I think this topic has been addressed before, but how do most of you plan and account for boil-off? When I get to the end of my 60-min boil, I’m guessing I’ve lost about an inch off the top in the brew kettle due to boiling off, thinking it’s around a 1/2 gallon or maybe even more. Should I be accounting for the loss and adding additional water at the beginning? Will this affect the malt/hops combination? I’ve never added anything before and my other batches have turned out fine, but I just really seemed to notice it the other night when I was brewing up a batch of German Altbier.
Yes I account for all boil off.
I have gone to 90 min boils on all batches. So I really have to account for boil off. Between 90 minute boil and my wide boil kettle I really end up losing a good bit.
Yep. I start with 6.25 - 6.50 gallons, depending on humidity, to leave me with 5 gallons after a 60 minute boil.
I lose an average of 1gal/hour. It depends on temps and humidity, pot geometry and how hard you’re boiling, but that gets you in the ball park.
It varies depending on set up. Like previously mentioned, some people lose a gallon an hour. I lose 1.5. You should get a yardstick mark gallon marks and half gallon marks on it, and then brew. Start like previously mentioned with 6.5 gallons(ish) and then see where you end up at the end of the brew. If you get the same result after a few brews, youve found your boil off rate. Very simple. Brew on!
It varies depending on set up. Like previously mentioned, some people lose a gallon an hour. I lose 1.5. You should get a yardstick mark gallon marks and half gallon marks on it, and then brew. Start like previously mentioned with 6.5 gallons(ish) and then see where you end up at the end of the brew. If you get the same result after a few brews, youve found your boil off rate. Very simple. Brew on!
This is why I recomend keeping good notes while you brew. This way over time like these others and myself, you will know how much you are losing compared to your own setup. It will also help your compare other variations from brew to brew.
I start with 7 gallons to put 5.5 in the fermenter.
Do you leave any trub behind or does it all go in the fermentor?
Do you leave any trub behind or does it all go in the fermentor?[/quote]I do it similar to Lynux but I shoot for 5.5 gallons post boil and leave the cold break and hops in the boiler. I generally end up with a little over 5 gallons in the fermenter. If I’m doing a batch with a lot of hops I’ll scale my recipe up to 5.75 to 6 gallons.
Do you leave any trub behind or does it all go in the fermentor?[/quote]
I use buckets and dump through a nylon paint strainer bag. This filters out the hops and at least some of the trub.
I do the same as lynux. I start with a 7 gal. boil and end up with 5.5 or so. But I compensate with my grain bill, or dry extract depending on the malt I am useing to reach my o.g. Works everytime! Cheers!
