A question on the Hopbursted Imperial IPA - The recipe sheet says it’s formulated for 6 gallons instead of 5 due to the high hop content and the trub that’s left in the primary at racking. I just finished brewing an extract batch and transferred it over to a 6 gallon better bottle. I did a full 5 gallon boil, and added enough water in the carboy after cooling to bring it to about 5.5 gallons.
I’m in fear of a major blow off (the wort was laid down on a decent 1056 wyeast yeast cake from a previous batch). The OG was 1.088 before water was added.
Should I bring up the water level to a full 6 gallons now (which would enhance the blow off), or should I wait and add some water as necessary in the secondary after racking and leaving the trub??
Thanks!!
If it says six then i would get it up to six. I would eliminate the risk by fermenting at the lowest temp that the yeast can handle. This will keep the yeast from getting too frisky. Might be worth it to add a blow off tube as a just in case.
I checked my carboy, a 6 gallon Better Bottle, and 6 gallons will bring it up all the way to the top. So that’s not an option. It’s has about 5.5 gallons in there, and I guess I’ll add some water as necessary when I secondary it to ensure it finishes at 5 gallons.
I did drop my temp. control down a couple of degrees, the lowest temp I think the yeast can stand and still do their job efficiently.
Thanks for the input.
The recipe is based on a 6 gallon boil. Because of all the hops, they assume you would leave about a gallon of wort in the kettle. You should only top off to 5 gallons in the primary.
