over reduction of wort

[ale1]

I have done two all grain kits one ,gal batches. the first time I ended up with much less than a gallon after boil.so this time I paid more attention to starting with enough wort to lose some during boil, and I boiled at a much lower temp...to the point that I was worried that it wasn't really boiling..just simmering. Still, ended up with even less than the first time. I added some water to get it up to the gal. mark but that should be a back up, not plan A. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Strangelove]

If you can, I'd consider getting Beer Smith. It does a good job of calculating volumes needed. There's a free trial so you could give it a try.

 

[robm184]

for a 5 gallon batch, i put between 5.50-5.75 of water to figure in boil offs... but I dont see a problem with filling it back to a gallon if you are little short

 

[BrewKnurd]

I have done two all grain kits one ,gal batches. the first time I ended up with much less than a gallon after boil.so this time I paid more attention to starting with enough wort to lose some during boil, and I boiled at a much lower temp...to the point that I was worried that it wasn't really boiling..just simmering. Still, ended up with even less than the first time. I added some water to get it up to the gal. mark but that should be a back up, not plan A. What am I doing wrong?

How much water do you have before the boil?

 

[BoisePorter]

If you're doing all grain, mini-mashing, or steeping grains, you need to account for water loss due to grain absorption. Then of course you'll lose water due to the boil.

 

[djfriesen]

If you're doing the Brooklyn Brew Shop kits, as your sig indicates, depending on your stove/pot you should start out with around 5 qts of water preboil. If you are doing something other than stovetop boiling in a 8+ qt pot, your boiloff rate might be different. I did 4-5 of those sized recipes and didn't have a significant problem. I would maybe be a pint short, but that's no big deal to top off.

If you don't have a way to measure volumes, get one. That will help immensely. Start with 5 qts (make sure it's the volume before you boil. You will lose some water to grain absorption) and see where that gets you.

 

[JonK331]

Also sounds like you are doing really small batches. What size kettle are you using for this?

 

[Calichusetts]

I only had an issue twice with brooklyn brew kits (did a ton). They give you a really thick mash (something like 2.5lb of grain to 3 quarts if I remember correctly) and then batch with 4 quarts.

Couple of suggestions...use a pot with less surface area at the top. I found I could turn down the heat once I got to full boil to make it less vigourous (even to the point of 90 minute boils and still getting over the 1 gallon mark.)

Simpliest solution is to mash with a gallon and sparge with a gallon to a gallon and a half...you can let that baby rip and you'll get 1 gallon.

Final tip, I use a thermometer (still doing 1 gallon) and write down what temp marking is what amount in my boil...very useful for determining volume.