Boil over, lost hops

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

madymo3d

New Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
SE Michigan
It's my second time making beer, I had a boil over early and I think I lost most of the bittering hops. I'm going to continue on and put it in the fermentor, but what are my options? Did I just lose some flavor or is it going to affect the fermentation? Can I dry hop to make up for it?

The recipe is a pumpkin ale from LHBS with the following ingredients:

chocolate rye
6 lbs light LME
1 oz Ahtanum Hop (bittering)
20 g pumpking pie spice
11 oz Nottingham yest
 
I hope that's the case. Sure seems like a lot on the stovetop, side of the pot and I thought a lot of hops was floating on top just before the boil over.
 
next time use a fan pointed at the top of the pot. it really helps reduce boilovers.
DSCN2378.JPG
 
I have not tried it but I have a friend who is a cookand he swears that a large metal spoon will keep a pot from boiling over as it works as a heat sink....anybody know if this works??
 
No Fermcap. I just got careless because I got through the hot break and thought I was okay. Put the lid on hoping to minimize evaporation, then it boiled over. I was next to the stove so I caught it within a couple seconds. Left the lid off for the rest of the boil.
 
No Fermcap. I just got careless because I got through the hot break and thought I was okay. Put the lid on hoping to minimize evaporation, then it boiled over. I was next to the stove so I caught it within a couple seconds. Left the lid off for the rest of the boil.

FYI - You do not want to put a lid on your boil. There is a chemical reaction taking place that create DMS precursors, and the boil lifts those precursors our of the wort. If they remain in the wort, your chance of having a DMS issue later is increased.
 
FYI - You do not want to put a lid on your boil. There is a chemical reaction taking place that create DMS precursors, and the boil lifts those precursors our of the wort. If they remain in the wort, your chance of having a DMS issue later is increased.

what is dms?
 
From John Palmer's Excellent book How to Brew


http://howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html
Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS)/ Cooked Vegetable Flavors
Like diacetyl in ales, DMS is common in many light lagers and is considered to be part of the character. DMS is produced in the wort during the boil by the reduction of another compound, S-methyl-methionine (SMM), which is itself produced during malting. When a malt is roasted or toasted, the SMM is reduced beforehand and does not manifest as DMS in the wort, which explains why it is more prevalent in pale lagers. In other styles, DMS is a common off-flavor, and can be caused by poor brewing practices or bacterial infections.

DMS is continuously produced in the wort while it is hot and is usually removed by vaporization during the boil. If the wort is cooled slowly these compounds will not be removed from the wort and will dissolve back in. Thus it is important to not completely cover the brewpot during the boil or allow condensate to drip back into the pot from the lid. The wort should also be cooled quickly after the boil, either by immersing in an ice bath or using a wort chiller.

When caused by bacterial infection, DMS has a more rancid character, more liked cooked cabbage than corn. It is usually the result of poor sanitation. Repitching the yeast from an infected batch of beer will perpetuate the problem.​
 
next time use a fan pointed at the top of the pot. it really helps reduce boilovers.
DSCN2378.JPG

WOW!!! This is my second boil as well. I had exact same issue. I logged on to see if others were experiencing the same. I spent the last 30 mins manually regulating gas valve to prevent boil over and then I found this trick. My patio fan works like a charm. I just cranked up the gas and opened another Sierra Nevada for thE second half of the boil. Thanks HBT!!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top