Boiling Questions

I was curious what the general thought was around boil vigor and length. I started brewing full volume boils this year with 2 extract brews and now I've just finished up my 4th AG. The last 3 batches were a belgian style basically the same with minor adjustments for experimentation. None of them are ready to drink yet unfortunately so I don't know the results of my experiments.....Patience is a virtue I struggle a little with....

What if any effect have you folks seen with different boiler vigors? I've tried cranking the turkey frier up as high as it'll go and anywhere in between but haven't seen much difference in break material. Am I just wasting gas and evaporating a ton of water trying to run a very vigorous boil? All my boils have been 60 minute boils but are 90 minute or 2 hour boils better or does it just depend on the style you're brewing?

my thoughts on the matter is a boil is a boil no matter how vigorous it is. the wort isn't going to get any hotter than boiling no matter how big you make the flame.

The only way i could see this affecting the outcome of the beer is if the gravity of the boil is directly affected by the change in temperature or virosity of the boil or if affects the utilization of the alpha acids....now the first of those two should be unaffected as gravity is specifically affected by the amount of malt, or sugars, are in the wort. The second thought of those two ideas is up for debate....some believe that as you increase the vigor of the boil you increase how well the utilization of the hops and if you decrease vice versa....or even perhaps a "Sweet spot" that is perfect for utilization. From what i can tell not a lot of data can really be collected on this and everyone's set up varies dramatically from the water you use to the altitude or even the humidity outside....seeing as the human tongue can only differentiate about a 5IBU change in bitterness i would say dont worry about it get it to a boil and leave it there.....i personally prefer a moderate vigor....a comfortable medium between mixing the wert but not to hot to scorch the bottom or too low to not "blend" the wert together with a slow rolling boil.

A vigorous boil helps coagulate the proteins in your wort - they literally bump into each other and clump together. This helps make your beer clearer.

TipsyDragon said:

my thoughts on the matter is a boil is a boil no matter how vigorous it is. the wort isn't going to get any hotter than boiling no matter how big you make the flame.

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I couldn't disagree more.

Here's one article, there are many, many more that support a vigorous boil.
http://bavarianbrewerytech.com/news/boilhops.htm

Here's a quote from another article."A vigorous boil is essential. A simmering boil produces a sub-quality brew and not very good tasting beer. Inadequate boiling techniques often result in sweet corn and sulfur-like/vegetal character."