After about 10, 5 gallon batches in my converted 15 1/2 gallon keg setup I still seem to struggle with my evaporation rates during the boil being high. Some of this is leftover wort, hops, sediment (1/2 gallon or so)
Yesterday I brewed a IPA with a 16.6lb grain bill. I started out with an initial volume of 8 gallon with hop additions totally 5.5oz, my beersmith recipe was supposed to give me 6 gallons of wort to ferment. At the end of the boil I stirred hard, set for 10 minutes, and drained through my counter flow chiller. In total I got a little under 5 gallons wort to ferment. Other times I have brewed other recipes with 7 gallons initial volume and still netted 5 gallons!
Should I boil with a lid partially covering the top?
How hard is your boil rolling?
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Yesterday I brewed a IPA with a 16.6lb grain bill. I started out with an initial volume of 8 gallon with hop additions totally 5.5oz, my beersmith recipe was supposed to give me 6 gallons of wort to ferment. At the end of the boil I stirred hard, set for 10 minutes, and drained through my counter flow chiller. In total I got a little under 5 gallons wort to ferment. Other times I have brewed other recipes with 7 gallons initial volume and still netted 5 gallons!
Should I boil with a lid partially covering the top?
How hard is your boil rolling?
Any advice greatly appreciated.