Extract brewing volume

[RNBEERGUY]

so people on the forum are telling me when brewing extract ratio of water to extract doesn’t matter as long as I brew up to 5 gallons why is that ? I want to brew a shandy wouldn’t the amount of water I add during boil make either light or full bodied beer ? Trying to learn also shandy tips or recipes much appreciated

 

[TwistedGray]

As people noted on the other thread you are better off starting with enough water to end at 5 gallons than otherwise, in my humble extract brewing opinion. If that's not an option, starting with enough water to end up with 3.0-3.5 gallons of wort isn't bad either.

 

[RNBEERGUY]

As people noted on the other thread you are better off starting with enough water to end at 5 gallons than otherwise, in my humble extract brewing opinion. If that's not an option, starting with enough water to end up with 3.0-3.5 gallons of wort isn't bad either.

Ok I was just wondering online I saw a reccomendation to boil with 1 gallon to one pound of extract ratio for full body beard and a 1.25 gallon to pound of extract ratio for lighter that’s what I’m trying to get at sorry for the confusion

 

[TwistedGray]

Ok I was just wondering online I saw a reccomendation to boil with 1 gallon to one pound of extract ratio for full body beard and a 1.25 gallon to pound of extract ratio for lighter that’s what I’m trying to get at sorry for the confusion

I am unaware of any specific ratios, and kits usually tell you how much water to boil with. However, I still find starting with the most water you can and adding the least at the end makes for the best best.

Color comes from the exact more than it does the volume of water you use.

 

[homebrewer_99]

In the beginning I used to do small boils with DME.

If I boiled 3 gals I used 3# of DME in the boil and added the rest with 10 mins left in the boil.

My logic: I was using the Hop Utilization Chart in Papazian's the Joy of Homebrewing. It states max utilization is best in 1 pound of DME in 1 gal of water.

My top off water (Pur Filtered tap water) was a couple of gals of water placed in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Took the temp down to pitching temp in under 3 minutes.

 

[whiskeyjack]

You mentioned "light and full bodied beer." To my knowledge with extract you kind of get what you get from the sugars. I dont think you can adjust this with an extract batch. With all grain you can adjust fullness by mashing lower or higher to extract different forms of the sugars. Mash low (147-150ish) to get a more fermentable wort, which makes more alcohol and a thinner beer. With low abv AG batches 4% i like to ferment around 156-158 or it will be to thin and watery. You can also adjust fullness with water chemistry, which im not going to go into due to limited knowledge. And again, you cant do much in the way of water chemistry with extract because you dont know exactly what minerals are in the sugar. This is exactly why people say you have much more control with AG.

 

[kh54s10]

I agree that you don't really have much if any control of the mouthfeel of an extract beer.

But if it is a kit, boil with the amount they say to use. The amount of hops they supply is balanced for that amount in the boil. If you use more water you should adjust the amount of hops you use.

 

[RM-MN]

so people on the forum are telling me when brewing extract ratio of water to extract doesn’t matter as long as I brew up to 5 gallons why is that ? I want to brew a shandy wouldn’t the amount of water I add during boil make either light or full bodied beer ? Trying to learn also shandy tips or recipes much appreciated

When you do an all grain batch you can use mash temperature to help control the breakdown of starches to fermentable sugars and dextrines which then determines whether your beer is light of full bodied. In extract batches the makers of the extract had that control and it is already a fixed amount when you get the malt extract. That's one of the reasons so many of us have gone to all grain brewing. Another is the challenge while a third is cost as all grain can be cheaper.