Too Much Wort

[dermotstratton]

I started my second brew today. I'm doing an American Pale Ale with a recipe suggested by the local brew shop. I did a partial mash to start of the process and the shop recommended using 6.5 gallons of water to allow for evaporation during the boil. I mashed for 45 minutes, then added the extract and got up to a rolling boil. I had a rolling boil going for a full 60 minutes, with hop additions at start, 30 minutes, 15 minutes and at end of boil. I did not have my brew pot marked with volume graduations, so I didn't have a good idea how much wort I actually had in the pot. When I transferred to the primary fermenter, filled the fermenter with 5 gallons of wort, but I still had 0.5-0.75 gallons of wort left. I ended up dumping the wort. After reading through some threads here, I realized that is probably not the right decision, but too late now!

So, my question is if this happens again and I realize that I have too much wort, what is the proper way of reducing it? Can you extend the boil and continue to evaporate wort until you have 5 gallons of wort before the last hop addition? (I'm assuming you always want that last hop additions right after flame out, no matter how long the boil) Is there any negative side effects to having a boil that is significantly longer than 60 minutes?

Already looking forward to my next partial mash attempt.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Shaneoco1981]

Yes, you can continue to boil your wort to get down to your target volume. The only side effect of doing this will be with your think they hops. Your hops will be boiling for longer then recommended by the recipe, so your IBU's will be higher then what you think they will. I am not sure how many brews you have under your belt, but you should try and keep track of how much wort you do boil off during a 60 minute boil.

 

[Transamguy77]

Yes, you can continue to boil your wort to get down to your target volume. The only side effect of doing this will be with your think they hops. Your hops will be boiling for longer then recommended by the recipe, so your IBU's will be higher then what you think they will. I am not sure how many brews you have under your belt, but you should try and keep track of how much wort you do boil off during a 60 minute boil.

I am new to brewing and using kits with steeping grains also and I find that how much grains are steeping and extract I'm adding changes the size of my final wort. I don't have a big enough pot to do a full boil, I start with 3 gallons and go from there. It might be a good idea to start lower with maybe 5.5gals and top off if you have too.

 

[Kaz]

You will usually want to leave that .5 gallons behind in the kettle anyways. It will be full of break material and trub that you don't necessarily want in the fermenter. It also depends on the recipe volumes and your gravity readings. What was the gravity at the end of your boil? I've made several recipes out of 'Brewing Classic Styles', those recipes call for a 7 gallon boil, it assumes you'll have 6 gallons left after the boil. Transfer 5.5 gallons to your carboy, losing 5 gallons to break material. Then when you bottle/keg, leave behind another .5 gallons to trub and the end result is a 5 gallon batch of beer.

 

[BryceL]

I have a large spoon that I pre-marked at 0.5 gallon incriments. I just stick this in my pot and fill to the desired level, rather than marking my pot. Like others mentioned, you can boil longer than an hour if you need to, but it would mess up you hop schedule. You could also have some light DME on hand to add if your gravity is too low.

 

[Kaz]

I have a large spoon that I pre-marked at 0.5 gallon incriments. I just stick this in my pot and fill to the desired level, rather than marking my pot. Like others mentioned, you can boil longer than an hour if you need to, but it would mess up you hop schedule. You could also have some light DME on hand to add if your gravity is too low.

+1 I just took the plastic mash paddle that came with my brewing kit, turned it upside down and marked it up to 8 gallons. Its a little off if your kettle isn't level, but I don't sweat it.

 

[dermotstratton]

Yeah, so I forgot to mention that. The recipe called for a 1.060 SG. I only ended up with 1.036. So, it seems like I'm going to end up with a session ale on my hands, which is kind of what I wanted anyways.

This is only my second brew and my first partial mash, so I have a lot to learn. I'm going to have to read up on hop schedules and try to figure out how changing the timing changes your beer. . . .

Thanks for the tip on marking the spoon, I'll try that. Also, I obviously just not use as much water next time I brew. I think 1.5 gallons for evaporation was a bit aggresive. Time will tell.

Cheers for all the advice.

 

[BrewForMe]

I usually start with a little less water and when I finish boiling, I may be a quart or two low, I just top off to the 5 gallon mark with pre-boiled water before pitching my yeast. This in no way dilutes the beer because the wort is a little high in gravity beforehand.

 

[NyPDFustercluck]

+1 ^

 

[Shaneoco1981]

Yeah, so I forgot to mention that. The recipe called for a 1.060 SG. I only ended up with 1.036. So, it seems like I'm going to end up with a session ale on my hands, which is kind of what I wanted anyways.

This is only my second brew and my first partial mash, so I have a lot to learn. I'm going to have to read up on hop schedules and try to figure out how changing the timing changes your beer. . . .

Thanks for the tip on marking the spoon, I'll try that. Also, I obviously just not use as much water next time I brew. I think 1.5 gallons for evaporation was a bit aggresive. Time will tell.

Cheers for all the advice.

There is no way that leaving behind a half gallon should change the OG that much. I am wondering what temp you took your reading at. If your temp is higher then 70 or so, then it will change the reading, sometimes drastically (depending on what the temp is actually at). But if you added everything on the recipe, I should be at 1.055 or so. I have had batches where I left behind a gallon or so, and my OG was supposed to be 1.062 and I got 1.050.

 

[ThePearsonFam]

Do you know how to calculate your OGs by volume? I've had good luck hitting my gravity w/out messing with the boil volumes but it is helpful to know how to do the math to fine tune your post-boil OG. Let me know if you want an example...

 

[Kaz]

Pick up a copy if 'Designing Great Beers' the first 5 or 6 chapters focus on gravity calculations, bittering formulas and all kinds of useful information. The latter chapters are helpful for designing recipes by style.