Electric stove and DMS

[domdom]

I'm an all grain brewer and moved into an apartment with an electric stove about 6 months ago. I've been able to do a full boil on my electric stove, though it takes a while and is sometimes inconsistent. Using a gas propane burner is not an option.

I've made about 6-7 batches and on some noticed a similar characteristic. At first I thought it might have been different water (moved two hours away) but now i'm beginning to think it is DMS. any other electric stove top brewers noticed this? I've read this is a common problem for beers that do not get a good strong boil. if i upped my boil time to 90 minutes, would this help?

 

[RM-MN]

It might help a little to boil longer. That is often recommended if you use Pilsener malts because they are more prone to DMS and the longer boil drives off more of the DMS precursors. A stronger boil might help too. Do a search for a "heat stick" as that can add just enough more power to get you a more vigorous boil.

 

[Pie_Man]

You may also want to research induction burners. This one, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/will-cheap-3500-watt-induction-burner-work-301722/, is 240V and would be option that I would select, but there are also 120V options which may work for you batch size.

 

[SudsyPaul]

Upping the boil time would help, and have you considered adding a Cajun Injector to your routine? Lots of people use them to help with the boil. I have a natural gas stove, and although I can get a decent boil on the stovetop, the CI drops the lag time and gives me a nice vigorous boil.

 

[PeteNMA]

The trick to avoiding DMS in my experience has been to get a good boil, extend to 90 minutes then chill it below 170f as fast as possible. The few lagers I have made, the ones I chilled fastest had no noticeable DMS, whereas the one made with my old immersion chiller had a detectable cooked corn flavour


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[domdom]

reporting back on this in case it helps someone else with the same issue. made a dry hopped citra pale ale about a month ago. been bottled for about two weeks. extended the boil to 90 minutes and kept the lid about half way off the whole time. much smoother and not noticing the off taste from previous brews. i've used a canning element the last couple brews which gets a little hotter. the only issue is it doesn't fit well on my stove and can stop working if you wiggle it the wrong way.

looks like the 90 minute boil and keeping it mostly uncovered helped a lot. not sure when i'll get to brew again, but am definitely going to use the same method.

 

[pdxal]

Upping the boil time would help, and have you considered adding a Cajun Injector to your routine? Lots of people use them to help with the boil. I have a natural gas stove, and although I can get a decent boil on the stovetop, the CI drops the lag time and gives me a nice vigorous boil.

What the heck is a "Cajun Injector"? All I get when I google that is a brand of marinades and smokers. Thanks for any help.
Cheers.

 

[helibrewer]

You may also want to research induction burners. This one, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/will-cheap-3500-watt-induction-burner-work-301722/, is 240V and would be option that I would select, but there are also 120V options which may work for you batch size.

I used one of these at Davis (3500/240V). They take awhile to get to a boil and we used a hood-type lid (like the copper kettles in large breweries) to help it along. They are a nice alternative and make for a nice easy to setup brew house.

 

[flars]

reporting back on this in case it helps someone else with the same issue. made a dry hopped citra pale ale about a month ago. been bottled for about two weeks. extended the boil to 90 minutes and kept the lid about half way off the whole time. much smoother and not noticing the off taste from previous brews. i've used a canning element the last couple brews which gets a little hotter. the only issue is it doesn't fit well on my stove and can stop working if you wiggle it the wrong way.

looks like the 90 minute boil and keeping it mostly uncovered helped a lot. not sure when i'll get to brew again, but am definitely going to use the same method.

I keep the lid on my boil kettle off set about one inch to maintain a rolling boil with medium high heat. I have always wiped the condensation from the under side of the lid when it builds to large droplets.
I had noticed the DMS aroma on the paper towel I used to wipe the lid when I was preparing a Hefeweizen with Pilsen malt.
I always thought it was just safer to remove it than let it drip back into the kettle.

 

[SudsyPaul]

What the heck is a "Cajun Injector"? All I get when I google that is a brand of marinades and smokers. Thanks for any help.
Cheers.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JQ3KQ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I bought just the element. It's like $40 or something... and it cuts my sparge, mash out and boil time by a ton!

 

[pdxal]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JQ3KQ4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I bought just the element. It's like $40 or something... and it cuts my sparge, mash out and boil time by a ton!

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[hawktrio]

Yes use a electric heating element plus stovetop to crank the boil for 90mins with the lid off. Not sure if the quick chill is critical as I take 75mins post boil to chill to pitch temps with no DMS probs. No chill at all is also increasing in popularity. Post boil for whirlpooling ,etc, again no lid. Toward the end of a controlled ferment also raise the temp for the diacetyl rest (1-2 days). Conditioning time time will also reduce DMS.