Total Pre Boil Volume Question - Leftover wort in Mash Tun

[nathanclare]

Hey guys...I'm doing an AG batch and using a recipe from Austin HB that called for a 5 gallon sparge. The first runnings into the kettle totaled 2.25 gallons. I followed the sparge instructions and only pulled 4 gallons of wort to total 6.25 gallons into the kettle. The question I have is there was still 1 gallon of 1.020 SG wort left in the mash tun...is there a reason why I shouldn't just add this to my boil? And then just boil down to 5.25 gallons? The recipe seemed very adamant about not going above 6.25 gallons.

 

[Double_D]

It would dilute your wort and add solid 45 min to your boil time..throwing their hop schedule off and wasting your time. For a five gallon batch it's not a huge deal. But start mutiplying your volumes to 10 or 15 gallon batches then compound that with over sparging.. you see where this going. I did ten gallons once and sparged until my gravity was 1.008, it took about 9 hours to boil all that extra off plus I had to fish out the hops with a strainer = nightmare.

 

[nathanclare]

That makes sense...just wanted to be sure I was getting all the sugars possible...thanks for the quick reply. Cheers!

 

[Double_D]

No problem, it's easier to add another pound or two of grain than to kill an hour watching the pot boil.