Boil Volume for 1 Gallon Extract Batch

[karanbamgia]

Hello there

I am a 1 gallon batch brewer as it is easier for me to control and handle for the bigger batches also require more investment in terms of buying bigger sized everything.

Now my first question is what is the boil volume i should be looking at for a 1 gallon batch with 30 mins of steeping and 60 mins of boiling for extract based batch.

And also
a) can one add water after boil to take the volume up to 1 gallon
b) can one add water after fermentation to take the volume up to 1 gallon

I have made a slight mess of my last batch, therefore just trying to be as sure as i can be.

Please help!

Regards

 

[WoodlandBrew]

You can boil any amount you want to. In fact, you don't need to boil any of the extract at all. The hops can be boiled in a quart of water. Once the boil is done add the remaining water to drop the temperature for pitching. (refrigerated water helps).

The extract has already been boiled when it was made, so there is no need to boil it again. If you do boil the extract it will have more of a malty caramel taste which some people prefer. If you want that taste without the boil then use Munich malt extract.

You could even add the water post fermentation if you are limited by space. Just make sure the alcohol level of the beer isn't going to get too high for the yeast.

I have a couple of articles on the main page here on HBT that will give you some more details.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/four-tips-making-great-beer-15-minutes.html

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/bittering-hops-in-15-minutes.html

 

[fuelish]

In fact, you don't need to boil any of the extract at all. The hops can be boiled in a quart of water.

I was under the impression that you don't get nearly as much hop bittering as you would if boiled in water/extract, something about hops needing something the malt has (enzymes???)to release more - can't say, as I've never tried boiling hops in H2O only ....but yeah, the extract doesn't have to be boiled, per se. I've taken to boiling about half the extract amount with hops and adding the rest post boil, supposedly resulting in less caramelization than boiling the whole amount

 

[WoodlandBrew]

I've heard that too, but never seen anything to back it up, and my experience is that plenty of bitterness is produced using only water and hops.

 

[balrog]

+1 on WoodlanBrew's comments, backed up by actual evidence.

As to the "how much water", the conventional wisdom is to use the brew kettle pot and boil water for an hour to determine your boil off rate so you'll have a much better idea of what starting volume (cold vs hot water makes about a 4% volume difference) you'll want, in order to finish with whatever final volume you want.

Extract batches & partial boils are very common recipe types and can/will have "top off" water added after the boil to bring the final volume going into the fermenter up to a level that is proper for the recipe's hop usage and sugar content.

 

[flars]

Hello there

I am a 1 gallon batch brewer as it is easier for me to control and handle for the bigger batches also require more investment in terms of buying bigger sized everything.

Now my first question is what is the boil volume i should be looking at for a 1 gallon batch with 30 mins of steeping and 60 mins of boiling for extract based batch.

Boil a gallon of water, at the same heat setting you boil the wort, to get your boil off rate. Add this volume to your kettle preboil. Drawback to this is you may end up with to much volume depending on how much LME is added for different recipes. You would then need to boil longer to reduce the volume. Your kettle would also need to have accurate volume markings, and it would change the hop addition schedule because of the change in boil time.

And also
a) can one add water after boil to take the volume up to 1 gallon
Top off water can be added after the cooled wort is added to the fermentor.

b) can one add water after fermentation to take the volume up to 1 gallon
Adding water after the fermentation would be somewhat of a dilution of the fermented wort. Fermenting a wort of higher gravity, then diluting to a lower final gravity, may affect flavor.


I have made a slight mess of my last batch, therefore just trying to be as sure as i can be.

Please help!

Regards

You may have fewer potential problems by adding part of the estimated boil off to the boil kettle and then topping off to one gallon after the pour into the fermentor.

 

[flars]

Information I have been able to find indicates maximum hop oil isomerization occurs at a pH of 8 to 9. Drawback to the extraction in the alkaline conditions was the extraction of some harsh flavors. I haven't found anything about extraction in water, which is usually about pH 7.

 

[WoodlandBrew]

Information I have been able to find indicates maximum hop oil isomerization occurs at a pH of 8 to 9. Drawback to the extraction in the alkaline conditions was the extraction of some harsh flavors. I haven't found anything about extraction in water, which is usually about pH 7.

That's interesting. That sounds like a paper I would like to read. Do you remember where you saw that? A paper I read recently showed that there was little correlation between pH and isomerization. (Malowicki, M. G., Hop Bitter Acid Isomerization and Degradation Kinetics in a Model Wort-Boiling System. 2005. page 31 section 3.1)

 

[flars]

That's interesting. That sounds like a paper I would like to read. Do you have a citation? A paper I read recently showed that there was little correlation between pH and isomerization. Malowicki, M. G., Hop Bitter Acid Isomerization and Degradation Kinetics in a Model Wort-Boiling System. 2005.

These are the two references I found, that seemed to have some reliability. The second because the writer also mentioned the pH conclusion of the first, but with no references cited.
http://journal-of-agroalimentary.ro/admin/articole/99614L13_Mudura_Elena_249-252.pdf

http://byo.com/stories/item/854-hop-utilization--cool-brewings

 

[kmcrae]

I like the idea of a 15 minute boil with a hop addition at the beginning (@ 15minutes) and at flame out (whirlpool) with a 15 minute rest before cooling. I'd probably just start with 1 gallon of water and make up whatever is lost in the boil with some cold bottled spring water to help bring down in temps.

 

[Ski12568]

I would start with about 1.25quarts of water to 1lb of specialty grain for water being absorbed by the grains.

This calculator does a pretty good job to get you started with a boil off rate.

Then add 1 gallon for your batch size. I don't think your hops will absorb much. You can add water if you are low before you ferment. You can add it later too, but it will just water it down.