Question about Boiling

[CaptainCookie]

Hi everybody, just brewed a batch of a simple Blond Ale:

4.4 lb Maris otter
1.1 lb Carapils
0.5 oz Cascade

just to begin in the brewing world, while brewing I just come up with a few questions about boiling.

I wanted a mildly bitter beer with a relatively high hop presence, so I just figure out that adding hops only at the 30 minutes mark would accomplish that. So I thought, why just no boil for only 30 minutes instead of the usual 60 minutes? If there's not a 60 minutes mark hop addition, what would be the point of boiling for that amount of time?

So I did, after cold-crash, bottling and carbonatation, I ended with a good, crystal clear blonde ale. So my question is, just a 30 minutes boil can be prejudicial in any way for my beer? I succeed cuz it was a simple beer?

Also, I use my household kitchen for the boiling part, so it takes forever to reach 212°F, sometimes I just add the hops at 206 - 208 °F, so far so good, but should I expect any kind of problem brewing this way?

Thanks for your time

 

[kh54s10]

It all depends on what volume and OG you are looking for. It your recipe is designed for a certain OG and has a 60 minute boil but you only boil for 30 minutes you will get a lower OG and more wort.

 

[RM-MN]

Boiling should accomplish several things. First off is the reduction of volume with its concentration of the wort by boiling off water. Second is the removal of DMS, the chemical that gives your beer the creamed corn smell. Third would be color change as extended boiling causes a Maillard reaction to darken the beer.

I take care of the first by not sparging too much or not adding extra water so I don't need to boil it off. Secondly, DMS is the reacted chemical SMM so if your malted barley doesn't have much SMM, you dpn't need to boil off the DMS since there will be so little of it. Many modern barley malts don't have much SMM. That leaves the third option, darkening the beer. Since I don't enter competitions or brew for other people, my beers can turn out any color as long as they taste good so I often adjust the hop additions to get the bitterness I want with a 30 minute boil.

 

[CaptainCookie]

Nice tips guys, but what about the hops addition before reaching the 212°F? supposedly the isomerization process begins at 142°F, so, for bitterness purposes is not that mandatory to reach the 212°F?

 

[SoCal-Doug]

If you can taste the difference between adding at 208 and 212, your taste buds are laboratory quality.

Here's the deal... If you determine that the next batch needs more or less hops, change the recipe for the next batch. Home brewing goals should be to brew yummy beer and strive for repeatability so that the same yummy beer can be brewed again. If it's yummy and you repeat your process at 170, 208 or 212, so be it.

 

[Sadu]

So my question is, just a 30 minutes boil can be prejudicial in any way for my beer? I succeed cuz it was a simple beer?

Some beers you can get away with a 30 minute boil, other beers a longer boil is recommended.

- Any recipe containing pilsner malt normally recommends 90 mins to remove DMS, although many find this unnecessary.
- High gravity brews, in order to get good efficiency you need the extra water for sparging and boiling off the water helps
- Big malty beers develop more complex flavours from a longer boil. I like a 2 hour boil on big beers if I can afford the time.
- Some styles you don't want much hop flavour, only hop bitterness. With 30 min hop additions you are going to get some hop flavour which might not be welcome in that style of beer. Not a problem with pale ales of course, but a Koelsch or malty lager you might not want hop flavours.

 

[jtratcliff]

Seems like it's been said already, but it depends on your goals.... bitterness, flavor, aroma, for hops... color... maltiness...

Different styles call for different processes...

I sometimes do a 30 min. mash and a 30 min. boil... sometimes 60-60.... Depends on what I'm making.

Don't be afraid to experiment with mash and/or boil times but also don't ignore what "conventional wisdom" says... You have to know the rules before you know how to properly break the rules...