Partial boil??

[jennieD]

Hey everyone,

I’m a brand-n00b, just bottled my 1st batch. My problem is I have a glass-top electric stove that takes forever to bring my 3-gallons of water in my 5-gallon pot to a boil, and it didn’t produce the desired rolling boil during brewing. I felt like I was brewing all day!!

Would you recommend a partial boil as an option for my next batch? Maybe a 1.5 gal concentrated wort? I know the recipe will have to be adjusted to account for hops utilization…would a more malty style, such as a Scotch Ale, be better for a partial boil? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[SmugMug]

Hey everyone,

I’m a brand-n00b, just bottled my 1st batch. My problem is I have a glass-top electric stove that takes forever to bring my 3-gallons of water in my 5-gallon pot to a boil, and it didn’t produce the desired rolling boil during brewing. I felt like I was brewing all day!!

Would you recommend a partial boil as an option for my next batch? Maybe a 1.5 gal concentrated wort? I know the recipe will have to be adjusted to account for hops utilization…would a more malty style, such as a Scotch Ale, be better for a partial boil? Any advice is appreciated.

I did my last batch on a glass-top electric last time. It took a long time to get 3 gal even close to a boil because of the heat protection shut-off. I mitigated the issue by partially covering the pot with the lid when the heat would cycle out and then taking it back off when the heat kicked back on. It was a little bit of a juggling act to keep up for an hour, but I got the hot break. But yeah, I'm not doing that again. I stole my brother's propane burner.

 

[Bobby_M]

You can do a concentrated boil but I'd do a late addition of your extract to increase utilization. You basically add only half the malt extract at first until the last 15 minutes where you add the rest.

 

[FatMonsters]

If you can, get a turkey fryer! I have gas stove and it used take me a long time to bring the wort to a boil. After the turkey fryer, no problems!

But if you can't, I guess boiling the 1.5 gallons would work as long, just as you've said, you adjust the hop schedule accordingly. Do you boil your top-off water and let that cool before adding in? That would just increase the volume of top-off water to boil. The other thing you could do is do smaller batches of beer. If you boil the 1.5 gallons, top off to a 3 gallon batch. I know its not as much beer, but it'd balance out the boiling.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I had the same problem with my gas stove. I picked up an outdoor propane jet burner. It was only about $40 with free shipping from acehardwareoutlet.com

 

[jennieD]

But if you can't, I guess boiling the 1.5 gallons would work as long, just as you've said, you adjust the hop schedule accordingly. Do you boil your top-off water and let that cool before adding in? That would just increase the volume of top-off water to boil. The other thing you could do is do smaller batches of beer. If you boil the 1.5 gallons, top off to a 3 gallon batch. I know its not as much beer, but it'd balance out the boiling.

I read that it isn't necessary to boil the top-off water?? Shouldn't it be ok to just use filtered/distilled water? I'd like to stick with 5 gal batches, & boiling the top off water would just bring me back to my original problem.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I dont boil it, I use store bought gallon jugs of spring or drinking water (not distilled).

 

[ChshreCat]

I get the big pack of liter bottles of water from CostCo. Then I boil tap water for my mini mash and sparge since I have to heat it anyway. That makes the bottled water more than enough for top up.

If you were just barely able to get 3 gallons to a boil, try knocking it down just a bit. Going down to 2.5 gallons may not seem like that much, but it'll make a big difference in your boil, I've found. Even being a quarter gallon over or under optimum for my stove makes a big difference.

You can also wrap your kettle to retain heat like in this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/improved-boiling-stovetop-53683/

All that said, if you have some place to fire up a turkey fryer, go for it. I would if I could.

 

[beerkrump]

Hey Jennie, welcome to HBT. Yea, those glass top stoves are the bane of many a new brewer. You might try getting two pots going. That may be able to hold you over before you get completely absorbed by the obsession and start building your brew sculpture.

BobbyM is right on with his advice about holding off half the extract to help getting the most out of your bittering hops.

Good luck and good brewing!

 

[FatMonsters]

I read that it isn't necessary to boil the top-off water?? Shouldn't it be ok to just use filtered/distilled water? I'd like to stick with 5 gal batches, & boiling the top off water would just bring me back to my original problem.

I used to boil my top-off water when I used tap water as the top-off. But I split it up among three pots, even with a gas stove it took awhile. That's why I was asking. I eventually moved on to just topping off with bottled spring water.

 

[SmugMug]

I read that it isn't necessary to boil the top-off water?? Shouldn't it be ok to just use filtered/distilled water? I'd like to stick with 5 gal batches, & boiling the top off water would just bring me back to my original problem.

It's not that big of an issue, but I would avoid using distilled water. Spring or purified water still have some of the minerals that can give your beer a little more flavor.

"Distilled water is an active absorber and when it comes into contact with air, it absorbs carbon dioxide, making it acidic. The more distilled water a person drinks, the higher the body acidity becomes. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Distilled water, being essentially mineral-free, is very aggressive, in that it tends to dissolve substances with which it is in contact. Notably, carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed, making the water acidic and even more aggressive. Many metals are dissolved by distilled water."

In a nut shell, if you want to drink more than 1 or 2 of your beers in one sitting, you'd better avoid the distilled water because you'll likely end up with a wicked hangover from the lack of minerals and dehydration.