Most recipe kits are formulated for a final volume of 5 gals. But as we all know, you lose 1/2 gal to trub, equipment, etc. So in the end, you may end up with 4.5 gals out of a finished batch.
The obvious solution is to brew a larger batch. But then, if you’re using the same kit, you’ll have a lower gravity. You can, of course add some DME/LME to bump it back up, but that seems kind of hack.
So my question is… Do you…
A. Suck it up and enjoy your perfect 4.5 gals
B. Brew a larger batch that is lower gravity
C. Supplement with some malt extract
I was going to say “D. none of the above”, but Shadetree beat me to it! :cheers:
I’ve never used a kit, and have always build recipes from scratch. I decide what final volume I want to go into the fermentor and build the recipe according to that; so I guess my answer is closest to “A”. I don’t get too caught up on the final volume bottled, because sometimes you can have more or less trub loss depending on the style. I think for me the limiting factor is fermentor size. I ferment in either cornies or 5 gallon food grade buckets from Lowe’s, so the largest volume that goes into a single fermentor is about 4.8g. If I want more than that I will usually scale it up to 8-9 gallons and use two buckets.
what shadetree said, but if I want to make a kit to try a recipe or just lazy I just usually loose a few beers…that depends on kit, gravity, etc…A huge gravity beer kit I might make to 5.25 gallons or so not going to effect much
I shoot to put roughly 5.5 gallons into my primary. Which means I start with a little more than 6.5 gallons of water. Going from primary to secondary & secondary to bottling bucket I almost always have had just under 5 gallons to bottle…Like 4.9-4.95 gallons. Missing a SG by +/-0.005 is really not a big deal to me.
I don’t use kits, but if I did this is what I’d do. When purchasing a kit, buy an extra lb or two of the base malt. If you forget, sugar can be used to bump up gravity in accordance with your larger volume. I typically boil 7 gallons down to 5.5 or 6 to make sure I’m filling my kegs to the top. Use various free beer tripe calculators to help you create the kit recipe using a larger volume of water (gravity, srm, ibus, etc.)
So you have bulk inventory of every single malt, hop and adjunct a recipe could call for? Seems like a lot of up front cost.[/quote]
doubt it nor would a professional brewery, you buy basemalts in bulk, a variety of hops every year, maybe a few comonly used specialty grains. You always have base malt to bump up the gravity if needed which would be the answer to the main question. Make trips for things it doesnt pay to keep around.
So you have bulk inventory of every single malt, hop and adjunct a recipe could call for? Seems like a lot of up front cost.[/quote]
Can’t speak for Shadetree, but I buy base malt in bulk (50# bags) and I like to keep about 10# of my common malts on hand (carapils, crystal 60). When I go to the LHBS I buy whatever specialty malts I need for a given recipe, plus whatever hops I need.
+1
Like others, I’ve never brewed a kit. My core recipes are however all designed for a nominal 5 gallons of finished beer, and sometimes I’ll hit that volume and sometimes come up a bit short. It’s just not that big of a deal.
A bit less finished volume, or missing OG or FG by a few points in either direction isn’t worth any major concern.
+1
Like others, I’ve never brewed a kit. My core recipes are however all designed for a nominal 5 gallons of finished beer, and sometimes I’ll hit that volume and sometimes come up a bit short. It’s just not that big of a deal.
A bit less finished volume, or missing OG or FG by a few points in either direction isn’t worth any major concern.[/quote]
+1
.5g is on the high end of loosing for me and that only 5 beers not a big deal.
add an extra .25g next time barely effect your gravity and your down to loosing 2 beers
[quote=“Chris-P”][quote=“Shadetree”]D. Buy in bulk and make whatever volume I please.[/quote]So you have bulk inventory of every single malt, hop and adjunct a recipe could call for? Seems like a lot of up front cost.[/quote]I buy 2-row, Pils, Vienna, Munich, and 15L by the bag in our semi-annual bulk buys and purchase hops whenever I see a good deal on 11# or 44# bags and split with club members. Every now and then I look at the brewing schedule and make a run to AHS for yeast and specialty malts for the next 3-4 batches. But with US-05 always in the fridge, I can make beer on the spur of the moment with what’s in inventory.
For 5 gallon batches I always shoot for 5.3 gallons in the fermentor. I use brewing software (BeerSmith) and adjust any recipe I find to the proper gravity, bitterness and grain %
