Boil Volume

[EmptyGlass]

Ok so I am working on this recipe that I got from my local beer supply store. I had the guy walk me through the recipe but I am confused on one part. This is an extract recipe for a 5 gallon batch.

I start off with steeping a pound grains for 20 mins in 2.5-3 gals of water between 150-170 F. The next step says to add water to achieve boil of 5.7 gallons.

So does this mean I have to add almost another 3 gallons of water (hot or cold?) to my brew pot? The guy did not explain this very well and I had so many other questions I forgot to ask. I think my brewpot is only 5 gallons so that doesn't make sense.

Also, he said I want to bring that water to a boil then add the extract then start the hop additions. I thought I was supposed to add the extract before the boil then add then once it boils, start the hops.

Help would be greatly appreciated. Brewing Saturday. Thanks!

 

[geoffm33]

So does this mean I have to add almost another 3 gallons of water (hot or cold?) to my brew pot? The guy did not explain this very well and I had so many other questions I forgot to ask. I think my brewpot is only 5 gallons so that doesn't make sense.

Yes. For a 5gal batch you would need to brew with a total of 5gal + whatever volume will be boiled off. This appears to be assuming you will boil off .7 gal which is pretty normal. If you don't have enough capacity, you would do as much as you could fit without making a mess and then you can top off with water in the fermenter to get to the proper volume.

Also, he said I want to bring that water to a boil then add the extract then start the hop additions. I thought I was supposed to add the extract before the boil then add then once it boils, start the hops.

You can add the extract before the boil (turn off the heat when you add the extract). Then add the hops once the boil starts.

I haven't done an extract batch in a while so hopefully you can get some more replies if I am off base.

 

[TheCADJockey]

When I've done extract batches, I would only add a little extract during the boil even if it said to add it all. Instead, I added a little of the dry malt extract for the entire 60m, and added all the rest of the extract in the last 15 minutes of the boil to keep it from getting to dark. Whichever way you are used to, or feel more comfortable with.

For my five gallon batches, I usually boil anywhere from 3.5 to 4 gallons since I was working on a small stove and even that would take forever to bring to a boil. After the boil, I would chill the wort the best I could (since I don't have an immersion chiller) it usually consisted of putting it outside in the snow... then when I added it to my fermentation bucket, I would top it off to reach 5 gallons and the addition of that extra water would help lower the temp the rest of the way to a safe pitching temperature.

I think it is preference, whichever way you are more comfortable with and whatever way works best. Maybe topping it off doesn't give you the best end result, I can not tell you for sure. All I know is it worked best for me. Cutting down on the boil size reduced the time it took to get to a boil and adding the top off water cut down the time it took to cool the wort.

Good luck buddy. If your question still hasn't been answered, I'm sure it soon will.

 

[JeffoC6]

Sorry- meant to post as a new thread, not in this thread *edit*

 

[TheCADJockey]

Sorry- meant to post as a new thread, not in this thread *edit*

Oh, is this thread not good enough?

 

[JeffoC6]

It would hijack the OP's thread, so it doesn't really have anything to do with the quality of this thread

 

[Jim311]

If the pot is too small whats the problem with adding in the rest of the water after it's in the carboy? Just make sure that whatever water you're adding is SANITARY! No crap straight out of the faucet. Maybe somebody more experience can comment but that's exactly what I did...

 

[btbnl]

With a 5G kettle you'll have to do a partial boil and top-off to 5G at the end, which is completely fine. If you can pre-chill the water, that'll help with the cooling (though keep it for the end of the process when your regular cooling water is least effective).

Definitely add the bulk of the extract in the last 10 minutes to avoid the caramelization that an hour's boiling will produce.

 

[Clonefan94]

That boil volume number he gave you actually depends on what the boil off rate is of your pot, if you are trying to do a boil and not have to add any water at the end.

As others have said though, if you only have a 5 gallon part, the original volume doesn't matter because you can't do a full boil anyways.

 

[EmptyGlass]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I suppose i will just start with 3 gallons and add more CLEAN WATER into my fermenter to get the volume to 5 gal.