Wort never reached full rolling boil. Help!

[justinbrew]

Hey everyone, first time brewer here. After much research, I picked up Brewer’s Best 5 Gallon Starter Kit as well as their 8 Gallon Brewing Pot and an ingredient kit from my local brew supply store. I’m finishing up college and am living in an apartment with an electric stovetop.

After adding my malt extracts (my recipe did not require any grain steeping), I was not able to get my wort to that glorious full rolling boil. My wort sat at about 200F, still bubbling but not a complete boil. I live at high elevation and my boiling point is about 7F lower than the 212F at sea level.

After waiting for the full boil for about 80 minutes I just decided to add my hops and hope for the best. My wort is now comfortably fermenting in my storage closet which is well regulated arranging between 68-70F.

I made sure to follow all instruction while cooling my wort and sanitizing all of my equipment! I’ve read around a few forum posts, and am thinking about insulating my brew pot or possibly getting a heat stick to help me achieve a full boil during my next batch.

Is my beer going to turn out okay?

Cheers and thanks for the help!

 

[doug293cz]

Your beer will probably be fine. It might be a little low on hop bitterness, but it won't be a disaster. If your bitterness does turn out lower than it should (although I'm not sure how you would determine this) you can compensate in the future by "boiling" longer and adding the hops earlier, or just adding some more hops.

You don't need a full rolling boil, all you have to do is get it to boiling temp, or close. Did you actually measure the temp you achieved?

Finding insulation that will stand up to heat from a stove top is not trivial. Better to partially cover the pot to reduce heat escape. Adding a heat stick is also a viable option, but I would try the other suggestions first, as the heat stick brings added complexity and some safety concerns (which are manageable, but why burden yourself unless it is absolutely necessary.)

Brew on

 

[justinbrew]

Your beer will probably be fine. It might be a little low on hop bitterness, but it won't be a disaster. If your bitterness does turn out lower than it should (although I'm not sure how you would determine this) you can compensate in the future by "boiling" longer and adding the hops earlier, or just adding some more hops.

You don't need a full rolling boil, all you have to do is get it to boiling temp, or close. Did you actually measure the temp you achieved?

Finding insulation that will stand up to heat from a stove top is not trivial. Better to partially cover the pot to reduce heat escape. Adding a heat stick is also a viable option, but I would try the other suggestions first, as the heat stick brings added complexity and some safety concerns (which are manageable, but why burden yourself unless it is absolutely necessary.)

Brew on

Thanks for the advice. I did use a thermometer to measure a pretty consistent 202F the whole time my hops sat in the pot. I kept the hops in there bagged for about an hour. I kept the lid half on during this time. I assume the temp was a bit higher before I took it off, but I was scared of the sweet corn flavor I was reading about from people keeping the lid on during the whole process.

I found a very nice insulator at a local appliance store that will run me about $10, not a dealbreaker, but if it works I’ll be happy. Might try that for my next batch and if it fails to make a difference, invest in a decent heat stick. May be a bit expensive, but I’m planning on living in my small condominium complex for the next year and a half or so, may be worth it. Not sure how the HOA would feel about me brewing in my shared garage space or the parking lot lol.

Thanks again for the help, cheers!

 

[ESBrewer]

It's going to be a beer, cause the temperature/time is high enough to kill the major beer spoiling microbes and it is high enough to isomerize alpha acids and extract other compounds from the hops. Using typical boil times you would expect to see a small reduction in bitterness that may be difficult to assess by human senses. There may be a little bit of extra protein in your wort leading to increased haze/head/body.

 

[Kharnynb]

the only issue might be a higher amount of dms than you'd like, but it's rather debatable with modern malts that there is a lot of dms formation anyway.

 

[justinbrew]

It's going to be a beer, cause the temperature/time is high enough to kill the major beer spoiling microbes and it is high enough to isomerize alpha acids and extract other compounds from the hops. Using typical boil times you would expect to see a small reduction in bitterness that may be difficult to assess by human senses. There may be a little bit of extra protein in your wort leading to increased haze/head/body.

Great, thanks so much for the link. Definitely going to brew this batch again in the future to compare haze.

 

[justinbrew]

the only issue might be a higher amount of dms than you'd like, but it's rather debatable with modern malts that there is a lot of dms formation anyway.

Read a bit about DMS, I’ll keep posted about how my batch turns out. Thanks for the help

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I live at high elevation and my boiling point is about 7F lower than the 212F at sea level.

A couple of very summary articles that may be of interest:

• High Altitude Beer Brewing and Hop Utilization
• Hop Utilization in the Whirlpool for Beer Brewing

Be aware of "the numbers" for your next batch, but don't be too concerned about your current batch: estimated IBUs and perceived bitterness are often two different things.

With regards to DMS, keep in mind that will be differences between brewing "extract+steep" and brewing "all-grain". DMS is one of those areas.

 

[Die_Beerery]

the only issue might be a higher amount of dms than you'd like, but it's rather debatable with modern malts that there is a lot of dms formation anyway.

Only pils malt contains smm, smm converts into dms. He used extract. Please stop with the dms boogeyman dogma.

 

[jrgtr42]

One other option you may have is to brew smaller batches.
I started in a small apartment too (though I had a gas stove) and the logistics of brewing 5 gallons all the time were rough.
I started brewing smaller once I started brewing from ingredients rather than kits, and they started coming out much better.
Once I got into a bigger place with a turkey fryer - burner, I went back to 5gall, and switched to all-grain.

 

[justinbrew]

A couple of very summary articles that may be of interest:

• High Altitude Beer Brewing and Hop Utilization
• Hop Utilization in the Whirlpool for Beer Brewing

Be aware of "the numbers" for your next batch, but don't be too concerned about your current batch: estimated IBUs and perceived bitterness are often two different things.

With regards to DMS, keep in mind that will be differences between brewing "extract+steep" and brewing "all-grain". DMS is one of those areas.

Thank you! Will definitely be giving these a read later today.
Cheers

 

[Kharnynb]

Only pils malt contains smm, smm converts into dms. He used extract. Please stop with the dms boogeyman dogma.

depending on the process, lme can contain dms, though if it is properly made, non-hopped extract or dme, it should be so little that it would be undetectable.

 

[Steveruch]

Boil half the extracts in half the water, thoroughly mix in the remaining extract at flameout and top up with cold water.
Or do no-boil.

 

[dwhite60]

One other option you may have is to brew smaller batches.
I started in a small apartment too (though I had a gas stove) and the logistics of brewing 5 gallons all the time were rough.
I started brewing smaller once I started brewing from ingredients rather than kits, and they started coming out much better.
Once I got into a bigger place with a turkey fryer - burner, I went back to 5gall, and switched to all-grain.

This is the simplest solution. Easier to get the smaller volume to boil. Smaller batches mean you brew more often and therefore have more variety on hand.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Special Hops]

It probably ruined. Send the whole batch to me for proper disposal.

 

[bpgreen]

I notice mountains in your avatar. Are you at an elevation?

Water should boil at a lower temperature at elevation. This can affect hop utilization.

Note that boiling is boiling. If it reaches a boil, that's good enough. It doesn't need to reach a rolling boil.

When I was doing partial mash and extract batches, I boiled the hops in a fairly small amount of wort and added the bulk of the extract at the end of the boil and topped off with wafer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Note that boiling is boiling. If it reaches a boil, that's good enough. It doesn't need to reach a rolling boil.

with regard to hop utilization, boiling (at 1500 feet) is not boiling (at 5000 feet). see #8 above.

 

[hottpeper13]

Not to beat a dead horse but fermenting a beer in a 68* controlled space could mean a 78* or higher ferment. You need to be more concerned with this then your boil IMO.

 

[bpgreen]

with regard to hop utilization, boiling (at 1500 feet) is not boiling (at 5000 feet). see #8 above.

I skimmed the thread and didn't notice that this was already mentioned.

 

[Steveruch]

When I was doing partial mash and extract batches, I boiled the hops in a fairly small amount of wort and added the bulk of the extract at the end of the boil and topped off with wafer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

... fermenting a beer in a 68* controlled space could mean a 78* or higher ferment.

@justinbrew

Agreed that it will ferment warmer than 68F (ambient). AHA forums has a topic on this.

Summary: "Best advice to everyone: verify it yourself".