Is a "rolling boil" necessary?

Hey everyone. I have a new 5 gallon brew-pot that I tested today to see what the evaporation rate was like in it. I used 4 gallons of water and brought it to a boil on my gas stove. It hit boiling temperature and it was "rolling" in the bottom of the pot, but by the time those bubbles came to the surface they had broken up and the surface of the water remained relatively calm. Is this OK for brewing? I'm not sure if the purpose of the boil is the heat of the water or if it's the heat combined with the activity of the boil. Any thoughts?

If the surface is not moving, it's not boiling, it's simmering.

Yeah, that isnt going to give you the benefits of a boil.

It's hard to boil that much volume in a stovetop. Try to get the pot over multiple burners or reduce the boil volume to about 3 gallons.

That's the response that I was afraid of. I tried the dual burner for a bit. I think it might work, but it's just shy of covering both burners. I lose about half of each flame, therefore it seems a bit inefficient. It sounds like it might be time for a propane burner....bummer.

SnakeAnthony6375 said:

It sounds like it might be time for a propane burner....bummer.

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I always bemoaned the fact that my little electric stove could only handle a three gallon boil. So, I finally purchased a burner and it not only allows me to do full boils in the great outdoors it got me away from the screaming kids. Best purchase EVER!!

Ha! I can imagine! The only problem is, I live in upstate NY and it's going to get mighty cold this winter. A bit too cold for an outdoor brew in my opinion. But I might be able to rig up something where I don't freeze too much I guess. Or I just have to brew more often to feed my need....

Anyone know a cheap place to pick up a propane burner? Or recommend a certain brand?

A lot of people here buy the Bayou Classic turkey fry outfit...if you are in a somewhat inclosed area (garage) the heat from the burner should keep you warm enough. If not, what do you think beer is for?

Not to hijack a thread, but I've done one brew on a new Bayou Classic, and I was wondering where I should put the flame spreader for maximum heat. I had it about halfway up, and it could only bring eight gallons to a light boil. Would raising it give me more or less heat?

SnakeAnthony6375 said:

I'm not sure if the purpose of the boil is the heat of the water or if it's the heat combined with the activity of the boil. Any thoughts?

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The purpose of the boil is to drive off DMS and other compounds that you don't want showing up in the final product. You'd probably be better boiling a smaller amount, getting it to "roll" an then adding distilled/sanitized water in the carboy.

you can use 2 kettles on the stove , just split the batch + its hard to boil a 5 gal batch in a 5 gal pot ... 2-5 gal kettles makes much less mess.

outdoor burners are nice too - i use mine for cooking outside when i grill when I'm not brewing.

SnakeAnthony6375 said:

Anyone know a cheap place to pick up a propane burner? Or recommend a certain brand?

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I just bought one from Acadamy two weeks ago for $24.00 It's the Outdoor Burner Fryer from Outdoor Gourmet and has a "claimed" 160,000btu where the other burners had a 50,000-60,000 btu.
It did really good at boiling my batch.

212 degrees is good.

Your answer for stovetop boiling is here.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/improved-boiling-stovetop-53683/

Whereabouts in Upstate NY?

And don't forget that you should be able to get your wort to a rolling boil much faster using a propane burner. You'll heat your mash and sparge water faster too.

I like to pan-sear or blacken food in a cast iron skillet and it can really stink up the house...esp blackening...so you get another benefit of being able to do that outside too.

I got the Bayou Classic. I've had several regulators crap out but all it takes is a phone call and they ship me out a new one...no questions asked.

I still mash on the stove indoors but the sparge water and the boil happen on the propane burner. Lots of folks do this.

I can just get 4 gallons to a rolling boil on my electric stove by putting the lid on it, about 90% covering the pot, until it reaches a boil. Then I can remove the lid and it maintains a rolling boil the rest of the way. Give that a try and see if it'll work for you.

I can get 5 gallons to a rolling boil on my electric stove. Takes a while, but it does get there. I imagine that my kettle has something to do with it-- it's got a fairly thick wall which must help retain enough heat to help the boil.

I'd like to look into insulating it more to speed the boil, but I also want to move to a propane cooker to really solve the problem.

-Steve

Your answer for stovetop boiling is here.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/improved-boiling-stovetop-53683/

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I looked into the foil blanket wrap, but with a gas stove, I don't think my landlord would be too hip to me burning the place down.

I can just get 4 gallons to a rolling boil on my electric stove by putting the lid on it, about 90% covering the pot, until it reaches a boil. Then I can remove the lid and it maintains a rolling boil the rest of the way. Give that a try and see if it'll work for you.

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I have not tried getting it boiling with the lid on and then pulling it off. That might be a possibility.

Whereabouts in Upstate NY?

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I'm in Syracuse... you?

The Bayou Classic is top of the list currently. But, I'm also intrigued with the electric kettle option. But I'm a bit in the dark regarding what is needed for that type of set-up. I have chimed in on another post today under 'Equipment' to try and find some information on them...

I've had good success with the 90% lid on method. Just make sure you keep an eye on it, cause it will boil over in a hurry. And as soon as it boils, leave it off. It will stay boiling.

kerklein2 said:

I've had good success with the 90% lid on method. Just make sure you keep an eye on it, cause it will boil over in a hurry. And as soon as it boils, leave it off. It will stay boiling.

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Just tried this method with no luck. Bayou Classic here I come! Thanks for all the advice...it's much appreciated!

Snake, how about a heat stick? With a heat stick plus stovetop, you can get the bulk of the energy from a 2000W stick and supplement with the stove, which will also allow you to control the amount of heat.

Hey this is my first post, but I hope it is of some help.

I agree with the heat stick. You can make one for a about 25 bucks (much cheaper than a propane burner). And I am not sure on where you live but brewing in side can be really nice when the weather gets nasty.

Also if you are having and issue covering both burners try putting down a cookie sheet, or something similar, then put your pot in between. I did this last year before I moved and was able to split 4 electric burners to get 6 gallons to a good boil.

Best of luck to you.