Boil Over!!!!

[bearsbrew]

Any advice on preventing boil over? I just got through with my disaster of a boil and i lost about 3.5 cups of water/extract from a 1.5 gallon water and extract mix designed to make 6 gallons. To compensate for the lost extract i reduced the total brew size to 5 gallons. Thoughts questions Comments please...
Thanks

 

[the_bird]

Buy a new, clean spray bottle for $4 and fill it with water. When the boil looks like it's getting out of hand, turn the heat down and give it a couple squirts.

 

[homebrewer_99]

On a gas stove you can reduce the flame and slide the pot halfway off the burner...

 

[butler1850]

Watch it like a hawk. Don't cover the pot completely (or at all, if you can keep a rolling boil without the cover). Keep the aforementioned spray bottle at hand. Reduce heat at malt & hop additions.

And... Use a BIG pot. I use a 5gal kettle for 2.5 Gal boils. I still have to watch it at hop-in.

 

[brewt00l]

heat control and kettle headroom are the two big factors for me...I keep a spray bottle handy as well.

 

[vtfan99]

I found that the skimming off the hot break really helped in reducing boil over. The break prevents the molecules from escaping during evaporation. I took a stainless kitchen strainer and skimmed off everything I could just prior to boiling. When the boil started, boilover was not even a concern. It worked so well I was actually surprised at its success.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Putting a small fan blowing on top of the boil helps keep the bubbles down too.

 

[bearsbrew]

anyone have any thoughts on the reduction in batch size in proportion to the lost wort ...?

 

[The Pol]

Use the spay bottle method and be very vigilant when adding extract, hops, moss, anything of that nature. I do 6.5 gallon boils in an 8 gallon pot and still manage to avoid boilovers. WHEW


The Pol

 

[whodwho]

Everones advise is spot on, I started brewing with 3 gallons in a 14 qt (3.5 gal) pot! I found the most effective step was to skim the foam as you start seeing it build and a spray bottle if it starts getting out of control. Never had a boil over EXCEPT one time when I threw a cover on to see how fast it would start to boil over, I blinked and there was the mess...

I had less then 2 inches to the rim so I did have to watch for vigiourous boil rollovers.

I also heard throwing a penny or two helped, never tried it as the spray bottle is effective enough.

 

[Beermaker]

I install a false bottom in my brew kettle to break up the bubbles. And a small fan to blow on the wort to keep the foam down.

 

[JayMckeever]

Heat control. I use a 5 gallon pot for 2.5 gallon boils. As soon as it starts to boil, I change the heat setting to 3-4 out of 10. This has worked so far. Just keep an eye on it, and if it starts to get close, just move it off the flame fora bit

 

[The Pol]

Good advice Jay, when my brew starts to boil, that is when the hot break material gets about ready to overflow, I always reduce the burner to idle until I can get that hot break material to fall back into the brew.

The Pol

 

[Beer Snob]

Well.... a watched pot never boils over. Usually people have a problem once they have to do something. Leave it and it will pick these few seconds to boil over. The sprayer really works. I have one of those power sprayers used for plants. Man.... works very well.

 

[shbrewer]

I have started to use the penny method also, it seems to work.