Multiple issues with electric stove brewing

Hello again,

I've had some big issues with getting my wort to boil on my electric stove in my apartment. The first two times I did it I did two gallon-boils but keeping a rolling boil was almost impossible. I figured I'd halve my recipe and do a 2.5 gallon batch boiling only one gallon - still having issues. The boil is weak and I can tell from the taste of the first two that my beer is suffering from it.

Has anyone figured out a better way to get around this issue without just saying screw it and brewing outside on a different setup? That's not really an option for me. Should I use a smaller brew-kettle?

Any and all help appreciated!

Mark

check out a heatstick

That's why I went to propane outside. The stove in the house couldn't produce the required boil necessary. In NC, you probably won't have to freeze when you brew outside in winter; a bonus.

Actually, for me the answer was a bigger kettle. I now have two burners under the pot and can get it to a rolling boil.

avidhb...When you brew outside with a propane burner, how much evaporation do you usually see? I am an extract brewer boiling outside next weekend.

Brewcrew86 said:

avidhb...When you brew outside with a propane burner, how much evaporation do you usually see? I am an extract brewer boiling outside next weekend.

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I usually start with 6.5 gallons and end with 5.25 gallons, or there about; to bottle 5 gallons of brew. My boil time is 60 min. at a rolling boil. A rule of thumb for me is 5 qrts. per hour, but thats with knowing my equipment. I figure to loose 1 qrt. after boil to the fermenting bucket, so I can bottle 5 gallons of beer. For your first time at a full boil keep a spray bottle of water handy to knock down the hot break, when she starts to foam up spray like mad. Hope this helps.Cheers

I do extract and partial mash brewing on an electric stove. I use the big burners and can get a good boil going, but it does take a while. I do believe that my stove is newer, or about 5 years old but no more than that. So, age of stove may be an issue? But as airplanedoc state, check out a heatstick, it could help.

I have no issue with 2 gallons on my stove, in fact I get a boil even at lower settings that the HI setting. My stove is almost 10 years old and this is on one burner. It is an induction stove, which I think works best anyway

I used to do 5g all-grain in my apartment on my electric stove where only the two small burners worked. It took forever, but it got done.

Split your boil into two separate pots and keep the lid on until they start actually boiling. If you're still having trouble keeping a boil, put the lid back on partially to help retain some of the heat. People might chime in about having DMS (cooked corn flavor) issues doing this, but I never had a problem.

Thanks a ton everyone for the feedback. I think the lowest hanging fruit right now might be splitting the boil or grabbing a smaller/bigger kettle. If these fail I may look into a heatstick.

Thanks again for the help!

Mark

Taller kettles usually work better than wider ones. Perhaps preboiling some of your water in a smaller pot and adding it to the BK is an idea. I boiled 7g. on my electric this weekend and it was fine, not a crazy boil, but a boil.

Euphist said:

Actually, for me the answer was a bigger kettle. I now have two burners under the pot and can get it to a rolling boil.

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That worked for me. I brew outside for other reasons, but my 33qt tamale pot can straddle two eyes on the stove and get a perfect boil

I always put the kettle over two burners, lid on and it takes about 20 or so minutes from the mash to get to a rolling boil. Remove lid at that point and you are all set.

Ok so it seems like I have three viable options at this point (without counting heatstick/brewing outside right now).

1. smaller kettle and stay on one burner
2. larger kettle and position over two burners
3. boil first in a small pot and add to BK

And it also seems like it's ok to cover for a while to get the boil going. At what point is it a must that I remove the lid?

Thanks!
Mark

You might want to check your stove elements. A new heating element for an electric doesn't cost much and may solve your problem. My stove is around ten years old and I have no problem getting 2.5 gallons to boil and then maintain the boil at a medium setting.

My electric stove is from the early 90's and I have no problem boiling 2.5 gallons for 5 gallon batches. I do use a taller and wide (only one burner) 24quart SS stockpot. I have several of these stockpots for canning and they seem to do well with everything I use them for. I also switched to a SS turkey pot for my outside burner stand. Contrary to popular believe... I have had better luck and heat dispersion instantly from switching over from aluminum pots.

Try insulating your pot. See this post.

I tried it this weekend, using furnace duct insulation wrapped around the pot and it helped.

What about all that weight on an element? 5 gal is approx 40lbs. Have you ever run into trouble, ie.damaged anything on your stove?

What sort of electric stove do you have? glass top, the "wire"
elements or ceramic hot plates? I had issues with my pot bottom not sitting flat on my glass top stove and the air pocket kill any heat transfer from the stove to the pot. I have since notice the amount of pots and pans that have "not suitable for glass top stoves" labels on them

mattd2 said:

What sort of electric stove do you have? glass top, the "wire"
elements or ceramic hot plates? I had issues with my pot bottom not sitting flat on my glass top stove and the air pocket kill any heat transfer from the stove to the pot. I have since notice the amount of pots and pans that have "not suitable for glass top stoves" labels on them

Click to expand...

I have a GE glass top, and yea...you pretty much have to use flat bottom pots to get good heat. Watch those labels though, because some companies are equating glass top with induction and they are not necessarily the same thing. (mine is NOT induction)

Thanks again for the responses.

I need to check and see some details with my top, but I'm 95% sure it's glass. There definitely may be an issue with the pot not sitting properly on it. The apartment is brand new and was built just last year, so I don't think I'd need to replace anything and I doubt the unit itself is out of date. As I said, I'll look into "flat bottom pots."

@smyrnaquince , thanks for the link I'm looking over it now.

You guys rock.

Mark

Wrapping the pot, even with foil, especially near the bottom will help. Leave the lid on 1/2-2/3 of the way and you'll still get DMS out while keeping some heat in.

Thanks tre9er, it's good to know putting the lid on won't cause an issue with DMS. That might be one of the easiest ways to make this work in addition to trying a different pot.

Best,
Mark