Hop Absorption

[campfirebrew]

OK, here is our problem. We brewed yesterday, and ran into some issues. Without getting into too much detail, we started our boil with about 5.5 gallons. I know that's not enough, but our mashing was a problem, and that's a whole other issue. When we racked into primary, we had less than 3.5 gallons of wort. I know we lost some during the boil, that's obvious. But I know we didn't lose almost 2 gallons during a 1.5 hour boil. So my question is, how much can pellet hops actually absorb? We used 4 ounces total, and I'm guessing based on past batches evaporation loss was only about 1 gallon. Is it possible we lost almost a gallon of wort because of hops?

[markaberrant]

I typically lose 2 gallons to a 1.5 hour boil. It depends on the diameter of your boil pot, intensity of boil, ambient temp and ambient humidity.

[campfirebrew]

I know that it is possible to lose that much during the boil. We haven't lost that much yet, but it is possible. But the thing that gets me is that when we started the boil, it was just above the 5 gallon mark in the pot. Post boil and chilling, right before moving into primary, it looked to be around where the 4 gallon mark would be. We ended up with 3.25 gallons. We didn't spill any, so my conclusion was that the hops retained about .75 gallons, which seems almost impossible. Maybe what I thought would be the 4 gallon mark is really Around 3.5 to 3.75 gallons. It's just perplexing. Although I am still curious if anyone knows the amount of water that gets absorbed by the hops, so I can factor that into my recipes from now on. Thanks.