Hi All,
New to the forum.
I haven’t brewed anything in about 10 years.
Decided to start up again.
If I’m brewing with extracts only, do I need to or should I do a full volume wort boil? Or is it OK to only boil a portion and have the rest of the water in the fermenter?
Thank you,
Chris
A concentrated boil will decrease hop utilization and darken the wort. No big deal. Just adjust your bittering hops for the concentrated boil and you’re good to go.
i’m pretty new to homebrewing and did my first half a dozen batches inside on the stove doing partial boils, but the time it took me to get just 3 gallons of water to boil is what ultimately did me in and i went out and bought a ten gallon pot and a bayou classic burner. of course that lasted six batches and i just ordered an all grain system from northern brewer this week.
good luck whatever you choose and welcome back into the hobby!!!
IMO, I think full-volume boils are worth it. Like has been said before, partial-volume boils decrease hop utilization and darken the beer. If you have the means, I’d do so. It will take longer to cool, but I think you’ll see an improvement in you finished product.
you can always buy more stuff…or build it. It is really easy to make an immersion chiller out of soft copper.
Thanks everyone.
I have been looking at an outdoor propane burner, I guess that will be the next purchase, along with a larger brew pot.
Now is a great time of year to get the turkey fryer set on sale…
There will probably be good sales after Thanksgiving.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.
Let me just add a BIG +1 to full boils AND moving the brewing operation outside of the house. Especially if you love your stove like I do. Spilled, burnt wort on a stove top will NEVER (and I mean NEVER) come off.
I do full volume wort boils because it works well for me. I use an IC to chill the wort after the boil. You may get away without a full volume boil, but I would suggest you aim for a full volume boil in the future.
For burnt wort on a stove top use a fairly concentrated paste of Barkeepers Friend. I have done this with success.
Full boils all the way!! Once you start, you will be A.G. Before you know it.
All you will need is a MLT, it’s all down hill from there. 
AG not likely to happen anytime soon (if ever). I don’t have the time.
Maybe some steeping or partial mash, but that’s about it.
Chris
+1 After my third extract, I had posted that I wanted to do full boils, which lead me to thinking of doing a mini mash. A fellow poster said if you are gonna do a full boil mini mash, why not just go AG. So, two years ago Christmas day, I did my fist AG, Guiness Extra Stout clone, and never looked back.
Just go AG man! you know that’s where you are headed, so get it over with now! ;D