Alternatives to boiling 5gal, and recipe help

[jump_xiii]

My fav fav fav beer is Sam Adams Boston Lager- which I can get in the UK for £30 per 24 bottles (just shy of $50 at today's exchange rate)

I want to make this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/sam-adams-boston-lager-ale-all-extract-clone-132786/

And I estimate that a 5 Gal (UK- so about 6 Gal US I think) batch would cost say £30 to £35 including delivery of those ingredients.

But- the biggest pot in my house can boil maybe a gallon, and right now I'm trying not to buy too much (more) equipment because we just bought a house and we're saving money for a holiday (to Boston, MA incidentally) (and the SWMBO would nag anyway).

Can anyone suggest ways to acheive this? Does the LME need to be boiled? The pre hopped cans I have been using so far are no-boil, but what about unhopped LME? What about the DME? Could I substitute more/ different LME? What about the hops? Could I make separate gallon or half gallon batches of hop tea?

I really want to "make something of my own" as opposed to just using the tinned kit beers, and hope you guys can suggest something...

 

[lowtones84]

Both the liquid and dry extracts need to be boiled along with the bittering hops for about 60 minutes. If you really can't afford a larger pot, you can only boil about 2-2.5 gallons of water in separate pots.

This can get just a touch complicated because you need to measure out the extracts and hops in the correct amounts to split among the different pots. After that you can cool your 2-3 pots to a reasonable temperature, combine them in your fermentation vessel and "top up" with water to make 5 gallons. If your tap water is good, that will work, though some people will suggest boiling it first and then cooling it. I've personally never done that when topping up with tap water, but my water is definitely different from your's. After that just make sure everything is mixed well. I'm sure some other folks will chime in with other opinions and specifics.

Good luck!

 

[Unibrow]

If you really can't afford a larger pot, you can only boil about 2-2.5 gallons of water in separate pots.

This can get just a touch complicated because you need to measure out the extracts and hops in the correct amounts to split among the different pots.

This is what I do, sometimes I'll have to split among 3 boiling pots...but it's not difficult by any means. While it's best to have an even split of sugar and hops in each pot, it doesn't have to be exact. When you finally mix the cooled wort into your bucket, it will all jive together.

 

[jump_xiii]

When using no-boil pre hopped tins of extract such as coopers or in my case youngs, new brewers are encouraged to substitute DME for the sugar recommended in the instructions. No one says it needs to be boiled- or am I getting the wrong end of the stick?

Either way that doesn't help my current situation with the hops, just seems like different rules for different reasons.

(And I know that the purpose of a forum is to get a wide variety of opinions).

Hey, I could try it... I'm sure it would be beer!

 

[BamaRooster]

Boiling extracts for the full hour can be done and will make beer. The beer that results from an hour boil will be darker than expected and have certain flavor many associate with home brew. At the urging of members on this forum I tried a different technique and it is now my standard practice for extract brewing.

Dry Malt Extract or Liquid Malt Extract. I add 1/3 at the beginning of the 60 minute boil and add the remainder the final 10 minutes. This has made a big difference in the final quality of my beer. I know there are ton's of other opinions but side by side testing in my kitchen has convinced me that I will always follow this practice.

Some people don't add the extract until the boil is over opting to add the extract at the very end. I have not tried this method so I couldn't say one way or the other.

The hops are a different story, they need to boiled in a volume of water equal to your kits recipe. Hop utilization has 2 factors, amount and time. So say your recipe calls for 2.5 gallon boil, 1 oz of hops for 60 minutes. You boil the 1 oz of hops in 1 gallon of water for 60 minutes, you are not going to get the same results. The other thing I will say is, don't go into a clone brew thinking your going to have an exact replica of your target beer. Normally it takes a few shots and adjustments to get close. Be happy with the beer you brew, well unless it sucks and you have to throw it out

 

[BobC]

You need to boil this recipe because your adding hops and hops have to be boiled. As long as your fermenter can hold all 5 gallons then do your best to divide it among your pots. Also throw a little money off to the side to buy a bigger pot. I agree with Bamarooster.

 

[pjj2ba]

In theory, you could boil just the hops for the full 60 min and then mix it all in the fermenter (if using canned LME which should be relatively microbe free). I'd probably add at least some LME or DME to the boil as it improves the efficiency of the alpha acid conversion from the hop.

To be safer you could add the LME for the last 10 -15 min of the boil.

 

[jump_xiii]

The other thing I will say is, don't go into a clone brew thinking your going to have an exact replica of your target beer. Normally it takes a few shots and adjustments to get close. Be happy with the beer you brew, well unless it sucks and you have to throw it out

I appreciate this and the other posts and it looks like I will have to hold out until I can get the equipment, but I would go into it with eyes wide open knowing that making an ale clone of a lager is not ever going to be exact. I'm looking for something that reminds me of Sam Adams but for half the cost, not a 100% copy- that's part of making it yourself right?

I have contacted the manufacturer of the kits I use to see if they can recommend something with similar properties (so that I can maybe do minor tweaks) without having to brew their entire catalogue!