About to start my first brew...URGENT QUESTION!

[IvanTheTerrible]

I can only boil 1 gallon of water in my pot to leave room for the extract. The kit I have calls for 1 1/2 gallons of water. Could I proceed with 1 gallon? Does it make a difference?

-Ivan

 

[Fingers]

You can, but you won't get as much bitterness from your hops. If you have more than what came with your kit, add a little extra.

 

[IvanTheTerrible]

Thanks... I went with my instincts and decidd to just wait a few more days until I buy a 16-20 Quart pot. I dont want to screw anything up on day 1.

 

[Beertk]

If I were you, I would head to the Wal-Mart and buy a turkey fryer for 30 bucks. Then you can boil all 5 gallons. The fryer is 7 1/2 gallons. Also I saw that sears hardware has a nice fryer for 59 dollars that has a build in drain. That could be really handy.
If you boil all five gallons, use 25% less hops bc hops are more efficient with more water. Once you boil what are you using for a fermenter? If its a glass carboy... remember to cool the wort first.

 

[IvanTheTerrible]

That sounds like a good idea...I'll look into it.

I'll be fermenting in a glass carboy, so yes, I'll be sure to cool the wort first.

Speaking of which, whats the deal with the blow off hose? I'm supposed to use this before I attach the airlock?

Thanks,
Ivan

 

[Beertk]

if you are using a carboy, get a 1 inch hose and it fits tight in the mouth of the carboy. You then place the business end of the hose in a bucket of water. This acts as a replacement for the airlock for the first few days. Then pull it out and put the airlock in. The only reason we use the blow off hose is because there is alot of foam created in the primary ferm. If you clog your airlock you can blow it off and create a big mess. That being said... I use a 3 piece airlock that I remove the top cup from and attach a 3/8" tube as my blow off tube.(Of course, the other end goes into the bucket of water) It is not the best solution because it is a small tube that may also get cloged (yet it has never done that) but it works for me.