why 5.5 gallon volumes

[Mr. Awesome]

I've always done five gallon brews, but now that I'm starting to look into AG I see a lot of people doing shooting for 5.5 gallons of final volume. What's the reasoning for this?

 

[Mutilated1]

because you leave some behind when you rack out of the brew kettle into the fermenter, and then when you rack out of the fermenter into the secondary you leave some behind again - so you make a little extra so that you've got a little to waste and don't suck up the trub from one container to the next

 

[Piotr]

I've always done five gallon brews, but now that I'm starting to look into AG I see a lot of people doing shooting for 5.5 gallons of final volume. What's the reasoning for this?

Some 0.5 gallon of beer, I guess

 

[ohiobrewtus]

because you leave some behind when you rack out of the brew kettle into the fermenter, and then when you rack out of the fermenter into the secondary you leave some behind again - so you make a little extra so that you've got a little to waste and don't suck up the trub from one container to the next

Ding Ding Ding! Tell him what he's won, Johnny!

Mutilated nailed it.

 

[Beerrific]

I shoot for 6 gallons at the end of the boil. I leave about .5 gallon in the kettle (hot break, hops, etc.). Ferment 5.5gallons and leave another .5 gallon in the primary (trub, yeast, etc.). This gives me 5 gallons to keg.

 

[Orfy]

So you get 5 gallon in the secondary/bottles/kegs

 

[cactusgarrett]

I actually tend to go the 6gal -> 5gal route to give me something to use for starters. Given the amount left behind with trub, etc. i just tend it a little more (filter) and freeze it to use for yeast starters. Cuts down on DME purchases.

 

[david_42]

AG means more trub, so you need the extra volume.

 

[DeathBrewer]

i see i am not needed here

 

[malkore]

Plus its easy to craft an AG recipe for 5.5 gal. Just use a little more grain. Extract kits...you'd have to buy more extract to hit your OG for 5.5gal. Doable, but more expensive and you have to go 'outside the kit'.

PM and Extract brewers that assemble their recipes from scratch often shoot for 5.25-5.5 gal so they get a full 5gal into the bottle or keg.