Lessons Learned

[Keepcalm]

Today I brewed batch number 6 and boy was it crazy. It was also my first time using a propane burner and first full boil.

The day started out drizzling and cleared up by 9 am just like the weatherman said. So I decided to brew outside since it was also in the 50s.

Got the propane burner setup and started. Since it was my first time using one I decided to play around with it just to get comfortable. After about 5 minutes I put the pot on the burner and filled it with my water. About 15 -20 mins later the water was boiling. The burner is much better than my stove.

I added my malt extract and that's when things started to get sticky.

The pot started to foam. I stirred vigorously but the foam kept rising, boilover number 1. I quickly tuned the heat almost off. Foam resided and wort was at a low simmer.

Raised the heat to get a more vigorous boil but raised it to much, boilover number 2.

Finnaly found a sweet spot for the heat. Added first hops. Had to awnser a work call, boilover number 3. That was the last boilover of the day. Each time not to much actually left the pot. I was quick enough on lowering the heat.

I go to check my timer to see how far along I was. I never hit start and didn't note what time I added the first hop addition. Had to guesstimate.

I go to look at the timer again and before the back light came in I accidentally hit reset. I figured it was time for my second hop addition.

About 5 mins before what I think was the end of the 60 mins it started to rain lightly. Not sure what effects rain water has on a brew but I'm about to find out. Was able to fashion the lid on it so no rain got into the wort as it was cooling.

From there I was able to cool the wort fast pitch the yeast and get it in my fermenting safe space.

When cleaning, I forgot I left the kettle valve open and pbw water got all over my floor.

So lessons I learned today.
1. How to control a propane burner and stop/prevent boilovers.

2. Don't trust the weatherman. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a cheap popup tent.

3. Don't forget to write down the time I add the first hop adition.

4. Make sure valves are closed when not in use.

Other than that the day was a good day.

The wort tasted very similar to founders all day IPA so I'm pleased.

Hope the fermentation goes better than the brew day.

Is there any negative effects from rain water? Possible Infection or wild yeast?

 

[JimRausch]

All in all, not a bad brew day, I'd say. You learned a few things that will smooth things in the future. And no the rain water should not cause any problem unless you had a downpour that filled your kettle., and then it's just the dilution.

 

[Brewsit]

Looks like you got a lot of lessons we all learn out of the way in one day. Efficiency! Despite all the hiccups I’m sure it will be awesome.

 

[Jtk78]

Pick up some FermCap and have it on hand. Helps with that situation and when making starters.

Not sure if you have a garage, but I put my burners just inside the garage leave the overhead door open. It can rain all it wants out and I'm not bothered by it

 

[Keepcalm]

Pick up some FermCap and have it on hand. Helps with that situation and when making starters.

Not sure if you have a garage, but I put my burners just inside the garage leave the overhead door open. It can rain all it wants out and I'm not bothered by it

I do have a garage but super paranoid about propane at the moment. New to using it and still not comfortable with it and a burner.

I'll keep an eye out for fermcap the next time I go to my lhbs.

 

[C-Rider]

I have a digital thermometer attached to the boil pot w/a temp alert. I set it for 200* and at that point I begin to turn down the gas. As it approaches 212* I have a spray bottle of water in left hand and right hand on the gas control. Spraying water on the beginning boil and turning down the gas usually stops boil overs. When the boil is controlled I add the 60 min hops and again have the spray bottle in my left had to stop boil over. One other thing...have a SPARE bottle of gas on hand at all times. There is just about NOTHING worse than running out of gas in the middle of the boil. LOL Welcome to this CRAZY hobby.

 

[Keepcalm]

I have a digital thermometer attached to the boil pot w/a temp alert. I set it for 200* and at that point I begin to turn down the gas. As it approaches 212* I have a spray bottle of water in left hand and right hand on the gas control. Spraying water on the beginning boil and turning down the gas usually stops boil overs. When the boil is controlled I add the 60 min hops and again have the spray bottle in my left had to stop boil over. One other thing...have a SPARE bottle of gas on hand at all times. There is just about NOTHING worse than running out of gas in the middle of the boil. LOL Welcome to this CRAZY hobby.

I didn't realize a 200,000 btu burner is that muchos powerful than my stove.

I also plan on adding a thermometer, sight glass, permanent etching to my kettle.

After I disconnected the tank yesterday getting a spare came to mind. Was it sure though propane I had left.

 

[mongoose33]

What I do to avoid boilovers is to use small spray bottles of water to spray the foam and cool it down so it doesn't boil over, doing it until the eruption subsides. Usually 10-20 seconds. Fermcap-S is also a possibility, I have it but have never used it in the boil (I use it for starters). But even if I did, I'd keep the bottles of water handy.

 

[millsbrew]

What I do to avoid boilovers is to use small spray bottles of water to spray the foam and cool it down so it doesn't boil over, doing it until the eruption subsides. Usually 10-20 seconds. Fermcap-S is also a possibility, I have it but have never used it in the boil (I use it for starters). But even if I did, I'd keep the bottles of water handy.

I did the water bottle trick too. Even 10-20 sprays from a water bottle won’t affect your beer. Also, try cutting the burner completely off when adding your extract. Then slowly raise temp back up to boil. This way you aren’t fighting boil overs while adding the next DME/LME.

 

[gunhaus]

What was the crazy part? Sounds like a normal brew day to me! I bought one of those little glass hockey puck looking things at wal-mart that stops boil overs. I just wash it sterilize and toss it in the bottom from the start. It has worked pretty good for years.

 

[kh54s10]

What was the crazy part? Sounds like a normal brew day to me! I bought one of those little glass hockey puck looking things at wal-mart that stops boil overs. I just wash it sterilize and toss it in the bottom from the start. It has worked pretty good for years.

What is this hockey puck thingy?

If you don't get an occasional boil over you are paying too much attention to your brewing.

I often get on HBT while brewing. That almost assures you will get a boil over....

 

[gunhaus]

The hockey puck thing is just a little Pyrex or glass device you can find in most kitchen ware sections of most bigger stores. I have seen them on Amazon as "Pot Watchers". https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LMCIXXK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[wallyLOZ]

Learn something new everyday. Thanks gunhaus.

 

[ncbrewer]

When I had a boil-over, I could see hops rolling out if the kettle. I guesstimated how much and added some more. If you lost some hops in the boil-over, the beer might be a little less bitter than you planned. (So don't adjust the recipe.)

 

[kh54s10]

That pot watcher thing is interesting but I wouldn't want to hear it rattling for an hour or more.....

 

[Keepcalm]

Thanks everyone for all this great feedback.

So my wife went into a draw that is located next to my sink and low and be hold the pbw water that got all over the floor also got all in that drawer.

Needless to say she was not happy.

Told her to "Relax and have a homebrew"

The look I got.

 

[gunhaus]

She should be grateful that you took the time to clean INSIDE the drawers! Not many guys would think to do that. Go ahead - tell her that! Dare ya!

 

[helibrewer]

Thanks everyone for all this great feedback.

So my wife went into a draw that is located next to my sink and low and be hold the pbw water that got all over the floor also got all in that drawer.

Needless to say she was not happy.

Told her to "Relax and have a homebrew"

The look I got.

Better than 3 boilovers on the kitchen stove

 

[RM-MN]

If you dump all the hops in at once you get a boil over quite often. Dump them in a little at a time instead.

I've read that 90% of the bittering happens in the first 30 minutes so your timer reset probably didn't change the brew much. Extending the boil beyond 60 minutes doesn't do much for the bittering either as the hop oils are nearly all isomerized at 60 minutes.

 

[ncbrewer]

The look I got.

Tell me about it...

 

[C-Rider]

I didn't realize a 200,000 btu burner is that muchos powerful than my stove.

I also plan on adding a thermometer, sight glass, permanent etching to my kettle.

After I disconnected the tank yesterday getting a spare came to mind. Was it sure though propane I had left.

I was at a friends house doing a brew and he ran out of propane. We had to scoure the neighborhood to find a tank to continue. LOL

 

[ancientmariner52]

I used a hand held luggage scale to weigh my tanks before and after brewing. The empty weight is always stamped on the tank, so it is easy to know how much remains.

If you are exchanging tanks, or having them filled at a flat rate, you are probably overpaying. Find a place that sells gas by the pound or gallon for the best prices.

 

[Keepcalm]

I used a hand held luggage scale to weigh my tanks before and after brewing. The empty weight is always stamped on the tank, so it is easy to know how much remains.

If you are exchanging tanks, or having them filled at a flat rate, you are probably overpaying. Find a place that sells gas by the pound or gallon for the best prices.

I usually go to Lowe's. Guess I have to ask my french friend Le Goog to see what the best price around me is.

 

[mongoose33]

If you dump all the hops in at once you get a boil over quite often. Dump them in a little at a time instead.

I've read that 90% of the bittering happens in the first 30 minutes so your timer reset probably didn't change the brew much. Extending the boil beyond 60 minutes doesn't do much for the bittering either as the hop oils are nearly all isomerized at 60 minutes.

Here's a chart that shows exactly that; note that the utilization levels off after 60 minutes.

As can be seen, after 60 minutes you've gotten about 90 percent of utilization; going to 120 minutes will only gain you 10 percent. BTW, the amount of IBUS produced depend on the gravity; higher gravity = lower utilization.

This chart is from this homebrewtalk article: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/analyzing-tinseth-formula.html IMO, well worth a read for anyone who's new at understanding hop utilization.

 

[kh54s10]

I usually go to Lowe's. Guess I have to ask my french friend Le Goog to see what the best price around me is.

Any place that you are exchanging one tank for another out of those cages is probably selling you between 15 and 17 pounds. Going price I see around here is $17 - $19. A local RV shop fills and charges $13. And I believe they fill to 20lbs on a standard 20 grill type tank.

Save some money if there is a filling station near you.

 

[Keepcalm]

Any place that you are exchanging one tank for another out of those cages is probably selling you between 15 and 17 pounds. Going price I see around here is $17 - $19. A local RV shop fills and charges $13. And I believe they fill to 20lbs on a standard 20 grill type tank.

Save some money if there is a filling station near you.

Looks like there are a few propane suppliers in my area. Will give them a call tomorrow to get pricing of any are open.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[littlewolfrus]

200000 BTUs! Holy crap!

After a few times you'll get a hang of it and you'll find out that it really doesn't take a whole lot of fire to get it to a hard boil. I usually set mine on lower to avoid the overflow problem. I'd rather take an extra 5 minutes and have it gradually come a boil that is somewhat more controllable than save the little bit of time and have my beer rolling down the sides of my pot to the ground. Figured that out doing my 2nd or 3rd batch on propane.

Also, after filling your tank up a few times you'll kinda know how many batches you can do or like ancientmariner said - you can weigh it and you'll know how much is left in the tank. Weigh it before brewing and right after and you'll know how much weight is used up during one brew.

I go to Costco for my fill ups. $9-$10 during season for a fill up (Canadian dollars too!) and $12 off season. Cheapest price I managed to find. I only use one tank but I keep track of what I have left.

I learned early to to keep everything clean and have all the equipment out of sight when brewing was done otherwise i'd get the - Look!

 

[superstorm204]

A couple ice cubes dropped into the pot will drop the foam also.

 

[SimonMtl]

Lol, dont worry, i did brew #3 last weekend and forgot to add the minerals that I carefully planned with Brun water then forgot to add the oats until I was 20 from flameout. Of course, I carefully prepared a brew steps sheet that is dumb proof but I sort of didn't use it because I was in total control of my processes, or so I thought!

Lessons learned [emoji849]