Question on splitting the boil

[howardbeach]

Are there any advantages/disadvantages on doing two- 2 1/2 gallon boils? I can see cooling as being a challenge, other than that, it seems like it should work. Also, would there be a noticeable improvement in the finished product compared to a 3 gallon boil and adding 2 gallons of water. I'm doing a Belgian wit bier full extract.

 

[android]

i've done a split boil as you suggest before. it worked great. i just put one pot in an ice bath while i ran my immersion chiller in the other one. when it was done, i finished cooling the second pot with the IC. full boils normally result in better beer, so i think you would definitely notice an improvement.

 

[Nugent]

I do all-grain split batches due to the fact that I am doing stove-top boils.

I run all of my wort into my bottling bucket, give it a gentle mix and ladle it gently (to avoid hot-side aeration) and equally into my brewpots. It does take a more time (since I have to take the wort that is at about 165 F and bring it to a boil), but I don't have any complaints with the finished product. I batch sparge, so that cuts down on time.

As for cooling, it works out fine with my set up since one elements isn;t as big and takes longer to start the initial boil. So . . . my first pot of wort is just about at pitching temp while the second is finishing its 60 mins.

My method may be kinda ghetto, but it does the trick. Full-wort boils are the way to go, if you can do them IMHO.

 

[viking999]

I do two separate boils on a regular basis, so perhaps I can lend some insight. The main advantage of splitting up the boil instead of doing a partial and topping off with water is that the strength of your hops isn't diminished. You can listen to the details on this podcast with John Palmer, but basically the break material diminishes the potency of the hops. Since doing 5 gallons worth of ingredients in 2.5 gallons of water produces a greater amount of break material per unit of hops, a partial boil will require you to use more hops than you normally would in a recipe or just give you a lame beer. However, if as you say the recipe is 100% extract, then there is no break material, because it was removed when the extract was made. So for 100% extract recipes you don't need to worry about the partial boil messing with your hops.

The only big disadvantage I've found is the cost and hassle of using a second pot. You also have to divide your recipe properly and keep your eye on your two boils more than you would with just one. When I cool the wort, I just pour all of it into one of my pots and put the whole thing in an ice bath. Although I have an immersion chiller on the way, so the ice water will soon be combined with the copper chilling demon from Hell! :rockin:

 

[noble13]

I just started splitting my boils after reading how a full boil is much better. The finished product isn't yet ready to sample, but its good to see that the approach is sound.