Wyeast Smack Pack question and Water

[MasterShake]

I have 2 questions.

1. I thought I was going to brew today in the morning so I activated my smack pack yeast on friday morning, however I am not able to brew today and might have to brew tomorrow. The pack is completely inflated and very tight I am afraid it might pop. Will it last till tomorrow morning it will be about 48hrs since I've smacked it.

2. I don't trust my tap water. Should I boil it first and then let it cool and boil it again during the brew. Or will boiling 2.5Gal while brewing be enough? and then boil the rest to add to the wort?

Thanks guys.

EDIT:

actually 1 more question.

what is the difference between doing a full boil (5gal of wort) rather than a 2.5gal of wort and then adding the remainder to rack it up to 5gal. which one of these should I do? I do have a kettle big enough for a full 5gal boil i believe.

 

[beersydoesit]

I would put the smack pack in the fridge until morning but it isn't urgent those packs are tough.

If you don't trust your tap water boil it. Boiling during the brew should be ok I don't think you have to boil twice.

5 gal boils utilize the hops better and many will say make tastier beer. You would need to adjust your recipe, i.e. reduce your boiling hops a little if you do a full boil. Here is a calculator that can help. Beer Calculus . homebrew recipe calculator
Look at your IBUs, compare full to partial boils, and tweak you hops. probably reduce by 15 percent.

Also cooling all five gallons is harder than cooling 2.5. If you boil half early, for 5 or 10 minutes, and cool it, it will help cool the other half.

If you're doing stove top, getting five gallons to boil might take a long time. Some stoves don't seem up to it at all.

I do some full and some partial boils and don't see that much difference so you'll have try that for yourself.

 

[VTBrewer]

I have 2 questions.

I do have a kettle big enough for a full 5gal boil i believe.

How big? You need room to avoid boilover.

 

[Arkador]

How big? You need room to avoid boilover.

and boiloff... If you want a 5g full boil, you are going to start with about 5.75-6g and boiloff a fair bit.

 

[MasterShake]

and boiloff... If you want a 5g full boil, you are going to start with about 5.75-6g and boiloff a fair bit.

yeah I have a 6gal pot, which is not enough for a full 5gal boil...so I did a partial boil..followed the instructions and did only 1.5gal boil...had to use a lot of water to top it off later.

I had posted all my "adventures" in a separate thread.