Cover to bring to a boil?

[wolfej50]

This may be under the 'dumb questions' category.
I know that the boil itself should be uncovered. To put it simply, it lets 'bad stuff' boil off. However, is there any harm in covering the wort as it achieves a boil temperature? Also, is there any harm in covering the wort during the chill? I'm aware that it would negate the chilling effect of evaporation, but I think it would greatly reduce the chances of contamination.

 

[poptarts]

No harm in either if you do a nice 60+ minute strong boil. The chances of stuff getting in your beer during cooling im going to vote is super slim but it doesn't hurt.

 

[wolfej50]

Thanks, poptarts. I'm a small batch brewer and still use the kitchen sink and ice for chilling. I'm a bit concerned that all of that sloshing around could cause some sink water to splash into the wort.

 

[Rev2010]

I've been covering mine to make getting up to boiling quicker for years now, never been a problem. No problem with covering to chill either, though I don't need to do that.


Rev.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

Should be no problems, but I would put 1 small caution in this.

I usually go off and clean stuff, put things away I won't need for the rest of the brew, get things ready I will need during the boil. I know I have about 10-15 mintues uncovered, and I know just about where to turn the burner to so it won't boil over super fast. It seems like when its covered the boil overs will come much faster, more violently, and harder to control.

 

[fixitoscar]

I always cover to help bring to a boil faster, and save on some propane. just have to keep an eye on it when it gets close. I used to cover when chilling. I just recently started chilling uncovered to chill faster.

 

[MindenMan]

For the record: there is no such thing as a stupid question when one is being sincere. There are stupid answers of course...

I saw a comparison done once with two identical pots; one with a cover and one without. The covered one heated up waaayyy faster than the uncovered one, but from 185*F or so to boil, they were almost identical.
I have had boil overs more than once when my covered BK wanted to hot break without me. As the weather gets cooler, if you don't cover your pot on the way to boil, you will be wasting a lot of propane. As always, good luck, you have now made beer.

fixitoscar, as long as you are indoors, or without the chance of a breeze blowing nasties into your wort, cooling uncovered should be fine. Until you hit 140*F.

 

[NTexBrewer]

When I cover my pot to help with the boil I set my temperature alarm to 210. That way, I can do other tasks without worrying about boil over.

 

[MaxStout]

I usually cover when heating the strike water to hold in a little more heat.

While chilling, I set the lid on to cover as much as possible with just the IC poking out next to it. It's probably overkill but I'm paranoid about nasties falling into my cooled wort.

 

[TheRussMeister]

Nothing new here, but I cover it until it comes to a boil. As mentioned before, use caution, as the boil can sneak up rather quick. Nothing bad will be generated in a quantity that cannot be dealt with by boiling for an hour.

I start chilling with the lid off, after I drop 50 degrees or so (only takes a minute or two) I then put the lid on. However, in the last few minutes of the boil I put the lid on half way and rotate it every minute to sanitize it with steam.