FargoBrewer
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2006
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
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Hi everybody. First I'd just like to say think you to everyone who helps out the newbs here, I'm sure it's the only reason I've managed to do this with any success so far. I've done 2 beers with a buddy of mine, we are both new to this, but having a lot of fun.
The first batch was a John Bull Pale Ale, was ok, but kinda boring. So for the next batch, we found a recipe for some Maple Sugar Brown Ale, steeped some grains, boiled hops, used real maple sugar, and WOW what a difference.
My question is actually about the part that should be the easiest I suppose. I brew in a 2 bedroom apartment, so the space is limited. I have an electric stove and use a pot big enough to boil 2 gallons at a time. My problem is that I'm not sure if I am boiling correctly.
I put 2 gallons in my pot, turn on the stove and when it hits boiling, I've added my LME. But at that point, it does not come to a pronounced boil again. I can see some bubbles coming up and I can hear that it is boiling, but there is no foam on the top. Is this the type of boil I want? Last time I tried cranking up the heat a bit more, but it did not seem to do much and I was afraid I might scorch it.
Recently I read about adding the LME for just the last 15 minutes of the boil, but I've also read that you should start timing the 1 hour boil from after the hot break. So if I do not add the LME until the last 15 minutes, do I have to worry about the hot break?
I guess basically I'm just confused about how much of a boil things need to hit and how I should expect the wort to behave as I move into more complicated brews. Thanks in advance for any insight.
The first batch was a John Bull Pale Ale, was ok, but kinda boring. So for the next batch, we found a recipe for some Maple Sugar Brown Ale, steeped some grains, boiled hops, used real maple sugar, and WOW what a difference.
My question is actually about the part that should be the easiest I suppose. I brew in a 2 bedroom apartment, so the space is limited. I have an electric stove and use a pot big enough to boil 2 gallons at a time. My problem is that I'm not sure if I am boiling correctly.
I put 2 gallons in my pot, turn on the stove and when it hits boiling, I've added my LME. But at that point, it does not come to a pronounced boil again. I can see some bubbles coming up and I can hear that it is boiling, but there is no foam on the top. Is this the type of boil I want? Last time I tried cranking up the heat a bit more, but it did not seem to do much and I was afraid I might scorch it.
Recently I read about adding the LME for just the last 15 minutes of the boil, but I've also read that you should start timing the 1 hour boil from after the hot break. So if I do not add the LME until the last 15 minutes, do I have to worry about the hot break?
I guess basically I'm just confused about how much of a boil things need to hit and how I should expect the wort to behave as I move into more complicated brews. Thanks in advance for any insight.