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Coming up short on brew size
So today was the first time that I really came up short on my brew size. My preboil amount was 6 gallons and some how I boiled off 2 of those. This seemed like a huge amount to lose. First of all is there anything that will contribute to boil off? Lid on/off, vigorousness of boil? What characteristics are we looking for in a boil? Also, I decided that 4 gallons was too small and that the character would be too greatly affected so I boiled up a gallon of water and threw that on top. Was that a mistake?
I probably wouldn't have bothered to boil the additional water, so I don't think you will have any problems adding water as you did. There are several factors that could possible contribute to extra boil off, some of which you mentioned such as a vigorous boil, maybe more so than what you normally get. Also the weather could contributor. If the humidity was different than when you normally brew, this could affect how much you loose to evaporation.
You should be boiling to your target gravity, not volume. So if you ended up with 4 gallons, but that met your OG that you needed go with that. If it boiled off to much and your OG was too high, then you add water.
The boil should always be done with the lid off, or mostly off, and the boil should be rolling the entire time to help drive off DMS. Additionally, if the boil isn't rolling your hop utilization is going to be off.
I typically collect 7 gallons for a 5.25 gallon batch, water boils at about 196 here so I really have to crank the boil to be sure I'm driving off the bad stuff. I start taking readings with my refractometer about 60 minutes into the boil, then I know if I need to slow or speed the boil to hit my target OG.
cmanley, I used to live in the NM mountains a bit south of you, but probably about the same altitude. I guess that I should have realized, but didn't, that water boiled at such a low temp.
brewbie, cmanley has some good advice about paying attention to your gravity, I probably should have though of that as well. I also just came across your post about the wee heavy, and forgive me for asking what may be a dumb question, but did you boil this for a longer time than normal?
I think its 3-4 degrees per 1000 feet of altitude.
This batch was a 60 minute boil. The weather was a bit colder than normal. For my stove to get to a boil I almost have to leave the lid on. Almost. If I don't leave the lid on then I get a very low boil, just enough to break the surface of the water. Also, I'm at about 5000 feet if that makes a difference. Also, my roomate broke my hydrometer about 4 days ago and I don't have a local brew shop nor could I force myself to wait to brew. Either way I know I'm getting beer. My fermentor is going like crazy at the moment, I think I have about 2 inches of krausen lift so far. Watching that airlock can be mesmerizing.
Another good reason to get a propane cooker and move it outside. When the steam drops back into your boiling wort you're concentrating DMS back into the beer. Gives a vegetable, cooked corn taste.
I only brew 10 gallons, and I always collect at least 12 gallons, I try for 13 though. Even though pots are measured, they don't get measured to the top. One is 5.5, the other is 4, but in reality, they will easily hold a gallon more.
When I used to brew 5 gallons, I collected between 6 and 6.5 gallons. Sometimes I come up short on my wort as well, I want 10 gallons, but after boil, I might only have 9 or 9.5 at best. I just leave it. During sparge I read over and over to stop when the OG reading around 1.004 to 1.008, but I have let it go lower.
I would say at least 1 extra gallon per 5, if not 1 1/2. As long as it's close, I don't worry about how much runoff I collect.
There is a certain percentage I've read that is boiled off during the hour process, but I think that also depends on room temperature, humidity, and altitude. I'm not an expert at all in this area, but I've read that enough times that I'm sure it's true.
Again, just collect 1 to 1/2 gallons extra for each 5 gallons. For me, it's 13 gallons.
I guess it can't hurt to pull a little extra off. Thanks for all the advice.
If you are brewing 5 gallons, you want at least 6 to boil, preferably 6.5 in case you loose to much. If you are down to less than 5 after the boil, don't add water unless you want to decrease your OG. Remember, you will loose some in the trub.
Seriously, don't worry about losing a little. I don't always get 10 gallons of runoff in my batches. Sometimes it's only 9.5, hell I can live with that.
When I mash, I generally strike with 40 oz water per lb, then I heat 64 oz X lb of grain. I just keep sparing until all my water is gone. I don't use EXACT calculations, I heat up more than the amount of water I need, assuming some will be lost to evaporation, so let's say I need 10 gallons of water, I heat 12, might lose 1 gallon or so, but I use ALL of my sparge water.
I might get just over 10 gallons or just under, no matter. This is not an exact science.
Don't worry about it.
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