Full Boil

[dhaas66]

Should I cover my pot on a full 5 gal boil.. actually 6 gal

Thanks..

 

[JeepGuy]

No. Don't cover the pot. A part of the reason for doing a boil is to get out some of the impurities. If you put a lid on it, the impurities that would evaporate out with the water vapor will be trapped in.

 

[GoBrewers]

I would say no, unless it's the only way you can maintain a rolling boil on the stovetop, but even then leave it open as much as you can. The evaporating water carries away undesirables with it, and if the lid is on, those undesirables just precipitate back into the wort. Also, I've heard that a closed lid is a sure way to get yourself a boil over.

 

[brewt00l]

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS)....covered boils are often cited as preventing DMS from boiling off.

 

[Glibbidy]

Never cover your kettle during the boil. Youu want to get a nice rolling boil which would require a lid free kettle.

 

[the_bird]

Please don't double-post; trust me, we'll find the questions.

I combined all the responses into this thread.

EDIT: Oh, and a covered brewpot = MASSIVE BOILOVER. Not fun.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I cover mine until the boil starts, just to get it going faster, and then remove it once it's about to boil.

 

[dhaas66]

Sorry about the double post. Was panicing because I was in the middle of my first brew and thought I posted in the wrong section.

It didn't go smoothly. In spite of all the equipment. lol Cleaning was awkward.

Got all of my ingrediants together... forgot that the grain needed to be in 4 bags instead of 2... Quick scramble to fix.. Removed grain after 45 min steep.

Then to cover or not.. Sorry again for the confusion. I did cover for about 30min then did not for the rest of the boil. Started with 6 gal. Another mistake I will get to later...

Then added my first ounze of hops in bag...

Once the 60 min boil was over. Added my next hops. and yeast booster.

Then finally stopped boil to add last hop to steep for 5 min.

Went to chill the wort. Got everything in place and the wort chiller leaked and was leaking into the pot. tightened the clamp still not good. (Will have to really look at this later) Managed to not get any water in the wort but it was a PIA.

Carboy in place. Temp good and emptied into the carboy. How much is enough? Yepp, you got it. Never left markers on the 6.5 gal carboy to indicate gal and half gal marks for reference. I estimate that there was 3.5 gal. I was shocked at the loss. didn't know what to do. But added H2O untill appoximate 5 gal mark.

Yepp, you guesed it again. forgot to take a reading.... lol My buddy showed me how later but he went to my fridge cracked open 2 DHF brew and smiled and said relax it will be ok. He showed me hot to take a reading. 1.049 1.050 He laughed and said . Not bad..

I shook the carboy and put the airlock on.

Lot of things I have to look at in the process..