BIAB Boiling Question

[Black_Mountain_Brewer]

I have a question regarding the necessity of boiling after the mash step is complete. One of my brewing buddies says it is not necessary. From what I have gathered here, everyone boils. I just moved into the BIAB world from extract brewing and want to make sure I'm not missing something. Any information or ammunition would be great. My buddy has been at it a lot longer than I have. Thanks all!

 

[JDGator]

yes you need to boil. it's for hop utilization plus the boil helps kill off any bugs in the wort.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Yes, it's necessary. It's needed to isomerize the hops oils and to kill off the majority of nasties that were on the grain and in the mash. Not something you want to skip.

 

[Black_Mountain_Brewer]

That's what I thought. I have tasted several of his beers and they were good. Is this an accident that they turned out without boiling?

 

[reverendj1]

From my understanding, boiling basically does 4 things:
1. Stops the extraction of sugars. (doing a mash out does the same thing too)
2. Extracts hop oils
3. Sanitizes the wort
4. Drives off DMS

You could mash out to do number 1. You could use hop extracts to do number 2. I'm not sure how you would do 3 and 4 though.

I'm probably missing some things here, but in reality, who doesn't boil when doing all-grain, and how would they make drinkable beer, except for maybe some obscure styles?

 

[GrogNerd]

yes you need to boil. it's for hop utilization plus the boil helps kill off any bugs in the wort.

Yes, it's necessary. It's needed to isomerize the hops oils and to kill off the majority of nasties that were on the grain and in the mash. Not something you want to skip.

couldn't have said it better.

your brew buddy is "saying" this? I'd have to call "BS" unless you brewed with him and have seen him skip the boil.

think of all-grain brewing as being exactly the same as extract brewing, except you're making your own extract from grains. once you're done making your extract, the remaining procedures are no different, starting with your boil

 

[Black_Mountain_Brewer]

Right on. Thanks all. I have not seen his process so I suppose he could have been jerking my chain. Good thing for me is i tend to research so I don't waste time and money. Boil it is!

 

[1MadScientist]

Video of rolling boil 1
Video of rolling boil 2
Good info on the boil

 

[chickens4life]

There even more reason to boil.

-Hot break (otherwise there is way to much protein and tannin still in solution)
-flavor development, the malt flavors are partially derived from darkening reactions that take place during the boil.
-wort concentration if you are making a big beer it can be pretty hard to get wort strait out of the grains that is strong enough, so the reduction in volume from the boil is helpful for that.

 

[BlackGoat]

I'm guessing your buddy does Mr. Beer batches. If I remember correctly, the instructions told you to just mix the can of LME with cold water and pray for decent beer. For all grain brewing (BIAB) you must boil every time for all the reasons identified above.

 

[FRS]

If he brews with prehopped malt extract he can make decent beer w/o a boil. Jamil did it on an episode of brew strong, said the beer actually came out very good.

Of course you have very limited control over how the beer comes out without selecting your own ingredients and when to add them

 

[Epimetheus]

That's what I thought. I have tasted several of his beers and they were good. Is this an accident that they turned out without boiling?

Did your friend mean you don't need a strong rolling boil? and can get away with a soft boil?