Oh ****!!!

[Kokopuff829]

Ok today's my first AG brew and my brew kettle is too small. I put my 4.4 gallons of strike water in my kettle and I can tell it's probably not going to hold the whole 8.16 gallons after sparging. What should I do?

 

[bgruis]

Are you making a 5 gallon batch? If so I normally boil 6.0 - 6.5 gals for a 5 gallon batch....and worst case scenario if you boil a reduced volume and your gravity is to high you can always add watter to the fermenter post boil to reach your proper gravity and volume.

PM me if you have any othe ?'s

 

[a_potter]

Run off mash then batch sparge?

 

[Brewfat]

What size batch? Why are you starting with 8 gal pre boil?

Are you accounting for grain absorption? If 8.16 is strike + sparge, that will not be what you end up with in the kettle.
Absorption should be about 0.11 gal per pound of grain.

 

[izatt82]

8 gallons for a 5 gallon batch? how much water are you planning on boiling off?

 

[Yooper]

8 gallons for a 5 gallon batch? how much water are you planning on boiling off?

Yep- like they said! Start with less volume, if you're making a 5 gallon batch! Otherwise you have to stand there and boil all day long. You can plan on boiling off about 1-1.5 gallons an hour. So, start with 6.25 gallons instead of over 8 gallons. That will be a good start.

 

[flatfour64]

Really? Every time I do an all grain full boil on my system I have to start with like 8.3 gallons to get 5.1 or 5.2 gallons in the fermenter. My boil off percentage is around 16%, I boil 90 min, I use whole leaf hops. A generalized statement of "you need 6.5 gallons to get 5 gallons" does not apply to everyone!

To the OP, what is the size of your kettle? To safely boil 8 gallons you need a min 10 gallon pot. I would do like others said and run off, batch sparge, and run off until the kettle is as full as you think is safe. All that will happen is a slight lack of efficiency. You can decide to top off with water at the end if you want to depending on your gravity reading, or just be a little down on final volume.

 

[Kokopuff829]

Oh ya I didn't account for grain absorption so instead of mashing and sparging with 8gal or water do less and make up for it by pouring the water lost in the fermenter?

 

[cjb]

No, you don't need to make up for the absorbed water - I don't know how you originally calculated the 8.16 gallons, but that should already include the amount absorbed by the grain. I'm guessing you'll have something like 6.5-7 gallons in the kettle after mashing/sparging, which will leave you with 5-5.5 gallons in the fermentor after the boil.

 

[Shooter]

My boil off percentage is around 16%, I boil 90 min, I use whole leaf hops. A generalized statement of "you need 6.5 gallons to get 5 gallons" does not apply to everyone!

True, I think most were assuming a standard 60 minute boil. I know I boil off 1/2 gallon every thirty minutes. So, moving between 60 and 90 minute boils is easy on my system, but every situation is different.

 

[motobrewer]

Really? Every time I do an all grain full boil on my system I have to start with like 8.3 gallons to get 5.1 or 5.2 gallons in the fermenter. My boil off percentage is around 16%, I boil 90 min, I use whole leaf hops. A generalized statement of "you need 6.5 gallons to get 5 gallons" does not apply to everyone!

To the OP, what is the size of your kettle? To safely boil 8 gallons you need a min 10 gallon pot. I would do like others said and run off, batch sparge, and run off until the kettle is as full as you think is safe. All that will happen is a slight lack of efficiency. You can decide to top off with water at the end if you want to depending on your gravity reading, or just be a little down on final volume.

indeed, i usually boil 7.5-ish to get 5.25 in the fermentor