Boiling for a dummy

[amcwi69]

Im sure the answer to this is simple but I’m trying to wrap my head around it.

I’m a noob at brewing, which I’ve done an ale box kit (recipe X) and a lager box kit (recipe Y). After looking for my next brew I decided to do a recipe listed on this forum (recipe Z, also an ale). Below is some information included to explain my questions:

Recipe X & Y
Boil at least 3.5 gals water, add extract & hops
Pour into fermenter and top off with water until 5 gal mark is reached.

Recipe Z
Batch Size: 5.50gals
Boil Size: 6.50gals
Add extract and hops during boil

My equipment
5.50gal stainless steel pot

So with that info here comes the questions:

Can I still boil 3.5gals of water for recipe Z then add the remaining water to the fermenter to top off even though recipe Z states the boil size should be 6.50gals? Or will boiling with just 3.5 gals cause a high boil gravity and throw off flavors into the mix?

I ask this because in the book “How To Brew”, John Palmer talks about boil gravity:
“..high gravity boils also result in reduced hop isomerization, poorer foam stability, and flavor changes from Maillard reactions…in light beers the flavors may still out like a sore thumb.”

To combat the problem he writes:
“One partial solution to all these issues is to reduce the gravity of the boil by saving some of the extract until the end of the boil. This last extract can be boiled for just a few minutes to pasteurization and then cooled and diluted in the fermenter as before.”

Should I follow his solution or am I seriously over thinking the boil gravity concept?

 

[phatuna]

Yes, follow his solution - it's a good one. do 1/2 of the extract in the early part of the boil, and add the rest 5 minutes to flame-out. then top up

 

[amcwi69]

will the second addtion of extract also need to have the "hot break" action before the boil is done?

 

[phatuna]

yep, just get it back up to boiling, then shut it down

 

[mr_bell]

will the second addtion of extract also need to have the "hot break" action before the boil is done?

I've heard no, as extract has already gone through hot break when manufactured. You can add for the last 10 mins of the boil. Some of the recipes in Palmer's "How To Brew" do late extract additions at flameout, which is an option that I've never tried.

BTW, I don't think you're over thinking it, and you should do it as JP describes.

 

[pkeeler]

Boiling a concentrated wort won't produce off flavors. It will lead to a darker color beer and it will reduce hop efficiency. You can add more hops, but Palmer's suggestion seems easier than calculating the hop efficiency.

 

[ajf]

Just a word of caution. Recipes X and Y were extract and steeping grains or partial mash where you use a relatively large amount of extract combined with a relatively small amount of base/steeping grains.
Recipe Z is written like an AG recipe. If recipe Z has less than about 4 lbs grain, you should be fine with your suggestion. If it has more than that, by the time you have finished the sparge, you may have more wort than you can boil in your kettle.

-a.