Very excited. I got the Midwest Groupon deal and received everything today. Brewing an Irish stout! Anyway, since i only have a 12qt pot to brew with, im trying to maximize how much i can brew with what i have. Right now im trying to figure out how much water i need to put in there, and how to calculate the ingredients. Anyone know if there is a brewing calculator or something i can use?
Depending on which ingredient kit you have, you may bre ok with what you have; some of then say to use 1.5 -2 gallons water. I wouldn't have any more. I would recommend getting a bigger pot. Bigger is better but I personally wouldn't go smaller than 20 quarts for a 5 gal batch, you can boil about 3 gal with extracts in it without much issue. I don't know where you live, but the black "seafood pots work great, and are reasonably cheap, uyou can get them at Targget, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Probably Walmart.
Right on, thanks. its a 5gal recipe so im thinking of just cutting the recipe in 1/2. Maybe brew the first half now and the 2nd half tomorrow and place in a separate fermenter. do i cut the time of anything in half too? or just the ingredients..
Question: i used the 5 gallon recipe in my 12qt pot and at the point of putting the wort into the fermentation bucket i added 2 gallons of filtered chilled water into the bucket, bringing the level to 4 gallons. The yeast is working (airlock bubbling), and to not risk contamination i don't feel like opening and adding water. Should i add when bottling? Should i add at all? Someone told me that it might end up like a pseudo-imperial stout lol.
www.hopville.com - Beer Calculus You'll probably have to resort to 2 or 2.5 gallon full volume boils with that small of a kettle. FYI - Brewing requires a lot of work and time. You might brew one half today and one half tomorrow ONE TIME before getting tired of it. Get a 10-12 gallon kettle and save yourself the hassle. The kettle you have now is not a waste - If you brew via partial mash you can use the smaller kettle for the minimash.
Before brewing your next batch, I recommend going to Walmart (or equivalent) and buying a cheap 20 quart pot. I believe that most extract-based kits and recipes assume that you have a pot that is at least that size. Compared to the 12 qt., you will get much better hop extraction and less wort darkening when boiling a less concentrated wort. As for this batch, I believe that it would be OK to add boiled, then cooled, water when bottling. But if it were me, I think I'd probably just bottle it when it is finished fermenting.
@utah I started out with a 17.7 quart kettle and it maxed out at 4 gallon boils with no room for boilovers. I suggest you go much bigger than this... OR get two 20 quart kettles and brew the same batch, at the same time in two seperate kettles, straddling two stovetop burners per kettle. I brew indoors, so the dual kettle scenerio is what I'm doing now.
thanks guys, ill probly just bottle and see what happens with 1 less gallon than called for (4 out of 5 gallons) for experimentation purposes. I assume it will still be drinkable (hopefully tasty). My tax return and bday are around the same time this april so i will buy a good kettle and glass carboy.
What will happen with 4 out of 5 gallons is that your beer will be more concentrated. Can't say exactly what that will do to flavors, body, alcohol, etc, (that would be partially dependant on what kind of recipe you used) If you had used that distilled water to top to 5 gallons when putting into the fermenter, you'd be right where you want to be. as I said, some of the kit recipes only call for a 2 gallon or so boil, so you'd be OK there with your existing pot. If you had fun, and plan to brew again, GO BIGGER!!! It's so worth it.
i am. I talked to the dudes at midwest and they said what i made might turn out like an imperial stout with a higher ABV. which i would totally like better than the original "irish stout" recipe which as been called a Guinness clone by many. with my tax return and bday cash im def going to continue. Getting a glass carboy, a big kettle, and starsan. also a new 12" Dial thermometer and a liquid crystal sticker thermometer.
hmm. today is day 2 of being in the fermentation bucket and the airlock has stopped bubbling :/ gonna do some reading but now im kind of worried.
