Partial boil, will it be bitter enough?

[Beerpublica]

Hi

I have an idea to cut brew time, but still try to get the same result as a fulll boil. A partial boil (with either extract or all-grain) where I only boil say 20%. I would use hops in the same way to get bitterness and aroma and then just add the mini-beer to the rest of the beer. With this I will get a full boil but the time to get to a boil will be very short, also the chill time will be shorter etc.

Are there any set backs with my idea?

I've heard that you only can get to ca 100 IBU. This will make the limit at 20 IBU with my partial boil or can I get the bitterness in another way?

 

[ncbrewer]

I don't follow what you will do with the other 80%, but from what I've read, you will be limited to 20 IBU with this method. You should be able to modify the process by using hop extract (if that's the right term) in the final wort to increase the IBU, but I'm not really familiar with that.

 

[jurgenph]

20% partial boil is very small, you'll be making syrup, not beer

J.

 

[Dee]

A lot of 5 gallon extract kits call for a 2.5 gallon boil, then add extra water afterwards to bring the volume up to 5 gallons.

Is that what you had in mind?

 

[Beerpublica]

I don't follow what you will do with the other 80%, but from what I've read, you will be limited to 20 IBU with this method. You should be able to modify the process by using hop extract (if that's the right term) in the final wort to increase the IBU, but I'm not really familiar with that.

The rest of the beer will not be boiled. Either stop right after sparging or just do a pasteurization of the DME. I've heard that DMS wont be a problem since I won't raise the temperature enough.

Hop extract was news for me, I will read more on this. Sounds interesting, maybe a 20 min boil with a small beer will be enough to get a good aroma profile from the hops. And then just add that to the rest of the beer along with the hop extract.

 

[Beerpublica]

20% partial boil is very small, you'll be making syrup, not beer

J.

Syrup is also yummy

But I will do a small beer in volume, like a starter. The rest of the wort will not be boiled

 

[RPh_Guy]

A lot of science happens during the boil; here's one random article:
http://byo.com/malt/item/1650-wort-boiling-homebrew-science

Taking shortcuts will cause problems. Brewers have already narrowed down the steps over thousands of years

 

[Beerpublica]

A lot of science happens during the boil; here's one random article:
http://byo.com/malt/item/1650-wort-boiling-homebrew-science

Thanks, great read. I do agree, a partial boil will never be the same as a 1 h or 4 h boil. But if I can make a great beer sometimes when there is little time I don"t see the problem. For a hefe weizen where I don't mind haze in my beer and low IBU this would be perfect IMHO

Taking shortcuts will cause problems. Brewers have already narrowed down the steps over thousands of years

Well the way we brew beer today is very different from the way they brewed beer 200 and say 800 years ago. Boiling beer is a quite new innovation, so is hops, carbonation, non-smoked malt, pale malt etc. Of course I see the benefits of a full boil but we still have the chance to improve brewing techniques. Some beers probably need a full boil others maybe don't?

 

[Beerpublica]

A lot of science happens during the boil; here's one random article:
http://byo.com/malt/item/1650-wort-boiling-homebrew-science

Thanks, great read. I do agree, a partial boil will never be the same as a 1 h or 4 h boil. But if I can make a great beer sometimes when there is little time I don"t see the problem. For a hefe weizen where I don't mind haze in my beer and low IBU this would be perfect IMHO

Taking shortcuts will cause problems. Brewers have already narrowed down the steps over thousands of years

Well the way we brew beer today is very different from the way they brewed beer 200 and say 800 years ago. Boiling beer is a quite new innovation, so is hops, carbonation, non-smoked malt, pale malt etc. Of course I see the benefits of a full boil but we still have the chance to improve brewing techniques. Some beers probably need a full boil others maybe don't?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Sure, over time the brewing process has expanded and ingredients refined in the interest of improving beer's flavor and stability... You *can* make beer without hops, lab yeast cultures, boiling, or carbonating, but you might not like what you get. My suggestion was that all the basic steps are pretty much necessary for making a decent beer by today's standards.

If you want to see what sort of beer you get without boiling, just go for it; it's certainly easy enough to try. Just be prepared for the likelihood of not getting a good result. If you do develop some awesome new process, be sure to report back so we can all benefit!

Cheers

 

[Shade]

I experimented with similar things when I was starting out and doing partial mash.

It didn't make sense to me that if you added the same amount of water after the boil as you would to the boil, so the concentrations are the same in theory, but the taste is quite different. But it's the prevailing wisdom and I certainly didn't make beer as good as I make now, even putting the bitterness up much higher to compensate.

But that said, I aim for BU/GU ratios of 1.3 - 1.6 now so I never got anywhere near it. Would be interesting to try a partial mash again knowing what I know now.

On the topic of a shorter boil, one thing I learned was you might be able to get the same IBUs from late hopping of high quantities but the type of bitterness I think is noticeably different to what you get from a normal 60 minute charge. Again - I should probably try an entirely late hopped beer again knowing what I know now, but I got a lot of improvement in my beer by going back to a 60 minute boil as well as big late additions.

So - you can boil for a shorter period but I wouldn't. I'd boil the largest quantity you can for 60 minutes with your bittering hops in, add the late additions, then top up. I'd also follow the advice of figuring how much you are diluting and increasing the IBUs to compensate e.g. if you can only boil 20%, multiply your target IBUs by .. 5? Seems a lot. Double or triple then and see how you go.

 

[homebrewer_99]

In '94 I started out doing small boils (2 gals) with LME. Not completely liking the results I switched to DME. Like most new brewers, our boil size was limited to our pot size.

Through reading and experimenting, I found Papazian's Hop Utilization chart which basically states 1 oz hops in 1 gal water/wort boiled at 1 hour (1-1-1) results in 30% hop utilization (maximum bittering utilization).

I added the remaining DME at the last 15 mins of the boil as well as Irish Moss, if used.

Prior to brewing I placed 3-4 1 gal jugs of filtered tap water in the (deep) freezer (2-3 hrs) and used them to top off and chill the wort.

I poured 2 gals of the freezer water into the primary bucket and then added the hot wort on top of it. Then finished with bringing it up to final volume. The water still contained it's oxygen so aerating the wort is accomplished this way.

If you are going to use specialty grains then the process for making a grain tea should be done first and use that wort in the boil.

Hops can be added in the last 15 mins of the boil. But if the recipe calls for 1 oz you'll only get 7.5% utilization, so you'll need to use 4 oz. to get the same aroma effect as in a full boil.

I brewed like this for more than a couple of years. I even won 1st place with an all DME Hefe Weizen using this method.

I hope some of the info can be useful. Good luck.

 

[daytraitors]

I did this with a AG trippel. Boiled only one qt to get the hop extract. 2gal batch. Turned out fine. IPA might need more hops to achieve ibus.

 

[Jim311]

I guess I don't see how this saves time. I could understand if it was an issue with the size of your boil kettle not being large enough. A lot of people do partial volume boils and top up with cold water in the fermenter. But it doesn't save time. You still have to boil for an hour. What difference does it make whether you boil 1/5 of the volume for an hour versus boiling the full volume? You've still spent an hour.

 

[daytraitors]

Time savings is in cooling before pitching yeast. I can mash out at 170 then add ice blocks to get temps down fast. I know some of you have wort chillers and fancy gear, but I live in a small $3k apartment in DC where there's just no space for that stuff. I got the one small fridge the apartment came with. Savings is in time and real estate.

 

[Beerpublica]

I guess I don't see how this saves time. I could understand if it was an issue with the size of your boil kettle not being large enough. A lot of people do partial volume boils and top up with cold water in the fermenter. But it doesn't save time. You still have to boil for an hour. What difference does it make whether you boil 1/5 of the volume for an hour versus boiling the full volume? You've still spent an hour.

Well I use an electric kettle and can start the boil within 3 minutes. After that it will take one hour.

During that time I will pasteurize the rest of the DME, using my electric kettle. And I will be from start to finish in 90 minutes

If I start a pot with cold water for a full boil it will take something like 30 minutes before it starts boiling. On top of this it will take longer to chill. A lot more stuff that needs to be cleaned etc. and start to finish for round 3 hours

 

[Bobbybob]

You should find a brew club. I bet someone would let you gypsy brew or brew with you.

 

[RPh_Guy]

BTW a "partial boil" is when you boil a concentrated wort (using less sparge/mash water) and then top up with water to reach your final volume in the fermentation vessel. This is a lot different than what you're suggesting by just skipping the boil for 80% of your wort.

That's why a lot of the people responding to this thread are confused as to what you are asking.

Also, wort you get from grain needs to be boiled to remove most of the DMS. I guess extract doesn't contain problematic amounts of DMS since late additions are a thing.

HTH, good luck.

 

[Beerpublica]

BTW a "partial boil" is when you boil a concentrated wort (using less sparge/mash water) and then top up with water to reach your final volume in the fermentation vessel. This is a lot different than what you're suggesting by just skipping the boil for 80% of your wort.

Yes, exactly! Thank you so much for clarifying this!

That's why a lot of the people responding to this thread are confused as to what you are asking.

Any suggestion of what I shall call it instead, and I can post a new thread?

 

[ncbrewer]

I'd say it really is a partial boil, but combined with late extract addition. As long as you make that clear, I think the thread is ok as it is. Partial boil with late extract addition is very common these days.

 

[Jim311]

In regards to DMS, this is not a concern with extract brewing. DMS has already been removed from the extract, I presume by boiling. With all grain it's obviously a concern. Late addition extract additions are definitely a popular thing. From what I've read it's mostly done to prevent darkening the color of the final product.