[flbrewer]

I was told that you can get in the ballpark on 5 gallon recipes (and all grain after calculation) by simply dividing by 5. How true is this? How big is the ballpark? 


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[erockrph]

Pretty close but you boil off volume is going to be the same regardless of how big your batch size is. Hop utilization will be a bit better because you're going to have a smaller average extract concentration but probably not enough to make a difference in most recipes.

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[flbrewer]

Can you elaborate on the boil off volume comment?


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[erockrph]

If you normally lose a gallon an hour with a 5 gallon batch, you will lose a gallon an hour for a 1 gallon batch on the same system. Ingredients can be cut by 1/5, but your boil volume should be (target final volume + boiloff) and not 1/5 of a 5 gallon batch's boil volume.

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[flbrewer]

So 2 gallons?


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[klickitat jim]

I depends on a number of things I think. How aggressive you boil, humidity, kettle shape and surface area...

[Stevie]

So 2 gallons?


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You can start with 2 gallons and adjust from there. Keep some pre-boiled water on hand incase your boil off is greater than expected.

If boiling indoors, kettle shape and how vigorous a boil will be the main factors.

Also, if you are fermenting in 1 gallon jugs, you will want less than 1 gallon when finished.

[flbrewer]

For smaller batches (1 and 5 gallon) how much will too much or too little water make a difference on the final product? In extract batches (my case) I normally will add top off if it is low.
Is the point to ensure the least amount of top off water necessary, therefore boiling the majority of the volume?

[Stevie]

The main reason to avoid topping off is hop utilization. Hop utilization is lower in higher gravity wort.

I top off my 10 gallon batches because my keggle is only about 12.5 gallons (50 liter European keg) and I want my pre-boil to be about 13.2-13.5 gallons. I normally add 1.5, but sometimes 2 gallons.

[HoosierBrew]

The main reason to avoid topping off is hop utilization. Hop utilization is lower in higher gravity wort.

+1.  Full wort boil any time possible.

[flbrewer]

The main reason to avoid topping off is hop utilization. Hop utilization is lower in higher gravity wort.

I top off my 10 gallon batches because my keggle is only about 12.5 gallons (50 liter European keg) and I want my pre-boil to be about 13.2-13.5 gallons. I normally add 1.5, but sometimes 2 gallons.

So you boil MORE than your end volume (mind blown) ?


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[Stevie]

The main reason to avoid topping off is hop utilization. Hop utilization is lower in higher gravity wort.

I top off my 10 gallon batches because my keggle is only about 12.5 gallons (50 liter European keg) and I want my pre-boil to be about 13.2-13.5 gallons. I normally add 1.5, but sometimes 2 gallons.

So you boil MORE than your end volume (mind blown) ?


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My preboil is 11.7 gallons. After 90 minutes I have 10 gallons in the kettle. I add 1.5 gallons of preboiled water to the kettle at flameout (I boil while mashing and leave to the side with the lid on). I transfer to two fermenters, roughly 5.5 gallons each, leaving .5 gallon in the keg.

Ideally, my keggle would be large enough for a 13.2 gallon preboil. I lust for a 20 gallon blichmann kettle, but any decent quality kettle would do.

[morticaixavier]

I boil ~48 liters for a 40 liter batch of strong beer. In a 50 liter kettle it can get exciting at times

[erockrph]

The main reason to avoid topping off is hop utilization. Hop utilization is lower in higher gravity wort.

I top off my 10 gallon batches because my keggle is only about 12.5 gallons (50 liter European keg) and I want my pre-boil to be about 13.2-13.5 gallons. I normally add 1.5, but sometimes 2 gallons.

So you boil MORE than your end volume (mind blown) ?


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Correct. That may be something new to you if you're used to topping off, but it's standard practice when you're doing full-volume boils. Depending on your kettle size/shape and how strong your boil is, plan on boiling off about 1/2 to one gallon in an hour.

And you can always top off if you overshoot and end up with less volume than you're targeting.

[erockrph]

I boil ~48 liters for a 40 liter batch of strong beer. In a 50 liter kettle it can get exciting at times

I hear ya. I start with just under 4.5 gallons in my 5 gallon kettle. And I need to leave the lid on to be able to reach a rolling boil at that volume. Thank goodness for Fermcap.