Caribou Slobber Extract: Add water before or after boil?

[Texasspur21]

I am going to try my first extract with specialty grains. The recipe for 5 gal says to boil 2.5 gals. After boil and chilling it says to add 2 gals cold fresh water to fermenter before adding cooled wort and then top to 5 gals.

Is there a reason for this? Are they just putting these instructions for folks with smaller boil kettles? Could I boil 5 gals then top off in fermenter?

 

[BrewerBrad82]

That is indeed in the instructions for people with smaller boil kettles, and it is recommended to boil as much wort as you can to minimize extract scorching and maximize hop utilization.

Ideally, you would boil your entire batch volume plus a bit more to allow for evaporation during the duration of the boil, so in your case, boiling as much as you possibly can and then using minimal top-up water in the fermentor is the way to go!

Welcome to the hobby!

 

[violinguy]

Many stove-tops won't boil 6+ gallons of water. If you can, go ahead and boil the entire amount.

2.5 gallons of wort is also a lot easier to cool down. If you think you can cool down 5+ gallons or wort quickly, then go ahead and do that.

Just a couple of reasons for NB's instructions. Also, their kits and directions are designed/written for beginners and leave as little to chance as possible.

 

[Texasspur21]

Update: I ended up starting the boil with 5.75 gallons of RO water and racked 5 gallons into primary and hit the OG 1052 exactly. Because NB instructions say 1-2 weeks primary and 2-4 weeks secondary along with many people on HBT saying it has a harsh bitterness, I decided to do a secondary. I racked just shy of 5 gal to secondary and then took a taste and gravity reading after. I did a starter with Danstar yeast and aggressive fermentation was done after 2 days. Got 1010 gravity and WOW, was that some good beer. I will be making this beer again and I will just keg right after 10 days primary. No harshness, it was one of the smoothest beers I've brewed. Can't wait to keg, chill, and drink this beer.

 

[Brownalemikie]

Update: I ended up starting the boil with 5.75 gallons of RO water and racked 5 gallons into primary and hit the OG 1052 exactly. Because NB instructions say 1-2 weeks primary and 2-4 weeks secondary along with many people on HBT saying it has a harsh bitterness, I decided to do a secondary. I racked just shy of 5 gal to secondary and then took a taste and gravity reading after. I did a starter with Danstar yeast and aggressive fermentation was done after 2 days. Got 1010 gravity and WOW, was that some good beer. I will be making this beer again and I will just keg right after 10 days primary. No harshness, it was one of the smoothest beers I've brewed. Can't wait to keg, chill, and drink this beer.

Since July I've brewed about 26 batches (2 gallons each) of Caribou Slobber....love the stuff. FWIW, about 2 months ago I started adding 2/3 cup of honey per gallon at flame-out. Not only does honey add a smoother finish to the beer, but also bumps up the ABV to about 6.2 %.

 

[Chiller_ale]

Since July I've brewed about 26 batches (2 gallons each) of Caribou Slobber....love the stuff. FWIW, about 2 months ago I started adding 2/3 cup of honey per gallon at flame-out. Not only does honey add a smoother finish to the beer, but also bumps up the ABV to about 6.2 %.

Wow, your name checks out.

 

[Brownalemikie]

Wow, your name checks out.

Yep, every Friday is bottle day, every Saturday is brew day . 2 gallons per week gives me about 3 bottles of Slobber per day .

I have, however, brewed a couple "new" beers recently just to have a little variety for friends and family. A month ago I brewed White House Honey Ale (same recipe Obama's staff brewed for him) and last week I brewed Cream Ale. Both recipes are from Northern Brewer.

Bottom line is.....Caribou Slobber is my favorite by far.

 

[Chiller_ale]

Have you tried any nut brown ales? I am thinking of doing a brown next. May try this or Caribou.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30187

 

[Texasspur21]

Since July I've brewed about 26 batches (2 gallons each) of Caribou Slobber....love the stuff. FWIW, about 2 months ago I started adding 2/3 cup of honey per gallon at flame-out. Not only does honey add a smoother finish to the beer, but also bumps up the ABV to about 6.2 %.

I had actually saw you rave about this one in a previous thread and that's the reason I gave this one a shot with extract. I had only brewed all grain before this. I'll give the honey a try. Have you brewed with RO water?

 

[Brownalemikie]

I had actually saw you rave about this one in a previous thread and that's the reason I gave this one a shot with extract. I had only brewed all grain before this. I'll give the honey a try. Have you brewed with RO water?

I use tap water that is filtered thru a Brita filter.