no boil

[killian]

I have been brewing for a while now but recently moved to a small apartment and I was just wondering about no boil procedures. with out a boil isnt there more of a chance for infection? can you only make certain beers this way?

 

[CBBaron]

I believe most no boil kits have you raise the temp above 140 for several minutes which will pasteurize the wort. Even if you don't the extract should be sterilized in the package and city or bottled water is usually sanitary enough to prevent infections.
The two major draw backs to no-boil kits is you have a limited choice of recipes and quality is probably lower due to lack of fresh ingredients.
Craig

 

[Yooper]

I would think that with the no-boil kits, they would all be prehopped. You couldn't add hops if you weren't boiling.

You could do any extract recipe in an apartment, though. You would only need to boil 2 1/2 gallons.

 

[Ol' Grog]

You shouldn't have any problems doing partial boils in an apartment. As long as you got a stove, you can brew.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've been doing 1.5 gal boils for years...

 

[Brewing Clamper]

I've been doing 1.5 gal boils for years...

Hey Bill, I know you've mentioned this before, do you do late extract additions or do you just boil with a really high gravity? How does this affect your hops utilization? I'm curious, I wouldn't mind being able to do small boils!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Hey Bill, I know you've mentioned this before, do you do late extract additions or do you just boil with a really high gravity? How does this affect your

DAG NABBIT! I just typed a long reply and now it's gone.

OK...readers digest version...
1 gal water
1 lb extra light DME
1 oz hops
boil 45 mins
remove from heat
add remaining DME
let sit for 15 mins
top off to 5.25 gal w/4 gals of water placed in a freezer 4-5 hours prior to brewing.
take temp/gravity readings
pitch starter.

 

[TheJadedDog]

I also do partial boils, typically steep some grains in 1.5 gallons, sparge with 1/2 gallon, bring to boil, add DME, return to boil, add hops per hop schedule, cool, top off with bottled water, and pitch. I just use ProMash to figure out how much hops I need based on my boil volume.

 

[killian]

Hey Bill, I know you've mentioned this before, do you do late extract additions or do you just boil with a really high gravity? How does this affect your

DAG NABBIT! I just typed a long reply and now it's gone.

OK...readers digest version...
1 gal water
1 lb extra light DME
1 oz hops
boil 45 mins
remove from heat
add remaining DME
let sit for 15 mins
top off to 5.25 gal w/4 gals of water placed in a freezer 4-5 hours prior to brewing.
take temp/gravity readings
pitch starter.

I was looking at brew magazine's recipe standardization section it says
the extract values for malt extract (dme)= 1.045

I must be misunderstanding this some how. doesnt that mean 1lb of dme boiled with 1 gallon of water yeilds a wort of 1.045 O.G so after the water is added wouldnt this dilute the gravity greatly?

I just read your post again brewer how much DME are you using all together?

 

[homebrewer_99]

I was looking at brew magazine's recipe standardization section it says
the extract values for malt extract (dme)= 1.045

I must be misunderstanding this some how. doesnt that mean 1lb of dme boiled with 1 gallon of water yeilds a wort of 1.045 O.G so after the water is added wouldnt this dilute the gravity greatly?

I just read your post again brewer how much DME are you using all together?

Oops, sorry...the "add remaining DME" is per your recipe...5-6 lbs, whatever...

Just prior to the end I add the malt and add the water after the boil is done.

Depending on how many lbs of malt you add...the gravity goes back up.

According to several other sources, 1 lb of DME in 1 gal of water = 1.040. So 1.045 is close enough.

 

[Cool One]

no-boil kits can produce some really good beer. Most kits are prehopped but there is thing that can be added to beer. Infection is not a big problem with the kits as long as you have everything sterlized. The kits are a lot faster to make. The info they give with these kits and how to make them is not very good. I make some beer for my friends from these kits and they all like the beer.

 

[Ron974]

Lots of incomplete information have been given here. Coopers as well as Mouton produce beer making kits that are not only no boil but no heat. You simply mix the ingredients and pitch the yeast. I would hihly recommend that you use a bottled water rather than tap to prevent the possibility of unwanted yeasts and bacteria entering.

Some grain brewers will turn their noses at this sort of thing. But mouton's conducted tests serving the no boil/no cook beers to people at brewers conventions and the whole grain brewers all thought it was grain brewed. You can indeed add additional hops at any point. Meaning you can add hops while stirring the no boil wort. Add it any time during the fermentation process. And some will even add hops at the time of bottling or even serving. But on those lat two, you would be well advised to make a hop tea rather than add the whole hops or pellets as it will not settle out and the last in the glass or bottle will go to waste.

Fact is that on the pre hopped malt extracts, everything necessary to purify and flavor the wort has already been done. And any additional cooking will harm the outcome. One last thing though, is you do have to have warm enough environment for the water and malt to mix.

Back when I brewed with standard malt kits, I cheated and though brought the wort to a boil, I did not maintain the boil for nearly the time indicated. Five to 15 minutes always did the job. And good enough I had neighbors offering $200 to sometimes $250 to run a 5 gallon batch for them.

One thing I was adamant about though was to never add regular sugars. It was either malt sugar or honey. When I first started i did use cane sugars (white or brown) and never cared for the result.

 

[flyinpig]

I make a Muntons kit (Candian Pilsner) all the time...I just boil 3L of water and then remove from or turn down heat, dissolve 1# dextrose and 1# of DME add the contents of the can (hopped malt extract) and then place in primary and add 21L of cold water to top off and bring down temp. Sometimes I pitch yeast dry and sometimes I rehydrate and pitch. Always comes out consistent and very drinkable.

 

[jmprdood]

Done many, many times without a boil - not gold medal beer, but very good results, and never a problem...