sometimes I brew an extract 5 gallon brew with 2 gallons of water while I steep the grains, then maybe add a gallon of water for the boil. Then after I chill the wort, I'll add 2 more gallons of cool water to make 5 gallons in my carboy. What difference does it make, if any, if I add the full 5 gallons from the beginning?
If you can do A full volume boil, you'll get better hop utilization and avoid unwanted darkening of your wort. Note that for a 5 gallon batch, you'll need more than 5 gallons of water, due to grain wort absorption, hop wort absorption, and boil off. And possibly other water/wort losses, depending on your setup.
full wort boils are probably the single biggest improvement that you can make for your brew. concentrated boils are typically advised for the first time brewer who does not have adequate equipment. as Vike mentions, you will get better hop utilization and less wort darkening with full volume boils. in fact many people prefer to hold back some of the extract until the very end of boil. if you don't have a serious boil pot, 7 or 8 gallons, and you are considering staying with this brewing thing, get a big pot and a decent burner (cajun cooker) and you are on your way. seriously, full wort boils will noticeably improve the quality of your beers. the investment is low, the skill required is nothing. Cheers.
I agree that the full boil is best if you can add enough liquid without a greater risk to controlling a boil-over. However, if your boil pot can't handle enough liquid to give you 5 gallons at the end of the boil so that top-off is necessary, then consider this top: Use your top-off water to help with the chill-down process rather than the current method that you stated above where you chill first then top-off. It makes the chill-down process go much more quickly.
Thanks everyone. I have a10 gallon brew pot so I'll be able to do a full boil. I was just curious why some extract recipes say to steep the grains in .5 or 1 or 2 gallons as opposed to just filling say a 5 gallon pot to 3 gallons from the beginning to steep grains. Maybe it's just to allow room to sparge/ rinse the grains with more water over the grain bag.?
The main reason is that steeping in a larger volume of water can, if the water is very alkaline and if the grains are of types that don't contribute much acidity, lead to extraction of tannins from the grain husks. (Tannins can cause beer to have an astringent quality.) Steeping in a smaller volume will result in a lower pH, which tends to inhibit extraction of tannins. The risk of tannin extraction is also reduced if the steeping temperature is kept relatively low (well below the 170F range). I would go so far as to say that if you're steeping at 155F, there's little danger of significant tannin extraction, even with a full volume of water (with most specialty grain/water profile combos). YMMV.
You're asking two different questions. Steeping versus wort boiling. When I did extract with steeping I would boil my 4/5 gallons while steeping. That way when I am done steeping my boil is ready. When boiling you want full volume and steeping the general rule is 1 gallon per lb.
So it seems the best of both worlds would be what GetMeAnIPA describes above? Use 2 gallons to steep grains in one pot and then 4 gallons to add that to in another pot? I can do that as I have a 6 gallon and 8 gallon pot. I can get the 4 gallons of water heated to a boil in the 8 gallon while steeping in 2 gallons at 155.
Okay, so I did a little more research and also contacted my local Home Brew shop. They recommended skipping the two pot process I described above and simply start with 6 gallons or so in my 8 gallon pot. Until now I've been using my 6 gallon pot and 3 gallons of water on my stove top. To accommodate the 8 gallons with 6 gallons of water I had to invest (happily) in a Blichmann burner. This should save me time while allowing me to create a better beer! Can't wait for Saturday!
Steeping in too much water can extract tannins that make for bad beer. I used to essentially mash my steeping grains in 1 qt per lb of grain for an hour at 150, rinse grains with 150 degree water, and then top up to my desired volume, add half my extract, and go forward with my boil.
I did have an issue with one beer once with tannins. I followed my first kit instructions to a t, which involved using all of my boil water to steep a pound of grains in. Lesson learned.
Oh, I see. What flavors identify a tannins issue? Maybe I'll reconsider and go back to my original plan.
Tannins do not cause a flavor per se. They cause astringency, which is a drying, mouth-puckering feel. (But not in a sour puckering way.) Suck a used tea bag for a lesson in tannin astringency.
