Brew Instructions: Start with 2 gallons....

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stevenryals

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I spoke with the fellow at the shop here close to me and he described this method as "more modern" than steeping with something more like 4 or 5 gallons...

anyone ever heard of this or is this guy mis informed?????
 
I spoke with the fellow at the shop here close to me and he described this method as "more modern" than steeping with something more like 4 or 5 gallons...

anyone ever heard of this or is this guy mis informed?????

It's good for brewers who can't boil more than 3 gallons, though. Some people have smaller pots, or small stoves, and can't bring a larger volume to a rolling boil so they can simply use less water to make the beer then add water at the end to still end up with five gallons of finished wort. It works ok, as long as you remember to increase the bittering hops a little bit. You may have some darker, more carmelly wort, though.

I would say that "more modern" is the concept of bring 2 gallons to a boil, and adding everything except for most of the malt extract. Boil for an hour (adding the hops as usual) and then add the extract close to the end of the boil. This keeps the beer lighter colored and allows for greater hops utilization.

Still, if you have the means to boil 5 gallons, that's my preferred way to do it. It's hard, though, chilling 5 gallons of boiling wort. If you only do a 2 gallon boil, you can chill that in an ice bath in the sink and add 3 gallons of cool water to finish the cooling.

Neither way is wrong. They still make great beer. Some just have a different way to do it, based on their equipment.
 
I would never for a moment question the brewing wisdom of Yooper, and would generally accept as law any opinion she had to offer.

That said, I am wondering, based on your post whether your LHBS employee was referring strictly to the process of steeping, and not to the entire boil. Palmer notes in his recent volumes that his opinion of the generally accepted processf or steeping has changed. Part of that change is to suggest that steeping in too much water will lead to the extraction of tannins. I believe that he suggests using less than 1 gallon per pound of grain when steeping to avoid tannin extraction.

It is possible that this is what he was referring to.
 
That said, I am wondering, based on your post whether your LHBS employee was referring strictly to the process of steeping, and not to the entire boil. Palmer notes in his recent volumes that his opinion of the generally accepted processf or steeping has changed. Part of that change is to suggest that steeping in too much water will lead to the extraction of tannins. I believe that he suggests using less than 1 gallon per pound of grain when steeping to avoid tannin extraction.

It is possible that this is what he was referring to.

This is what I read into the post as well. And your reply is right on the money.
 
The instructions on the kit were much different than any other that I've seen..


aahh... ok... let me get this right in my head...

bring 2 gal close to boil, add grains for 15
remove grains
add bittering hops boil 30 min
remove BH bag
add aroma hops boil 15 min

and the rest is the normal bit.... I think that's about right..

I've got a 6gallon pot.. so... am I better off boiling with 5gal rather than 2?
 
I don't know if I'd boil 5 gallons in a 6 gallon pot, but I'd do more than 2 gallons. (Your stove top has to be strong enough, BTW).

It's a two-step process. Steep the grains in 2 gallons, after removing, add more water, then bring to a boil, etc.
 
Hmm, no, I think we may have you going in the wrong direction here. I am assuming you have some steeping grains and either liquid or dry malt extract. If that is not the case, let us know.

1) You should be steeping the grains you have in water approximately 155*F. The volume of water is dependant on the amount of grains you have, but should be between .75 and 1 gallon per pound of grain. Steep for up to 30 minutes (15 would be ok if that is what the recipe says).

2) Remove the steeping grains and dsicard, then add your additional water to the pot (if you have a 6 gallon pot, you can probably do 4 gallons comfortably, but this will increase your hop utilization) and bring to a boil.

3) Kill the flame or take off the burner and add your malt extract. Once you have it mixed in well, bring back to a boil. (Search late extract addition for information on an improvement to this technique).

4) Add the bittering hops (normally for 60 minutes, but if your recipe says 45 that may work).

5) with 15 minutes remaining add the aroma hops (you would normally leave the bittering hops in).

6) Top up to your total volume (normally 5-5.5 gallons) and cool to pitching temp.

To save time, you can steep your grains in a separate pot. At the same time you can be bringing the remainder of your boil volume to a boil.
 
Duck Assassin doesn't explicitly say so, but remember to remove steeping grains from pot before #2.
 
yes its a liquid extract kit..

i've only done this twice now.. but i found it odd the difference in the instructions.. i boiled the first for 60m with bittering hops.. and the second for 30 min.. just seems like a massive difference in technique.. and it wasn't drastically different beers. Irish Red & Newcastle...
 

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