Top off water limit for Quality

[Jboggeye]

Hi guys, I've been all grain brewing for the past two years, but having started grad school, I have less and less time to brew.
I'm planning an extract session, where I'd like to brew two batches out of the same wort.
I have an 8 gallon brewpot, and wanted to brew high gravity wort, split into 2, and top off.

What is the "limit" on topping off? Is two gallons too much? Will I notice the beer quality difference after 1 gallon?

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[unionrdr]

I wouldn't top off each to more than 5G. Don't want to thin it out too much. Say,if you get 6G from the boil,topping each off to 5G is pushing it,imo. It'd have to have some serious gravity to get two 5G batches out of it to my thinking.

 

[Jboggeye]

thanks for the reply,

I'm planning on getting 6 gallons of "useable" wort out of the kettle (after trub left in kettle)
so, 3 gallons in each fermenter + X amount of top off.

So, where does X start to hurt the beer quality?

 

[unionrdr]

If it's a high gravity wort,like 1.080 or so,then I wouldn't go more than 2G top off to where it'd come down to average gravity. Say,in the 1.04x's.

 

[Jboggeye]

Not being very familiar with extract brewing any more, and least of all with top off water, I'm wondering what could be the adverse effects of having too much water.

Is it simply a dilution of gravity thing, a concentrated boil thing, or is there something "lost" when extra water wasn't part of the boil?

 

[Rev2010]

Well originally there was the argument that the wort boil volume effects the hop utilization. It still holds true somewhat but there quite a bit of debate and conflicting information on it. John Palmer recently changed his opinion on it after a brewing science conference and apparently it's not so much the volume of water but the difference in hotbreak material, or something to that effect. Don't quote me as I can't recall exactly. Anyhow, the basic agreement seems to be that boil volume does make a difference in hop utilization but that it's not as much as originally thought.

So, I would say don't worry about it. I've had many brews that were 50% wort 50% top off with no noticeable flavor issues - but then again I wasn't comparing those brews with full boil one's. From what I've personally read full boils also help contribute to a slightly lighter SRM due to less caramelization. Outside of that the only other negative aspects I can think of for small boil volumes are:

1. Possibly a greater chlorine taste if your communical water supply highly chlorinates the water
2. Increased risk of infection - faucets/hoses aren't typically the cleanest items.

I've done dozens of brews with top off water so I'd pretty much negate #2 as I have never had an infection nor problem with top off water. My water also isn't highly chlorinated. Anyhow, I wouldn't worry too much about it but I also personally wouldn't use more than 50% top off water.


Rev.

 

[Jboggeye]

cool, I've settled for 1.5 gallons of top off per fermenter. So, 3.5 gallons wort + 1.5 water in each. If I get a less flavorful brew than the last time I made only 5 gallons of this recipe, I'll report back.

 

[Jboggeye]

FYI, for anyone interested, the beers turned out great- no problem diluting with 1.5 gallons. They aren't "quite" as good as earlier versions, but no one but me can tell the difference.

 

[hexXedBrewing]

 

[unionrdr]

Good to here. So it sounds like they're a little lighter,but not by much?

 

[grasshopperfirestarter]

I've been all grain brewing 5 gallon batches for a while now. I really want to try to make 10 gallon brews with my current setup by splitting the high gravity wort info two fermenters and topping off. Thinking of trying it with a nice pale ale. Have you continued this practice? Thanks!

 

[Jboggeye]

I have done this from time to time with no problems. My earlier post about not being quite as good was not due to the top off water, but due to the saison yeast flavor. (I'm convinced that wyeast saison yeasts have changed tremendously, but that's another topic)

How much are you looking to top off with? what is your current setup?

 

[grasshopperfirestarter]

I have a propane burner and 8 gallon pot. I mash in 10 gallon cooler.