Stovetop Frustrations

I've been extract brewing for about a year now, and I'm in the process of making the jump to all grain. Over the last week or two, I've slowly pieced together the parts for a cooler mash tun (which I am quite proud of...thank you HBT). Today, I picked up a 10 gallon (40 quart) aluminum kettle with a lid for $45 at a local restaurant supply store. I came home, threw 6.5 gallons of water in it to oxidize it and to see how long my gas range would take to get it to a boil. Well, after nearly 90 minutes on the stovetop, my water temperature peaked at 210 degrees and wouldn't get any hotter. I shifted the kettle from the center of one burner to two burners, but that didn't make a difference. I loosely wrapped some aluminum foil around the kettle to act as a heat shield, but that did nothing. No matter what I did, I couldn't get past 210 degrees. = No boil!
I'm disappointed and frustrated because I was planning on doing my first all grain on Thursday night. I guess my options now are; a) get a turkey fryer and wait for better weather, or b) do a split pot boil. In addition to the 10 gallon kettle, I also have a 5 gallon kettle. I suppose I could boil equal volumes in each kettle, but if that's the case, I could have picked up a cheaper 5 gallon kettle. Suggestions? Thoughts?

Do like I did and get the turkey fryer and brew outside when it is cold! I brewed some Amber Ale on Monday. It was 30. Did it in the garage with the door open. Turned up the tunes, put on a nice warm coat and laughed at the neighbors as they slowly drove by trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.

Or you could just do a concentrated boil. I really doubt you'd be able to tell the difference between starting with 6.5 gal and, say, 5.5, or even 4.5.

Plus if you don't have a chiller you can make the extra water into ice a couple days ahead of time and really speed up your chilling.

Heatstick!!!!!!!

Or, do smaller batches. I recently moved to NJ (hi!) and due to apartment regulations, can't do the propane burner thing. I've started doing 2.5 gallon batches (3.25-ish gallon boils). There is nothing that says you have to do 5 gallon batches!

mjohnson said:

Or, do smaller batches. I recently moved to NJ (hi!) and due to apartment regulations, can't do the propane burner thing. I've started doing 2.5 gallon batches (3.25-ish gallon boils). There is nothing that says you have to do 5 gallon batches!

Click to expand...

True and good point. But I have 5-6 gallon fermentors. Doesn't a smaller batch require a smaller fermentor?

I don't think so - I've started fermenting in corny kegs but I've done several batches in standard fermenting buckets - the batches seemed fine to me.

If you can get the turkey fryer do it. I got mine when I was still doing partial boil extract, mostly due to SWMBO can't stand the awesome smell of brewing beer. I now due all grain and this thing still kicks butt. btw its the bayou classics sp10.

Any chance you can get it to boil w/ the lid on / partially on? Where in Jersey are ya?

wilserbrewer said:

Any chance you can get it to boil w/ the lid on / partially on? Where in Jersey are ya?

Click to expand...

To be honest, I didn't bother with the lid because everything I've read has said that you shouldn't boilnwith the lid on, even partially. I'm in Cherry Hill.

Anyone have success with split boils?

I have a similar issue, though I do eventually get a boil.

Using a lid is only a problem during the boil, especially if you are using pilsner malts (DMS stuff) and the issue of boil-overs. You can put a lid on to get up to the boil though.

First off I would suggest partial batches. You can use a 5g or 6.5g fermenter for a 2.5g batch, there is enough CO2 produced to displace the air; just don't do a secondary.

As getting water hot takes forever for me on a stove (I have a burner, but can't do it at my apartment), I use an electric kettle to preheat the water. It gets about 2L to boiling rather fast, so I cut down a lot of time getting my masking and sparging water where I need it.

So, I would say do partial batches, or split the boil (I did that once, wasn't a big issue).

Best of luck!

I've seen plenty of keggles that appear to be wrapped in this: "Reflectix 16" x 25' R-3.7 Double Reflective Foil Insulation" I'm planning on getting some before I use my 32 quart aluminum pot next, as well as before I get a larger pot (to try mashing with enough water to not need to sparge)...

just save your pennies and by a propane burner.. itll save you a lot of hassle. Plus, brewing outside is just plain virile.

you can ferment your 3 gal in a 5 gal carboy, just dont secondary it in one... too much headspace (unless you rack early, before the primary is totally done). Again, too much hassle. If all you need is a burner, they arent that expensive... $50 is like one expensive RIS batch, youll never regret it.

Well, me and my friend, who has an all grain set up, we brew outside at his place and he has the propane burner. It works best. And it gets you to a boil pretty dogone fast. Best part about it is that you can always buy u a lil space heater like we did and plug it up where you will be hanging out at. But we brew the allgrain batches together, so lol, we can laugh about how cold it is as we pound a few brews back. and as one stated earlier, we also laugh at neighbors as they drive buy trying to figure out what the hell we are doing.

Also, partially covering a pot to maintain a boil isn't bad. I usually cover half of the pot and tie a towel around the lid so that any captured evaporation moisture doesn't fall back into the pot. Works fine.

I agree, a burner would be great, but in the absence of one, make do with what you got. The most important thing is to keep brewing!

+1 for burner. if you absolutely cannot brew outside, then heatstick. even something running 110v would be plenty for getting you over the top (and speeding up the boil process as well).

Get a turkey fryer and boil outside year round, just put a coat on. There's warmth provided by the fryer and boil too. I do mine a few feet from the back door and can keep an eye on it from inside.

I use a heatstick to assist my gas stove in the winter, it works great. I am not a fan of standing outside in below zero weather, besides I have no way to chill my wort outside in the winter. Last winter I just stopped brewing; I will be brewing this Friday (forecast is for lows of -20°F)

Ahem. Improved boiling on the stovetop!

Long story short: make an insulating wrapper for your pot from automotive firewall insulation. It takes WAY less energy to get it to a boil that way.

Note that direct contact with the flames is bad...I had this happen once and learned my lesson. So make your wrapper a little short so there's no chance of it catching on the bottom.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS - My winter brewing has involved bringing my propane burner into my basement and keeping the door open. It takes the sq14 about an hour to heat mash water to about 170F (from 40-50F). Having the washing machine close by works out great. I disconnect the cold water and the drain and connect the wort chiller in its place. Go up stairs bottle, come back in an hour when the wort is chilled. Not a safe choice but it works...