Why does end of boil volume (in litres) matter?

[BritishBelgianTwst]

Hi,
Another niave question but does it matter if I end up with only 19 or 20 litres of wort at the end of the boil and don't add more water to bring the volume up to the recipe's target? I imagine that I'd get a stronger beer both in taste and in alcohol?

Thanks,

Paul

P.s. If Home Brewer replies thanks in advance, you are quickly becoming my new Yoda.

[oblivious]

It will effect the gravity of your beer,this is a good ides to keep an eye on as you may need to adjust you pitching rate for you yeast and excessive boil of can created some off flavors

[Northern Brewer]

Hi,
Another niave question but does it matter if I end up with only 19 or 20 litres of wort at the end of the boil and don't add more water to bring the volume up to the recipe's target? I imagine that I'd get a stronger beer both in taste and in alcohol?

Thanks,

Paul

P.s. If Home Brewer replies thanks in advance, you are quickly becoming my new Yoda.

Hmmm... me again

Yes you would, but what's the point of starting out with recipe if you're not going to 'go all the way' so to speak. It is only by aiming for a consistent volume that you will be able to repeat your successes. Besides, lots of barrels, fermenters etc are based around 23 litre, of 5 gallon systems.

[Horden Hillbilly]

If you do fall short in your target, you could top it up but make sure that your water has been boiled & cooled first or use bottled/filtered water.

If you don't top it up the brew will be stronger in alcohol, but also in hop bitterness & flavour & you may not end up with the beer you wished to brew in the 1st place.

[BritishBelgianTwst]

Cool, thanks guys. This forum doesn't half help a Friday afternoon at work fly by.

[hoppingMad]

Hi,
Another niave question

Hi BBTwst,
there's really never any questions like that, feel free to ask any questions you may have. I think I'm correct in saying that this forum is not just for those homebrewers who have plenty of experience. I have not seen anyone criticised for asking a valid brewing question.
Hopp.

[Horden Hillbilly]

Hi,
Another niave question

Hi BBTwst,
there's really never any questions like that, feel free to ask any questions you may have. I think I'm correct in saying that this forum is not just for those homebrewers who have plenty of experience. I have not seen anyone criticised for asking a valid brewing question.
Hopp.

Seconded, don't be afraid to ask if there is anything you are not sure about. We don't bite & we are only too happy to share our brewing experiences & advice.

[SteveD]

Hi,
Another niave question

Hi BBTwst,
there's really never any questions like that, feel free to ask any questions you may have. I think I'm correct in saying that this forum is not just for those homebrewers who have plenty of experience. I have not seen anyone criticised for asking a valid brewing question.
Hopp.

Or even an invalid one...

Being able to hit your targets in terms of wort gravity and volume is important in so far that by working on those parameters you are improving your brewing skills - being in control of the process rather than the process running away, with you hanging on for dear life. By being able to control parameters like gravity and volume (bitterness is a bit hit or miss) means you can come up with a recipe and know that you're going to get what you set out to get. As long as you extracted enough sugar during sparge to hit the gravity you want at the volume you want, it's not critical if you end up undershooting the final volume - unless through spillage, ullage, and excessive losses to hops (as in IPA). Assuming you've allowed for that, then the sugar is still there, so by topping up to your desired volume, you should get back to your desired gravity. The thing to watch, as mentioned above, is that the liquor you top up with should be beer-safe, ie treated appropriately. Ideally it will be part of the bulk liquor you initially prepared for all your brewing needs - mashing, sparging, and topping up. But if not, it should at least be treated to remove chlorine/chloramine. The simplest way to do that is to stir in a crushed campden tab, or even half a tab if it's only a few litres. You could boil it, and that would get rid of some of the carbonate hardness too, but chloramine is resistant to boiling, which is why they use it.

Some people think that topping up and therefore diluting the wort can inhibit trub formation, ie, the cold break - and so partly for that reason, but mainly because I really can't be arsed to muck about topping up, I always calculate my preboil volume and gravity so that at the end of the boil and cooling period I can run the full brew length, at the right gravity, into the FV. It's all sterile too. I usually allow for a litre or two more when calculating preboil volume, so that I don't have to wait ages for the last drips to drain from the boiler as it creeeps so so slowly up the the magic X-litre mark. That's just toooo boring!

[Boo Boo]

Steve, unless I'm totally wrong, 1 campton tablet will treat up to 20 gallons of brewing liquor by removing
chlorimine. No need to add more than nesessary IMO.

[SteveD]

Steve, unless I'm totally wrong, 1 campton tablet will treat up to 20 gallons of brewing liquor by removing
chlorimine. No need to add more than nesessary IMO.

Maybe so, I didn't think it was quite that much - 10 gals, I thought, but wouldn't that depend on how much chlorine was in the water? Anyway, that's besides the point. If 1 tablet is enough for 20 gals, and you're going to add 5 litres -1 gal of top up liquor....are you doing to break off 1/20th of a tab.....or just chuck a half, or indeed a whole one in, as even 1 tab in 5 gals is not going to make the blindest bit of difference to the proceedings. It's better for sanity not to get too hung up on exactness with everything in brewing.

[Boo Boo]

When I treat my brewing liquor, I take a tablet and crush it between two spoons. I use half to treat my water
and the rest gets put back for the next batch. Not hard to do and I feel If I don't have to add more than that,
then I don't. Might not make that much of a difference if it all were added, but then again it just might
make SOME difference for the better if the excess were left out.

[SteveD]

When I treat my brewing liquor, I take a tablet and crush it between two spoons. I use half to treat my water
and the rest gets put back for the next batch. Not hard to do and I feel If I don't have to add more than that,
then I don't. Might not make that much of a difference if it all were added, but then again it just might
make SOME difference for the better if the excess were left out.

You put the now crushed 1/2 tab's worth of powder back? That's top class thrift! You note I did say half or one originally - and only that if you did put in a whole one, it'd make no difference. If you're treating the liquor before you start, any excess is going to boil off, plus having a little more in the mash acts as a reducing agent, helping to guard against hot side aeration - for those that believe in it. If there was any left after the boil, or added in top up liquor it would dissipate during fermentation, but while there might help guard against unwanted infection. There is no adverse effect in these quantities, in fact it's the preservative most used in winemaking. When you see 'sulphites' on a wine bottle label, that's what it is - Sodium/Potassium Metabisulphite. Home wine makers are forever lobbing campden tabs in - when they prepare the must, they bang in a load to kill off unwanted bacteria/yeasts, 24 hrs later it's dissipated and then they pitch their wine yeast. Then each time they rack, in goes another to guard against oxidation and possible infection. No harm done In the bad old days of homebrewing, when CJJ Berry was king, Sodium Met was advocated as a no-rinse sanitiser. I hated it because it brought on asthma.

This is my point - don't obsess about exactness where it doesn't matter - and exactly how much Metabisulphite to use is one of those things that really doesn't matter, and so I can't be arsed to subdivide a tablet...ever! Somewhere near is fine - like in almost every other aspect of brewing! If we got hooked up on exactness over every parameter to do with the brew, we'd end up in the funny farm.

You're in Newfoundland. Wow. Is there a shop near you or is it by mail order. I just get the impression that it's rugged and remote, and the weather ideal for big warming heavy beers.