Boiling wort in two halves

[seriousbeef]

first post...go easy.
Just when I thought I had all my plans meticulously sorted, I forgot about the size of a brew pot. So, as I plan to make a 16L/3.5 Gal wort, I was thinking of using two 8L pots on a regular household stove, a 16L pot is two expensive and the stove wouldn't cope.
Is it possible to split the wort into two halves, cool and then add them together before fermentation? I really don't have a great deal of money to spend on a boiler, this is really the only option for my slim budget.

Thanks

Rich

 

[paulster2626]

Yes, it's quite common actually.

 

[seriousbeef]

Thanks!
Is there any additional precautions I should take for two boils?

 

[paulster2626]

Not really, just split everything up as even as you can. Some people will mention less hop utilization at lesser volumes and all that jazz, but I wouldn't concern myself with it.

 

[ludomonster]

You can get an 18qt steamer pot from Walmart for about $20. You don't have to spring for the copper clad aluminum uber pot.

 

[JLem]

My standard procedure is to do a split boil. It works out great. It takes a little longer since I have to stagger the boils so by the time the first one is chilled down, the second is ready to come off the stove. Other than that, easy peasy. I tend to split hop additions evenly...though will sometimes go 2/3 and 1/3 since the first kettle has my first runnings and the second kettle has the second runnings (I get about a 2/3 vs 1/3 split in my OGs between the 1st and 2nd runnings)

 

[seriousbeef]

I see! thanks for the tips. These are the handy things I'm asking, because they seem to be left out of step by step instructions? Do you think if you had the capability to chill both worts at the same time you would? And approximately, what is the time difference between staggering? Obviously this is different for each person but it's just nice to know.

Oh, and we don't have Walmart in the UK, I only put Massachusetts as there was no country selector

 

[JLem]

I see! thanks for the tips. These are the handy things I'm asking, because they seem to be left out of step by step instructions? Do you think if you had the capability to chill both worts at the same time you would? And approximately, what is the time difference between staggering? Obviously this is different for each person but it's just nice to know.

Oh, and we don't have Walmart in the UK, I only put Massachusetts as there was no country selector

I suppose if I could chill both at the same time I would - since it would be less time to brew and I could add my hop additions to both kettles at th same time instead of having to pay close attention to when each addition needs to go into each kettle (I use separate timers for each kettle to help with this). But since I only have one wort chiller (and only one kitchen faucet to hook my chiller up to), I stagger my boil times by about 15 minutes. It's actually a "natural" staggering since it takes me about 15 minuted to lauter the 2nd runnings once I've lautered the first runnings.

Just thought of another reason to stagger the kettles....so you can watch for boil-overs. I fill my kettles almost to the brim and have to keep a close eye on them in the first 5 minute or so to keep them from boiling over. I have to repeatedly pick them up off the stove to let the foam settle down. It would be impossible for me to prevent boil-overs if I had them going at the same time.

 

[seriousbeef]

This is all extremely helpful. I read I should be prepared to lose 20% of the total volume in boiling due to evap therefore should make allowances, now, I'm not particularly great at math, but if I'm splitting the wort, surely I'm going to be losing double in evaporation?

 

[david_42]

Possibly, but if you are on a stove, your boil may not be all that vigorous. Don't worry! You can add enough water after the boil and cool-down to bring the wort up to the required volume.

 

[seriousbeef]

Cool. I think I have myself sorted now. Picked up a couple stainless steel brewing pots from the catering industry for the equivalent of $40 which could potentially give me a 3 gal batch. A good start for my first I think!

 

[Matt3989]

You should leave enough space at the top of your pots for the water to boil up a little, you can always top off your fermenter with distilled water (i buy a couple of gallon jugs and put them in the refrigerator a couple days before the brew, that way when i top off the fermenter they cool down the wort significantly.)

Another thing to remember with separate boils is the less water you boil, the less hop absorption you'll get, so your brew won't be as bitter, or you increase the hops (I'm not experienced enough to tell you by how much though)

And finally, i would mix everything together in the fermenter and then use a thief to get a sample for your OG, rather than pull a sample from each boil.

 

[seriousbeef]

in the refrigerator

Surely this is a sanitization issue as it would be in the fridge with meats and other bacteria infested foods? Or would the temp. of the wort sanitize it anyway? I love how every question I ask shows my inexperience.

 

[Matt3989]

I buy gallon jugs of distilled water, so they are sealed, so no sanitation issues.

 

[seriousbeef]

Is it ok to use cold distilled water to add the wort to in the fermentor? Or must it be boiled

 

[Matt3989]

yep, that's what i meant. And no, you don't have to boil it first, because it's distilled, it's already been boiled.

it also has oxygen in it, unlike the wort which has had most of the oxygen boiled out, so it's good for the yeast to start.

Just make sure you add it to the wort before you pitch your yeast.