Ok, I'm making a Christmas ale with the following:
INGREDIENTS:
8 lbs. light malt extract
1 lb. Belgian Cara-Munich malt
1 1/2 lb. Munich malt
1/2 lb. Belgian Special B malt
2 oz. chocolate malt
1 oz. U.S. Perle hops (bittering)
1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood hops (flavoring)
1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood hops (finishing)
1/2 tsp. calcium chloride water salts
Yeast: Dried - 1 pkg. Safale S-04 Yeast

The local hb store recommends the following:
1. In a small saucepan, bring a gallon of water to 160º - 170º and turn off the heat. Add the bag of grains and water salts (if used) and steep
30 minutes. Now, gently sparge (rinse) the grains with hot tap water (ideal temperature 168º) and bring the total volume up to two or more gallons in a stainless steel or enameled kettle (avoid aluminum). As a rule, boiling as much of the full five gallons as possible is best. Bring to boil and resume step #2.
2. Turn off heat and add malt extract. Return to boil, taking care not to allow wort to overflow onto your stovetop. Start timing now, continuing the boil for 5 minutes. Add the bittering hops (1 oz. Perle) and boil 45 minutes. Now add the flavoring hops (1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood) and boil 10 minutes. Now immediately turn off heat and add the finishing hops (1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood hops).
The issue I have is reading John Palmers how to brew (extract with specialty grains) he recommends bringing 3 gals of water to boil and add the big of grains. He doesn't mention just doing 1 gal then sparing to get back up to 2-3gallons like the hb store recommends. I'm inclined to follow palmers recommendations, but just looking for some guidance.
Here is palmers recommendations:
The procedure is identical to that for extract brewing. However, the specialty grains will be steeped in the pot before the extract is added. The 3 gallons of water in the boiling pot is heated until it reaches 160°F +/- 10°. Then the grain bag is immersed in the pot for 30 minutes. The grain bag may be dunked and swirled like a tea bag during this time to make sure that all of the grain is wetted. Agitation will help to improve the yield. Remove the grain bag from the pot, giving it a squeeze to drain the excess wort and avoid dripping on the stove.
Now the brewer has a preliminary wort to which the extract is added. The wort is brought to a boil and the brewing proceeds exactly as for extract brewing described in the previous chapters.
Thanks for the help.
INGREDIENTS:
8 lbs. light malt extract
1 lb. Belgian Cara-Munich malt
1 1/2 lb. Munich malt
1/2 lb. Belgian Special B malt
2 oz. chocolate malt
1 oz. U.S. Perle hops (bittering)
1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood hops (flavoring)
1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood hops (finishing)
1/2 tsp. calcium chloride water salts
Yeast: Dried - 1 pkg. Safale S-04 Yeast

The local hb store recommends the following:
1. In a small saucepan, bring a gallon of water to 160º - 170º and turn off the heat. Add the bag of grains and water salts (if used) and steep
30 minutes. Now, gently sparge (rinse) the grains with hot tap water (ideal temperature 168º) and bring the total volume up to two or more gallons in a stainless steel or enameled kettle (avoid aluminum). As a rule, boiling as much of the full five gallons as possible is best. Bring to boil and resume step #2.
2. Turn off heat and add malt extract. Return to boil, taking care not to allow wort to overflow onto your stovetop. Start timing now, continuing the boil for 5 minutes. Add the bittering hops (1 oz. Perle) and boil 45 minutes. Now add the flavoring hops (1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood) and boil 10 minutes. Now immediately turn off heat and add the finishing hops (1 oz. Liberty or Mt. Hood hops).
The issue I have is reading John Palmers how to brew (extract with specialty grains) he recommends bringing 3 gals of water to boil and add the big of grains. He doesn't mention just doing 1 gal then sparing to get back up to 2-3gallons like the hb store recommends. I'm inclined to follow palmers recommendations, but just looking for some guidance.
Here is palmers recommendations:
The procedure is identical to that for extract brewing. However, the specialty grains will be steeped in the pot before the extract is added. The 3 gallons of water in the boiling pot is heated until it reaches 160°F +/- 10°. Then the grain bag is immersed in the pot for 30 minutes. The grain bag may be dunked and swirled like a tea bag during this time to make sure that all of the grain is wetted. Agitation will help to improve the yield. Remove the grain bag from the pot, giving it a squeeze to drain the excess wort and avoid dripping on the stove.
Now the brewer has a preliminary wort to which the extract is added. The wort is brought to a boil and the brewing proceeds exactly as for extract brewing described in the previous chapters.
Thanks for the help.