Hops and Boil Over

Everything was going great in last night’s session until I made a rookie mistake. I left the kettle to clean my MLT and do other chores. I kept checking back, but was caught off guard when the SQ14 had 8+ gallons or wort boiling over the deck in 17 minutes. There wasn’t a lot of loss, but what was there looked like hop debris from the First Wort Hopping. This was a Krolsh, so it was lightly hopped to begin with. Fearing a total lack of bitterness, I added .4oz of Hallertauer 4.4AA at the 60 minutes mark of a 90 minute boil.

So here’s a rookie question for a rookie move. Did I ruin my beer, or at least blow the attempted style? Was the goo on the deck hops or hot break or something else? What is the solid stuff that comes out in a boil over?

AnOldUR said:

Everything was going great in last night’s session until I made a rookie mistake. I left the kettle to clean my MLT and do other chores. I kept checking back, but was caught off guard when the SQ14 had 8+ gallons or wort boiling over the deck in 17 minutes. There wasn’t a lot of loss, but what was there looked like hop debris from the First Wort Hopping. This was a Krolsh, so it was lightly hopped to begin with. Fearing a total lack of bitterness, I added .4oz of Hallertauer 4.4AA at the 60 minutes mark of a 90 minute boil.

So here’s a rookie question for a rookie move. Did I ruin my beer, or at least blow the attempted style? Was the goo on the deck hops or hot break or something else? What is the solid stuff that comes out in a boil over?

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"Solid"? How solid? If it's hop leaves then you might end up with lower IBU's. The rest is just break solids, coagulated proteins I believe (though I might be way off here, so anyone else feel free to correct me), and other gunk like hop seeds. Now if you were using pellets, then most of that "solid" material (should look like pesto) is definitely hops.

I can't tell you how much you lost, since I wasn't there, so it's hard to say what kind of an effect this will have on the final product. I'd say you should be okay, though, if you overhopped it in the first place with that hallertauer.

Evan! said:

. . .Now if you were using pellets, then most of that "solid" material (should look like pesto) is definitely hops . . . I'd say you should be okay, though, if you overhopped it in the first place with that hallertauer.

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It was pellets just thrown in and did have a pesto look to it, but the hard part is knowing how much came out and ran down through the boards in the deck. At the start of a normal boil it seems like the FWH's are just floating on top. That's why I thought that I lost most of them.

For my last five or so batche it seems like something like this always goes wrong. Not something that should ruin the beer. Just stuff that makes it impossible to reproduce if it turns out great.

AnOldUR said:

It was pellets just thrown in and did have a pesto look to it, but the hard part is knowing how much came out and ran down through the boards in the deck. At the start of a normal boil it seems like the FWH's are just floating on top. That's why I thought that I lost most of them.

For my last five or so batche it seems like something like this always goes wrong. Not something that should ruin the beer. Just stuff that makes it impossible to reproduce if it turns out great.

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Yeah, I know, it's frustrating sometimes, but really, the only way to do it is to strive for the routine. Learn from the mistakes, so that next time, you'll be on the lookout for the stuff that went wrong last time...and hopefully it can be avoided.

This batch will probably be fine...if it was a kolsch, then it doesn't want too much bitterness anyway. Worse comes to worst, though, you could boil an ounce of hops in some water for a while, then add that "hop tea" to the secondary.

I had the same problem with my RIS last winter. I hit my boil, tossed in my 2oz of Magnum, and BOOM, instant boil-over. Examining the "sludge" on my porch pretty much tipped me off that all those delicious Magnums were now goners. I wound up throwing an extra 1/2 oz of something random, Hersbrucker, I think, into the boil just in case. I think you did the right thing. And since it's a Kolsch, I think it'll be OK anyways!

Sounds like some of you guys need a bigger brewpot. Or some foam control. I just got some Defoamer during the AHS sale...can't wait to see how it does. Me, personally, even with a 60qt kettle, I never so much as turn my head until I have added my hops and have passed the hot break boilover point and everything has settled into a nice calm rolling boil.

I have a Keggle 15.5 gal and I have the same problem occasionally.. I have had to remedy the problem the same way you have, by adding additional hops. The batch has always turned out just fine, maybe not exactly what I did last time, but sometimes that is good.

on a side note, I always gradually add the hops, kind of like constant hoping. I have noticed that I almost never boil over using this "method". Also once I reach a hardcore boil, I drop the flame a little. This keeps the hardcore boil going but seems to help with hop boilover.

Mine was on my old 7.5 gal, before I bought a big one too.

I do the same thing, dig - I hit my boil and let it foam just a bit... then I add a handful of the bittering hops... wait it out for about a minute, then add a handful more.. then let it bubble... then add the rest.

I've since upgraded to a keggle, but I still put my 60 minute hop additions in when the wort reaches about 208. Gives them a couple of minutes to dissolve/spread out and makes it easier for me to control the foaming when it does reach a boil. I haven't had a boil over for about 40 batches now <knocks on wood>.

thats one way of skimming your break material I have PBV of 12.5-13 in a 15G pot. So far I have never had a boilover, but I never leave the kettle after it hits 195*. Once its boiled for 20 mins I feel safe leaving to do other quick chores. I bag my hops and clsthepin the bag to the rim for other reasons but in the case of a boilover it would save them. I know sooner or later luck will run out and I will have one, but untill it happens my tech. works great for me.

I've done my last two batches in a 7.5 gallon kettle and watch it like a hawk and keep the spray bottle near by to calm any violent foaming. Those foam control products have saved me a couple of times, but I'm about to upgrade to a larger kettle. I haven't decided whether I should go 40 or 60 QT.

I love me my fermcap foam control, in my brewpots..it's magic! You can get that puppy full nearly to the brim, and no matter how rolling, it doesn't boilover....I've really pushed the limits of stovetop brewing with it.

Is there an explanation though, why the addition of hops will suddenly trigger a woosh, even when it didn't seem like it was going to seconds before adding them? Is it some chemical reaction between the boiling proteins and the chemicals in the hops, or what?

I've done three batches in my 30qt Bayou Classic, and each one has boiled over like a sunovabuck... sending those precious hops flying along with them. This is with the full dose of Defoaming agent. I've taken to keeping my hose handy on its mist setting, and zapping it when it threatens... but that never really works either.

For my birthday, I'm totally upping my kettle.

have you ever tried a spoon? what little foam up I get is easily beat down by stirring it.

You might be amazed by how big a mess a little bit of pellet hops can make with a boilover. You may have overhopped it, but you won't know until you taste the stuff. Like Evan! said, just live and learn.


TL

TexLaw said:

You might be amazed by how big a mess a little bit of pellet hops can make with a boilover. You may have overhopped it, but you won't know until you taste the stuff.

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After working the numbers in BeerSmith, I'm not as worried. The FWH's were low alpha Hersbrucker (3.3AA), so the lowest my Kolsch will end up is 17.8 IBU and the highest is 32.4 IBU. The style calls for 20 - 30 so anywhere in between would be nice.

TexLaw said:

Like Evan! said, just live and learn. TL

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The trouble is this is a lesson I&#8217;ve already learned, but just went all ADD. I know that if I stay with the pot all it takes is stirring and lowering the heat, but it&#8217;s sooooo easy to wander off and forget.

For my system I&#8217;ve never had any trouble with foaming when I make hop additions. It&#8217;s just that initial period when the boil starts that I have to be careful. Especially with FWHing.

Lots of good comments here, but my biggest question was the make up of a boil over. Evan's pesto comparison helped clear that up.