what size boil do you do for extract?

[teej_810]

just curious as to how many gallons people boil for the wort. do you do a partial boil of 2.5 gallons or a full boil?

i know its better to do a full boil and i'm debating whether or not to upgrade to a bigger brew pot for the bigger boil.

 

[unionrdr]

I do 2.5-3 gallons in a 5 gallon (20qt) SS stock pot. Works fine.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Here is a little reading for you. While a full boil is preferred, it comes with
several difficulties such as chilling and boiling greater volumes. Be forwarned that a full boil may require a burner and a chiller, or you might be able to stove top and chill with an ice bath. Really depends on your level of comitment / personal preference / budget. You can also try a late extract addition w/ a smaller pot.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/if-full-boil-possible-do-89826/

 

[BradleyBrew]

I do 5 gallon boils all the time on my stove top (my stove has a quick boil burner). You can build a wort chiller for under 40 bucks.

 

[DarthMalt]

I used to do partial boils, then bought a 7.5gal. kettle and started doing larger boils.

Not every brew I make is a full boil, but in general they average around 4 or 5 gal.

 

[jmprdood]

I'm a partial boil 2.5G guy when I do extracts with additions.

 

[kwingert]

I have been doing beer kits and the recipes call for partial boils. I wonder if they design the boil for only partial boils.

But here is how I see it: if I'm brewing beer just for me and my friends to drink then why invest a lot of money when you can make good beer with kits and partial boils.

If I'm going to brew the best beer possible, enter contests, or go to all mash then I would up grade to better equipment and full boils.

I hope this helps.

 

[DarthMalt]

I have been doing beer kits and the recipes call for partial boils. I wonder if they design the boil for only partial boils.

But here is how I see it: if I'm brewing beer just for me and my friends to drink then why invest a lot of money when you can make good beer with kits and partial boils.

If I'm going to brew the best beer possible, enter contests, or go to all mash then I would up grade to better equipment and full boils.

I hope this helps.

I think kit recipes are mostly geared towards partial boil if it's in the instructions. If that's the case, utilization will change when using the recipe with a full boil, but shouldn't be anything drastic. If you're intent on recreating the recipe perfectly, you can always plug it into beersmith and make the necessary adjusts for your desired boil volume. That's what I do.

 

[Yooper]

But here is how I see it: if I'm brewing beer just for me and my friends to drink then why invest a lot of money when you can make good beer with kits and partial boils.

True! But you can make excellent beer with kits and partial boils, too. So you don't have to "settle" for good beer.

You can make commercial quality beer with a kit.

Especially if you do a full boil, or use some techniques like adding the extract at the end of the boil.

The cost might be $40/$50 more total for a full boil depending on your present set up.

I'd rather drink excellent beer than good beer, and the added cost is worth it to me. For others, maybe not.

 

[Brulosopher]

But here is how I see it: if I'm brewing beer just for me and my friends to drink then why invest a lot of money when you can make good beer with kits and partial boils.

The obsession clearly hasn't gotten to you... yet

Truth is, I used to think the same thing... then I "tried" all grain... and, ohhhh, I'll never go back. When I did brew with extract, I did both partial and full boils- the latter were generally better, in my opinion.

Cheers! Brewing a Kolsch this afternoon.

 

[brtisbuck]

I do full boils with extracts and late additions. I use a kingcooker propane burner and a 36 qt aluminum kettle. There are several advantages to this beyond an improved product. One is it gets me brewing in the garage or outside, which I like and the wife appreciates less mess in the kitchen and less smell hanging around. SS kettles are nice and they are expensive and to me they slow down the process. Aluminum conducts temps so much better, faster boils and faster cooling. I can chill 5 gallons of wort to 80* in 20 min with a good ice bath and no chiller.

 

[kwingert]

What I wrote and what I was trying to say didn't match. What I meant was if you are brewing good beer that you like and are enjoying yourself then you can keep on keeping on. But if you are looking to expand or get bit by the bug (and trust me I have, its just my wallet and my desire don't get along) then get a bigger pot.

I think that made sense, well, I drink better then I write.

 

[kwingert]

I think kit recipes are mostly geared towards partial boil if it's in the instructions. If that's the case, utilization will change when using the recipe with a full boil, but shouldn't be anything drastic. If you're intent on recreating the recipe perfectly, you can always plug it into beersmith and make the necessary adjusts for your desired boil volume. That's what I do.

Thanks, I have been worried about trying to get as close to a full boil as possible and messing up the recipe. I'll try beersmith

 

[Henry22]

I use a turkey frier and a 7 gallon brew kettle. I guess I could do a full five gallon boil but I usually do 3-4. I only have to top with with around 2 gallons when its finished. I just do 3-4 gallons because its faster to boil but for my next I might do 5.

 

[Brulosopher]

What I wrote and what I was trying to say didn't match. What I meant was if you are brewing good beer that you like and are enjoying yourself then you can keep on keeping on. But if you are looking to expand or get bit by the bug (and trust me I have, its just my wallet and my desire don't get along) then get a bigger pot.

I think that made sense, well, I drink better then I write.

Cheers, man! Made total sense. And I write better when I drink

 

[Toy4Rick]

For no additional expense, you can do a full boil, like I do. Yes it adds to your brew day but it's worth it

Do 2 boils of 2.75 gals each and split all ingredients in half then combine them in the fermenter.

It's hard to switch to AG when my extract brews turn out so good

Toy4Rick

 

[Henry22]

Whats the purpose of late addition extract?

 

[Yooper]

Whats the purpose of late addition extract?

To reduce that "boiled extract" taste, and to keep the beer lighter colored in the end.

Boiling the extract for an extended time causes some flavors similar to carmelization, and it's a bit "twangy" or extract-y. Since the extract has already been processed when it was made, it doesn't need to be boiled again.

 

[corn]

Whats the purpose of late addition extract?

from what I have read, the late addition is for color preservation. the longer it boils the more potential for darker than intended colors.

 

[unionrdr]

Yes,that too. That's what I've been preaching myself. Cleaner flavor & lighter color. Def makes a better beer with good ferment temps.

 

[Henry22]

Make sense. So do you do 20% at the beginning, add hops as usual and then add the rest of the extract at flameout. I was going to say, my amber is dark but that makes sense but the bavarian wheat I just brewed is pretty dark too. Wish I had known about this before brewing but its a learning process!

 

[FFDFireman]

Does anyone know of a good formula to use to calculate boil off. I've been brewing full boils for a while now and keep ending up short of my five gallon target. I've had some trouble finding refence material on the subject. I use a 10 gallon boilermaker pot. I guess my question is this: Where can I find a general list of variables to use when formulating recipes?

For instance:
How much water do you lose to evaporation in a 60 minute boil?
How much volume do hops take with them when removed from the boil?
How much volume gets added with extract?

Perhaps I'm trying to hit a target that really doesn't matter all that much and I will always have to add water to the primary before pitching yeast. If that's the case; Please let me know that as well.

Thanks everyone, I look forward to your feedback.

 

[HopSong]

One thing to consider when doing partial boils is the change in IBU's once you add the top off water. I just finished calculating a recipe that showed all points being equal.. but with a:
5 G boil, the IBU's were 71
3.5G boil, the IBU's were 55

FG, AVB, SRM all remained the same for the two calculations.

 

[brtisbuck]

Does anyone know of a good formula to use to calculate boil off. I've been brewing full boils for a while now and keep ending up short of my five gallon target. I've had some trouble finding refence material on the subject. I use a 10 gallon boilermaker pot. I guess my question is this: Where can I find a general list of variables to use when formulating recipes?

For instance:
How much water do you lose to evaporation in a 60 minute boil?
How much volume do hops take with them when removed from the boil?
How much volume gets added with extract?

Perhaps I'm trying to hit a target that really doesn't matter all that much and I will always have to add water to the primary before pitching yeast. If that's the case; Please let me know that as well.

Thanks everyone, I look forward to your feedback.

Everyone I have ask this similar question has answered with keeping track of several boils and adjust from there. lol So that is what I have done. I guess there is no way for one person to replicate your boil environment including how hard you boil to give an accurate answer. What I have sermized is that I would rather add a little at the end than have to boil off a bunch extra to get to the correct og.

 

[Skelator]

if you want to do hoppy beers with high ibu's... get a larger pot.... or do smaller batches. I just started my single-hop 3 gallon batches where im boiling 3.75 gallons in a 5gal pot. Same principal just on a smaller scale. So, if you're dead set on only making 5 gallon batches, you're gonna need atleast a 7.5 gallon pot.

 

[treznor]

Whats the purpose of late addition extract?

Edited: Removed information on hop utilization vs wort gravity that I'm pretty sure might be wrong.

 

[unionrdr]

Here's my 2c. I use a 5G,20qt SS stock pot for a partial boil that starts at 3 gallons. I set our electric stove on high,& by the time it boils,I usually have 2.75 gallons left.

 

[johnbrain]

Hey gang. New to this but ready to jump into it after I bottle my first brew tomorrow. Does your boil size INCLUDE your extract then top off or are you adding your extract to x.x gallons?

I have a 5 gallon pot and was thinking of using a 3.5 gallon boil because at 4 gallon I get close to boil over height and also just harder to carry it steady from my burner. Is there any advantage of 3.5 over 3 gallon? I've read to a much as you have room for?

Also, will that extract .5 gallon boil size make much difference in hop utilization? I'm just using recipes right now. I reckon I could use brew target since it's free to recalculate the hops.

Thanks. Happy to be here.

 

[Gaidin53]

I've thought about increasing my boil size when I do kits. I like having space to add water and I add store bought meaning clean bagged ice to top off the water with to near 5 gallons. When I add ice into the pot and put it into an ice bath I can get the wort cooled down pretty quick! I would get a wort chiller and even work a block away from Midwest supplies so it would be super easy!

Getting back into brewing after taking last year off. Had done like 3 batches the year before so I'm still pretty much a noob! I really just enjoy the process and think its fascinating that I can do it myself at home!

Ryan

 

[DarthMalt]

EDIT: smartphone error.

 

[DarthMalt]

Hey gang. New to this but ready to jump into it after I bottle my first brew tomorrow. Does your boil size INCLUDE your extract then top off or are you adding your extract to x.x gallons?

I have a 5 gallon pot and was thinking of using a 3.5 gallon boil because at 4 gallon I get close to boil over height and also just harder to carry it steady from my burner. Is there any advantage of 3.5 over 3 gallon? I've read to a much as you have room for?

Also, will that extract .5 gallon boil size make much difference in hop utilization? I'm just using recipes right now. I reckon I could use brew target since it's free to recalculate the hops.

Thanks. Happy to be here.

Boil size includes extract (if its not a late addition) but not top up. This should be your pre-boil volume, before adding hops. Batch size (final volume in fermenter) includes the top up water. I don't think adding 0.5 gal will do much for utilization. I don't have beersmith accessible right now but it's probably not much.

 

[johnbrain]

Thanks for the reply. And by top up I meant adding any additional water to bring my pre-boil volume to x.x gallons before bringing to a full boil.