5 gallon brew in 2 separate pots

[stevem86]

I have read that brewing an extract brew in 6 gallons of water (to account for evaporation) will give you better color and flavor than brewing in 2.5 gallons and using top off water.
That makes sense.
My question is, I have two 5 gallon kettles, could I split the recipe between the 2 to make it as though I am boiling 6 gallons?

 

[twistr25]

Sure can, just split the ingredients between the two and combine them together when you go to the primary.

 

[stevem86]

Will it have any negative affects by splitting the hops up? (Lower ibus, change in flavor, etc)

 

[Yooper]

Will it have any negative affects by splitting the hops up? (Lower ibus, change in flavor, etc)

No, because you'd be splitting it up evenly, just in two different pots I assume. You wouldn't decrease them.

 

[twistr25]

No. Recipes are scalable. So you should come out with two half batches of your original recipe. It should verify in a recipe calculator.

 

[stevem86]

Awesome! Thank you. I am going to try it this weekend.

 

[833R]

The hop utilization will be better. Rather then boiling a thick wort and toping off with water. when I don't do 2 batches at once I do this method for extracts.

 

[freisste]

The hop utilization will be better. Rather then boiling a thick wort and toping off with water. when I don't do 2 batches at once I do this method for extracts.

Just to clarify: are you saying that you will get better hop utilization from two 5 gal pots (each containing 3 gal) than you would from a single large pot containing 6 gallons? Because I don't believe it, but I've been wrong before.

OP is comparing full boil in a single pot to two full boil half batches.

I think you are comparing full boil to partial boil with top off, and if so I agree with you on hop utilization.

 

[stevem86]

Just to clarify: are you saying that you will get better hop utilization from two 5 gal pots (each containing 3 gal) than you would from a single large pot containing 6 gallons? Because I don't believe it, but I've been wrong before. OP is comparing full boil in a single pot to two full boil half batches. I think you are comparing full boil to partial boil with top off, and if so I agree with you on hop utilization.

No, he is right. I was asking if that would be better than boiling 2.5 gallons and then topping off with water. Makes sense to me.

 

[freisste]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Topping off will result in worse hop utilization. We are in agreement.

When I read your post, it sounded like you understood that a partial boil was not as ideal as a full boil and that you were comparing two full boil/half batches to a single full boil/5 gal batch.

At any rate, I think that we are all in agreement and that your understanding is good.

 

[IslandLizard]

You could just add 1/3 of your extract at the beginning of the boil and the remainder (2/3) at flameout. It makes for a fresher tasting wort that way, with less caramelization. That way you don't have to boil the full volume or use 2 pots.

 

[Anthonie]

Could you split an all grain or PM into two different pots and just add both worts into the primary at the end? I don't see how it would be any different than an extract being split up, just a bit more work.

 

[tgolanos]

Could you split an all grain or PM into two different pots and just add both worts into the primary at the end? I don't see how it would be any different than an extract being split up, just a bit more work.

That's exactly what I've been doing for all of my all-grain brews. Works fine, beer tastes great.