Well, in theory & my own experiences, boling light wort gives better hop utilization than a mere simmer, which seems to me would be a bit below 212F. I gotta measure that someday to get some numbers.
Well, in theory & my own experiences, boling light wort gives better hop utilization than a mere simmer, which seems to me would be a bit below 212F.
Yeah, maybe. A simmer being lightly bubbling with the heat turned down for less boiling seemed to me to be below 212F. That's why I think I'll measure this just to see for myself...
Isn't a "simmer" just a gentle boil anyway? From a temperature point of view, the liquid is still at 212° F (100° C) in both cases, the only difference is the rate at which the liquid is being converted to steam. As far as hop utilization goes, wouldn't there be no difference?
I mean, there are other reasons you want a vigorous boil (I guess... the only one I can think of is to increase boil-off rate and concentrate the wort), but anything dependent on temperature (alpha acid isomerization, protein coagulation, etc.) shouldn't care whether it's a rolling boil or a gentle simmer, right?
Next time I'm simmering something, I'll toss a floating thermometer in it to check the temp on an average simmer. I just think it'd be a couple degrees below a boil? It'll be interesting to find out.
A simmer is still boiling. In terms of heat, water is boiling or it isn't. There's no such thing as an in between state.
What I'm saying is if something is on a low simmer, it can't be the same temp as something on a hard rolling boil. If it was, then you couldn't just "simmer".
http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/techniques/cooking-class-boiling-and-simmering said:Simple Simmering
A cooking method gentler than boiling, simmering refers to cooking food in liquid (or cooking just the liquid itself) at a temperature slightly below the boiling point―around 180 to 190 degrees. It's trickier than boiling because it requires careful regulation of the temperature so that the surface of the liquid shimmers with a bubble coming up every few seconds.
Simmer down now.
Looks like we are confused with the definition of simmering. A simmer is preboil where its just hot. I think what we are referring to has been the difference between a gentle boil and a rolling boil.
Simmering is a food preparation technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept just below the boiling point of water[1] (which is 100 °C or 212 °F at average sea level air pressure), but higher than poaching temperature. To keep a pot simmering, one brings it to a boil and then reduces the heat to a point where the formation of bubbles has almost ceased, typically a water temperature of about 94 °C (200 °F).
Epic derail once again!
<munching popcorn>
Regardless of the semantics ( and anyone who knows me will be surprised at the fact I just wrote that- I love a good semantically charged argument) I have a suspicion our author friend was not suggesting holding hops in a pre-boil state, rather using the word "simmer" incorrectly as a "low boil".
But....unless you're planning on buying a dessertspoon and actually making one of these recipes; does anybody actually care?
At sea-level pressure, water boils at 212° F, no matter how much heat you're applying. You could put a jet engine under your kettle and light the afterburners, and the water in the pot would still only be exactly 212° F. All that would change would be the rate that the water is converted to steam.
A "simmer", to me, means there is still some bubbling action on the surface, which means that water is being converted to steam, which is technically a boil. That means the water must be 212° F. If it were even a degree less, then none of the water would convert to steam, and the surface of the water would be still.
http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/13/8597749/fizzics-make-beer-taste-better
I'm just going to leave this here...
If I buy the $200 bubble maker, and then dunk a Beer Enhancing Sachet, did I just make the Best Beer In The world!!!???
Epic derail once again!
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