Brew all 5 gallons or add water?

[jeremydgreat]

Hey all! I tried doing a search to get this answer, but was unsuccessful. Most threads about water are concerning what type of water to use. I'm less concerned about that, and more concerned how I'm using water in my brewing process.

I was comparing notes with a fellow novice brewer and while describing my process he was surprised to hear that I only use 2-3 gallons of water to make my initial wort. I add the rest of the water (2-3 gallons of store bought spring water) right into the carboy, topping it off to 5 gallons.

He said that spring water, even though it's sealed, could introduce contaminates. He boils all 5 gallons at once.

Is there a right answer to this? Or is it more about preference, equipment (not sure my brew pot could even fit 5 gallons + ingredients), and convenience?

 

[msa8967]

Have you looked to see if your stove top could handle a full 5 gallon boil? The boil size might be determined by the whether the burners are electric or gas. My previous gas stove was capable of doing full 5 gallon boils but in our next house we have an electric stove top that will only do a 3 gallon boil max.

I have read that the larger fraction of the boil you can do then the better but size is going to be limited to your brew kettle volume and heating surface.

 

[crash1292]

all the NB extract kits do the same as you,2 1/2 gal for the boil and top off the carboy

 

[BrewBeer4fun]

I believe there are several threads concerning this. I had the same question a couple weeks ago. Yesterday, I brewed my second batch ever. This one was a German Alt (AltBier) extract kit which called for 2.5g boil and 2.5g cold water added into the fermenter as you mentioned. The sweet 10g kettle I bought needs at least 5g in it to cover the built in thermometer approximately 5in off the bottom of the kettle.

I chose to boil a full 5 and used BeerSmith to recalculate the hop schedules. Because I used 5gal, BeerSmith suggested adding 3/4oz at each of the three hop additions instead of the full 1oz that the kits instructions listed.

Time will tell how wise a decision this was, but I plan on doing it every time now. Full Boil allll the way!!!

 

[jm195907]

I've always done partial boils and topped off with water, mainly because I am limited to stove top at the moment. Some people use tap water, some use bottled water to top off. It all depends on your water quality and preference, but you would be fine either way. I've never heard of any problems with topping off, it is pretty standard practice.

 

[jeremydgreat]

Thanks for the feedback.

I had a thought regarding my friend's "more chance of contamination when you add water to cooled wort" argument. If you're boiling and cooling twice as much water during the process, then it will take you longer to chill the wort down to 70-80º. This extra time on the burner and with the wort chiller would increase the risk of contamination anyway, eh?

 

[mikebowman]

i think, realistically, the chances of contamination in those circumstances are relatively low, as long as you're reasonably careful. from what i've gathered, the yeast will actually do a pretty good job of fighting off any contaminants present when its pitched.

i usually boil 2ish gallons, and top the rest up in the fermentor with tap water. haven't had a problem yet!

 

[BrewBeer4fun]

I agree with Mike, the chances of contamination in those circumstances is Very low I would think. I just did my full boil 5.72g and used bottled water because my well water is horriblly mineral rich. My 50ft' wart chiller brought it down inside 15min with 55 degree water running through it. I will Never go back to a partial boil.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I never had a problem when I added bottled water to top up when I did partial boils. I've been doing full boils ever since I switched to all grain.

If your kettle is too small to fit 6 gallons then it's going to be impossible to do a full boil on a 5 gallon batch unless you split it and do two boils, which is probably unnecessary. However, if you have or are willing to buy a larger kettle you can do full boils on a stove. Last week I had 7.5 gallons reach boil on a regular kitchen stove. Granted, it took about an hour to get there, but I got it.

 

[HexKrak]

I'd use RO water rather than spring because you don't know what minerals are in the spring water, but other than that you're using a method that most of us that haven't moved to all grain are doing, and have been doing successfuly for quite some time.

 

[cincybrewer]

My first batch was a partial boil and turned out pretty good but my last batch I did a full boil without changing the recipe of the kit. It's been bottled for a week and I plan on trying it tonight. I'm guessing it will be a little hoppier but probably not too much...IMO, at least so far, the full boil was way more rewarding than a partial boil.

 

[therealrsr]

wort vs. watered down wort, your choice.