Full boil question

[mikefranciotti]

I'm going to be brewing a few batches tomorrow and always forget to ask this.

I have a huge lobster pot for a brew pot and can and have done successful full boils. My question is how much brew water to start with. I think I normally put just over 6 gallons to give up one to boil off.

Anyone have any insight?

I've got a ginger ale, Sunset Wheat clone, pale ale, nut brown ale,British IPA and AHS's holiday ale (one of my favorite brews so far).

Between tomorrow, Thursday & Friday I want to get them all in primaries.

TIA

 

[FallsDamBrewery]

I have always read that you need to put at least 6 gallons, you figure to have 1 gallon evaporate over an hour boil...I have also heard it depends on the size of your pot as well...as the size will determine the water evaporation rate...good luck with your busy beer weekend. Cheers!

 

[GreenMonti]

How much would you say you leave behind when draining your wort out of said pot?

I would start with 1 gallon heavy from what you want in the end. The diameter of the pot will dictate along with other factors what your evap rate will be. How hard you boil is another one. IMO it is hard to say spot on what you will loose. I loose about a gallon on a less humid day and about a gallon and a half on a more dry day. I boil in a keggle. HTH.

 

[Wayne1]

To know how much to put in, you have to know how much you want to take out.

How much do you want to be able to bottle/keg? Work backward from there.

Do you ferment in just one vessel? Do you rack into a different vessel for conditioning? Do you know how much you leave behind in each vessel?

Do you transfer everything in your kettle into your fermenter? Do you whirlpool and leave the trub behind?

I do full wort boils in the suburbs of Denver. I brew in low humidity and high altitude. I reach a boil anywhere between 205 and 209F.

I want to end up with a full five gallons in my keg. I start with 8.25 gallons in my kettle. I boil for 90 minutes. I whirlpool and leave 0.625 gallons behind in my kettle. I usually have 5.5 gallons in my fermenter. I transfer to a conditioning vessel. I leave 0.25 gallons behind each time I transfer. I so end up with 5 gallons in my kegs.

Using some brewing software like Beersmith will help you keep track of and calculate how much volume you will need in each vessel.

Have a good brewing session.

 

[thristy]

I start out with 6 1/2 gal and end up with just over 5 gal that gives me 5 gal when I rack to secondary. hope this helps

 

[mikefranciotti]

Wow thanks guys! Wayne you gave me a lot to think about but it makes perfect sense.

I started my batch with 6.5 gallons and this time I'll pay attention to how much makes it into the primary.

When you guys mention whirlpool, what do you mean? I've never heard of this until yesterday.

Thanks for the help

 

[Wayne1]

Whirlpooling is done in the kettle. You swirl your liquid around and the centripetal force will cause the solids to collect in a cone in the center.

You can then draw your wort from the side of your kettle to keep the trub transfer to your fermenter to a minimum.

Here is a picture to illustrate.

I draw off the wort from the fitting on the left which is pointing down. I pump the wort back into the kettle through the fixture on the right. I do this for about 10 minutes and the turn off the pump and let the wort settle.

I then run the wort through my CFC into my fermenter. This is what is left behind in the kettle. When I measured everything during my initial calibration, it came to 0.625 gallons.

To whirlpool without a pump, gently stir the wort with a spoon to get a circular motion going inside the kettle. Keep it going for 5-10 minutes. Let it settle and draw off from the side of the kettle. You should find a cone built up similar to the one in the picture above. I do suggest you use kettle finings, like Irish Moss, Whirlfloc or SuperMoss to help drop the proteins out.

 

[whoneedsabeer]

Whirlpooling is used to get all the sediment, cold break, hops, etc into the center of the boil kettle. It's only valuable if you have a dip tube on the side of your pot.

After flamout, during or after getting down to pitch temps, start stirring.

You would stir your wort until you have a very fast whirlpool action in the kettle.

Then you have to let it settle down naturally for 15-20 minutes so all the material settles in the center.

The pickup tube on the side of your kettle would then limit the amount of sediment that makes it into your fermentation vessel.

Jay

 

[robertvrabel]

I did my first full boil last week in a 10g pot. I started with 6.5gallons of water... worked out great, I was just a little over 5gallons and hit my OG exactly.

 

[KevinW]

Does the amount of cold break or sediment vary by beer style or brewing style, like more sediment for AG as opposed to extract?