Batch sizes

[Fish84]

So much information on this site . Thanks to everyone for this wealth of knowledge. Can’t wait to brew this weekend.

Noob question time. [emoji3].

I see lots of great recipes and they all state a batch size. 10 gal, 6 gal, 5 gal. So on.

When these volumes are stated , is this pre boil or post boil?

I get about a half gallon of evaporation in an hour so far it seems , so for a 5 gallon batch would I aim for 5.5 gallons pre boil?

Cheers folks

 

[chrisgood1]

Yes people tend to talk final volume, usually post fermentation. For example I try to get 5.25gal into my fermenter to keg about 5 gallons.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Most folks (not all) list batch size as volume into the fermenter. This is after boiloff, and any losses/waste/dead space.

Some may list it as packaged volume (loss to yeast included). Some may list it as post-boil.

There really isn't a rule.

If you want 5 gallons post boil and are boiling off 0.5 gals over an hour, you probably want a 6.5-7 gal kettle to help avoid boilovers.

 

[Fish84]

Thanks guys

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Always aim for 6 gallons in the fermenter. The yeast pack on the bottom of the fermenter will be about a gallon of unusable fermenter space when you rack. Leaving you with 5 gallons of actual beer which is what all the recipes go by.

Reverse engineer it.
Fill Brew pot to 6 gallons and say this is where I need to be when I'm done. Then add what you think your boil off rate will be and thats your starting point.

If your numbers are off on the low side just top off fermenter with tap water to where you want it. Not going to matter thats its not the "brew water" much...dont sweat water volumes much as long as your close....a few brew days and youll know your system and dial it in.

If your overdid your water amounts just fill fermenter as normal and dump the rest. Youll have a little weaker beer but I'll be fine......fine tune the water amounts as you brew a few more batches and dont sweat it......enjoy

 

[RM-MN]

Always aim for 6 gallons in the fermenter. The yeast pack on the bottom of the fermenter will be about a gallon of unusable fermenter space when you rack. Leaving you with 5 gallons of actual beer which is what all the recipes go by.

If you wait longer to bottle the beer the yeast and trub will compact more so you don't have to leave as much behind. 3 to 4 weeks in the fermenter are fine, longer if you are really patient.

If your overdid your water amounts just fill fermenter as normal and dump the rest.

Sure, just dump the rest into another fermenter. Alcohol abuse is not to be tolerated.

 

[Fish84]

I’m using a fermentasaurus so I can fit 6 gal in there for sure