partial boil?
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More or less, yes, but most partial boils are done in a 5 gallon kettle as you start with a 4 gallon volume, boil down to 3 and top off in the fermentor to the 5 gallon mark. A 3 gallon kettle would be inadequate as you would require too much top off water.
We have 2 SS BK's we use. One is 5 gallons (20qt),& the other is 4 gallons (16qt). We do 2.5-3 gallon boils in them. A 4 gallon boil in a 5 gallon BK will be up high enough where it'll not only leak at the handle rivets,but be closer to boiling over if a wild hot break is had due to reduced free volume.
You don't have to start with 4G & boil off 1G. It'll depend on weather or not you're doing your own bittering as to how long you actually boil for. If you're using a pre-hopped can with some DME & hops,then you can cut the boil down to 25 minutes or so. I've never boiled off more than about a quart. But I'm stuck with an electric stove,so steaming some off till it boils is a given. But not necessary.
You don't have to start with 4G & boil off 1G. It'll depend on weather or not you're doing your own bittering as to how long you actually boil for. If you're using a pre-hopped can with some DME & hops,then you can cut the boil down to 25 minutes or so. I've never boiled off more than about a quart. But I'm stuck with an electric stove,so steaming some off till it boils is a given. But not necessary.
sidepart
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I haven't really done a partial boil before. What would be the downside of boiling 3 gallons down to 2 and then adding 3 gallons of water? You said it would be too much.
Isn't the main concern hop utilization? In that case, just redo the hop calcs. Just curious for my own knowledge.
Isn't the main concern hop utilization? In that case, just redo the hop calcs. Just curious for my own knowledge.
Most kits are designed with partial boils in mind for the HB'r who likely doesn't have a big enough BK & heat source for full boils. Thus I've found my 2.5-3 gallon boils are fine for good hop untilization with 1.5lbs of plain DME added for doing hop additions. Then the remaining 1.5lbs of DME & all the lme at flame out,cover & steep for 15 minutes. Since the wort is still 180F+,it's more than hot enough to pasteurize,which happens about 162F.
So don't boil off any more than occurs naturally with whatever heat source you're using to maintain a steady boil. With a 3G BK,I boiled 2 gallons to leave some hot break room just in case.
So don't boil off any more than occurs naturally with whatever heat source you're using to maintain a steady boil. With a 3G BK,I boiled 2 gallons to leave some hot break room just in case.
Curtis2010
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Hop utilization is a concern but not a big deal. I normally do partial boils because they are easier to manage. If you are really concerned about hop utilization the use a tool (like BrewSmith) to do the calculations. However, I have never had a noticeable issue with hops utilization doing 3-4 gallon partial boils.
From my experiences thus far,I say go get the 4 gallon (16qt) brew kettle & do 3 gallon partial boils for the moment. On our electric stove,by the time it boils,it's boiled off 1qt of water. Use at least 1.5lbs of plain extract in the boil,but no more than about 2lbs. I've found that plain DME is far superior for this purpose. It doesn't caramelize any where near as easily as LME. I use half a 3lb bag of plain DME in the 3 gallon boil,the remainder of the DME & all the lme at flame out,cover,& steep 15 minutes to pasteurize. Than it goes into the ice bath.
I do 2-3 gallon boils all the time on my electric range. It struggles to get to boiling, but it gets there. I think I'd have to take a nap after I turned up the heat waiting for a full 5 gallon+ boil to get going. I've never been unhappy with my hop utilization, though it may be in my future to do a couple batches to see the effect first-hand.
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