tkerugger
Active Member
Hello all,
It was brew day today...Sierra Pale Ale from Midwest, specifically.
I have a question regarding my boil volume. My brew pot isn't a fancy engineered one, but rather an 11 gallon stainless steel pot with lid that I picked up at TJ Maxx one time. It's wide!
So, I started with 6 gallons today, and after boiling for an hour and chilling, and a failed attempt at a whirlpool, I ended up with 3.75 gallons going into the fermenter. Not a huge deal, as I topped up with water sufficient to yield 5 gallons, but unfortunately it was filtered tap water, and not bottled water like the other 6 gallons.
Is that a big deal? Should I start with 7.5 gallons in my pot next time, or just use 6 and top up after chilling? Will boiling 7.5 gallons cause changes in the taste/color of my brew? Or would they be changes for the better?
I don't suppose it really makes a big deal, and I'm sure someone is going to tell me to RDWHAHB, but I'm somewhat neurotic (and out of home brew!).
Additionally, do ya'll just toss the whole pot into the fermenter, or make an attempt to limit the amount of break matter/hops that are included? I would have liked to make a whirlpool and siphon the wort from the pot, but because it is so wide, its not very deep and I was having a heck of a time getting my auto-siphon to work without making a mess...
Finally, I planned on leaving the fermenter in my basement brew room where the temp is a fairly constant 61 degrees. I used Safale US-05, which says its lowest optimal temp is 59. Will my fermentation take a little longer? I was planning a 10 day primary, 10 day secondary before bottling.
Thanks for the tips!
Neil (and Maggie the brew dog!)
It was brew day today...Sierra Pale Ale from Midwest, specifically.
I have a question regarding my boil volume. My brew pot isn't a fancy engineered one, but rather an 11 gallon stainless steel pot with lid that I picked up at TJ Maxx one time. It's wide!
So, I started with 6 gallons today, and after boiling for an hour and chilling, and a failed attempt at a whirlpool, I ended up with 3.75 gallons going into the fermenter. Not a huge deal, as I topped up with water sufficient to yield 5 gallons, but unfortunately it was filtered tap water, and not bottled water like the other 6 gallons.
Is that a big deal? Should I start with 7.5 gallons in my pot next time, or just use 6 and top up after chilling? Will boiling 7.5 gallons cause changes in the taste/color of my brew? Or would they be changes for the better?
I don't suppose it really makes a big deal, and I'm sure someone is going to tell me to RDWHAHB, but I'm somewhat neurotic (and out of home brew!).
Additionally, do ya'll just toss the whole pot into the fermenter, or make an attempt to limit the amount of break matter/hops that are included? I would have liked to make a whirlpool and siphon the wort from the pot, but because it is so wide, its not very deep and I was having a heck of a time getting my auto-siphon to work without making a mess...
Finally, I planned on leaving the fermenter in my basement brew room where the temp is a fairly constant 61 degrees. I used Safale US-05, which says its lowest optimal temp is 59. Will my fermentation take a little longer? I was planning a 10 day primary, 10 day secondary before bottling.
Thanks for the tips!
Neil (and Maggie the brew dog!)
