Batch Size

[layne00]

Getting ready to do my first batch this weekend. Could use some advise on a couple of issues on my mind.
1. I will be doing a 5 gallon batch and am already taking the boil off into consideration. Without any trub, my keggle leaves around a quarter of a gallon in the bottom due to the position of my dip tube. Do I need to add an additional quarter gallon to my pre-boil to account for this or do I just add water to my fermenter once I've transferred it to bring the total volume to 5 gallons?
2. How many gallons to you want in the fermenter for a 5 gallon batch? I am not sure if you should account for trub loss when transferring to the secondary or if this is just expected loss.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Tarks]

To answer your first question, yes. You need to add 1/4 gal to account for the loss in the kettle. If you want to bottle 5 gal then plan to get 5.5 gal in the fermenter. You will lose .5 gal due to trub loss.

 

[xmacro]

What does the recipe kit say? Some will tell you how much to add to wind up with X amount

 

[layne00]

The recipe gives instructions for a partial boil. Once done boiling, it states to add water to the fermenter to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. Is it typical to start with 5 gallons and be left with less or add more to the fermenter to have 5 gallons at the end? Will adding more water screw with the SG enough to notice?

 

[CarboyBoy]

The recipe gives instructions for a partial boil. Once done boiling, it states to add water to the fermenter to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. Is it typical to start with 5 gallons and be left with less or add more to the fermenter to have 5 gallons at the end? Will adding more water screw with the SG enough to notice?

For partial boil kits, I think it's typical that the recipe will instruct you to start with 2.5 or 3 gallons of water, then top off to 5.0 or 5.25 gallons of water after chilling. This is what I've seen from Midwest, Northern, and Austin.

As for adding more water affecting your SG, yes, it will, and you can do the math to determine by how much:

SG1 x Vol1 = SG2 x Vol2.​

So, if you have a SG of 1.048 at 5.0 gallons, adding 0.25 gallons will give you a SG of about 1.046 and about 0.3% lower abv. The higher the SG, the greater the difference in abv. But that extra quart will also give you another 2-3 bottles.

 

[david_42]

Is it typical to start with 5 gallons and be left with less or add more to the fermenter to have 5 gallons at the end? Will adding more water screw with the SG enough to notice?

Yes, I shoot for 5.75 gallons a the end. So I start with 6.5

Topping off to the recipe volume should not impact the SG. Just remember to stir the wort a lot, so it is all the same density.