help with boiling the wort??

Brewing processes and methods. How to brew using extract, partial or all-grain. Tips and tricks.

Moderator: slothrob

Post Reply
Krushull
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 3:40 am

help with boiling the wort??

Post by Krushull »

I was reading palmers guide to brewing and he says to use a large pot to boil up the wort. I only have about a 3-4 litre (about 1 gallon)pot to use and was wondering if this will be ok or will the malt, etc get burnt with lack of water?

Thanks if anyone can help.
BillyBock
Imperial Stout
Imperial Stout
Posts: 561
Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2000 11:37 am
Location: Ohio

Get A Bigger Pot

Post by BillyBock »

I think a 1 gallon pot is a bit too small--unless you make really small batches. Otherwise you'll risk scorching and boil overs. All is not lost. You can get stainless steel 20 qt stock pots from Wal-Mart for about $25 each. You can comfortably do a 3-4 gallon boil in that and then top your fermenter off with enough water to make 5 gallons.

v/r
Bill
bigdosgood
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 6:48 pm
Location: Somerville, TX, US
Contact:

How much beer do you need to make?

Post by bigdosgood »

This is the question. When I first started brewing, 6 months ago, I had about a 5 gallon pot but could only boil 3 or it woud boil over. Then, when the beer took longer to ferment and get where I coud drink it, i was upset that my friends and I killed it off in an afternoon! I also switched to egs, it goes farther and now I brew 10 gallons at a time!
BillyBock
Imperial Stout
Imperial Stout
Posts: 561
Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2000 11:37 am
Location: Ohio

Tell Me About It

Post by BillyBock »

Oh yea....I started with 5 gallon batches but now I do 10 to 12 gallons batches anymore with a 15 gal kettle...mainly due to the increased demand from friends and neighbors :-) I keep half and the rest goes to them. Oddly, even though my beer's on tap, I'm still able to moderate my consumption as if it were in bottles. I hate to hear my keg run dr.
Krushull
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 3:40 am

..

Post by Krushull »

well I have a 25 litre fermenter
so I was going to make about 23 litres
thats about 6 gallons
so will probably boil up about 3 gallons
fitz
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 442
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2002 8:36 am

Watch the ALC%

Post by fitz »

If you are going to go that close to the volume in your fermentor, be careful how strong of a beer you are going to make. The yeast activity will make up the extra room quick. Try a 5 1/2 gallon batch to begin with. That way you'll know what to expect. A couple boil overs, and a few beer volcanoes in your fermentor, and you may consider another hobby. don't try to push too much out of a limited system.
Dr Strangebrew
Pale Ale
Pale Ale
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 7:01 pm
Location: Lincoln, NE, US

Yes be very careful

Post by Dr Strangebrew »

Make sure that you allow plenty of headspace in your fermenter especially for beers with a high OG. Also, and this goes hand in hand with high OG beers, make sure that if you pitch a large yeast starter you allow plenty of headspace. I brewed a Russian Imperial Stout with an OG of 1.132 I pitched 2 quarts of yeast and 2 packages of champagne yeast. The next day when I came home from work foam was rolling out the top of the fermenter. I cleaned it all up and removed much of the foam from the fermenting wort. Tthen a half an hour later when I checked it again foam was rolling off the top of the fermenter and was all over the floor like I had never cleaned anything up! Be careful about headspace!

Of course you also could use a blow-off tube. I have never used them, but someone here can probably tell you how to set one up.
fitz
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 442
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2002 8:36 am

You can

Post by fitz »

You can use the blow off, but if you are trying to get the most bang out of your fermentor, you may lose a bunch in the blow off, and there is always the chance for infection, if not maintained. You can use a blowoff with your 3 piece airlock. Take the top off of it,and the bubble cap, and place a tube over the plastic pipe in the center of the airlock, run this down into a pan of water, and you have a blow off. If you are going to brew with a blowoff, make sure to clean it as when you can, a plugged blowoff can be dangerous, and it can also harbor bacteria in the nutrient rich wort.
Post Reply