First boil over - #!@#!!

[Redpiper]

This is pretty much just venting, but I learned some lessons.

Brewing a small Imp. Stout batch. Steeped grains fine - smelled great. Even did a hydro test of water vs. steeped water to verify QBrew - sugar added from steeping: water = 1.000 steeped water = 1.010. So accurate.

Anyway, get boil going and almost have a boil over. Granted only my 4th time with DME, but never happened before. Maybe the specific grains or something? Took care of it though. Feeling pretty pro with all my 2+ months experience

So got hop boil going, long about 20 minutes in to that I decide to partially cover the pot. Why? I don't know, something about heat efficiency? Boredom? Watched for awhile and nothing so went off to start sanitizing. Oops. Big mess. F###.

Switched burners and started clean-up while boil finished. Glad SWMBO wasn't around. Solution: don't cover the dang pot and watch it!

If that wasn't bad enough, I spilled way too much wort trying to filter and transfer to the MB keg. This really pissed me off. Solution: easy. Ditch the MB keg...but I like the size for experimenting. So next time, filter with big colander into bottling bucket and then rack to MB keg.

End result will probably be beer, but missed the target OG by quite a bit. Got 1.082 vs. 1.095. Oh well, lets hope the S-04 yeast do their thing and get us to 1.020!

So now, soaking the last piece of stove in OxyClean and hoping it will come clean.

Thanks for reading if you have. Feel a little better having written it anyway.

 

[Germelli1]

You know what they say, "a watched pot never boil(over)s" haha. I had the same experience as you...it went like this:
Me: "Hey Steve why don't we have the pot covered?"
Him from another room: "I don't know I thought I read not to"
I preceded to cover the pot
Me: "Oh phuck"
Him from another room: "You are cleaning it up!"

 

[cenla]

I feel your pain. Had a boil over on my second batch, made a real mess of the kitchen. Thankfully the wife was in another part of the house.

Mine happened in a second. The pot was uncovered and I decided to check a book for reference. Took only a second.

Had a bunch of other problems that evening- spilling grain, problems cooling the wort, etc... and then had all kinds of problems bottling. Learned a lot from that batch!

 

[Zamial]

I keep a spray bottle of Starsan handy to spray on the wort if it looks like it will boil over. This will save on Starsan, costs less than 3 dollars and will save a huge chunk of time vs. cleaning up a boil over...

 

[WillPall]

Also, for future reference, there are other reasons to not cover the boil. Check out this wiki entry: Dimethyl sulfides

 

[rico567]

I spent my first couple of AG batches worrying about boilovers.....which, I found, can happen VERY quickly. Then I read about Fermcap-S and got a bottle. Five drops in a full 6.5 gal boil, and no worries. Never looked back

 

[northernlad]

I have read a number of posts talking about how a spray bottle of Starsan will stop a boil over.
Its not the starsan, its the cooling of the spraying liquid. You can just as effectively use water...

 

[Mermaid]

This is why I sit down with my netbook at the kitchen table during the boil... waiting. waiting. waiting. kind of like watching paint dry but thank the beer gods - no boilover (and this last batch I was boiling almost to full capacity in my 5 ga. pot.)

 

[SlyBrewer]

I have read a number of posts talking about how a spray bottle of Starsan will stop a boil over.
Its not the starsan, its the cooling of the spraying liquid. You can just as effectively use water...

I learned this after a couple small boil-overs and straining my back lifting 12 gallons of wort off my burner in a hurry (in the moment that seemed like the logical thing to do versus turning off the burner).

A spray bottle with just water works wonders! Northernlad is right, you don't need the starsan since you're spraying into boiling wort... you don't have to worry about contamination.

 

[superjunior]

always make sure there's at least one set of eyes on the pot at all times because that one second is when it happens...

 

[bja]

Then I read about Fermcap-S and got a bottle. Five drops in a full 6.5 gal boil, and no worries. Never looked back

I can't believe there are still people who don't use this.

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

Never come close to a boil-over on my kettle --- guess I'm just being lulled into a false sense of security...

 

[rico567]

Never come close to a boil-over on my kettle --- guess I'm just being lulled into a false sense of security...

As a converted Fermcap user, I'm not saying it's ever going to happen to you, but IF it does, even if you're standing right there, it can happen so fast you're going to have to have good reflexes to be able to turn that fire off before it boils over. Ask me how I know.

 

[northernlad]

I can't believe there are still people who don't use this.

I am one of those people. I like to understand what I am ingesting. Plus I know if I watch it won't boil over and if it does it was my own damn fault.

 

[Germelli1]

I am one of those people. I like to understand what I am ingesting. Plus I know if I watch it won't boil over and if it does it was my own damn fault.

x2. mmmmmmmmm silicone

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

Also, for future reference, there are other reasons to not cover the boil. Check out this wiki entry: Dimethyl sulfides

The Jury is still out on this for extract brewers...

 

[tvtoms]

Since I have 3 awesome spray bottles.. I decided to keep 1 for misting water during boils.

My electric stove can just barely bring 3.5 gallons to a rolling boil, but you never know I guess!

 

[rico567]

I never needed Fermcap when I was extract brewing. I regard it as a very good thing to have now that I'm doing AG. And, having read up on the use of Fermcap commercially, I'm NOT worried about ingesting anything. When brewing, the Fermcap ends up in the trub at the bottom of the fermenter.....along with the rest of the sediment.

There IS such a thing as progress. When I first started using Fermcap, I read some threads where people expressed doubts...but they were the same sort of unsubstantiated doubts as the people who just have some unexpressed worry about no-rinse sanitizers or who say that using Irish moss is OK, but not any of its processed forms like Whirlfloc or Super Moss. I read up on these, too, and I found out the facts, and they took care of my concerns. I KNOW what I'm ingesting, and I'm NOT ingesting any Fermcap! Of course, as we are always obliged to say.....YMMV.

 

[BubbaK]

I learned about the fan trick awhile back and that is how I keep from boiling over..

 

[Manfish]

Boilovers are a part of brewing. After my first one I was soooo ticked but was told "Welcome to the Show Rookie!" I still find myself turning my back to grab another pull off the tap and hear that sound of a boilover in progress. It happens.... yet I still end up with great beer

 

[Germelli1]

Since I have 3 awesome spray bottles

LOL, I remember reading your other thread

 

[northernlad]

I never needed Fermcap when I was extract brewing. I regard it as a very good thing to have now that I'm doing AG. And, having read up on the use of Fermcap commercially, I'm NOT worried about ingesting anything. When brewing, the Fermcap ends up in the trub at the bottom of the fermenter.....along with the rest of the sediment.

There IS such a thing as progress. When I first started using Fermcap, I read some threads where people expressed doubts...but they were the same sort of unsubstantiated doubts as the people who just have some unexpressed worry about no-rinse sanitizers or who say that using Irish moss is OK, but not any of its processed forms like Whirlfloc or Super Moss. I read up on these, too, and I found out the facts, and they took care of my concerns. I KNOW what I'm ingesting, and I'm NOT ingesting any Fermcap! Of course, as we are always obliged to say.....YMMV.

We'll file it under unneccesary expense then.

 

[brad26]

Haven't had a boil over yet, but I've come pretty close a couple of times. The closest I've come was when I was grilling brats, chicken, and burgers for a cookout and brewing at the same time. Was outside, my burner isn't too powerful so I usually cover it for a while to get the heat up. Was flipping burgers, turning the brats, etc., and realize oh ****, I should check my wort, so I run over, open the lid, and it's probably an inch from the top, all foam, just ready to spill over the side. I start stirring like a maniac, needless to say, I won't stir that vigorous again, boiling wort started shooting out of the middle of the vortex, almost got me a couple of times. Next time I'll just turn down the heat.