Wort won't boil!

Well, I am in the process of brewing my first AG batch (the oatmeal stout described in How To Brew). I bought a 60qt aluminum brew pot, and my 7.5 or so gallons of wort just won't boil. I have it on the kitchen stove (propane gas) over TWO burners (the pot is huge), cranked up, for over 2 hours, and it won't get over 210*.

So, my first question is, will this lengthy boil time hurt my beer?

My second question is, does anyone have any suggestions to get this thing going???

Move it over one burner. chances are, your loosing more heat that your retaining trying to hit two burners

I began the boil on one burner but moved to 2 after an hour of no boil. I just moved it over again to 1.

I cut 2 square inch notches out of my lid so the chiller would stick out, and when I cover the pot it does boil, vigorously. As soon as I take it off, though, the boil completely dies.

Is it OK to leave the top on? Will the notches help prevent DMS?

I think you'll find that after a while of being covered that you will be able to remove the cover and it will still boil. Don't worry so much it'll be fine. Be careful though their is a fine line of getting it to boil and then boiling over. RDWHAHB

With AG, you really need to be able to boil uncovered. When I was brewing extract, I found that our propane cooktop would -barely- keep a full 5-gallon boil going in my 30 qt. SS brew pot. My solution was to buy some automotive firewall insulation from JC Whitney and insulate the pot. JC Whitney also sells the adhesive to stick it to the pot and foil tape to secure it. This was not a particularly cheap fix, but it did cure the problem. I had no problem getting and maintaining a boil thenceforth.

As a postscript, now that I've moved to AG, the insulated pot continues to work well, even though I'm now brewing outside on a propane burner. The additional heat doesn't burn the insulation, and I still gain benefit from it, in the form of using less gas to maintain a good boil.

If you can, boil outside with a propane cooker outfit. I found one used for 15$ off a local website. Your whole experience will be a lot more enjoyable. Good luck...

I second moving it over one burner.

I also second being careful with the lid. It will help the boil, but will also boil over. On top of that, I think a certain rate of evaporation is good, which the lid won't allow. I think it's 8% of total should evaporate, but don't quote me. I'd double check with one of the other guys around here.

In the interim, you could grab up another cooking pot and move some of the wort to another pot on another burner, or possibly even two. That should reduce the volume in the main pot enough so that you can get a boil, while allowing you to simultaneously boil the removed wort. Then dump the removed wort back in the main pot once you're ready to stop the boil and run your chiller.

Split the boil, or use a heatstick. If you cover it, use fermcap. A good hot break is important for clarity.

But dammit be careful when you build a heatstick. I still won't touch 'em

Wrapping it in that foil/bubble insulation will probably work.

I find a turkey fryer burner (propane) out in the garage to be a good method too.

Thanks for all the words of wisdom.

As I said, the brewpot is a 60qt monster. I'd really like to move the entire operation to the basement, so a propane burner (which would have to be vented) is probably not an option. I am looking to grab a cheap electric stove for the brew area down there--so it seems like adding a heatstick to the stovetop boil might be a good idea, once I get the basement ready.

I have a 60 qt pot, and I can't get it to boil on my stove. It won't boil on one or two burners. It wont even fit on one burner. It's diameter is over 20".

I use a outdoor propane burner.

There's a picture of my pot on my profile.

I had problems with getting my wort to boil so I built 2 2000 watt heatsticks and let me tell you they are like new money. Youll need 2 20 amp receptacles wherever you brew but these will save you a lot of time on brew day. http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm

erikrocks said:

I am looking to grab a cheap electric stove for the brew area down there--so it seems like adding a heatstick to the stovetop boil might be a good idea, once I get the basement ready.

Click to expand...

IMHO, don't even bother w/ the cheap stove. It will be cheaper and more effective to either put an element or two in your brewpot, or use heatsticks. If you have the power available for an electric stove, an electric brewpot is not that difficult or $$$.

You need to boil with the cover off. Leave it on while you are trying to reach the boil, but when gas starts flying out of your wort you need to get it off.

If you are using a large proportion of light malt (i.e., pilsner) in your grist, you have tons of DMS precursors that will generate DMS when hot. The DMS comes out of your beer during the boil, but if you leave the top on (even with some holes) the DMS will return to your beer. The result is the taste of canned corn.

Thanks for all the help. I hope I got away with it this time and my batch doesn't taste like creamed corn. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks. Should I ferment any differently?

I think I am going to build a heat stick, too. Great advice--thanks.

Congrats on the move to AG! Hope you got your boil going and everything is bubbling in the fermenter by now!

Everyone had great suggestions. In addition, I just read an article in BYO magaine (Nov '09 issue) about combustion. A few points. Wort has a higher boiling temp than pure water because of the dissolved solids in it. It adds up to a few extra degrees, but I imagine a high gravity brew could raise it even further.

The author goes through the calculation to raise 5.5 gallons of wort from 70-F to 215-F, and it comes out to 11,504 BTU. That would be at 100% heating efficiency. (Typical homebrewing setups are between 20%-40%).

The typical kitchen stovetop gas burner will generate 12,000 - 15,000 BTU depending upon model. So you can see what you are up against with doing the important 'full boil' in all-grain.

I invested in a 60,000 BTU propane camp cooker, and I consider it one of the neccessary purchases that took me from extract to all-grain (that and the large boil pot). I can get my 6.25 gallons to boil in 20 minutes. Makes for a better brewday.

If you plan to brew indoors, definiely a good idea to remember carbon-monoxide issues with camp cookers, etc. The heatsticks sound like a good idea too, although I've note tried those myself.


Good luck!
--LexusChris

I am in a similar situation, I brew AG indoors on my kitchen stove as well... I've never had to resort to using my lid to get a boil, but I do find that if I make a partial-lid with heavy duty aluminum foil (covering about 1/2 or 2/3 of the top) I get a much stronger boil. I haven't had any problems with off-flavors from DMS, I leave enough of the top open for that to boil off.

My next project is going to be a heat-stick though, hopefully I can use it to help speed up the boil process.

Well, I woke up this morning and my airlock was full of kraussen and beer, spurting and ready to burst! I switched the airlock out for a blow hose into vodka and it's till bubbling vigorously. Seems like I'm on the right path!

Just a follow up...

I just got done brewing my second AG batch (Edwort's Haus Pale Ale), and I changed some things up. First of all, I'm using a Bayou Classic SP10 instead of the kitchen stovetop. I also built a 2000 Watt heat stick. The improvement was stunning. Using both together got my boil up and running in no time. THanks to everyone for all of their suggestions!