Higher yield

[Sully11]

I have a 7.5 gallon kettle, which makes brewing anything more than 4 gallons a real challenge. By the time I take readings for OG/FG and siphon off all the gunk, I'm left with about 3 gallons of actual beer. My mash tun is able to hold enough grain/water for a 5 gallon batch. Is it possible to mash/boil 3.5 gallons and then add water prior to pitching to bring the yield up to 5ish gallons and still hit a target OG?

[czubak]

Overshoot your gravity and top off with water. Or just get a 10 gallon kettle [emoji14]

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[andrewmaixner]

Is it possible to mash/boil 3.5 gallons and then add water prior to pitching to bring the yield up to 5ish gallons and still hit a target OG?

Yes. That's how extract brewers often do it intentionally. BeerSmith or some other calculator will easily help you adjust for your lower hop utilization from the higher boil gravity.

[Steven P]

I boil 5 gallon batches in my 7.5 gal kettle. Use fermcap.

[Sully11]

I tried something in the past...a defoamer or something like that, but it didn't really work. Does fermcap work better?

[Matt F]

Seems like you should be able to do a full boil in 7.5 Gallons. I do 10 gallons in my 14 gallon kettle and I leave 1 gallon behind. I start with 13 gallons. Have to keep a close eye on it not to boil over. You don't have to have a crazy boil either. I nice rolling boil is all it takes.

[whitedj]

Or let trub settle in a spare bucket and syphon for 1 to another bucket. I think lee tried filtering pre-fermentation with success too.

[Matt F]

After I whirlpool and chill I let the boil kettle set for nearly an hour and then drain off to the carboy slowly. My last three beers have been extremely clear. The beer tastes cleaner and more refined. The last one was 1.048 OG and almost Dr. Lee clear. 6.75 oz. of hops in the kettle and another 4 oz. to come for dry hopping. More if needed.