Going on my first 5 gallon adventure, have a few questions.

[Muskogeee]

Alright so this weekend is time to attempt my first 5 gallon brew, and I just had a few questions about equipment and the process.

1. Will an aluminum pot be ok for the boil? I have one of those giant IMUSA pots for steaming crabs and if I can use that I'd rather not go out and buy a big stainless pot. I'll be using an electric stove if that makes any difference.

2. What is the effect of using less water during the boil and adding more cold water later? If I could get away with boiling only 2 gallons and adding 3 after I could use a stainless pot I already have.

3. if I made up a 5 gallon batch of star-san, would it still be potent after the fermentation to use for bottling? Not a big deal, just curious.

4. I had an idea of maybe freezing half a dozen or so 16 oz bottles of never-opened, purified water, which I assume would be sterile, and then when it comes time to cool the wort just slice them open with a sterile razor and drop in the bottle-shaped ice blocks to cool it. Has anyone ever tried anything like this? Sound like a bad idea?

Thanks for the input.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

1. Yes, you can use aluminum but it needs to be "seasoned" first. I think you just need to boil a pot of water for a bit to get an oxidized coating on it. Do a search and you should find the answer.

2. Less water in the boil will change your hop utilization and, obviously, you will have to calculate your gravity accordingly. BeerSmith or a similar program will do all this for you.

3. Sanitizer will not stay effective that long. Make up a fresh batch when you bottle.

4. Many people do this. Just be sure the bottles are completely sanitized and that the water you freeze has been boiled for at least 10 minutes first.

 

[mdbrewer1]

1. Yes, you can use aluminum but it needs to be "seasoned" first. I think you just need to boil a pot of water for a bit to get an oxidized coating on it. Do a search and you should find the answer.

2. Less water in the boil will change your hop utilization and, obviously, you will have to calculate your gravity accordingly. BeerSmith or a similar program will do all this for you.

3. Sanitizer will not stay effective that long. Make up a fresh batch when you bottle.

4. Many people do this. Just be sure the bottles are completely sanitized and that the water you freeze has been boiled for at least 10 minutes first.

A lot of people are going to disagree with your response to #3. Northern Brewer states that it will remain effective for up to three to four weeks in a sealed container, but many people have kept sanitizer for months with no evident decrease in effectiveness. Everything I've read says that as long as the pH remains below 3 it still works, even if cloudy.

 

[bacgabe]

Congrats on taking the plunge. Those are good questions, I'll take a shot at answering them:

1. Aluminum pot is fine if that is what you already have (it is what I use as well because it is what I had). If it has never been used, just boil some water in it first to build up a protective layer.

2. There are two main considerations when doing a partial boil like you mention. The first is that the wort will be more concentrated, and you will likely have additional browning of the wort. This may not matter much to you if you are making a darker beer, but it will be aggravating if you are trying to make a pale beer. One way to counteract this effect is to add a large portion of the LME at the end of the boil, boiling it just long enough to sanitize. The second issue with a partial boil is that hops will be underutilized. However some recipes assume a partial boil. The best way to ensure the correct IBUs is to use an online calculator and enter the estimated OG, boil volume, and hop additions. The short answer is that I would just recommend that you do a full boil so as to avoid these issues. The benefit of using stainless steel, in my opinion, does not outweigh the disadvantages of a partial boil (it still may be a good idea to use an online IBU calculator to ensure you are not overhopping, if the recipe assumes partial boil).

3. I believe it would still be effective 2-3 weeks later when you go to bottle. That being said, do not feel like you need to make 5 whole gallons just because that is what the instructions indicate. You can just reduce the amount of star san proportionally to your volume, for example I usually just measure out 1/4 oz for 1.25 gallons of water, which is plenty to sanitize the fermentation bucket and my equipment. That way you do not have too much wasted star san.

4. If you are doing a partial boil or otherwise need to top off your water amount in the fermentor, this is a good idea. Some people feel better if they pre-boil it (before freezing it) just to be safe, but you should probably be fine. Just be aware that you are adding water when the wort is most vulnerable to infection. The flip side is that you are about to hit it with yeast that will quickly take over, so it may outcompete any nasties (in my opinion you should be fine with purified water [which FYI is not actually sterile]). If you do a full boil and account for the amount of boil-off evaporation, you ideally will not need to top off the water. In that case you should just use a water bath, and add your bottles around the fermenter to accelerate the cooling effect.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Actually, you are correct. Starsan does say it will keep that long. I use an iodine based sanitizer and was thinking of that. Iodine doesn't last that long. That said, I would still consider it cheap insurance to make up a fresh batch.

 

[unionrdr]

The aluminum kettle must be passivated by boiling water in it for 30 minutes. This builds up an oxidation layer that keeps the acidic wort from leaching letal into it.
I do pb/pm biab & stick to the hop amounts/schedule in a recipe or kit. But I do design my recipes in BS2, so I can account for certain levels, like bittering, etc. The difference in a partial boil is negligible in my experiences. And I do 3 1/2 to 4 gallon boils in the same 5 gallon SS kettle I started with.
I've had Starsan keep for a couple months of use. As long as PH stays @ 3 or 3 1/2, or less, it's good. I think Five Star says 3 1/2 PH?
I also top off in the fermenter. But I chill gallons of spring water in the fridge a day or two before brew day for this. Ice bath the wort down to 75F or so, then strain into fermenter. Topping off with chilled water gets it down to 65F or so.

 

[mdbrewer1]

I don't know where Northern Brewer gets their info, but from the description on their website...

Reusable: a solution of Star San will remain effective for up to three to four weeks in a sealed container; it is effective as long as the pH is 3 or lower.

 

[dkevinb]

I've done #4 and it works. I used gallon jugs, but the smaller bottles would be better. If you use never-opened store-bought water it's already sanitized, you don't have to sanitize it again. The plastic is tougher than it looks. You can cut it but it doesn't just slice off. Be careful not to splash hot wort all over yourself and the kitchen. Those blocks of ice are very, very slippery. You want to carefully place them in the pot, not drop them.

 

[unionrdr]

I use 1 gallon Arizona ice tea jugs for my mixed Starsan, as they're the heaviest plastic. Using the cube measure on top of the bottle, squeeze it up 3/4's of the way to the 1/4oz mark for 1 gallon of water. It'll last a couple months easy.