Boil Size

[ScrandyAndy]

Alright, newbie brewer here, 5-6 batches.

My question is this...

I have seen many places that talk about how the extract kit recipes are designed for 2-3 gallons and then you top up at the end. So I have been doing between a 3-4 gallon boil, splitting my extract additions instead of adding them all at once.

I want to know, is it going to HURT anything if I do a full batch boil? For instance if I get a larger boil bucket, a 5 gallon recipe kit (From Norther Brewer I might add), and boil 6 gallons so at the end I end up with 5?

Any advice would be great! I'm planning on doing a partial mash soon and just want to find a little info.

Peace

[Bugeater]

I want to know, is it going to HURT anything if I do a full batch boil? For instance if I get a larger boil bucket, a 5 gallon recipe kit (From Norther Brewer I might add), and boil 6 gallons so at the end I end up with 5?

To the contrary, you will actually get better hop utilization when doing a full volume boil. A typical boil off rate is about 1 gallon per hour. With that in mind, you will need a pot that is a minimum of 7.5 - 8 gallons. This also happens to be the size of pot sold with most cheap turkey fryers. It is actually cheaper to buy the turkey fryer that comes with a pot than it is to buy the same size pot by itself.

Wayne

[Spelt]

Might hurt your back or push a little bit of intestine where it doesn't belong. Those full boils are a mother to lift up onto the kitchen counter...your beer however will be much better.

[iophon]

I want to know, is it going to HURT anything if I do a full batch boil? For instance if I get a larger boil bucket, a 5 gallon recipe kit (From Norther Brewer I might add), and boil 6 gallons so at the end I end up with 5?

To the contrary, you will actually get better hop utilization when doing a full volume boil. A typical boil off rate is about 1 gallon per hour. With that in mind, you will need a pot that is a minimum of 7.5 - 8 gallons. This also happens to be the size of pot sold with most cheap turkey fryers. It is actually cheaper to buy the turkey fryer that comes with a pot than it is to buy the same size pot by itself.

Wayne

Actually you won't get better hop utilization at all. This is old school brew science, check out more recent studies. FWIW and YMMV and IDEODAA (I don't expect you old dudes to actually agree...)

[spiderwrangler]

FWIW and YMMV and IDEODAA

Fat Women In Wort?
Young Men Mate Violently?
Increasingly Drunk Evil Old Dudes Apply Alcohol?

[ScrandyAndy]

Well besides the extra at the end...THANKS!

How about this then...here is my idea for my first "recipe" that I dreamt up (by stealing from others).

Lemme know if this will work and thoughts...

I'm just going for a typical American pale ale, but have a sweet hint to it with the honey. I will be sparging in a very cheap style due to lack of equipment. This will either be to run the sparge water through the grain bag or to put the grains in a colander and run the sparge water over that slowly. Again first partial grain batch but lemme know what ya'll think!

I also don't knoe exactly how to calculate my efficiency?

Style: American Pale Ale
TYPE: Partial Mash
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.72 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 11.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 46.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 % ??????????????
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
6.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 80.5 %
0.60 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 8.1 %
0.60 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 8.1 %
0.25 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 3.4 %
0.50 oz Northern Brewer [8.50%] (60 min) Hops 21.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50%] (15 min) Hops 13.9 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50%] (30 min) Hops 10.7 IBU
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: My Mash
Total Grain Weight: 1.45 lb
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Step Add 1.81 qt of water at 167.1 F 155.0 F 60 min

[bazookazilla]

One thing to think about as far as boil size, I don't know what you're using to chill your wort down to pitching temp, but the extra couple of gallons can create headaches if you're chilling in an ice bath in the kitchen sink. If you have a chiller I don't think it's such a big deal.

[spiderwrangler]

One thing to think about as far as boil size, I don't know what you're using to chill your wort down to pitching temp, but the extra couple of gallons can create headaches if you're chilling in an ice bath in the kitchen sink. If you have a chiller I don't think it's such a big deal.

+1 If you are ice bath chilling, you really don't want the volume in the pot to be any higher than your ice bath will come up the side of your pot... 5 gal will be a bitch to chill down in a sink.