Extract Brewing Questions

[Tharderocker]

Hey All, I'm fairly new to the home brew world. I made my first batch in June and have since done 3 more. I probably spend to much time on this site, but would appreciate some help. Today on my 4th batch a brewers best Red Ale, I only boiled 2 gallons of water. I figured this out when I put in primary. Anyway what will this affect if anything, because i did not do the full 2.5 Gal. boil. Also was looking at some extract recipes on here and was wondering the same thing. On the "Extract - Wow Now That's A Light Beer" post they say to boil 4 gallons of water, what would happen with that batch or any other extract if I do I partial boil?

 

[msehler]

You will be fine on the red ale.
Typically you get better hop utilization with larger boils. If you plan to go all-grain at all in the future, I would upgrade to a full boil pot anyway so you can get used to doing full boils (and thus, better hop utilization).

 

[Tharderocker]

Thank you for the fast response, so for now I could brew that recipe with 2.5 gallons just may have to add more hops. Is that correct? Some day I might go all grain but right now I want to break out of the extract kits and go to extract recipes.

 

[msehler]

I just did some research and found this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Hop_utilization

Yes, you are correct. Extract kits sometimes will have more hops than All Grain kits. I just didn't realize how much it swings your potential IBUs (I've always just done full boil because I am able).

 

[Tharderocker]

Thanks again, now to build or find a good recipe.

 

[msehler]

Try these guys:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/retail-store-st-paul

Get their "Nut Brown" extract kit...brew it and get it aging for Xmas. It's delicious. The "Chinook IPA" extra kit is also very, very good. One of the best beers after a short while I've ever brewed (4 weeks primary, 2 weeks bottle).

 

[meteorbrews]

Was you batch only 2.5g total, or did you top up to 5g? If it is a 2.5g batch and you only have 2g in the primary, then you will end up with a higher gravity beer, as well as lower IBU's. If you topped up to 5g, then gravity won't be affected, but IBU's will still be lower

 

[Tharderocker]

I will have to look into those kits, and I did what should have been a 2.5 gallon boil, but topped of with 2.5 water.

 

[rayg]

I thought we got rid of this particular old wive's tale a while ago.

Full/partial boil does not effect hop utilization. The only thing that
effects it is the all-grain method, because there is more particulate
matter and more trub, and the hop oils stick to it, and it is then
filtered off. Same with low/high gravity, no effect. An extract
brew with no steeping grains should get max utilization because
the particulates were already filtered off in making the extracts.

Ray

 

[meteorbrews]

So in extract brewing you will get the same utilization from a 60 minute addition whether the boil gravity is 1.035 or 1.065?

 

[unionrdr]

Short answer,yes. I've learned some of these things myself...

 

[msehler]

If that's the case, we should probably get the wiki updated:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Hop_utilization

"Hop utilization can also be decreased if you raise the gravity of your boil volume. Brewing a high gravity beer, or some extract brews using a partial-batch boil will get you a much lower utilization rate."

 

[ACbrewer]

My only caution on doing a full boil is that you really need to have the stove/heat source that can boil that. I'm sure my standard stove top can get 5gallons boiling, but the time to get there might make the brew day excessivly long.

While I agree that having a 7+gallon pot for doing a 5 gallon boil is a good idea, just be warned you might not be able to get it easily boiling depending on your stove. This is why a lot of brewers go to propane burners, or to electric rigs.

 

[rayg]

So in extract brewing you will get the same utilization from a 60 minute addition whether the boil gravity is 1.035 or 1.065?

Yes, it's been hashed out here repeatedly, for example

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/late-addition-hop-utilization-188394/

Beginning with post #3 that has the link to the Basic Brewing
radio shows.

Ray

 

[Tharderocker]

Thank you for all of your fast responses, this website is great and one I read every day. Always learning new things, maybe to much just enough to get in trouble.

 

[unionrdr]

My late addition hop utilization is always good when using 1.5lbs of plain DME in the 2.5G boil for hop additions. I add the rest of the malt at flame out. I hope that clarifies my previous point a little. Doesn't seem to matter if it's light or dark DME. But the late hops always come out real good. And the o2 barrier caps go along way to promote better aging longevity.