Covering the pot to achieve a boil

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Brett3rThanU

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For now I'm stuck using an electric stove to bring my wort to a boil, however it takes forever! Sometimes an hour to get boiling and I'm only doing a 2 - 2.5 gallon boil. How bad is it to cover or partially cover the pot only until I get the wort boiling?
 
No problem at all, especially with extract batches (no DMS concerns).

Beware the double whammy, though...the cover makes boilovers more likely, and harder to see when they're about to happen.
 
I think you'll be ok with that. You can probably even keep the pot partially covered during the boil if that helps.

AG brewers do not cover our pots because we need to boil off DMS. But with extract, I think (not sure) that this is not as much of an issue because the extract manufacturer boiled the wort in the process of making the extract.
 
It's no problem covering it while bringing it up to a boil. You want it uncovered during the boil, though. DMS still can be an issue, as the extract manufacturer only did a low pressure boil.


TL
 
Even if you're an AG brewer you can still partially cover your pot during the boil and DMS will still get out. Think of a commercial brewery where they are boiling in mostly covered kettles with a small chimney to vent. They don't seem too worried about DMS.
 
TexLaw said:
It's no problem covering it while bringing it up to a boil. You want it uncovered during the boil, though. DMS still can be an issue, as the extract manufacturer only did a low pressure boil.


TL

See, I know that I've heard it was a non-issue for extract, and I'm 98% sure it was in an interview with someone from Breiss (on a Basic Brewing Radio podcast). I used to do a partial-covering (taking the lid completely off every few minutes) to no ill effect (although I'm not sure my pallate was/is sensitive enough to pick up DMS. The boilover concern is REAL.
 
Taking the lid off every few minutes may have been enough to overcome the problem. I know that, all around, DMS is not as much of a problem as it used to be. Still, I don't want to be the test case, and I won't advise anyone else to be, either. :)


TL
 
Beerthoven said:
AG brewers do not cover our pots because we need to boil off DMS. But with extract, I think (not sure) that this is not as much of an issue because the extract manufacturer boiled the wort in the process of making the extract.

Anytime wort is over 150f, IIRC it will produce DMS. It is one of the main reasons wort is cooled as fast as we do it.
 
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