Full Boils quick question

Are full boils (5gal.) just for all grain. Or can you do an extract recipe in the full 5 gal, chill it with the copper wort chiller and be ready to go. That cuts the step out of adding more water (from2.5gal to5 gal)? Right? When you read extract recipes they say to just boil 2.5 gal then add the rest (to = 5gal.) This is the kit I want which comes with a copper wort chiller but i Want to do alot of extract recipes before moving to all grain. Is this kit over kill? http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-gs-deluxe-kit.shtml
Thanks in advance

kingjam said:

Are full boils (5gal.) just for all grain. Or can you do an extract recipe in the full 5 gal, chill it with the copper wort chiller and be ready to go. That cuts the step out of adding more water (from2.5gal to5 gal)? Right? When you read extract recipes they say to just boil 2.5 gal then add the rest (to = 5gal.) This is the kit I want which comes with a copper wort chiller but i Want to do alot of extract recipes before moving to all grain. Is this kit over kill? http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-gs-deluxe-kit.shtml
Thanks in advance

Click to expand...

No, you can do full boils with extract as well. it will save you from adding the topoff water, but may cancel out b/c it will take longer to bring to a boil, and to cool off. Also, if you're brewing indoors, which i'm assuming you are, then kitchen stoves may not be good enough to heat up a full boil. Although, your beer may benefit from hop utilization in a full boil--i'm no expert here, but maybe a more experienced brewer will explain the benefits of full boil, or do a search.

As for the kit, I think it is excellent, if you have the money. Go for it; all the items are useful. just remember the note that you will need a hose adapter for your sink faucet.

I have a SS 9 gal. pot on a out door turkey burner.(plenty of heat) I just did not know if the extract was better boiled in a smaller amount of water sence no recipes say to do a full boil with a extract. (Or thats what i have read). Because i am getting a kit with a wort chiller and i have the stuff to do 5 gal. boils I should do full boils right?

The full boils will make your extract beer better. I think it's the biggest thing you can do to improve your beer as a beginner. As long as you have the pot and the heat, there is really no reason NOT to do a full boil.

On the other hand, extracts have already been boiled once. There's no reason to overdo it.

The primary reason to boil for another full hour is for bittering hop extraction.

I personally stopped doing full boils with an extract beer. Maybe 2 gallons and I don't boil the extract. Only when I use any specialty grains. It seemed to make a darker beer than I wanted. It also simplified the process for me, since I just chill it with a snowbank at the current time. (hey, free ice) Anyhow, I guess either method does what it does, and what works for you is all good. Experiment and taste, repeat.

When switching from a partial boil to a full boil, make sure you change your aeration techniques. With a partial boil, you probably don't pay much attention to aeration because the top off water contains oxygen, and the act of pouring into the wort adds more oxygen if you splash while doing it. With a full boil, you are removing all the oxygen from the wort and not adding any back in. I do the following with mine...

1. Sanitize your bottling bucket and a carboy while the wort is boiling.
2. After cooling the wort, pour it into the bottling bucket with much wailing and gnashing of teeth... ahem... I mean splashing.
3. Pour the beer into the carboy using a large funnel which will help add even more oxygen.

This works well for me and doesn't require me shaking my carboy or buying a pump and air stone.

Ok so if I do a full boil (with extract) Iam going to get a darker/Richer beer but i have to aerate when i move to fermenter. But if I do a partial iam going to get what the beer should taste like??????? Now this goes back to my first question do I need all this stuff to do alot of extract beers http://www.homebrewery.com/beer/beer-gs-deluxe-kit.shtml

I haven't seen anyone post about the changing characteristics of hops in different amounts of water.

Usually the hops will be more bitter in larger amounts of water, so make sure you are cognizant of that.

I just did my first full boil and my first partial mash on sunday.

I was pretty impressed with how quickly the full wort could be cooled. 8 minutes from boiling to 70 degrees. I found that constant stirring of the wort in combination with the immersion chiller did a great job.

Ok well this is the recipe kit i want to use first http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_42_166&products_id=365 should i do a full boil or a partial???

Think of full boils as practice for all grain. It seems like those who want to switch from extract to AG are overwhelmed by too many new concepts. Boiling all that wort, cooling it, aerating, higher hop utilization, etc. Too many factors changing at once. Get an equipment setup that will allow full boils now and you can decide on a per batch basis whether you want to get the practice or not. I just did my first all grain and it the ONLY thing different from my previous 6 batches was how I got the fermentables into the kettle.

You use dry extract in your video.....same steps go for a syurp extract in a full boil????

Yes, although I like to warm up the container that the LME comes in to make it flow better. In fact, after dumping it in, I ladle some hot water/wort back into the container, shake or stir, then dump it back in. I hated LME and only used it on two batches.

With that kit you are looking at, I would get it with the autosiphon option.

I am. I am now trying to decide if i want to do a extract or a mini for my first brew. I have read so much about mini's but i may just stick with the extract for my first time around. http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_452_42_166&products_id=365

Stick with the extract for your first brew unless you have an experienced brewer there to walk you through. You're going to be trying to remember all of the steps, adding any more is sure to confuse the situation. Go with the extract recipe, learn the steps, gain some confidence, then move on. Plus, it's natural to worry about every little thing you may have done "wrong" with the first brew, so you don't want to add any more steps to stress over the next day.