Topping off wort with h2o

[Tunnelvision]

Hi guys, about to do a partial mash brew and the recipe calls for an extra 1.5gallons after putting the wort in fermenter. Just checking but is this typical? I'm just a rookie so this is my first solo brew.



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[jekeane]

Yep the 1.5 is probably and estimate of what you will boil off and what you need to put back into the carboy to reach a 5g batch size. I would top off to whatever the intended volume is not necessarily the whole 1.5g

 

[Tunnelvision]

Hey thanks. The end volume is 5g and during the boil process it calls for only 4g. So it looks like an extra half a gallon more than the volume final volume actually goes in. I think that sounds reasonable after a 60min boil. Thanks for your reply. Cheers



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[DeBAD]

Just be sure to top off up to the 5 gal mark on your fermenter. It might be 1.5 but it could even be 2. Depends on many things. Be sure to aerate the crap out of the full 5g before you pitch your yeast.


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[brewbama]

I would ck the hydrometer before topping off to ensure you're above OG. If you are above OG top away. If already at OG I'd just settle at a gallon short and not add any water to dilute to a lower OG.


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[Tunnelvision]

Thanks for the suggestions guys ill post my results tomorrow after the brew.


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[patthebrewer]

Also its a good idea to sanitize your extra water prior to dumping it in the fermenter. Just boil and cool it on the side in another pot.

 

[Tunnelvision]

So the result from the boil was super concentrated which is probably why it calle for the extra h2o. Turned out great though with an OG 1.05ish. Beautiful colour


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[CraigKing]

Nice Delirium Tremons mug!

 

[unionrdr]

Just to ad my 2c worth,when I pb/pm biab,I nash 5-6lbs of grain in 2 gallons of water @ 153-156F. Then sparge with 1.5 gallons of 170F water,all spring water. This gives about 3.5 gallons boil volume in myr 5 gallon BK/MT. I do wind up topping off with 1.5-2 gallons of the chilled spring water to get up to recipe volume. If your mash goes well & you sparge enough & just barely get a nice boil (not too violent),then you will get minimal boil off. I chill the wort down to about 75F,then after straining to get gunk out & aerate into the fermenter,I use spring water chilled in the fridge a couple days to top off. This gets the wort down to at least 65F,if not much lower. When done in conjunction with Irish moss or the like,it gives a nice cold break too.

 

[nestler]

Hi guys, about to do a partial mash brew and the recipe calls for an extra 1.5gallons after putting the wort in fermenter. Just checking but is this typical?

This is very typical in partial mash recipes. The more common suggestion is to add enough water to bring the batch up to a fixed volume (5 gallons for a 5 gallon batch) rather than adding a fixed volume of water (1.5 gallons).

Most partial mash recipes that I use involve boiling about 3.5 gallons which would mean topping off with just a bit over 1.5 gallons, but I use whatever it takes to actually bring it up to 5 at the end (I don't measure how much I pour in; I just take it up to the 5 gallon mark on the bucket).

I tend to cheat and top off with cold water that has been in the fridge to help with chilling since a chiller that uses my tap water (in a warm area) won't generally take things all the way down to 80 by itself. You could be extra cautious and boil and then refrigerate this top off water. I am never that cautious (I don't boil it), but I have yet to have a sanitation problem.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,I fridge a couple gallons of the White House Artisian Springs water I use in the mash/boil to top off with. It's already been treated & I get it in jugs I've cleaned & sanitized right before going to fill them. Here's a page describing what they do to it; http://whitehousesprings.com/OurWater.php
So spring water is generally pre-treated up to the spigot that you fill your jugs from. That's another reason I use theirs. Works real well & the yeasties seem to love it.

 

[Tunnelvision]

Nice Delirium Tremons mug!

Yeah the mug haunts me with memories of hangovers in Belgium! So good but so painful.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I actually did another brew yesterday and discovered there can be large differences between boil volumes recipe to recipe.


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