Pointless to go A-G?

[RM-MN]

Why can't you do full boils on your stovetop? I think you are just making too big of batches. I do quite a few 2 1/2 gallon batches. Easy to manage, easy to boil, easy to cool and I get a case of bottles. Do them BIAB so your brew day isn't so long and you can do 2 or maybe even 3 in a single day, all right in your kitchen.

 

[H-ost]

Why can't you do full boils on your stovetop? I think you are just making too big of batches. I do quite a few 2 1/2 gallon batches. Easy to manage, easy to boil, easy to cool and I get a case of bottles. Do them BIAB so your brew day isn't so long and you can do 2 or maybe even 3 in a single day, all right in your kitchen.

If you are doing 2 or 3 a day you can also just do the same recipe at 2-2.5 gallons twice in one day and blend it into one fermenter.

 

[RCBIV]

Why can't you do full boils on your stovetop? I think you are just making too big of batches. I do quite a few 2 1/2 gallon batches. Easy to manage, easy to boil, easy to cool and I get a case of bottles. Do them BIAB so your brew day isn't so long and you can do 2 or maybe even 3 in a single day, all right in your kitchen.

I might give this a go. Do 2.5g batches, which would work nicely for my snug-fit 5g kettle. Boil off, approximately, a .5-1g in an hour?

I also like this idea because I can experiment more and do more recipes in a shorter amount of time. That's one of my favorite parts of this hobby, for sure.

I just wish I had more carboys...

 

[amandabab]

OK, maybe the headline is a tad misleading, but I was wondering:

I've been doing PM batches and I'd like to go A-G. However, in my current set-up and situation, I can't do full boils. My brew kettle is 5 gallons evenly, so that's tough to begin with, but even if I had a 10g pot I'm not sure my burner could do it (it seems weak, to me). And if you do A-G, are you always doing full boils? Would it be worth it to do partial boils that are A-G?

Let's just assume I can't get a turkey fryer and I can't brew outside. Because, in a way, I can't. So if I have to do stove-top, is A-G/partial boils sort of pointless?

Even with the capacity to use a turkey fryer, I just found myself brewing less and less when I was doing all grain, and almost none in winter months.

 

[jbaysurfer]

It's not "pointless", no. But the next step I'd take would not be AG brewing. I'd dial in my extract skills perfectly and use copious steeping grains and partial mashing. Then when "in a way" you find you "CAN" get a burner and a kettle..you'll have a really good conceptualization of what full mash AG is about, and your brew skills will enable you to succeed at it right away. Also, you will be severely limited in the gravity of beers you can pull off unless you scale your batch sizes way back like a couple of the original posters suggested.

JMHO.

But if you're hell bent on going ag, good luck to ya. Sounds messy to me...If you've got a SWMBO, I'd put the florist and nail salon on speed dial. Flowers and pedicures-all!

 

[RCBIV]

It's not "pointless", no. But the next step I'd take would be burner /kettle. You want me to assume you won't do that? LOL..then do whatever you were gonna do anyway ;-)

Oh, trust me: I am working on alternatives to fixing these problems. I'm just unsure when I'll take action.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Oh, trust me: I am working on alternatives to fixing these problems. I'm just unsure when I'll take action.

Lol..you caught me before the edit.

I realized that sounded a bit snarky, so I thought I'd rephrase (above). ;-)

 

[RCBIV]

Lol..you caught me before the edit.

I realized that sounded a bit snarky, so I thought I'd rephrase (above). ;-)

Fortunately, SWMBO is eager to read my home brewing books after helping me with my latest batch. So that doesn't seem like a problem...

 

[jbaysurfer]

Fortunately, SWMBO is eager to read my home brewing books after helping me with my latest batch. So that doesn't seem like a problem...

Lucky dog!

 

[chickypad]

I might give this a go. Do 2.5g batches, which would work nicely for my snug-fit 5g kettle. Boil off, approximately, a .5-1g in an hour?
I also like this idea because I can experiment more and do more recipes in a shorter amount of time. That's one of my favorite parts of this hobby, for sure.

I just wish I had more carboys...

Since my usual set up is 10g AG batches I've taken to doing 3gal stovetop batches in the original 5gal kettle from my first kit. 12 inches across, I boil off almost exactly 0.5gal/hr. My tun is a 3gallon drink cooler with a paint strainer bag so no modifications. It is fun to do these little batches, and definitely better than experimenting on 10gal.

As JLem pointed out your carboys should be fine for primary, but you also might want to check out the nearby doughnut shops. Did you know that Bavarian creme is conveniently packaged in white 4.5 gal food grade buckets with lids? Might score some free fermenters.

 

[aidan]

I think the benefits of a full boil will outweigh the benefits of going AG.

It's not pointless to go to AG if you can't do a full boil, but you'll always be handicapping your brews by doing a partial boil.

Can someone elaborate to me (a partial boil brewer) the benefits of a full boil/handicaps of a partial boil?

 

[Bob]

You can totally do this, but the difficulty is with figuring out how to mash/sparge so that you end up with a sufficiently high gravity yet still keep your volumes to what you can manage.

Not really difficult at all. With software it's easy.

Can someone elaborate to me (a partial boil brewer) the benefits of a full boil/handicaps of a partial boil?

There are many. Here are those I can remember at 0700 before coffee:

1. Concentrated boil (where all fermentables are boiled in a volume smaller than final brew length) reduces hops utilization. That means more hops for a desired level of bitterness than in a full boil.

2. Concentrated boil promotes Maillard reactions which contribute to wort darkening. Truth be told, that's more of a function of extract use, but still it has an effect.

3. Full boil means different volumes, as some of your precious wort will boil off. You must start the boil with 10-20% more wort than your desired brew length. That may present an equipment issue.

I'm another proponent of smaller batches. My equipment is mostly stuff from my partial-boil days. My largest kettle is 5 gallons total, which means I can boil 3.75-4 gallons, tops. So I make 3-gallon batches of all-grain beer or partial-mash 5-gallon batches.

I'm also one of those dinosaurs who does a lot of racking, so I do the primary ferment in buckets and rack to smaller carboys (for fining or flavor additions). If you do plan to go small-batch all-grain and are used to longer primary ferments in carboys, by all means purchase smaller carboys. Better Bottles come in all sorts of volumes.

Hope this is helpful!

Bob

 

[aidan]

There are many. Here are those I can remember at 0700 before coffee:

1. Concentrated boil (where all fermentables are boiled in a volume smaller than final brew length) reduces hops utilization. That means more hops for a desired level of bitterness than in a full boil.

2. Concentrated boil promotes Maillard reactions which contribute to wort darkening. Truth be told, that's more of a function of extract use, but still it has an effect.

3. Full boil means different volumes, as some of your precious wort will boil off. You must start the boil with 10-20% more wort than your desired brew length. That may present an equipment issue.

I eliminate these issues by the late extract method. I actually boil my extract in a seperate pot for 10-15 mins. If I'm doing partial mash, no extract goes in the main boil. If I'm doing extract + steeped grain, I add only enough extract to bring the BG to approximately the level it would be at if I was doing full boil. Given that, would you expect any negative impact on the beer I make compared to if I was doing full boil?

 

[Bob]

No negative impact at all. In fact, your partial mash procedure is remarkably similar to mine: I essentially brew a small all-grain batch, add DME at flameout, and top up in the fermenter.

Cheers!

Bob