Full wort boil with partial wort kits

[AndrewPostula]

Hey, I'm a new brewer getting ready to do my first beer. Planning on an American amber extract kit and had a question about hop utilization. The kit recipe and instructions are designed for a partial wort boil but I plan brewing all grain in the future and bought a 10 gal brew kettle. For this brew I plan on starting with 6 gallons of water shooting for a final volume of 5. With the kit being setup for a partial boil is my beer going to be overly bitter because of better hop utilization in a full boil? How do I accurately adjust? Maybe I'm over thinking it... Thanks

 

[BobBailey]

Hop utilization will be greater in a full boil. How much greater would depend on the gravity difference between the worts, so it's hard to come up with an adjustment factor without specifics.

My recommendation is to create equipment profiles to reflect each procedure and enter the recipe in both to find the estimated difference. This will also give you some practice using Beersmith.

 

[gunhaus]

FWIW - I think since it is your first beer, just do the full boil, and the hops on schedule. Drink the end product and see if it has flavors you like, and adjust accordingly. It is easy to over think it, and it is just good fun after all! Relax, follow your steps, clean like a demon, have a brew and enjoy your first results - you'll be happy!

 

[ncbrewer]

The first time I used late extract addition, which also gives increased hop utilization, it came out too bitter. I'd say use some brewing software to scale down the hops, or use this link: http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/hops/hop-bittering-calculations