Boil losses

[Deller12]

Ok this may sound a stupid question

If I want to brew a 19 ltr brew how much do I require before the boil 27 Ltrs ?

If I scale up to 38 ltr batches (2 cornys) what would be my total before boil ?

[captain wassname]

Its a suck it and see question I brew 21 litre and start with 28. You are dependent on how violent your boil is and maybe on the area of the top of your boiler,
I would say that you wont be far away if you scale your results for a bigger brew

Jim

[Deller12]

So am I right in thinking a 38 ltr batch would need to be around 45 ltr pre boil ?

[captain wassname]

Probably nearer 50
Im not sure but the percentage loss will be similar.

Jim

[keith1664]

This isn't a question we can give you an accurate reply to. You're going to lose to evaporation, dead space, hops and cooling. Cooling I think is about 4%, hops 1-1.5 litres per 100g, dead space is down to the design of your boiler and is something you can work out yourself by putting some water in, running it off and measuring how much is left. Then there's evaporation, again down to the design of your kit, volume of liquid etc.
So for the first few brews you need to measure how much you have preboil, postboil and in the fermenter then you can work out what your losses are and be able to predict what you need to start with.

[Deller12]

This makes perfect sence now:) looks like I will be running a few tests this weekend



Cheers

[alix101]

Sound like you could benefit from some brewing software, beersmith is, pretty awesome , and specific to your setup.

[Matt12398]

What are you boiling in? If it's a tea urn type thing someone with the same model might be able to give you an idea.

[50quidsoundboy]

in my experience the best thing to do is just do a few brews and make notes of all your volumes as you go. you'll get a good feel for it pretty quick. i've quickly learned just how valuable brewday record sheets are...

[darkonnis]

I use a method kev showed me to check beersmith (as some times it talks ****)
Choose a final volume: 19L
Add 1L for every 100g hops: 1L
Add 10% for every hour boiling: 1.9L
Add 1L/1.5L for every kg grain: 4L
Account for deadspace/losses: 1L

You'll have to tweak it from there. Same works for 28L, speaking of which deller I thought you had the big rig these days? 19L?!?!?
Cooky

[Deller12]

I use a method kev showed me to check beersmith (as some times it talks ****)
Choose a final volume: 19L
Add 1L for every 100g hops: 1L
Add 10% for every hour boiling: 1.9L
Add 1L/1.5L for every kg grain: 4L
Account for deadspace/losses: 1L

You'll have to tweak it from there. Same works for 28L, speaking of which deller I thought you had the big rig these days? 19L?!?!?
Cooky

Hi Cooky,

I have been brewing 40/80 pint batches to go in king kegs but changed over corny kegs now. Every now and then I have done a 120 pint batch. Just want to get my volumes right for Corni kegs

[Deller12]

What are you boiling in? If it's a tea urn type thing someone with the same model might be able to give you an idea.

I'm using a 100 ltr stock pot depending on my batch can run upto 3 X 2.7 kw elements for a rolling boil but generally run 2

[Kev888]

Yeah those figures Cooky mentioned or brewing software etc can help you get something sensible to begin with but the reality will vary with everyone's setup so measuring what actually happens is definately the way to go.

The deadspace is something you can measure with water beforehand but some of the losses really have to be measured with actual hops and wort. Also note that if your hops sit in the deadspace then the wort they retained wouldn't have drained out anyway so things aren't always cumulative.

Even then it can vary brew to brew so its wise to add a bit extra for luck; colder/warmer days affect heating times and evaporation, as does the amount of cack on heating elements, and excessive trub/break can cause more clogging which (especially if you pump out) can cause you to give up with still some dreggs left etc etc. You may also choose to boil for shorter longer times if you're trying to reduce the wort to hit a particular OG dead on, rather than a particular volume.

Cheers
Kev

[Deller12]

Hi Kev,

Thanks for the info plenty for me to think about. I have at long last just got round to fitting a sight tube to my HLT just need to calibrate it I'm sure this will help me going forward. Although my beer tastes very nice I'm sure there is always room for improvements


Lee

[Deller12]

I brewed adnams broadside this morning started off with 27 ltrs ended up with 19 ltrs in the fermenter and around a litre left in the kettle.