The "EXACTLY 5 gallons" obsession?!?!

[GilaMinumBeer]

I never worry about volume anymore. I go strictly for OG and if I under/over shoot that it's not the end of the world there either. Sometimes I will boil longer to get the wort more concentrated but I never water it down to dilute.

If for any reason I overshoot volume well, then I either bottle the extra or I have a half keg to fill.

 

[TexLaw]

It's mostly a new brewer phenomenon, and it's one just one of the myraid things such new brewers obsess about. I remember worrying about it when I racked my first batch, but I let it go (probably because I was pretty much on my own, then). It passes.

I do shoot for five gallons of finished beer, though, since it takes no more work that finishing with four gallons. I want to see that keg pretty much fill at the end, but I would never top off with water for that!


TL

 

[user 22118]

I have never once repeated my volume in the end and I work with 5 gallon batches. I have however created delicious beer and it gets better every time. I really found that for me it matters what I sparge, everything else comes out pretty darned consistent I really aim for two things, a starting gravity over 1.050 and volume that will fill my keg with some going to the angels when I rack.

My most recent beer though I sparged 8 gallons and after the boil came out with around 6.75 at aroung 1.054 so my goals were hit. Had I boiled for 90 I would have had around 6 at 1.065.

 

[zoebisch01]

Don't get me started on going over 5 gallons

I never really worry about it, never have. As long as I am in the ballpark when establishing a recipe it doesn't really matter to me. I try to be consistent but that is overridden by practicality.

 

[jezter6]

Come to one of the Maryland brew days...no measurements are taken, including how much makes it into any of the carboys. We pour until someone says "stop" and put another carboy under. Some has 5.5, some probably had 4.8...everyone who wanted beer took beer home, that's all that mattered.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

The lines on the side of my fermenter are for measuring how much water I need for the correct sanitiser solution.

 

[EdWort]

more is less to me...I hate cleaning the kitchen when I overflow a keg....Damn that's irritating!

Overflow a keg? That means you are covering up the gas in dip tube. A sure recipe for contaminating your gas hoses. I know all about that!

I now only fill the keg to the top weld line. It gives me enough room to put the lid on without dipping it in beer and enough head space force carb without any hassles.

 

[ozzyatfrbrich]

As a novice, I would like to get at least two cases if the batch is good. However, I am thankful that my second batch was short of the 5 gal mark as it sucks.

 

[ChefBrew]

I use a metal yardstick to measure depth which is equivalent to gallons on said vessel. HLT or boil kettle. I need it to calculate eff. too... I use a cross-reference spreadsheet that tells me the inches of volume for each vessel.

Doesn't everybody do about the same thing or am I the anal bastard that's figured it out ????

BTW - my variation on yield tends to be on which primary I use, the level of the spigot varies as much as 3/4 of an inch.

Hey, this sounds interesting. How about a whole other thread on this topic. sounds like good info.

 

[TeleTwanger]

I use a metal yardstick to measure depth which is equivalent to gallons on said vessel. HLT or boil kettle. I need it to calculate eff. too... I use a cross-reference spreadsheet that tells me the inches of volume for each vessel.

Doesn't everybody do about the same thing or am I the anal bastard that's figured it out ????

I have a knife that I marked off where 7 gallons is in my kettle and I measured 5.25 gallons in my fementer as 12.5" from the bottom. I used to tape off the 12.5" mark but I don't anymore as long as I get 7 gallons pre-boil I end up with around 5.25 gallons depending on how much trub/wort stays behind in the kettle and if I don't I don't do anything about it.

 

[BrewWhat]

I'll end up on the short side before topping off with water. I usually primary with about 5.5 gal and end up with between 46 and 52 bottles.

 

[shecky]

Yet another helpful thread for us n00bs. I'm 9 batches in, the first 8 have thankfully been good to very good. I had just been topping off as a matter of rote, as in it's what I was first taught to do. Now it, as many other things, makes far more sense.

Next batch, no topping off unless I'm way off on my OG. I now know why the batch I brewed Friday had an OG of 1.060 instead of the 1.068 I was hoping for: too much topping off.

Thanks Yuri and all those who have contributed.

 

[wildwest450]

I know why recipes are usually figured around five gallons. There has to be a plan. The better the plan, the better the product. I just don't know why it's SO damn important to have EXACTLY 5 gallons when the whole process is over.

I like to have at least 5.25 gallons when the process is over. Why? Im not busting my ass to brew for 5 hours only to fill a corny 3/4 full. Id rather dump a few ounces rather than be shorted.

 

[c1377]

48 beers/5 gal is 2 cases of beer = $80 of beer.
That is a lot of beer, anything more is just icing on the cake.

 

[schweaty]

My first batch I was so obsessed with hitting 5 gallons that I actually topped off with too much water, resulting in lower OG. This batch I did today was under 5 but the OG was a little higher than it was supposed to be and I left it alone. I guess I've learned OG>MOREBEER

 

[BlindLemonLars]

I like to have at least 5.25 gallons when the process is over. Why? Im not busting my ass to brew for 5 hours only to fill a corny 3/4 full. Id rather dump a few ounces rather than be shorted.

To me, that's the perfect final volume. I love to have a full keg, plus enough left over to bust out the carb tabs and fill a few bottles for long-term evaluation.

 

[billtzk]

I try to plan my recipes, my mash, and my boil to get a quart over for a 5 gallon batch and a half gallon over for a 10 gallon batch, and it's mainly because I don't like ending up with less than two cases of beer (5 gallon batch) or a partially filled corny. But it is not an obsession. If I'm under and my OG is high, I might add some water before pitching yeast, but if my OG is on target, I let it be. I find that starting with 5.25 gallons or 10.5 in the fermenter still doesn't guarantee 5 or 10 gallons of finished beer. Trub losses vary, as well as the number of hydrometer readings.

 

[Schlenkerla]

For those obssessed...

See the xml file attached.

BTW - Copy this or save as, then open with excel. my xml editor bombs out on this file.

View attachment Wortloss2.xml

 

[blacklab]

I usually aim for 7 in the boil pot, 6 in the fermenter, and 5.5 in the clearing vessel. I dryhop everything so I usually get 5 gallons or so. A little +/-? Who cares.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I'm the same way. I don't care about losses in syphoning. I just try harder during the boil/post boil. I'm usually right on give or take a quart.