22/23L Batch With a 20L Pot

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Econwatson

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Hi guys!
I've just put my second batch into the fermenter and I'm already looking ahead to my next brew. My first ever brew was an extract brew so I'd like to do another one to practice my tecnhique. I also feel a lot more involved in the process!

However, I'm a little limited by my equipment. The biggest brew pot I could get my hands on would be that 20L pot from Big Dubya, and I'd really like to be able to brew 22/23 liitre batches to make the most of my fermenter (my first batch was a measly 10 litres). So my question is, could I do some of the brewing in the pot then top my fermenter up to 23L or will I need a bigger pot?

Thanks guys!
 
Hello mate,

I do a 10L 60 minute boil in a 12L pot then top up to 23L in the fermentor. I use Ianh's awesome kit & extract spreadsheet with the 'hop concentration factor' on - the good thing with the sheet is you can set your boil size and then adjust hop quantities as you need.

Hope this helps.

AJ
 
I've got one of those BigW pots (19L if I'm not mistaken) and it served me well doing kits and extract brews. My stove can only handle a 10L boil and I just topped up with water in the fermenter.

I now use 2 of those pots and can mash 4.5 kg of grain for partial mashes no probs and did some calculations today that suggest I can actually do full all grain with them - although I would have to do 2 separate boils (will actually try that soon).

Bottom line is, if your water isn't all manky just boil as much as you can and top up later. Also, as AJ80 said, use Ian's spreadsheet cos it's fantastic.
 
You certainly can. In fact, you're almost better off doing it that way.

Let the primary fermentation pass before you add the extra water and you'll minimise the chance of blow-off.
 
I'm the same as AJ80 and verysupple...10 litre boils in a 20l pot, 'coz that's all my stove can handle. Boils down to about 8 litres, which I cool in a water bath (sometimes with ice), then strain into the fermenter and top up to the desired volume. Mix really well, take the OG reading then pitch the yeast.

I too use Ianh's spreadsheet...however, after my first few brews, I have decided to leave the "Hop Concentration Factor" off for my 10 litre boils, I personally find that my hop additions don't need adjusting when boiling that volume or greater. Ian also agreed he did the same when he moved to 10 litre and greater boils.

I use the "late extract addition" method when doing partial boils with extract. That is, only add enough DME or LME at the start of your boil to bring the gravity up to around 1.040...which is roughly 100gm of DME or 130gm of LME per 1 litre of water. Then 5 minutes before your boil is due to finish, turn off the heat, add and mix the rest of the DME/LME, return to the boil for 5 minutes and you're done. If you have any late additions of hops you might want to up them a little to cater for the higher boil gravity in those last 5 minutes.
 
verysupple said:
Bottom line is, if your water isn't all manky just boil as much as you can and top up later. Also, as AJ80 said, use Ian's spreadsheet cos it's fantastic.
This is fine and common place among many extract brewers and standard practice for K&K brewers. However:



AntonW said:
Let the primary fermentation pass before you add the extra water and you'll minimise the chance of blow-off.
I wouldn't be recommending this as diluting after primary fermentation just isn't a good idea for several reasons: The main two being a huge risk of oxidation (both from splashing and from the O2 content of water) and infection. Most tap water is pretty safe, but before primary fermentation the active yeast growth is usually enough to keep any other nasties at bay, however once the yeast has finished wild yeasts/bacteria will have free reign to do what they do best (or more accurately worst).

I'd take the risk of a blow-off (or krausplosion as it is more appropriately termed) over diluting beer that has finished primary fermentation. Better to clean up some foam than tip a batch of spoiled beer.

My 2c.

JD.
 
carniebrew said:
I'm the same as AJ80 and verysupple...10 litre boils in a 20l pot, 'coz that's all my stove can handle. Boils down to about 8 litres, which I cool in a water bath (sometimes with ice), then strain into the fermenter and top up to the desired volume. Mix really well, take the OG reading then pitch the yeast.

I too use Ianh's spreadsheet...however, after my first few brews, I have decided to leave the "Hop Concentration Factor" off for my 10 litre boils, I personally find that my hop additions don't need adjusting when boiling that volume or greater. Ian also agreed he did the same when he moved to 10 litre and greater boils.

I use the "late extract addition" method when doing partial boils with extract. That is, only add enough DME or LME at the start of your boil to bring the gravity up to around 1.040...which is roughly 100gm of DME or 130gm of LME per 1 litre of water. Then 5 minutes before your boil is due to finish, turn off the heat, add and mix the rest of the DME/LME, return to the boil for 5 minutes and you're done. If you have any late additions of hops you might want to up them a little to cater for the higher boil gravity in those last 5 minutes.
Thanks again carnie! You're a saviour as always! I was a little confused about the hop concentration factor, perhaps best if I just leave it!
So do the speciality grains not really impact the gravity reading of the liquid?

So the general consensus is that I put as much water in my brew pot as possible, and add the ingredients that I would for whatever batch size I want, then once the brew is completed, top up to whatever my desired batch size was? Does it not matter that the other water won't have had the grains steeped in them? This is great news!!
 
I think they will have a minor impact. Again, the brilliance of Ianh's spreadsheet is that you can plug in specialty grains and it'll tell you how much DME/LME to add to get a gravity of 1.040 for the boil volume of choice.

Carnie - I'll switch off the HCF for my next 10L boil and see if I can pick a difference. Cheers for the tip, love AHB! Bloody helpful bunch of blokes on here.

AJ
 
Yep, Ian's spreadsheet is THAT smart...when you add spec grains, it takes that into account when telling you how much DME/LME to use to get to 1040 boil gravity. I should be more specific with my numbers...the 100g DME/130gm LME per litre applies when not using any spec grain. Hence why it's so important to use design software to take this into account.

A practical example....I used 300gm of carahell steeped in a hefe wort last night, and it dropped the DME/LME needed for my 10 litre boil down to 900gm/1.1kg respectively.

Econwatson the answer is no, there's no problem with the fact your top up water hasn't had any grain steeped in it. Just blend it all really well with a sanitised stirrer once you top off in the FV, really really well, then take your OG reading before pitching.

AJ80, I found out the HCF thing when doing an extract Dr Smurto's Golden Ale in a 10l boil, with HCF on, and it lead to me getting an Amarillo-based IPA...my guess is my beer came out at around 45 or 50 IBU's instead of the intended mid-30's. Probably one of the best beers I've ever brewed mind you, but not quite what I intended! I've left HCF off ever since, and find the IBU level now spot on for my liking.
 
carniebrew said:
Yep, Ian's spreadsheet is THAT smart...when you add spec grains, it takes that into account when telling you how much DME/LME to use to get to 1040 boil gravity. I should be more specific with my numbers...the 100g DME/130gm LME per litre applies when not using any spec grain. Hence why it's so important to use design software to take this into account.

A practical example....I used 300gm of carahell steeped in a hefe wort last night, and it dropped the DME/LME needed for my 10 litre boil down to 900gm/1.1kg respectively.

Econwatson the answer is no, there's no problem with the fact your top up water hasn't had any grain steeped in it. Just blend it all really well with a sanitised stirrer once you top off in the FV, really really well, then take your OG reading before pitching.

AJ80, I found out the HCF thing when doing an extract Dr Smurto's Golden Ale in a 10l boil, with HCF on, and it lead to me getting an Amarillo-based IPA...my guess is my beer came out at around 45 or 50 IBU's instead of the intended mid-30's. Probably one of the best beers I've ever brewed mind you, but not quite what I intended! I've left HCF off ever since, and find the IBU level now spot on for my liking.
Ha! That was my first full extract brew (as I reckon it might be for most people on AHB moving from kits to extract) and is now conditioning in the bottle! Looks like I've got myself an IPA then...not that that's a bad thing really. Tasted bloody nice at bottling. It is an act of sheer willpower to not crack one to sample.

I've now got three extract brews under my belt and am feeling pretty good with the process. Ah, who would have thought brewing your own beer would be so damn satisfying...
 
As always, great advice Carnie.

I have a slightly modified version of Ian's spreadsheet. It now tells me what the actual gravity from steeping/mashing is which I find useful. Since I mash now and the boil gravity is usually quite a lot higher than 1.040 I have adjusted the IBU formula to take into account varying boil gravities (instead of assuming it's 1.040).

Carnie - I found and fixed some bugs in the version I gave you. If you want to make the switch to it full-time I can send you the updated version (still not perfect - haven't fixed macros for inventory and make recipe cos I don't actually use them. But I can if people are interested).

PS sorry for hijacking the thread Econ, just thought you might be interested.
 
Awww...look at you guys slumming it in Kits 'n Extract....we're not worthy!! :blink:
 
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