Boil Over... 55min Into Boil??

[BykerBrewer]

Hello HBT,

I have brewed 60 or so batches of beer and this is the first time this has ever happened to me and I have no idea how it happened.

I was brewing an Imperial Stout (1.083 OG, nothing crazy) and gave the wort a little stir about 10mins before the end of the boil, everything was going smoothly. I turned around and starting doing some cleaning & sanitizing. When I returned to the stove (5 mins before the end of my 60min boil), I was millimeters away from a boil over... I quickly removed the pot from the heat source and the foam quickly dissipated and then I finished the last 5 mins of the boil as normal. I didn't increase the heat, add anything to the boil or anything... Anyone have this happen or have any idea what may have caused this?

Cheers!

 

[Cavpilot2000]

No hops addition a minute or two prior?

If not, I suspect the wort just reached to high a temp.
Bear in mind that as your boil progresses, you are losing volume. Without adjustments to your burner, you are applying the same thermal energy to a decreasing volume of wort, which will increase the vigor of the boil.

 

[bajaedition]

I was having some issues last week, yep I had changed out a burner on my stand. well guess what, it worked a lot better than the burned out one I used to use.

 

[Brownalemikie]

I had the same thing happen. I think when you stirred, you created a whirlpool....so to speak and that progressed to aggressive boiling. Someone here on the forum advised me not to stir the wort until flame out. The boiling does a good job of mixing everything. JMO

 

[BykerBrewer]

Great! Sounds like nothing to worry about. The batch size was a bit smaller on this batch so your explanations definitely make sense. I appreciate the help!

Cheers!