carboy and small kitchen question

[jam1n]

Two part question here.

I currently have the 5gal kit that most beginners start with. The first time I used my kettle on my stove, the weight of the liquid pressed the burner down so far it began to melt the stove top. The way i solved this in the short term was to get a 1gal carboy and brew small batches. My question is, can you brew a small amount of extract, and then add the extra water needed later. For example, 5 gallon extract kit, but only use about 2 gallons of water during brewing and then add the remaining 3 gallons in the bucket.

2nd question that partly will be answered by the first: I am going to buy a carboy soon, but i am deciding on a 3 gal or 5 gal. I think 3 gal is a good size, but what if i want to get the 5gal, but still make 3 gal batches? maybe i just want 3 gallons of edwort's apfelwein, will that extra headspace be an issue?

buying a propane burner or induction plate is not an option.

 

[BGBC]

Yes, you can definitely top off with water. Most extract kits assume you'll be doing this as a lot of people don't have the ability to do full boils. I'd say get as much as you can in the boil as you'll get better hop utilization, then top off in the fermenter to the appropriate volume (or SG according to the recipe).

For primary fermentation, the 5 gal carboy would be fine for a 3 gal batch. That much headspace would not be good for a secondary fermenter tho.

 

[duboman]

Most extract kits are designed to be partial boil so yes you can boil about 4 gallons to get 3 and then top off

You will be happier in the end with the bigger Carboy but a 5 gallon batch will require a 6.5 gallon vessel. As long as you ferment properly and don't go for extended aging the headspace shouldn't be an issue

 

[dgr]

You can even put a percentage of your extract in at the start of boil and add the rest of the extract into the kettle at the end.

 

[ImNoExpert]

1. That's exactly how I started, but I did the reverse-- 3 gallons boiling and about two to top off. Makes cooling way easier too without a chiller. Also great to aerate the wort-- just top off slowly and try to make lots of splashing.

2. I have all 5 gallon carboys and use them (now) for primary and (gasp!) secondary fermentation. I recently switched to using just the carboys but haven't done any of my big beers yet. I think larger would probably be better in that case and plan to soon purchase a larger fermentor for primary. That said, what I really want to do is replace almost all my glass carboys with something different. Either better bottles or bigger plastic fermentors. I see all the horrific wounds on HBT of all the carboy wounds when they finally go... I feel like I should just switch out now before my wife and kids make me after a trip to the ER.

What I plan is to have one or two 5 gallon glass carboys for longer term aging, and several larger plastic fermentors for primary and secondary. That is, before I break down and start collecting conicals!

 

[flars]

Almost all Northern Brewer extract kits call for boiling 2.5 gallons of water. Don't worry about boil off. That volume is added when topping off to 5 gallons for the recipe. A 6 gallon carboy or cheaper 6 gallon bucket would be needed for fermentation. If you use a bucket, don't use the gallon markings on it. They are inaccurate.

 

[jam1n]

thanks for responses.

so, it seems like the response is, its definitely an option way to boil a low volume(2, 3 gallons), but then add the extra volume of water.

also, when fermenting something with less volume than the carboy, don't worry about extra head space.

 

[brkoerner]

also something else you might want to look at that i used when i was on an electric stove in one of my older apts was to get a canning element. They are heaver duty and put off more heat
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MP26KA-Elec...968?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58a1f7ce10

that is the one I used all you do is simply pull the normal element out and replace it with the canning one.

only issue is if you have a GE stove finding a canning element will prolly be a bit tougher and most likely wont find one as cheap.