Extract Brewing Using A Small Pot

[kocken42]

Hi guys,

I'm keen to get some extract brews going, but don't yet have a large pot for the boil. The largest pot I have is about 4.5 litres.

I've had a read of the info, and can gather that the wort needs to be about 1040 SG to get efficient extraction of AA's, so theoretically I can add 450gs of dex to the boil to get the SG required and then do all the hop adds?

My question is can extract brewing be done in a 4.5L pot? and what are the limitations?

I do plan on getting a large pot in the coming weeks/months, but am looking to put a brew down other than a K&K.

TIA

 

[Lodan]

From what i understand, the size of the boil can affect hop utilisation. The other thing is that if you're using a lot of spec grains you may have a greater volume (than 4,5L) that needs boiling. In this case you might need to grb another pot or saucepan to boil some liquid separately

I use Ian's spreadsheet to tell me how much malt to add to my boil to reach 1040, as well as work out my hop additions
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...st&p=644029

Edit: my boil size has been between 5-6L and i haven't had a problem with those volumes

 

[Acasta]

Or if you use Beersmith (or i assume a similar recipe designe program) you can tell it your boil size and it will tell you how to compensate for hops. It wont be too much i don't think. However, 4.5L is pretty small for a 23L batch. Have you considered a 19L BigW pot? There around $20 and pretty easy to get.

 

[seemax]

Big W - 19L stainless pots - RRP $19 but on special $11 - then you're talking not far off full volume boil.

Of course it also means you need to chill the full volume, no-chill (drain direct to cube) is an option. Some glad wrap the pot and cover overnight until it's down to temp. You might also consider a 10L boil and 10L of ice at the end. Lots of options.

 

[kocken42]

My question is can extract brewing be done in a 4.5L pot? and what are the limitations?

I do plan on getting a large pot in the coming weeks/months, but am looking to put a brew down other than a K&K.

I will get a pot in the coming weeks/months big enough, but live rurally and don't get close to a Big W's often...
I gather 4.5L pot is too small then for an extract with no specialty grains...so will put down K&K's until I get a big pot.

Cheers.

 

[kelbygreen]

i wouldnt put 4.5lts in a 4.5lt pot also wouldnt put 19lts in 19lt pot. When you get the hot break it foams like buggery plus when you add the hops also the boil will make it go over. I put 13lts in m 19lt pot and will be getting at least a 50lt pot to do full boils. You gotto remember also you will loose water in the boil id prob boil off about 3lts at a guess in 60mins so 4.5lt pot filled to about 3lts say to give some room for hot break and stuff may boil dry

 

[DangerousDave]

mate i did a few with a 5l pot and although its not ideal the beer was still good

its to my understanding that you only need 1l of water to every 100gms of grains steeped

so im not saying its the best you can do for your beer but while your waiting on better equipment it should be ok

 

[Lecterfan]

I've found extract (then partial and ultimately AG) way too hard without a program of some sort. As you might have seen Beersmith is on sale....ANYWAY...

There are ways around using a smaller pot, but it becomes a nuisance because trying to boil ALL the required malt/fermentables AND steep grain AND get hop efficeincy in 4L is not going to happen.

If you only have one pot and it is 4.5L then I would suggest you are pretty limited. Two or three 4.5L pots and then you can start to make something happen (if you have strong enough stovetop to get them all boiling together for 60 mins).

I found just using extract the hot break was next to nothing compared to an AG brew so you could get away with boiling for less time, but then this means increasing the amount of hops to get the required bitterness.

I just played around on beersmith then, and really, I wouldn't be bothering to do too much if I only had one 4.5L pot unless you only want to ferment say 12L at a time (always an option)?

Seriously, think about some brewing software.

 

[kocken42]

so 4.5lt pot filled to about 3lts say to give some room for hot break and stuff may boil dry

That's what I was looking for what if I top up water levels every 10 mins or so?
Sorry to be a nuisance, I'm just really keen to do some of these extract recipes...but I guess i'll just have to wait til I get a big pot!

Thanks for the info.

 

[kelbygreen]

i would be more going the way of still doing kits but play with grains and hops. But you really need about 250g of grains to make a noticeable difference so thats 2.5lts to steep and need 2.5lts to strain but I guess you could do 2 boils use the first 2.5 lts and work out with ians spreadsheet how much malt to add to the boil and then add hops to spice the kit up a bit, then boil the second 2.5lts for 30mins.

 

[Lecterfan]

That's what I was looking for what if I top up water levels every 10 mins or so?
Sorry to be a nuisance, I'm just really keen to do some of these extract recipes...but I guess i'll just have to wait til I get a big pot!

Thanks for the info.

Adding water will affect a lot of calculations. If you really are busting at the bit then have a crack at a smaller final volume brew.

Due to a mash tun problem my first serious AG attempt was only about 17L. To avoid the 3L boiling dry then only boil for 30 mins but use more hops.

Not a perfect solution, but I know how bad the itch can be and I try to have a crack at anything based on my limited budget etc so I am just making suggestions. Even an average beer can be seen as being a very valuable lesson (and if sanitation is good then at worst you have an average quality but drinkable beer).

Anyway, I should stop being the devils advocate.

edit: but as kelbygreen says, stick with kits for the moment...I just like f*cking around with stuff to see what happens...

 

[kelbygreen]

sorry I should add that i suggest to use a kit as the boil time you can cut back to 20mins as the kits already bittered and most are bittering hops so not a great deal of flavor or aroma so you could add some at 20mins for flavor and some at 0min or dry hop for aroma (this isnt really needed but if I do a hoppy beer I love to smell it )

 

[Goofinder]

My advice is to brew to 21L and do a 7L boil (or 24L/8L). If you put 1/3 of the fermentables in the boil you will have the same gravity as what you would have in a full volume boil so you don't need to adjust too much. So, if you were going to use 2 cans of unhopped extract (1.5kg each), put in 1kg of extract, add your hops as you go and add the rest at flameout. Cool, then top up the fermenter with water.

If steeping grains, make sure all the liquor you get from steeping is in the boil and add extract to get up to 1/3 of the total fermentables. It doesn't need to be exact since you most likely won't be able to tell the difference in bitterness within less than 5 IBU anyway.

I brewed this way before I went AG and it worked pretty well for me. It means you can take pretty much any recipe made for a 'standard' batch size and use it without modification and get reasonably close.

 

[kelbygreen]

goofinder if you are using beersmith you can work it out easier then that put in that your boil volume is 7lts say then add the grain and add say 700g of ldme then that will give you your boil gravity. then the rest of the fermentables you add so say you adding in total 2.5kg ldme and 500g dex add the 1.8kg malt then go into options and (i think but cant remember as dont use beersmith) and click add after boil as this wont add it on the boil gravity. I did try to make the whole volume the boil volume then add water but that does not work then found you can add fermentables after the boil

 

[MarkBastard]

For a 4.5L pot I would recommend doing a kits and bits. Get a regular kit beer and add to it with some spec grains and boiling some hops. You should be comfortable doing that with that pot size.

 

[Rodolphe01]

full extract brew would be quite difficult in such a small pot, but i'd certainly be trying out some steeping grains and aroma hop additions. I started out this way among many others and it will be valuable experience for when you get bigger gear.

 

[Goofinder]

goofinder if you are using beersmith you can work it out easier then that put in that your boil volume is 7lts say then add the grain and add say 700g of ldme then that will give you your boil gravity. then the rest of the fermentables you add so say you adding in total 2.5kg ldme and 500g dex add the 1.8kg malt then go into options and (i think but cant remember as dont use beersmith) and click add after boil as this wont add it on the boil gravity. I did try to make the whole volume the boil volume then add water but that does not work then found you can add fermentables after the boil

I can't see how that's easier than just dividing everything by 3, but whatever works. You'll get beer in the end anyway! :icon_cheers:

 

[kocken42]

Thanks for the info guys.

P.S: I have been doing hop adds on my K&K's for a while now...I guess while I'm waiting for bigger gear i'll get some specialty grains to improve to quality of my beers.

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah thats the way to go pony get medium crystal and do 250g as heard light isnt worth it unless you do more. I found get a base recipe (malt and dex ratio) use single hops (to see what they do and taste like) then make a brew from there. I would go citra as it throws so much out of it like using a few hops when you use one. I havnt tried it (some might of) but I would say citra and amarillo IPA would be to die for