan]

The largest burner on my gas stove seems to heat up water pretty quickly.

I am considering buying this pot:
BoilerMaker Brew Pot (10 gal)

Figure it is the next step to do start doing partial mash.

Also been reading about different times on when to add the extract to the boil. Is there a preferred sequence and what are the pros\cons?

Ex: Add 25% of extract prior to boil and then add remaining 75% with 15-20 minutes left

 

[unionrdr]

I use 3lbs of dme with a 1.7kg can of Coopers,& hops to make dif styles. But I only put in 1/2 the bag of DME (1.5lbs) for a 2.5G boil to do my 3 hop additions. I've tried all 3 lbs in the boil,I've used "hop teas" in the BK water for 15 minutes. This 1.5lbs of the DME bit seems to work the best for hop aroma/flavor utilization. The hop tea was pretty good,but that left the 2nd hop as dry hop. All 3lbs of DME was a little to heavy for good utilization to me.

 

[Hex23]

Also been reading about different times on when to add the extract to the boil. Is there a preferred sequence and what are the pros\cons?

Ex: Add 25% of extract prior to boil and then add remaining 75% with 15-20 minutes left

What you're talking about is a common practice called late extract addition. It's normally done for LME. When I was doing extract batches, I did notice the quality difference it made. My beers started to taste smoother. Palmer describes the rationale in "How To Brew". I even got into the practice of putting in all the LME at 15 minutes, provided I had steeped some grains or added DME early. The thing to watch out for is that doing so will dramatically alter your hops utilization. I'd suggest using a calculator like BeerSmith to make adjustments.

 

[BigBlueBrad]

Did you get the pot? I just got one for Father's Day and LOVED it after doing my first 5 gallon brew in it.