First full boil

[sims_l22]

I have my first full boil under my belt, not so bad but you have more wort to handle. Hope I will get a full body taste. It smelled really hoppy, that IPA smell.

California Style Ale

6.6 lbs Muntons Amber Extract
2 lb Crystal Grains 120L
1 lb DME
2 oz Columbus Bittering Hops
1 oz Columbus Finishing Hops
1 oz Columbus Aroma Hops
1 tsp Irish Moss
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient
125ml Wyeast 1056 smack pack

 

[lpdb185]

from what i understand, you are supposed to cut way back on the hops when going from a 2.5 gallon boil to a full boil which is more like 6.5 gallons. i was planning on doing a full boil for my next batch and when i adjusted the recipe in beersmith, it cut my hops by nearly 70 percent. but with it being an IPA, maybe it won't matter so much.

how much h20 did you start your boil off with and how much wort did you have in the end?

 

[sims_l22]

I started off with 5.5 gallons and I ended up with about 5.3 gallon. I used a 7 gallon brew pot. I was told to add a little more water for evaporation and the absorbtion of water in the grains. I will use a little over 5 gallons next time. Thanks for the info on the Hops.

 

[lpdb185]

was that a 60 minute boil? from what i read on here, people were saying i would need to start with at least 6 gallons or more. don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to make you think you did anything wrong. i'm just a newb too and i'm still trying to figure this stuff out.

 

[Pappers_]

Yes, if you boil 5.5 gallons for an hour, you will lose more than 0.2 gallons to evaporation. Either the measurements were off, or the time, or it wasn't really boiling.

As to the hops, 70% reduction seems way too big. I'll look at BeerSmith later to check this, but that is too big a reduction based on only changing the boil volume.

 

[sims_l22]

Yes it was a 60 minute boil. I am a newb also and I think that 6 gallons would be too much water. I donot have the BeerSmith software. I hope it will taste as good as it smells.

 

[FoeKillerCreek]

from what i understand, you are supposed to cut way back on the hops when going from a 2.5 gallon boil to a full boil which is more like 6.5 gallons. i was planning on doing a full boil for my next batch and when i adjusted the recipe in beersmith, it cut my hops by nearly 70 percent. but with it being an IPA, maybe it won't matter so much.

I believe the reduction is closer to 25% from what I have read. I did an IIPA and cut my hops back by about 20% and it seems about right on for the style. That was my 1st, a full boil. I started with 6.5 gals and boiled for an hour. I ended up with 4.5 gals, but later realized I could have gotten more wort out of the kettle by effectivly whirlpooling and/or straining. This was out door on a turkey fryer. I think that you should boil off AT LEAST 1 gal over an hour during a full boil. A smaller kettle (mine is 10.5 gals) will reduce the amount of boil off because of surface somethingoranother, but not by that much I would think. Rule of thumb seesm to be to start with 6-7 gals for a full boil. Experience will tell you the number for your set up.

Practicing the art and thoroughly studying the results are where it's at!

 

[Tlylebrew]

I believe outdoor temp will greatly affect your rate of loss, or at least it seemed too for me. Started with 11 gallons and ended up with 9.0 when we were done. This was with an outdoor temp of 19°F

Pretty chilly.

 

[Gremlyn]

I believe outdoor temp will greatly affect your rate of loss, or at least it seemed too for me. Started with 11 gallons and ended up with 9.0 when we were done. This was with an outdoor temp of 19°F

Pretty chilly.

A lot of things will affect boil off rate like temp and atmospheric pressure, but 3% sounds to me like it wasn't a full, rolling boil. I think the risks of DMS are much lower with extract, though I can't back that up with evidence at the moment...

To the OP, what did you use to boil your wort?