Low boil temp. am I in trouble?

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bbrim

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I just wrapped a cold brew session. I had a wind chill around 5 degrees, it was blowing a lot of the heat from the flame away from the bottom of my pot and cooling the sides of my pot. I got the start of a hot break briefly but nothing like I was expecting. My temp only got up to 202. I hovered between 195-200 for the whole boil. Is this going to contribute significant off flavors? I'm confident that no bacteria survived and I got it chilled super quickly:D!
 
Two things would result from this. More protein in the final beer which will cloud it up to a degree especially when chilled.

Second, hop oil isomerization or emulsification will drop.

Neither condition is fatal.

BTW I am doing a cold day brew session today. Not too bad though, about 34 degrees F
 
Thanks for the quick reply. That is about what I was thinking. I figured I would just RDWDAHB. Sipping on my Holiday Spiced Honey Ale now.
 
it will still be beer.

I take the shelves off my steel wall unit in the garage and set them up around the boil pot on real cold days just three sides with bolts holding them together blocks the wind and keeps the heat in, keeps me warmer too. I saw on here someone used some aluminum flashing and went around the whole thing looked to be about 24 inches high .
 
boiling is boiling. I think your thermometer is off. the only way you can boil water at lower then 212 F is if you are at altitude or your thermometer is off. It's simple physics
 
boiling is boiling. I think your thermometer is off. the only way you can boil water at lower then 212 F is if you are at altitude or your thermometer is off. It's simple physics

:) There is always the obligatory "Simple Physics" reply to these questions.

When in fact it is anything but "simple" physics and there is a continuum from simmer to rolling boil that is temp related. Hops utilization and protein coagulation and break down increases with the vigor of the boil.
 
I assure you there was no boil. At no point was the surface bubbling, its not just a thermometer issue. I need to build a heat shield around my burner, a minor oversight. I just switched to a bunch of new equipment, this is just one of what will likely be many adjustments that must be made.
 
boiling is boiling. I think your thermometer is off. the only way you can boil water at lower then 212 F is if you are at altitude or your thermometer is off. It's simple physics

A rolling boil will have the temp throughout the wort a simmer while still technically its boiling can have a great disparity in temp from the base to the top.
 
+1 springer
If the wort is boiling then the liquid temp is 212*. The small changes in this temp would be due to altitude or pressure from the liquid above the bottom of the pot. The vapor coming through the liquid is above 212* otherwise it would condense back into liquid(think beginning to simmer- bubbles leave the bottom of the pot but don't reach the surface). A simmer has smaller amounts of vapor exceeding 212* than a rolling boil and many bubbles condense long before hitting the surface. At a rolling boil the liquid still maintains 212* but the amount of vapor traveling through the liquid keeps the upper areas of the pot at a more consistent temp.
A boil is a boil, so could it be that the higher temps of the vapor moving through a vigorous boil is what triggers break formation?
 
+1 springer
If the wort is boiling then the liquid temp is 212*. The small changes in this temp would be due to altitude or pressure from the liquid above the bottom of the pot. The vapor coming through the liquid is above 212* otherwise it would condense back into liquid(think beginning to simmer- bubbles leave the bottom of the pot but don't reach the surface). A simmer has smaller amounts of vapor exceeding 212* than a rolling boil and many bubbles condense long before hitting the surface. At a rolling boil the liquid still maintains 212* but the amount of vapor traveling through the liquid keeps the upper areas of the pot at a more consistent temp.
A boil is a boil, so could it be that the higher temps of the vapor moving through a vigorous boil is what triggers break formation?

You are also assuming pure water but he was boiling wort with lots of sugar and impurities...so you can't assume 212, it would be higher.
 
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