The process of heating the wort to 100C or higher causing the wort to boil.
16
votes
1answer
958 views
Partial vs. Full Voume Wort Boil
The starting postion for most new extract brewers is to use a partial boil set up. Defined as using a pot smaller than the intended batch size, all the ingredients are boiled in a smaller volume. ...
12
votes
2answers
926 views
Sanitation & Dry Hopping
Is there any risk of wort infection by not sanitizing hops before dry hopping?
11
votes
4answers
1k views
Is a long boil with extract necessary?
I'm making a late hopped extract beer later tonight. (Jamil's Evil Twin as posted http://www.mrmalty.com/late_hopping.htm) He suggests at 90 minute boil with the first hop addition coming 20 minutes ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Do I need to sterilize my top-off water?
I just purchased my first kit and am about to brew it (tonight!).
The instructions provided indicate that after cooling the wort and tranfering it to the sanitized carboy I need to top it off with ...
10
votes
7answers
1k views
Aluminium boil pots: Heresy or not?
Are aluminium pots acceptable as boil vessels? They're cheap, but I've heard they can produce off-flavors. Any experiences with them?
10
votes
1answer
527 views
Home brew, acetylaldehydes and hangovers
Both me and my gf noticed that my home brews (even just 1 or 2 a night) cause a fairly noticeable headache in the morning compared to commercial brews. God forbid you get drunk on it, the next ...
9
votes
6answers
5k views
Tap Water: Safe to use without boiling?
I made my first batch of beer over the weekend. I didn't have quite enough bottled water on hand to add to my wort to make 5 gallons, so I used tap water. I sanitized the hose sprayer on my sink by ...
9
votes
1answer
429 views
Is it possible to boil wort too quickly?
I recently picked up this burner and was excited to use it to bring my wort to a boil. I had it cranked up pretty high and it took about 15 minutes to bring 6 gallons of wort to a rolling boil in a ...
8
votes
2answers
542 views
Boiling with lid on or off?
In this answer it is mentioned that boiling with the lid on or off may make a difference in final gravity. Which do you recommend and why?
8
votes
2answers
603 views
Effects of different boil intensities
What are the effects of having a super rapid crazy boil vs. a very slow, slightly rolling boil, and the different stages in between? If you're boiling 6 gallons on an electric stove or trying to do ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
When brewing a chocolate stout, should the cacao nibs be added in the boil, the secondary, or both?
When using cacao nibs to brew a chocolate stout, should they be added in the boil (if so, when?), in the secondary fermenter, or both? Is there a better ingredient to add to produce the chocolate ...
7
votes
4answers
869 views
Performing a hop boil seperate from the wort boil.
I'm curious to try some single-hop style beers and would like to do several varieties in one brew day. My ideal situation would be to make a five gallon batch of an unhopped pale ale as the base and ...
7
votes
3answers
455 views
Pennies in the Boil
I've heard that adding cleaned pennies to the wort can help prevent boil-overs. I guess they could provide nucleation points- I dunno.
Any truth to this, or is it just an old wives' tail?
7
votes
4answers
359 views
Short boil and DMS
So I just had a small brewing mishap where I added too much hops. WAY too much. I somehow mistook my 2oz hop pellet bag for a 1oz bag and added 1.5ounces of chinook instead of .75 . This brought my ...
7
votes
3answers
267 views
Small Space & Apartment Brewing: Boiling
Given the limited space of an apartment, what tips do you have for the boil?
Do not consider budget to be a factor.
This is the fourth question in a series of discussions about small-space brewing. ...
6
votes
3answers
263 views
Does anybody else skim the protein off the top of their boil?
I've been doing it lately, assuming it will reduce the amount of crap I have to filter out after the boil, and it seems to reduce the amount of head I get during the boil (less chance of a boil over).
...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Amount of Water to Boil for Wort
If I'm making a 5 gallon batch of beer, how much water should I use for my wort? Papazian's book says to use 1.5g and add it to 3.5g of room temperature water already in the carboy. I see how this ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What does a 0 minute boil time mean?
I have a recipe that calls for an ounce of hops at 0 mins. boil time, any idea what you would do here?
Typically, after a my 60 minute partial boil is complete, I take the pot off of the stove ...
6
votes
2answers
328 views
How much does a full boil affect things?
I've seen a few threads here and there saying that one thing to do as soon as possible is start doing a full boil (5 gallons in the boil instead of ~3 in the boil with ~2 of water added later). For ...
6
votes
2answers
307 views
Extract late with a full boil?
If you can do a full wort boil with extracts is it still beneficial to be adding extract late to avoid color changes and the like?
What would happen to hop utilization with extract late in a full ...
6
votes
1answer
331 views
What is the purpose of boiling wort?
Theoretical question here.
What happens when wort is boiled? Why do we do it? Why is the process not done at cooler temperatures?
My limited understanding, with some assistance from this post and ...
5
votes
6answers
297 views
How do you strain pellet hops out of wort or beer?
After boiling pellets how can I deal with them? Is there a simple way to get them out of the wort, or can I leave them during fermentation? In that case will I be sure they will drop on the bottom and ...
5
votes
5answers
780 views
Target boil off percentage?
I have heard a lot of home brewers talk about the vigorousness of the boil being quite important. Given that describing the vigor in words like "rolling" is ambiguous I was wondering if it makes more ...
5
votes
5answers
896 views
Effect of boil size on IBUs
I have the following recipe on beercalculus:
http://hopville.com/recipe/551364/belgian-pale-ale-recipes/wedding-belgian-ipa-2011-03-06-version
beercalculus (along with most IBU calculators), ask for ...
5
votes
1answer
120 views
Should I extend boil times if temperature drops?
I use an electric burner when I home brew. It doesn't have a ton of excess power but it can get a nice rolling boil going. Occasionally, when I add malt extract to my kettle the temperature drops ...
5
votes
2answers
161 views
I boiled my PVC thermometer probe - health concerns?
I have a digital thermometer with a probe. The probe is stainless steel but the cable and probe housing are apparently made of PVC. In my last brew I just submerged the whole probe in the boiler ...
5
votes
4answers
206 views
how much air would I need to move to be able to brew in my basement?
I currently brew in my garage but everything that I need is in the basement, so I was wondering if it would be reasonable to think about power venting the fumes, and therefore to CO outside to make it ...
5
votes
3answers
230 views
Hop Utilization Resource
When substituting hops (both varieties and pellet/plug/whole)in a recipe, I would like to keep IBU as close to the recipe target as possible. However, the best utilization chart I can find is in ...
5
votes
1answer
115 views
Is there a distinction between flavoring (e.g. 30m) and aroma (late) hop additions
Boiling hops reduces the beta acids that are associated with aroma/flavor. Is there any other advantage to a 30 minute hop addition or could you just increase your 60 minute hop addition to achieve ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
All grain - is full wort boil absolutely necessary?
From what I've read it seems you Have to boil the full wort amount when going all grain. I just want to make sure that is the case, as I couldn't understand why you couldn't just boil the malt etc and ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
90-minute boil for pilsner malt?
On the "Belgian Blond Ale" episode of the Jamil Show (podcast) it was said that you should do a 90-minute boil because of the pilsner malt.
Can someone explain this further?
4
votes
4answers
1k views
Filter out Hops after Boil
After the boil I have been told to run the wort through a filter before adding yeast and letting it ferment. It seems like you would get more flavor leaving the hop leftovers in.
What is the ...
4
votes
2answers
153 views
When to remove hops and other bittering/aroma agents?
On brew day, when is the appropriate time to remove the hops and other bittering/aroma agents from the wort? Is it at flameout, or is it once the wort has been fully cooled and is ready for the ...
4
votes
2answers
308 views
Cocoa Nibs for Chocolate Flavorings
What is the best way to use cocoa nibs?
Do you crush them, crack them leave them whole?
Steep and remove pre-boil, leave in boil, add at flameout?
Add them only during secondary? How long?
4
votes
1answer
348 views
First Wort Hopping (or FWH)
What is First Wort Hopping (FWH) and how best can it be replicated in extract brewing?
4
votes
2answers
360 views
Brewing at Altitude
How does high altitude affect brewing chemistry? Up here in Denver (5280') or even higher in the mountains (some towns in Colorado are 9000' and higher), water does different things. In Denver, water ...
4
votes
2answers
432 views
Propane v. Natural Gas
I just moved to a home where there is natural gas being piped into the garage for a garage heater. I was thinking of re-tooling my burners with jet/orifices that can handle the lower pressure of the ...
4
votes
1answer
226 views
Using hops after fermentation
Let's say you have already put your beer into your fermenter and you decide its taste is not hoppy enough. So you start out to add some more hops into it. One way to dry hop, but I will not expand ...
4
votes
2answers
441 views
Propane tank usage in winter time
Today is 14F here in the northern suburbs of MA. In the winter time it can be tough to brew outside if you are a propane cooker brewer such as myself.
When the tank is going full bore it tends to ...
4
votes
5answers
622 views
How can you tell if a propane burner is large enough for boil?
Any idea on what BTU, PSI, etc. would be acceptable for 5 gallon boils? I've been looking around at turkey fryer's but I don't know if they'll pump out enough heat. Recommendations?
PS: I'm trying to ...
3
votes
13answers
962 views
Where do you brew?
This Saturday (1/2/09) will be my very first time brewing and I am considering my options as far as location.
I have seen some folks boiling their wort outside on a gas grill and the smiling people ...
3
votes
4answers
180 views
Long boils are ruining enamel on stove, is there any way to prevent this?
I have tried putting aluminium foil about 3 inches out from around burner, but that seemed to exacerbate the problem. I think it helped the insulate the area under the foil. It seems like I am ...
3
votes
5answers
481 views
Is it possible to do full boils without a propane burner?
I currently brew all-grain using a 7.5 gallon pot on a propane burner outside at a house I currently rent. However, I'm planning to move within the year to an apartment in the city and likely won't ...
3
votes
2answers
424 views
What are some popular methods for measuring boil and HLT volume?
Particularly during lautering and during a boil, I have a hard time keeping track of water/wort volume. What method(s) and equipment do you all recommend for accurately calculating liquid volume ...
3
votes
1answer
61 views
Making a starter without DME?
Planning to start to use liquid yeasts and will need to do some starters.
It is hard to get hold of DME over here (I can get some hopped LME, though).
I was thinking on doing a starter from grains, ...
3
votes
1answer
234 views
Is DMS content relevant when using extract?
Most extract kits suggest simply dropping the extract in the bucket with some boiling water. Do extract brewers need to be concerned about DMS levels or is that taken care of in the starch conversion ...
3
votes
1answer
261 views
Does batch size affect evaporation rate?
If I brew a 5 gallon batch and a 15 gallon batch on the same system, would I see a different hourly evaporation rate between the two batches? For the sake of the question assume all other variables ...
2
votes
3answers
917 views
Dealing with hot and cold breaks
I'm curious to hear how folks remove the hot and cold breaks in their brewing process? With the hot break, I try to spoon out as much as I can, but this often feels like fighting the wind.
When it ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
What is the ideal boil pH?
What is the ideal boil pH? You hear a lot about mash pH, but if you've maximized your mash efficiency and conversion what is the best pH for the kettle?
Pre boil?
Post boil?
2
votes
3answers
222 views
Any reason not to boil for longer?
I've been looking at ways to improve my brew efficiency, and one method that I've not seen much discussion of is increasing the boil duration.
Usually when I finish lautering, the wort coming out is ...
