Losing too much volume during boil

[anthonyc9]

Hi all!

I've noticed in my last 2 batches I am losing a significant amount of wort volume during my boil.

I am boiling outdoors with a floor burner which I turn on relatively high.

Each boil starts off with about 7.5 gallons of wort and finishes with 4.

I am boiling in a 16 gallon Bayou Classic pot.

I have also not been hitting really good hot breaks at all.

Is there anything I could do to increase efficiencies?

Thanks so much!

 

[ph0ngwh0ng]

I brew outdoors also. I turn on the heat full on until it boils, then turn it down to maintain a rolling boil, but no higher. Otherwise, I'd boil off too much for sure.

Not sure what your hot break problem might be though. Is it possible that you miss it, as it happens in the first minutes of the boil for me?

 

[acidrain]

You must have hit the hot break and missed it... otherwise you would be having a boil-over.

 

[anthonyc9]

You must have hit the hot break and missed it... otherwise you would be having a boil-over.

That's the thing, right. So I boiled on high the entire time.

Before the wort hit a boil I got the normal layer of white foam, that quickly started to rise so I lowered the heat and stirred to get it back to normal. I then turned the heat back up and continued my boil. Every two minutes for the entire boil, the wort foam would start to rise again and again hitting no hot break.

 

[LandoLincoln]

You're boiling off 3.5 gallons of wort an (hour?) in a relatively tall skinny pot and you're not seeing a good hot break? Something is not adding up here. Either your volumes are off or aliens from outer space are messing with your brew day.

 

[acidrain]

I see that pot is about 15-1/2" wide... about the same as my keggle. I boil off 2 gal./hr., which is a lot. You are only filling it 1/2 full, so how is it that it is close to boiling over? Too much heat?
What elevation are you at?
What is the humidity and temperature where you're at?
Are your beers turning out cloudy (after conditioning)?

The only real advantage to hot break is to get the proteins to coagulate and drop out during chilling.
After you chill, does the wort separate to a clear layer over protein layer?

Also, instead of stirring to keep from boiling over, you could try spraying with a fine mist of water.

Even after a hot break, if you are giving it too much heat, it will boil over.
You should be able to bring it to a boil, then turn it down so that it's just bubbling, and then you should be able to see the surface of the wort.
Before hot-break, you can't see the surface of the wort while it's bubbling.
I suspect that you have powered right past hot break, and are over-firing it. This will also cause melanoidins. Is the wort darker than expected?

 

[anthonyc9]

I see that pot is about 15-1/2" wide... about the same as my keggle. I boil off 2 gal./hr., which is a lot. You are only filling it 1/2 full, so how is it that it is close to boiling over? Too much heat?
What elevation are you at?
What is the humidity and temperature where you're at?
Are your beers turning out cloudy (after conditioning)?

The only real advantage to hot break is to get the proteins to coagulate and drop out during chilling.
After you chill, does the wort separate to a clear layer over protein layer?

Also, instead of stirring to keep from boiling over, you could try spraying with a fine mist of water.

Even after a hot break, if you are giving it too much heat, it will boil over.
You should be able to bring it to a boil, then turn it down so that it's just bubbling, and then you should be able to see the surface of the wort.
Before hot-break, you can't see the surface of the wort while it's bubbling.
I suspect that you have powered right past hot break, and are over-firing it. This will also cause melanoidins. Is the wort darker than expected?

I think you nailed it. I am going to re-brew this on Tuesday or Wednesday and send updates. Thanks everyone for your input!