Hey I just upgraded my equipment to all grain brewing which means I'll be brewing with propane now. When I was brewing before on my electric stove it seemed like the hottest it could get was around 212-215. Now that I can really control my temps a lot easier with the tank, I was wondering if it would affect the wort in any negative way if I got it up higher than the initial boil temp (212 in my elevation). Would it make any difference if I got the worst up to lets say, 230, just for an example. Thanks.
Boil temperature make a difference?
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stratslinger
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Yeah, as folks have stated, once you hit its boiling point, a liquid doesn't get any hotter. All excess energy, rather than going into heat, goes into state change from liquid into gas.
Really, your best bet is to get your wort up to a rolling boil and just maintain that rolling boil - there's no benefit to maintaining a vigorous boil. There's no realy downside either, except that you lose more volume because you have more rapid boil-off with a more vigorous boil than with a gentler boil.
Really, your best bet is to get your wort up to a rolling boil and just maintain that rolling boil - there's no benefit to maintaining a vigorous boil. There's no realy downside either, except that you lose more volume because you have more rapid boil-off with a more vigorous boil than with a gentler boil.
TopherM
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You want to get the most vigorous boil you can without boilover. Get a boil going, let it start to foam and froth a little, then back it down just a little bit. The more vigorous the boil, the more hops utilization, and you also just want consistent boil conditions so your boiloff rate remains constant batch to batch.
Good luck!
Good luck!
stratslinger
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I've never heard that before. Source?
Everything I've read has suggested that, for hops utilization, a boil is a boil. Particularly for the pros, who certainly don't get their giant kettles up to the vigorous boils we're capable of getting 5 and 10 gallon kettles up to.
freisste
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The thought is the more vigorous the boil, the better mixed the hops are. I'm not totally sure I believe it makes a difference, but I'm pretty new. What do I know? The thought makes sense, I just don't know if it makes a practical or noticeable difference.
I haven't either, I thought hop utilization was more a factor of the amount of water used, why full boils are better.
gr8shandini
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The purpose of a rolling boil is to drive off DMS precursors, not to utilize the hops. As stratslinger said, a boil is a boil in that regard. So instead of cranking it to 11, what you want to do is adjust your boil-off rate so that you'll reach your intended OG at the end of the boil. If you take a pre-boil gravity reading, you can determine the volume of wort you're going to need at the end of the boil. Then you can adjust the rate / time of the boil to get there.
Caveman3141
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The only way you can get water above it's boiling temperature (212 F give or take a few degrees depending on elevation) is to put it under pressure, say, in a pressure cooker, for instance.
freisste
Well-Known Member
Caveman3141 said:
Pure water. Wort contains sugar. If it is boiling, it is likely a little above 212. How much above depends on sugar concentration. Y wife makes candy and it boils well above 212. Granted there is a TON of sugar in that.
gr8shandini
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The "standard day" boiling point of wort may be slightly over 212, but most of us also live above sea level and frequently brew in ambient temperatures above 59F, both of which lower the boiling point again, so it's kind of a wash.
ludomonster
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In candymaking, the temperature of the boiling solution can go as high as 600 degrees as water evaporates and the sugar becomes super-saturated.
As for wort, the boil temperature is slightly above 212 but it won't go much higher unless you have a very long boil.
My wort is rocking boiling at 210F, due to where I live. In higher elevations, the boiling temperature is lower. At sea level, water (and wort) boils at 212F. If you live high in the Rocky Mountains, your wort might boil at 194 degrees, while if you live in Florida it could be at 212F.
Temperature isn't an indication of a good boil. My wort has never gotten higher than 210, so if I waited for 212, I'd be waiting until the wort was all gone and still not at 212!
A good boil will be a "rolling boil". You don't need the pot to rock, but you need a nice rolling boil.
Temperature isn't an indication of a good boil. My wort has never gotten higher than 210, so if I waited for 212, I'd be waiting until the wort was all gone and still not at 212!
A good boil will be a "rolling boil". You don't need the pot to rock, but you need a nice rolling boil.
BreezyBrew
IPA is my spirit animal
Yooper said:
Yup! In FL 212 just turns boiling.
EnjoyGoodBeer
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Yup, the only time i crank it its if I need to loose some volume, so I dont have to top off my full boil.
Gameface
Well-Known Member
If anyone has a reliable way to boil equally vigorously from batch to bath I'd like to hear it. Wind can take a near boilover to barely boiling in seconds, especially when it's well below freezing outside. I crank it up to compensate for the wind and then the wind goes away and I'm boiling over again.
300RUM
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It's my understanding that the rolling boil, and not just a simmering boil, is needed to make the proteins and the poly-phenols clump together. they do this by heat and agitation, you could simmer if you stirred constantly also.
Caveman3141
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Yes, I should have said 'wort' instead of water. And, yes, boiling point elevation happens but it's a relatively minor effect with the concentrations in wort. For example, a 50% by weight sucrose solution only boils 3.5 degrees F higher than pure water. Of course this would be more noticeable in a partial boil compared to a full boil.
ludomonster
Well-Known Member
You need the the wort to be hot enough to isomerize the alpha acids. The protein/polyphenol binding happens mostly at the beginning of the boil as the hot break. After that, you wouldn't need it to get more break material to coagulate. What you want to do it have the wort knock the hops around. It would be great if you could have a super violent boil that really gets them going, but this comes with consequences.
The main issue with a violent boil is that you can begin to carmelize the sugars. The temperature of the wort is not a uniform 212. Rather, a temperature gradient exists. The water close to the heating element will be hotter than the water at the surface. As you apply more heat to the pot, you can increase the temperature of this water beyond 212. This also increases the soluability of that water. You may also have a significant gravity gradient. If the concentrated wort at the bottom gets hot enough, you can darken the wort and reduce fermentability.
As others have said, the best compromise is to uses as little heat as reasonable to maintain a rolling boil.
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