More NB Plinian Legacy questions

[mikerunsmountains]

I've spent about an hour searching for my answers in the other Plinan Legacy threads but haven't found what I'm looking for, so here goes.

Just got my Plinian Legacy (extract) kit from NB and realized it's a 6gal recipe. I have a 7.5gal kettle and a 6gal glass carboy for primary (and a 5gal for secondary, but I can fix that problem later). I normally do full volume boils but it sounds like the potential for boilover with this kit is very likely. The instructions advise for the usual "boil 2.5 gallons..." sort of thing. Here's my questions:

1. Would a 5gal initial volume be pretty safe in a 7.5gal kettle for this kit? Or should I go with only 4gal boil initially and then top off with filtered water before transferring to primary?

2. Is a 6gal glass carboy with a 1" ID blowoff sufficient? Or do I really need to go buy a 6.5gal?

3. For the dry hop additions: I've heard of people using muslin bags to dry hop in to ease the racking process later on. Makes sense to me, but how would you retrieve said bag out of the carboy? Or do you just put the hops in the bag, stuff it in the carboy and then worry about getting it out after you've racked the beer from the carboy?

 

[andy32pinkerton]

Firstly - why do you think its a 6 gallon kit? i've never seen a 6 gallon extract kit from NB, and I just looked and it says 5 gallon.
EDIT: Weird - within the "additional information" tab on the product screen it says 5 gallons but within the recipe itself it says 6 gallon - very misleading.
Assuming you're correct:

1 - I think I'd do 4 gallon boil and top off, but Im a worry wort (?) when it comes to boil overs
2 - I'd have to think your 6 gallon isnt gonna be nearly enough with an OG of 1.070 - its gonna be a pretty active fermentation with an ABV this high. If you do go this route, make sure you have a larger diameter tubing for blow off
3 - I've always just tossed em in and just soaked in PBW after cleaning and never had an issue with hop residue staying in the carboy

 

[mikerunsmountains]

I've never seen a 6gal extract kit either, which is why I was surprised when I read the kit instructions and saw step "9. Add more cold water as needed to bring the volume to 6 gallons." And that, of course, is after transferring from kettle to carboy.

I just filled my carboy with 6gal of water and, surprise, it's really damn full. Looks like I need to get a 6.5gal for primary. But at least that solves my problem of currently having a 5gal for secondary also!

EDIT: With regard to the hops: I'm not worried about getting the carboy cleaned afterwards so much. Sounds like people have had issues racking due to the massive amount of hops (and the debris left behind) clogging autosiphons and making racking a PITA.

 

[hezagenius]

I emailed them a while back and asked about the 2.5 gallon boil in the instructions instead of doing a full boil. The person who replied back said they didn't notice a difference in steeping in 2.5g vs a 6g steeping. I didn't ask about the hop utilization aspect of 2.5g vs 6g boils. I've made this a few times and always just do a 2.5 gallon boil.

The instructions say to top to 6 gallons but you will only yield about 5 gallons due to all the sediment left over after fermentation.

As far as dry hopping goes for this recipe, I just drop them right into the fermenter. I use a hop sack on the outflow end of the autosiphon to catch large particles. The small particles settle out over time, especially if you use gelatin.

 

[hezagenius]

Also, my fermentations on this brew have been very active (used 2 packs on US05 once and 1 vial of WLP0001 on another). You will definitely need a blowoff tube for a few days.

 

[brewprint]

I bet that if you boil your hops and use voile bags or really fine mesh bags that you could get away with a half gallon less. You could probably get away with less using the same fine mesh bags for dry hopping and then squeeze the bags.

I believe that they want you to top off with 6 gallons because of the hop absorption. Trub can be virtually eliminated by using fine bags (not muslin bags) for the hop boil.

 

[mikerunsmountains]

I decided to order a 6.5gal Carboy from MoreBeer (first time buying with them; surprised by their prices and cheap/fast shipping). I'm also using WLP001 and decided I'd rather be on the safe side and have some actual head space. And who doesn't like an excuse to buy more brewing equipment? Oh yeah...SWMBO, that's who.

I think I'm going to try a 5gal boil, just because that's what I always do and I'm a brewer of habit. Same with the dry hopping, I guess I'll just do the usual toss them in and rack through a strainer or two into the bottling bucket.

 

[brewprint]

I decided to order a 6.5gal Carboy from MoreBeer (first time buying with them; surprised by their prices and cheap/fast shipping). I'm also using WLP001 and decided I'd rather be on the safe side and have some actual head space. And who doesn't like an excuse to buy more brewing equipment? Oh yeah...SWMBO, that's who.

I think I'm going to try a 5gal boil, just because that's what I always do and I'm a brewer of habit. Same with the dry hopping, I guess I'll just do the usual toss them in and rack through a strainer or two into the bottling bucket.

I would still use voile bags. I bought a set from Wilser and used the hop bag over the weekend. Unreal the amount of trub that bag held. There was still some in the wort but not like what's left when using muslin bags.

I'm not a fan of fermenting in glass. The risk of a problem is too great for me. Then dry hopping I wouldn't even want to try. Of course one could always use one of these:

http://www.homebrewing.org/Glass-Carboy-Dry-Hopping-Tube_p_3587.html

 

[mikerunsmountains]

That thing is amazing! I may end up getting one of those.

 

[brewprint]

It only holds two ounces of hops though

 

[mikerunsmountains]

Okay then, maybe not at $25 a piece.