Could I just boil more??

[bnutting]

I was a knuckle head when I bought my brew pot and only got a 5 gallon size
It has been working out fine doing partial boils @ around 3 gallons then toping off to 5 gallons prior to pitching.

My question is can I just increase the amount of wort to boil to 4 gallons and follow the recipe otherwise without it being a problem?

Here is the reasoning for the question; I recently acquired a turkey fryer, previously we were boiling on our electric stove in our kitchen and had a hard time bringing the wort up to a boil. Now that we have something that should work quite a bit better we would like to increase the quality of our brew. From everything that I have read, the more wort you can boil without having to dilute it after the better the beer.

I know that my brew pot is too small for a full 5 gallon boil, but I think it should work for a 4 gallon boil so that we are not diluting the beer as much. Shouldn't I be able to follow the recipe (as in how long to steep any grains and such) and be fine??

I would think so, am I thinking wrong?

Thanks for your time.

 

[the_bird]

You should be able to without any problem. The fryer didn't come with a bigger pot?

Keep in mind: higher hops utilization doind bigger boils, and more need to aerate/oxygenate, since more of your wort will have had the O2 boiled off.

Also, get a spray bottle full of water, you'll want to be very careful about boilovers, especially now that you'll have some real heat to work with.

 

[bnutting]

You should be able to without any problem. The fryer didn't come with a bigger pot?

Keep in mind: higher hops utilization doind bigger boils, and more need to aerate/oxygenate, since more of your wort will have had the O2 boiled off.

Also, get a spray bottle full of water, you'll want to be very careful about boilovers, especially now that you'll have some real heat to work with.

The fryer actually belongs to my wifes cousin, so we are just borrowing the burner to see how it works and how the brew session goes. If all goes well then I will probably be getting a burner, if I can get a fryer with a pot then that would be better.

When you talk about hops, does that mean that I might have to vary from the recipe? I have a Bass clone kit from AHS.

 

[abracadabra]

When you talk about hops, does that mean that I might have to vary from the recipe? I have a Bass clone kit from AHS.

He's saying that the oxygen in your wort will be depleted and you need to aerate or oxygenate your boiled wort so the yeast can do it's job.

 

[the_bird]

Both.

Persoanlly, I wouldn't worry about the hops too much unless you're going for a spot-on clone. , It may just be a little bit more bitter, assuming the recipe was formulated for 3 gallon boils. The difference in hops utilization is most dramatic with really small boils, though.

 

[david_42]

Bass clone? The bittering isn't high enough for the extra utilization to be an issue. Just follow the recipe.

 

[Orfy]

I used to work at the old Bass Bottling Plant in Cheshire. (After it shut)

 

[Fiery Sword]

I used to work at the old Bass Bottling Plant in Cheshire. (After it shut)

You worked there after it shut down? How was the pay?

 

[Orfy]

Probably better than before it shut.

The Building got bought to run a B&Q contract from. www.diy.com