Partial Boil vs. Full Boil

[illin8]

I just brewed my first AHS kit, have another on deck and plan on ordering two more to do in the near future. My question is, these kits are partial boils, starting out with 2.5 gallons of water...would I be better off to do as much of a full boil as I can? I have the Bayou Classic 30 qt turkey fryer, how much do you think I could do 'effectively'/'safely'?

Any recommendations? I think I can do more than 2.5 gallons (have a wort chiller that can do the whole 30 qt pot, but what is recomended?

Thanks...

 

[Brakeman_Brewing]

You can do a full boil in a 30qt pot, thats what I use. One thing you may want to do is adjust your hop additions and use about 20-25% less hops or so.

Youll for sure want to also watch for boil overs because it does get pretty close to the top with 5-6 gallons in a 30qt pot.

 

[Tankard]

How do you go from partial boils to full boils? Let's say a recipe calls for steeping grains for 3 minutes in 3 quarts of water, then sparging with 3 more quarts of water:

Do you bring 4.5 gallons to a boil and then stir in extract, instead of the usual 2 gallons? Usually I'd mix the 2 gallons of water with the 1.5 gallons of steep water to get around 3.5 gallons before boil.

 

[Yooper]

Well, what I used to do (since I boil on my stove and it takes a while for things to get to a boil) is to steep the grains as directed in the amount of water directed in a second pot. Say in this instance it's 2 gallons. Then, I'd bring the rest of the water to a boil in the brewpot, and when the grains are done steeping, sparge them over the brewpot and add the "tea". That way I'm at boiling quicker than steeping and adding more water, etc. But it really doesn't matter. To end up with 5 gallons, I usually start with 6 gallons of wort. So, I'd use about 5 gallons of water, bring that to a boil, add the extract, and then when at a nice hard boil (and approx. 6 gallons), I'd add my first hops and set the timer for 60 minutes.

Brewing software (all of them offer free trials, I think) helps you with adjusting the hops, since a full boil will get you better hops utilization. 20% less bittering hops is a good guestimate, though.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I just brewed my first AHS kit, have another on deck and plan on ordering two more to do in the near future. My question is, these kits are partial boils, starting out with 2.5 gallons of water...would I be better off to do as much of a full boil as I can? I have the Bayou Classic 30 qt turkey fryer, how much do you think I could do 'effectively'/'safely'?

Any recommendations? I think I can do more than 2.5 gallons (have a wort chiller that can do the whole 30 qt pot, but what is recomended?

Thanks...

I use the same 30qt turkey fryer kit, and you can do a full boil no problem. If you have 5g in the kettle you really don't have to worry so much about a boilover, but due to evaporation you'll end up with 4-4.5g. I usually start with 6-6.5 gallons and end up with 5.5-5.75, but I really have to watch for the boilovers. Once you get the propane burner set to the right temperature it's not too bad. Your other option would be to start with 5g and as the water boils off, just keep adding water to maintain the same volume.

 

[illin8]

Thanks, I wasn't sure...how close does it come to boiling over? How much 'head room' is left during the boil?

I'm pretty sure a boil is a boil right, no need to have 4" high boiling water, just the minimum heat necessary to keep the 'roll'. Am I correct?

 

[Yooper]

Yes, a boil is a boil. At first, 6 gallons or so comes close to boiling over (just watch it closely!) especially when you add the first hops. But, it's not so bad. I do all-grain with a big huge foamy head until the hot break, and I don't boil over. Well, I did once, but I wasn't watching it. You'll be fine with the 30 quart, as long as you keep an eye on it and a water squirt bottle handy just in case.

 

[Cornfed]

Is it silly to brew two half batches at the same time to simulate a full boil? This is what I did on my last batch. I have two 5 gallon pots and an electric stove. I steeped the grains in the first pot, then when that was done I brought it up to a boil and added half of the malt extracts and half of the boiling hops. At that point, I started heating up the second pot.

This resulted in the first pot being done about 30 minutes earlier than the second, which was just enough time to cool it off before the second pot was done.

This adds complexity to the process, but it wasn't that bad and only added 30 minutes to my brew time. I figure if I wanted to do a partial boil and add top off water, I would want to pre-boil that, anyway, so why not do it at the same time?

The biggest disadvantages to this that I saw were the extra 30 minutes and the fact that the first half of the beer sat for an extra 30 minutes without having the yeast pitched (though I covered the carboy with sanitized tin foil and started aerating, so I wasn't wasting too much time). Also, I had to use a little more ice to cool two batches.

Is this a silly idea?

 

[Yooper]

I think that's fine. I used to do that, in a way- split the boil in half when I first went AG. You could boil them at the same time, if one being done sooner is a concern. I wouldn't worry about it though.

 

[illin8]

So...if I do the full boil with the AHS kit (partial boil) would doing a late extract addition do anything? Would it be better?

Also, I'll need to reduce the amount of hops used by 20% since I'll be getting better utilization, right?

Aside from the less amount of hops used is there anything else I need to modify?

 

[Yooper]

No reason to do a late extract addition with a full boil- the gravity during the boil will be correct with all the extract and all the water added.

You are probably correct to reduce the bittering hops 20%, but software can help with it. If you don't have software, post the recipe in a new thread under the recipes area, and we can run it through for you.

No other modifications, just make sure you have a way to cool that much wort as quickly as possible! Usually you need a wort chiller for a full boil.

 

[illin8]

I made an IC from 25' of 1/2" copper (needed a home equity loan but I did it), I formed it to work in the 30 quart brew pot so that shouldn't be a problem...worked 'exceptionally well' on my last 2 gallon partial boil batch lol...

I'll try and get the recipe posted up tomorrow, thanks for the help!