Why do Extract/PM kits always come for 5 gal? Do you adjust?

[Jonnio]

My wife was wanting to get me a kit for my B-day so I started looking through the options. Now that I have been formulating my own recipes the one thing that bothers me on these kits is that they are all for 5 gal in the fermenter. I see all sorts of add in options, but never an option to make 5 1/2 gal in fermenter.

Do you guys a) brew as instructed b) top up and take the 1/2%ish abv hit and few point IBU hit c) tweak the recipe once you get the kit in d) not do kits anymore

 

[maltMonkey]

If it were me I'd rather have 5 gallons of beer the way it's supposed to be than 5.5 of slightly watered down under-hopped beer.

But yeah, if you want control over anything you'll have to get away from kits.

 

[evandam]

If you dont already have it try something like Pro Mash. I use it to tweak the kits. Sometimes I boil a bit longer with the bittering hops or up the boil volume to adjust the IBUs. I think a late malt addition will up your IBU's as well, but can't remember for sure. As far as the APV goes, you could always just add a little DME to your 5.5 gallon batch to account for that. The key is get a good brewing software. It will help.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Were I to brew a kit that included the ingredients for 5 gallons into the fermenter, I'd brew it as is, and accept the trub loss. I might be tempted to tweak the recipe to get a desired flavor profile, but not just to get a little extra volume.

However, I just don't brew kits any more. I buy in bulk.

 

[maltMonkey]

If there are some kits you've brewed that you like you could always enter the ingredients into a beer program as evandam suggested and scale the recipe for 5.5 gallons then buy the ingredients individually. Or if you don't have any brewing software I bet you could post the ingredients and some nice person would be willing to scale the recipe for you.

 

[Yooper]

Well, I'd just brew them as written. I mean, to me it doesn't really matter if I end up with 5 gallons or 4.85 gallons of beer. Still , when I've done kits, the instructions usually instructed what to top up to. I remember my austinhomebrew.com kits instructed you to top up to 5 1/4 gallons in the primary and the Brewer's Best kits had you top up to 5 gallons.

Even so, the difference between 5 gallons and a little less isn't worth me getting concerned about. As long as the beer is good, I'm happy.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I've never done a kit before, I just take a recipe from this wonderful site , or ask my LHBS. At the beginning I bought two 3# bags of Light DME just in case I added too much water. I've never had to use it, but I think it would work great for you if you wanted to go up to 5.5 or 6 gallons with a 5g kit. Personally, I like the freedom of picking out my own ingredients, rather than having them chosen for me. And for that reason, I'm doing my first AG tomorrow!

 

[tuckferrorists]

austin homebrew's kits are for 5 1/4 gallons so that you should have 5 left after transfers and hydrometer readings

 

[homebrewer_99]

It doesn't matter to me, I always top off to 5.25 gals.

After I take a gravity reading and I think it is higher than I want I'll add another 1/4-1/2 gal of top off water.

 

[Jonnio]

austin homebrew's kits are for 5 1/4 gallons so that you should have 5 left after transfers and hydrometer readings

I didn't realize that. Maybe I didn't follow the instructions too well on the one that I did. I must lose a lot of beer in transfers too because my 5 1/2 gal batches barely fill a keg.

 

[malkore]

Don't let the All grain recipes confuse you...when you brew AG, you can easily add a little more grain so you get 5.5 gallons of the right gravity.

AG brewing is very flexible...if you try it, you'll be hooked!

 

[quickerNu]

It doesn't matter to me, I always top off to 5.25 gals.

After I take a gravity reading and I think it is higher than I want I'll add another 1/4-1/2 gal of top off water.

A gravity reading too high?

 

[Jonnio]

Don't let the All grain recipes confuse you...when you brew AG, you can easily add a little more grain so you get 5.5 gallons of the right gravity.

AG brewing is very flexible...if you try it, you'll be hooked!

I am not really confused at the technical aspect of it, just wondering why the standard for any community recipes (although they tend to be all grain) are typically 5 1/2 gallons, but for commercially available stuff its all 5 gal.

I wonder if its just that when bottling (which is probably what the majority of kit brewers do) you don't really notice the missing beer whereas when you fill a 5 gal keg and it is low then it is very apparent that your short of what you could have.

 

[Jamo99]

Do a late malt extract addition to get a better utilization from your hops. Add a little DME that you have on hand for starters to bump up the OG slightly. Or just brew as is because I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference from that 1/2% abv or the IBUs that are theoretical in the first place.

Just top off to 5 1/4 or 5 1/2 gallons. Do you really want LESS beer?!?

Edited for typos

 

[doublegun]

try doing the math from "Designing Great Beers", adding the priming sugar to the boil, and doing a full boil for better hop utilization. Also, adding your extract later in the boil means a lower gravity boil at first, which should mean better hop utilization. That may stretch your volume.

 

[homebrewer_99]

A gravity reading too high?

I hear ya!!! ...I can read your mind...

 

[Jonnio]

Thanks for the responses all. I guess everyone is in the same boat as I am. Either deal with the little bit of transfer loss, or make your own recipes.

 

[wihophead]

The Annapolis Home Brew kits I use state they are designed to give you 5 gallons of finished beer and they recommend topping off with approximately an additional quart or so to make up for losses and not to worry about watering it down. I have been very happy with the results.

 

[Screw991le]

A gravity reading too high?

Never :rockin:

 

[karbinator]

try doing the math from "Designing Great Beers", adding the priming sugar to the boil, and doing a full boil for better hop utilization. Also, adding your extract later in the boil means a lower gravity boil at first, which should mean better hop utilization. That may stretch your volume.

I've been meaning to get that book.
AT what point would I add the priming
sugar that comes with a kit? This is a
good idea......I think.

 

[Brett0424]

I've been meaning to get that book.
AT what point would I add the priming
sugar that comes with a kit? This is a
good idea......I think.

In the boil.

 

[doublegun]

If you'll send me or post your recipe, I or someone else on here can run it through Beersmith or Pro mash. I have Beersmith and would be glad to help you get 5.5 in primary.