Kettle Capacity

[Georgedgerton]

Well my fellow Brewers and Bingers any input appreciated.

Problem : After losses my Kettle is good for about 25Litre max. Now I would like to put down a couple of 40 litre batches.
So would it be possible to brew a high gravity wort (25 litres) and dilute it with a further 15 litres (total 40) at the end of the boil and after the chiller. I do understand you can't add it after fermentation but do you think I can get away with adding it prior to fermentation.

In the past I have reduced the SG of the wort (after not getting the losses correct) by adding a couple of litres of water to batch when transfering from kettle to fermenter. There were no apparent problems with the finished product however fifteen litres is a lot more than two.

 

[Adamt]

With a higher gravity wort in your kettle you may need to be wary of issues such as reduced hop utilisation and caramelisation... apart from that it will be fine, as long as you use boiled (or distilled) water to make up the volume.

 

[Hubby]

Well my fellow Brewers and Bingers any input appreciated.

Problem : After losses my Kettle is good for about 25Litre max. Now I would like to put down a couple of 40 litre batches.
So would it be possible to brew a high gravity wort (25 litres) and dilute it with a further 15 litres (total 40) at the end of the boil and after the chiller. I do understand you can't add it after fermentation but do you think I can get away with adding it prior to fermentation.

I do exactly that now - my current set up limits me to partials which I have to add some DME to make up the desired OG. Because of my kettle size, I also have to add water to the fermenter. Have had no problems yet - although I'd recommend sanitising the opening of any bottled / cask water before adding and aeration of the entire wort (with water added) before pitching.

You'll find this calculator will help with hop utilisation too Franklin Brewers - IBU Calculator (it's in US imperial measurement though).

 

[mika]

From what I've heard, the raeger (spelling ?) formula is better at estimating IBU's in concentrated boils, but I have no real world experience to back that up.

 

[Hubby]

Do you have a link, Mika? I've used the link posted up 'til now ... would be great if there's something better :unsure: