first all grain question

[nordoe]

So I am over my buddies house and he decided to do his first all grain today. He is doing it on his stove. He will not be able to boil 6 gallons, so he split them into 3 gallons in two pots. One pot will get a full boil and hop additions. The other pot he will boil for about fifteen minutes to sterilize and then let cool. After the hop pot is done, we will cool it down and add to the original 3 gallons, or less by this point. Do you think this is ok?

 

[masonsjax]

Im not sure of the math involved, but you will need to adjust your bittering hops additions or you will get a different bittering level than you would with a full boil.

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

I might be wrong, but I'd be a little worried about DMS from just a 15 min boil. Hopefully others will chime in.

 

[Yooper]

I don't understand what you mean by a "full boil" but only a 3 gallon boil. That's not correct. A full boil is boiling all of the wort together in one pot.

Since he's doing two 1/2 boils, the hops should be split evenly and added to each pot at the appropriate time.

You need a long enough boil to drive off DMS, get a good hot break, have good hops utlization, and sanitize the wort. That's why usually you do 60 minute boils.

 

[nordoe]

I don't understand what you mean by a "full boil" but only a 3 gallon boil. That's not correct. A full boil is boiling all of the wort together in one pot.

Since he's doing two 1/2 boils, the hops should be split evenly and added to each pot at the appropriate time.

You need a long enough boil to drive off DMS, get a good hot break, have good hops utlization, and sanitize the wort. That's why usually you do 60 minute boils.

I am not very big on this idea. But its his brew. The recipe actually calls for a 90 min boil, which he is doing in one pot. He decided to take the other at 30 minutes. I agree, i would split the hops and do both at the full 90. He doesnt think it will be any different.

 

[Yooper]

He doesnt think it will be any different.

Well, he's wrong.

The beer will have less hops flavor, less bittering, etc. Taking all of the hops and putting them in 1/2 of the wort changes the utilization.

Oh well, if it's his beer and he likes it, and we don't have to drink it, it doesn't matter. It probably won't be a huge difference, but it will be different. If it's not an IPA or APA, and it's a malty beer, he might like it better anyway.

 

[masonsjax]

If he's boiling the full amount of hops in only half the amount of wort, I believe his utilization would be off, right? If that's correct, and this is how he wants to do it, he would need to recalculate his bittering additions. That's all I'm saying.

[Edit] Sorry Yoop, I just noticed you were asking the OP what he meant about "full boil", and that you already replied regarding utilization. It must be naptime.

 

[nordoe]

Its a Rye Pail Ale.

 

[Yooper]

Its a Rye Pail Ale.

Ah. Well, since you actually want bitterness and hop flavor in there (well, you always do, but in an ESB it's not as critical, for example), I would strongly encourage him to ditch his plan to do a 90 minute on one with the hops, and not hop the other. I'd rather see a 60 minute boil on both pots, and even hops distribution.

Otherwise, 6 weeks from now he'll be complaining that his first AG beer doesn't really taste that great. It'll be too sweet, probably a bit carmelly, and there will be a lack of hops flavor. Kind of just like an extract beer with a partial boil, actually.

Boiling 3 gallons for 90 minutes means that about half of that pot will boil off. Leaving tons of maillard reactions behind, and low hops utilization.

 

[bosco_NJ]

i agree wholeheartedly with what Yooper has said. i too am unable do a full boil on my stove top. i split into two pots and also split my hop additions evenly between pots. i would even think of not boiling my wort for less than 60 min.