Driftwood
Well-Known Member
Hey all,
I'm curious as to what actually happens when you boil your wort. The reason I ask is because I have a large fermentor relative to my pot size, so I'm wondering if I can reduce the volume i'm boiling and make the same amount of beer. Or another way to put it, boil the same volume, but make more beer.
Right now, I do all grain and boil the full volume. Are there benefits to this method? Could I just boil a more concentrated liquor from my mash, and add that to preboiled/sterilized water in the fermenter?
Secondly, I now boil for 1 hour, but the only reason I know for doing it this long is because your bittering hop is supposed to be boiled for an hour. So if thats the only reason, could you boil your hops in a smaller volume of wort in a small side pot, then add it later? I realize you still want to boil your wort from the mash to sterilize it, but that could be done by boiling for 10 min or so, couldn't it?
As I write the above, another question comes to mind: I'm repeating a previous recipe for a pale ale, but I found it more bitter than I'd like. I'm planning on reducing the bittering hop I add, but what if I added the full amount with 45 min left to boil? how might that change the taste? And does this mean I can reduce my boil to 45 min?
For those that think I should just reduce the bittering hop amount, how much would be a good amount? Half?
(If it makes a difference, the hop additions are 3/4oz Northern Brewer (9%aa) for 60 min, 3/4oz Cascade (7%aa) for 30 min, 3/4oz Cascade (7%aa) for 15 min)
All input and opinions appreciated...
I'm curious as to what actually happens when you boil your wort. The reason I ask is because I have a large fermentor relative to my pot size, so I'm wondering if I can reduce the volume i'm boiling and make the same amount of beer. Or another way to put it, boil the same volume, but make more beer.
Right now, I do all grain and boil the full volume. Are there benefits to this method? Could I just boil a more concentrated liquor from my mash, and add that to preboiled/sterilized water in the fermenter?
Secondly, I now boil for 1 hour, but the only reason I know for doing it this long is because your bittering hop is supposed to be boiled for an hour. So if thats the only reason, could you boil your hops in a smaller volume of wort in a small side pot, then add it later? I realize you still want to boil your wort from the mash to sterilize it, but that could be done by boiling for 10 min or so, couldn't it?
As I write the above, another question comes to mind: I'm repeating a previous recipe for a pale ale, but I found it more bitter than I'd like. I'm planning on reducing the bittering hop I add, but what if I added the full amount with 45 min left to boil? how might that change the taste? And does this mean I can reduce my boil to 45 min?
For those that think I should just reduce the bittering hop amount, how much would be a good amount? Half?
(If it makes a difference, the hop additions are 3/4oz Northern Brewer (9%aa) for 60 min, 3/4oz Cascade (7%aa) for 30 min, 3/4oz Cascade (7%aa) for 15 min)
All input and opinions appreciated...