Boil-off amounts

[fstbttms]

I'm a new extract brewer with 4 batches under my belt. I have been starting with 6 gallons of water in the boil and ending up with about 4.5 gallons in the fermenter. This seems like too much wort loss. Could I be boiling too vigorously? Should I just start with more water? TIA

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by fstbttms
I'm a new extract brewer with 4 batches under my belt. I have been starting with 6 gallons of water in the boil and ending up with about 4.5 gallons in the fermenter. This seems like too much wort loss. Could I be boiling too vigorously? Should I just start with more water? TIA


If you OG's are high at 4.5 gallons then you can either start with more water or dilute with enough sterile water to adjust the OG after the boil. Remember when you boil you're not losing wort you're condensing it.

[fstbttms]

My O.G.s are fine. For instance, the ESB I brewed last weekend had an OG of 1.053, which is right on the money, according to the recipe. But I ended up with just under 4.5 gallons in the ferementer. I guess my question should be; is a reduction of 1.5 gallons during the boil normal?

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by fstbttms
My O.G.s are fine. For instance, the ESB I brewed last weekend had an OG of 1.053, which is right on the money, according to the recipe. But I ended up with just under 4.5 gallons in the ferementer. I guess my question should be; is a reduction of 1.5 gallons during the boil normal?

The best answer is - it can be normal. You can adjust your evaportion rate by changing the vigorousness of the boil(adjusting the heat) and/or by partially covering the kettle if it's a darker brew (DMS can be a problem with lighter malts).

[Moondoggy]

I have only done 2 full boil batches and I have the same problem with evaporation and I simply top off the wort until I reaches 5 gallons for fermentation.

My next full boil I am going to start with 7 gallons and vigorously boil as normal and I should end up with 5 gallons of wort.

My gravity numbers I am guessing, wishing and hoping will be right on.

[paul84043]

Your numbers are perfectly normal, I typically start with 6 gallons and end up having to add a full gallon to get the level to about 5.2 gallons. The extra is to compensate for loss during transfer.
So a loss of 1.5 or so is about right.

[Caffinehog]

What temperature are you reading your hydrometer at? Most are calibrated for 60F, and you lose 0.002-0.003 points per every 10F above that temperature. If you're taking it when the beer's at 75-80F, you could be mistaking a higher gravity for the one you targeted.
On a related note, I did my first all-grain this weekend, and when I took the gravity, I almost paniced when I got a 1.025. But it was at 150F... after boiling and cooling it, it turned out that I had 1.053, or almost exactly my target.

[fstbttms]

Is it standard procedure in extract brewing to top off the wort to bring it up to 5 gallons?

[Caffinehog]

Normally, extract brewers boil 2-3 gallons, then top off to 5. If you're boiling 5 gallons, then it's excellent training for all-grain, which will save you money. (though it takes more time.) Upgrading to all-grain shouldn't cost more than $25 if you're frugal and do research.

[fstbttms]

Originally posted by Caffinehog
Normally, extract brewers boil 2-3 gallons, then top off to 5. If you're boiling 5 gallons, then it's excellent training for all-grain, which will save you money. (though it takes more time.) Upgrading to all-grain shouldn't cost more than $25 if you're frugal and do research.

I do full-boil, 5-gallon extract brewing. What I'm trying to get at is, since I seem to be boiling off about 1.5 of the original 6 gallons, should I be topping back up to 5 gallons or should I just start with more water? My guess is that starting with more water would be the best way to go but I'm trying to get a sense of what SOP is for more experienced extract brewers out there.

[mortong]

Yes, do top off the wort to bring it to 5 gallons. Even if you start with 6 gallons, and 1.5 boils off, you still have the same amount of fermentables in the 4.5 gallon batch.

That means a heavier, stronger beer than if you were to dilute it back to the original 5 gallon recipe.

[paul84043]

fstbttms,
You are exactly right, most of us top off to just over 5 gallons, but this is not necessarily a set in stone practice, we do it for consistency and to make a given recipe or style how it's "supposed" to be. There's nothing that says you HAVE to, if you want to make stronger beer, you can always leave the level lower!

It's actually very comomn practice among brewing companies to make a smaller batch of more concentrated wort, then cut it with water later to get the alcohol content exactly what they want.

caffinehog,
Be careful dropping you're hydrometer into hot liquid, it' is a sealed glass instrument and could very easily explode. We need our brewers intact!!

[Fast_Eddy]

Just to bring out a point here.

If you're topping off because of evaporation you're probably bringing your OG in line with the recipe.

If you're topping off because of losses that occurred during transfer you're probably diluting your beer below the expected OG.

One is condensing of wort the other is loss of wort.

[bierboy]

Originally posted by fstbttms
I do full-boil, 5-gallon extract brewing. What I'm trying to get at is, since I seem to be boiling off about 1.5 of the original 6 gallons, should I be topping back up to 5 gallons or should I just start with more water? My guess is that starting with more water would be the best way to go but I'm trying to get a sense of what SOP is for more experienced extract brewers out there.

Start off with more water if you can. You are better off boiling the whole wort than adding water at the end. The evaporation rate you get is really dependant upon what size pot you have. A wider pot with greater surface area will evaporate more. With my all grain batches I have to start off with over 7 gallons of wort to end up with 5-5 1/2 gallons in the fermenter. I have another pot where I only need a little over six gallons. The difference lies in how wide the mouth of the pot is.