So I just brewed my first all grain batch last night, a hop bursted rye ipa. After realizing my 5g kettle wouldn't hold the 7 gallons of wort coming out of the mashtun I split it between that and my other 5 gallon pot, no problem. Boil went fine, along with the 30 mins of 5min 2oz hop additions(my first time using whole leaf hops). Cooled both in an ice bath in record time, for me at least. Then pour it all into my fermentor. What was supposed to be an ~6gallon batch, only 4 gallons made it to the fermentor. I had no idea the whole leaf hops would take up that much wort. I wouldn't think 2 whole gallons. But lesson learned on those hops, and now I know. And knowing is half the battle right?
First all grain, lesson learned on whole hops
- Thread starter gramatton
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Yikes! How many oz of whole hops total were in the boil? I'm doing my first brew today after work (IIPA, 6oz in boil, 3oz dry) It would be nice if I could compensate, I've got an 8gal pot. I'd rather have 5gal of slightly weaker beer than 3gal of stronger beer in the fermenter...
maida7
Well-Known Member
8 gallon is a good sized pot for 5 gallon batches.
I use pellet hops and they do suck up some wort probably not as much as whole hops.
I never understood my people use whole hops.
I use pellet hops and they do suck up some wort probably not as much as whole hops.
I never understood my people use whole hops.
maida7
Well-Known Member
That is a lot of hops.
ShaneKasey
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Are you sure that you had the right volume to begin with, or that you didn't get a lot of boil off? was it a 90 minute boil?
When i don't quite get the volume that i was shooting for, then i take a gravity reading. because if you're brewing a 5% beer based on a 5 gallon recipe, (especially when brewing within specific style guidelines), and then you end up with 4 gallons of wort, you've changed the gravity dramatically (in this case 20%), resulting in a beer that is 6% instead of 5%.
If it were me, I would take a Hydrometer reading. And if your gravity is too high (which it might be), then you can add some distilled water at kegging time and end up with 5 gallons of the awesome beer that you designed in the first place. if i go for a 5 gallon recipe, then i always make sure that i have exactly 5 gallons in the keg
When i don't quite get the volume that i was shooting for, then i take a gravity reading. because if you're brewing a 5% beer based on a 5 gallon recipe, (especially when brewing within specific style guidelines), and then you end up with 4 gallons of wort, you've changed the gravity dramatically (in this case 20%), resulting in a beer that is 6% instead of 5%.
If it were me, I would take a Hydrometer reading. And if your gravity is too high (which it might be), then you can add some distilled water at kegging time and end up with 5 gallons of the awesome beer that you designed in the first place. if i go for a 5 gallon recipe, then i always make sure that i have exactly 5 gallons in the keg
FromZwolle
I don't want to be cremated, I want to be malted.
a big one. you want enough room for them to float around in the wort especially for a whole 12oz? dang that's a lotta hops
!IamSauce4
Member
My face is imploding thinking about that much hops.
thezepster
Well-Known Member
omg gimme some. I love d'em hops!
Beernik
Well-Known Member
The hops are some of it because they are dried before packaging. But I think the two pots is a bigger factor. Evaporation is a function of surface area and splitting into two pots significantly increased the surface area.
trub quaffer
Well-Known Member
This is something I've been thinking about. I can pretty accurately estimate my volume losses at every point of the brewing process except for the volume lost to the hops. I've only got 2 AG batches under my belt but I can see where this could really be a great source of variation on your final volume. Brewing a Heffe with only a couple of ounces of whole hops vs. a double IPA with 6, 8, or even 12 ounces!!! of hops is going to give you a considerable difference in amount of volume remaining in the brew kettle after transfer. Somebody out there must have done some research on how much volume an ounce of whole hops and an ounce of hops pellets retains. It would be nice to be able to look at my recipe before brewing and say "OK, I'm going to have x ounces of whole hops in my brew kettle today so I need to collect an extra y quarts of wort to hit my final volume. Anyone heard of any figures?
See https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/whole-hop-absorption-16460/
It works for me, but your equipment may be different.
-a.
It works for me, but your equipment may be different.
-a.
Yeah, I think splitting into two pots might have been part of it. I took a gravity reading after cooling, 1.080 when I was shooting for 1.070. I added enough water to get me to 1.070.
Yes that was alot of hops. Came out to about 110IBUs in beersmith. The entire house smelled like hops. The gravity sample tasted awesome though, nice maltiness right before the hops ***** slap you. I think it'll turn out real well, I just won't have as much
Yes that was alot of hops. Came out to about 110IBUs in beersmith. The entire house smelled like hops. The gravity sample tasted awesome though, nice maltiness right before the hops ***** slap you. I think it'll turn out real well, I just won't have as much
Steelers77
Vendor
You never realize how much leaf hops absorb until you use them, but now you know and you'll be able to adjust your boil volume for the next batch. I just dry hopped with 3/oz of hops and when I pulled the bag out I was once again amazed at the expansion of the hops (pellets).
trub quaffer
Well-Known Member
dstar26t
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing
I just brewed an imperial pilsner over the weekend with 21.5oz of whole hops plus another 6 oz of pellets. I lost 2 gallons in the kettle which comes out to .372qts/oz absorption for the whole hops. I boil in a keggle and at the end of transferring, the whole hops had settled down to the bottom rib on the kettle!
I stretch a sanitized nylon filter gizmo over my bottling bucket and pour my cooled wort through...I can scoop up the hops with a slotted spoon or similar and squeeze them with another big spoon before chucking them.
From there the wort can be hosed into the fermenter with the spigot...and get a nice aeration in the process
Tip: make sure you tie the filter bag onto the top of the bucket with a twine string or something, or the weight will just pull it right into the bucket!
Steelers77
Vendor
Dstar,
Was that a ten gallon batch? Thats one hell of a hops charge no matter what the size!
Was that a ten gallon batch? Thats one hell of a hops charge no matter what the size!
dstar26t
If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing
haha, yeah, 12 gallons post boil
It's going to be 9% ABV with 150 IBUs (tinseth)
I'll post the recipe in the database in 2 months if it's any good.
4 weekends ago I did a Pliny the Younger type IPA with 21 oz whole and 9 oz pellet. It's now at 11% ABV and dry hopping. That should be another good one. Probably couldn't brew these without a hopstopper.
Thanks for all the good info guys. I do believe next time I'll try to factor in that water loss.
That's a damned lot of hops, 21.5 oz of whole ones? And I thought my 12oz was alot. Way to make me feel inadequate:cross: .
That's a damned lot of hops, 21.5 oz of whole ones? And I thought my 12oz was alot. Way to make me feel inadequate:cross: .
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