Hops on pot's walls because of intense boil?

[luizffgarcia]

Guys, i am new to brewing and i was under the impression i needed a strong boil for my IPA recipe, so i left the pot lid almost closed and because of all the bubbling i noticed there was a layer of what looks to be hops on the pot walls over the boil.

I have two questions:

1 - Will my beer suffer from not being in contact with all the hops during the entire boil?

2 - Should i not use the lid at all in my next ones? I gave it a try and doing that generates a light boil, no bubbles at all.

Thanks

 

[McKnuckle]

I'm sure it was in contact with most of the hops for most of the time.

You want a vigorous but not CRAZY boil. Rolling, but not bubbling out of control.

You want to leave the lid OFF - for evaporation/concentration and to release undesirable compounds

 

[m00ps]

you need a more powerful burner or smaller batch size if you cant get a good boil going.

 

[wi_brewer]

It is generally not a good idea to cover your kettle while boiling.

As far as hop utilization, you may be fine there. It depends on how long the hops were in with the wort.

 

[slym2none]

Yes, please leave the lid off, or at least only halfway on, when you boil.

 

[unionrdr]

I scrape the hop stuff back into the pot with a gently rolling boil. That comes from the hop pellets dissolving back into grainy powder.

 

[brewbama]

I splash wort unto the sides of the pot to wash the hops back into the game every now and then.

 

[unionrdr]

That works well too. Any way to get it back in the boil...

 

[luizffgarcia]

Thanks for the replies guys.

So, do you think i am better with an intense boil and manually moving the hops back into the boil like every 10 minutes or so? Or keeping a gentle boil with the lid half closed instead?

 

[lolcats]

use a hop bag - problem solved

 

[balrog]

Rolling boil is just that, keeps the volume rolling. Bubble over 1/4-1/3 of surface is what I do, and the rolling nature always seems to make the hop and foam form an island on one side of the surface that I just stir back in every 10m or so during the hour. Definitely leave the top off, once boil and hot break is achieved, to allow dissipation of DMS precursor compounds. Right after hot break (and hopefully not after boilover) I do run around the rim and wash the stuff from the edges back into the boil by stirring and using the spoon to rinse the sides.

 

[unionrdr]

Good response. That's about what I do. I turn the stove heating element full on to "HIGH" till a minute or two past hot break. Then turn it down to about 8.8 or so, or a little below HIGH if the dial's worded that way. Gives an even, rolling boil without blooping like molten lava. Less boil off that way as well.

 

[kev211]

Thanks for the replies guys.

So, do you think i am better with an intense boil and manually moving the hops back into the boil like every 10 minutes or so? Or keeping a gentle boil with the lid half closed instead?

I just splash the sides of the kettle with the wort and they rinse right off. Lid half on is better than not on at all. But you would be better off leaving it completely off. You need it off for a number of reasons, but I would say probably the biggest is boiling off DMS and getting proper evaporation rates.

As suggested above, I would probably suggest smaller batches or a bigger burner so you can get a nice rolling boil

 

[Jim311]

DMS is only a concern if you are brewing all grain batches. You can leave the lid on extract batches without problems.

 

[Gibberoni]

DMS is only a concern if you are brewing all grain batches. You can leave the lid on extract batches without problems.

Although you are correct, I do not suggest anyone get in the habit of it.

Out of sight, out of mind. If the wort is starting to boil over and you dont catch it... there is no stopping it after a certain point!

 

[Jim311]

Well sure, but if you're having problems maintaining a boil on a stovetop extract batch it might be necessary. In regards to hops being baked on the sides of the pot, I just splash some wort up the sides with my spoon to break it loose.