Water Usage

[jamursch]

If I am making a 5 gallon brewers best kit but want to boil more water, what do I need to consider?

My kettle can handle all 5 gallons easily but I'm not sure if it will throw off the balance of the kit.

It's a wheat beer and there's no grains to steep if that makes a difference?
Jay

 

[hnsfeigel]

I haven't used those kits, so not sure what the directions call for... If you're referring to boiling the whole 5 gallons, instead of the 2.5 or so gal a lot of kits call for, there are quite a few threads going on that subject. Here is one of the recent ones that explained it well for me: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/full-boils-296221/

I'm a newbie, some of the others could tell you how the type of beer/steeping would be affected.

 

[jamursch]

Honestly that thread doesn't help. There are conflicting reports that boiling more or less will throw off the bittering.

 

[hough77]

A full boil will give you better hop utilization. When I make 5g AG batches, my boil is 6.5g, I end up with 5.25g after 60mins. Just boil as much as you can fit without creating a mess, then top it off.

 

[hnsfeigel]

Sorry that didn't work for you, but the reality is you are going to get some different answers. If you search "full boil" you will keep yourself busy for hours reading multiple threads on the subject. Any of the calculators and programs will show a significantly different IBU based on the size of your boil. However, there are also those who advise to just boil the full amount you can and don't bother adjusting. As Hough77 said, It is generally accepted that boiling the full volume will give you better hops utilization, causing a recipe designed to be boiled at ~3 gallons to turn out more bitter than expected. Reduce your hops if you are worried about over-bittering. Don't overlook that there were 2 links in that thread to help with calculating the adjustment.

 

[kevokie]

Yeah, better hop utilization during a full boil is what you should expect as the above stated. So what's the problem?

 

[jamursch]

Yeah, better hop utilization during a full boil is what you should expect as the above stated. So what's the problem?

Well, I did a full boil and I didn't have to top off at all. I've even got some activity in my airlock after only 5.5 hours! She's gonna be a wild one! SafYeast web-06 seems to be an aggressive one.

 

[hough77]

Well, I did a full boil and I didn't have to top off at all. I've even got some activity in my airlock after only 5.5 hours! She's gonna be a wild one! SafYeast web-06 seems to be an aggressive one.

Nice!!!!