New brewer question

[Mindhop]

See lots of talk about half boils and full boils. I am an extract ipa this week end in a 9 gallon pot. Should I just do a full boil?

 

[unionrdr]

I'd say go for it. You have the room. Just boil maybe 6G for a 5G batch to account for boil off.

 

[motleybrews]

yea, since you have the space, i would definitely do a full boil. I regret not getting a larger pot to begin with

 

[user 21663]

The only issue I can see about doing full is the ability to cool it down, where partial boils are cooled when you add the top off water. Do you have a wort chiller?

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

That will have an effect on your hop utilization. That's probably not a problem for an IPA but something to consider.

 

[mr_bell]

I would say yes, full boil, as long as you have the means to chill it. Do you have a wort chiller? I've never tried cooling a full 5 or so gallons of hot wort by any other means than a chiller. I would think it would be tough if not impossible to chill it in an ice water bath like one might do with a partial boil.

Also, if the kit was designed to be a partial boil and you do a full boil, you will need to make adjustments to the hopping schedule to get the bitterness in the same ballpark. I don't have time to elaborate on that, but you should be able to find that info by searching HBT. (Personally I use Beersmith to do those calculations.)

 

[Mindhop]

Plan on making a wart chiller this weekend.

 

[Mindhop]

Thanks for the help. This site us awesome.

 

[unionrdr]

Speaking of chillers,here's a vid on them that also shows the newer "rib cage" chiller. I think it's a better idea.

 

[Mindhop]

Anyone care to elaborate on the hops schedule?

 

[jcdouglas]

I recommend posting the recipe and either myself (when I have time) or another person can put it into beersmith and convert it for you. You will end up using less hops when doing a full boil extract, assuming your recipe is designed for partial boil which most extract recipes are this way. However, many people do not adjust their hop schedule, and it still turns out fine.

I did my first full boil yesterday and I agree with the other posts, you definitely need a wort chiller.

 

[Mindhop]

Thanks again. U am definitely getting/making a wort chiller. I will check out the beersmith website.