Boiling Temperatures

[Ben6L6]

Hey guys,
I'm curious about how boiling temperatures affect Grain Malts, LMEs, and DMEs. If the temperature in the boil is too high or too low, would this affect the taste? Is there a cut and dry answer?

 

[TopherM]

You wouldn't boil grain, malt, LME or DME.

Do you mean steeping/mashing temps?

Do you mean how vigorous the boil is?

The temp of the boil is always going to be pretty darn close to 212F, depending on altitude. You can make the boil more vigorous, depending on the temp and pressure of the heat source, but once the wort is above 212, it starts to turn into steam, so it really never gets above 212 in the wort itself no matter how hot the heat source is, it just turns the water in your wort into steam faster.

The more vigorous the boil, the better hop utilization is. That's about the only factor in the boil. Consitency is more important than reaching some sort of target temp for the heat source, though (above boiling, of course). As long as you keep it consistent and controlled, then you know your hops utilization is consistent and know your boil-off rate is controlled.

I think most brewers would perfer a nice rolling boil that is very controlled, and not chaotic. To achieve this, the heat source is just a tick above the temp it takes to maintain a minimal boil.

 

[passedpawn]

The more vigorous the boil, the better hop utilization is. That's about the only factor in the boil.

Not sure what you are saying here. Doesn't compute.

The only reason to have a "more vigorous" boil is to drive off more unsavory compounds with the steam, and to reduce the sparge volumes to fit the fermenter. I drive my boil as hard as I can for the sole purpose of reducing the time it takes to get the volume down to 11g. Otherwise, a boil that is evolving a decent amount of steam is always satisfactory.

I don't think the amount of power or heat applied to the kettle makes any difference in hop utilization (assuming you've reached a boil).

I'm open to learning something new though. Bring it on!

 

[Ben6L6]

Yeah. I mean steeping temps. Thanks for the info!

 

[passedpawn]

Yeah. I mean steeping temps. Thanks for the info!

Mash temps make a profound difference in the final product.

Instead of me going through it all, just listen to Charlie Bamforth, here. This might be a little deep for your first foray into this subject. You should also get an overview of the mashing process from John Palmer at the second link.

http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2011/04/20/mashing-with-dr-charlie-bamforth-beersmith-podcast-14/

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14.html