Ran out of propane with 15 minutes in the boil left, will it be ruined?

[jakehoodlum]

Brewing an IPA, I ran out of propane at the 15 min remaining mark. I went ahead and pitched my hop additions at 15 min at 15 min and decided to throw my 5 min additions in at 10 min to maybe aid in better isometerization. The recipe calls for dry hopping but I have no idea. Anybody have experience with this?

At least I have a cool name: Burnout IPA

 

[FrozenOcean]

That's annoying, but I bet it turns out okay. My guess is that it will be less bitter than you intended, but you should be good for hop flavour/aroma.

 

[mjpeisher]

I have had this happen prior times, and the most recent time it pissed me off severely. It also prompted me to take apart my stand and sell all the components (you can search in the for sale sides to find mine, it is still active.)

First - I originally had 2 propane tanks, so I kept 1 full and used the other so it couldn't happen again. Then I sold the grill and the extra tank, and while not paying attention, something happened and the tank went too fast or I wasn't paying attention, and I still ran out. The second time it happened, it prompting the sell off.

Secondly - I have had it happen doing 2 different brew types. On an IPA I would say you are going to be lacking some of the characteristic you were hoping for. You won't have the IBUs from the long boil times, and the aroma won't be there, and will be only gained from the dry hopped. You also will not have had a complete boil-off, so you will be running a little low on your OG. I would still Dry Hop to compensate for the lacking aroma and possibly add some of the hoppyness you missed out on, but probably not a full amount, else it will overpower the IBUs that came up short.

Your flavor profile will probably be a little closer to "Burnout Session IPA" instead of "Burnout IPA", but it should still be an acceptable beer, and may even turn into a standard process.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Yes it is ruined. Pitch some yeast and drop it off here at my house.

Oh and go buy another propane tank

 

[RmikeVT]

Brewing an IPA, I ran out of propane at the 15 min remaining mark. I went ahead and pitched my hop additions at 15 min at 15 min and decided to throw my 5 min additions in at 10 min to maybe aid in better isometerization. The recipe calls for dry hopping but I have no idea. Anybody have experience with this?

At least I have a cool name: Burnout IPA

I think your beer will be fine, to tell you the truth. Maybe a little less bitter than you intended it to be, but not that much. The Hops at "flameout" will only add to the aroma and flavor. I would dry hop as planned and I think you will end up with a fine IPA.

I have seen recipes for IPAs with all the hops added in the last 20 minutes, so I think you will be fine.

Really - your beer might be better than the original recipe.

 

[FrozenOcean]

Oh, and I guess it might have a lower OG if you didn't achieve your desired boiloff. If that's the case, you could toss an appropriate amount of DME in there, or just go with it.

Maybe you'll have a kick-ass session IPA?

 

[Bobcatbrewing42]

My best guess: Let it steep for the full time, then start chilling. The temp doesn't drop that quickly. The hop balance might be off a bit from intended but things could be much worse. I would bet on a decent result especially if your boil was for more than 60 minutes.

 

[Bobcatbrewing42]

It only takes once. I am now the proud owner of two of almost everything including cookers, propane tanks and testing equipment.

 

[madscientist451]

Any reason you just didn't get more propane and resume the boil when you had a full tank?

 

[DU99]

should get a portable immersion heater and keep for moments when the gas runs out..

 

[jakehoodlum]

That's a good point -- for some reason I thought it might mess it up. Thanks for the replies guys I'll update you on how it ends up tasting

 

[Ski12568]

Will those little green camping tanks work for backups? I don't know how long they would last but you can get 2 for about 5$.

 

[zacster]

I probably would have carted some off to the kitchen stove and finished the hop boil. This depends on how much you can handle there.

 

[Malty_Dog]

3 propane tanks here...I grill and smoke meats so that's my excuse.

Your beer will prob be great...a flavorful pale ale

 

[bhanson]

I became a two-tanker shortly after a similar story.

Depending on your boil length and hop schedule, this may or may not be a big deal. If this was one of those IPA's that call for lots of hops at flameout and dry-hopping later, I'm going to go with the previous statement that it will be fine, potentially less bitter than you were shooting for, but otherwise no big deal. Maybe slow to clear depending upon how vigorous your boil was.

If it was one of those hop-bursted IPA's where most of your bittering addition came from large additions in the last 15-30 minutes of the boil, you will probably have a maltier, one-sided beer with with a lot of unbalanced hop flavor and aroma. But you might find you like it......

In any case, don't worry. It's probably going to be great, and if not, you'll learn something!

 

[OleGoatBrewing]

Some good info passed here. I hate it when that happens! I have two tanks. One on my grill and one dedicated to my brew setup. If I run out I just pull the tank off my grill. Last brew BOTH tanks ran out at the same time!

 

[dude3516]

Guess how I got my name for my "40 Minute Porter."

 

[dtwhite]

Will those little green camping tanks work for backups? I don't know how long they would last but you can get 2 for about 5$.

Those work and depending on your burner should last for about a single brew session, maybe a bit less. You need a small adapter to use them. U-Haul stores used to sell them, for whatever reason.

 

[fourhb]

should get a portable immersion heater and keep for moments when the gas runs out..

Would this continue boiling a five gallon batch?

 

[Brettomomyces]

Or could always come to the dark side and go electric Don't miss doing propane runs at the most oddball times...

I once actually ran out like 15 minutes into the boil and just covered it and came back the next day when stores were open. Don't remember much with that beer...it did get drunk

 

[Jeffinn]

Any reason you just didn't get more propane and resume the boil when you had a full tank?

Maybe he was brewing late at night or he lives a long way from the propane store. There are alot of good reasons why someone couldn't "just get more propane" when their tank ran dry.

 

[Wolfbayte]

yeah, spares are a good idea. I wonder where one could pick some up?

 

[Jeffinn]

Yeah, spare tanks are a great idea.
I have 8 propane tanks in my garage and you'd think that'd be plenty. But with four deck heaters, a propane grille and a brewing burner I still occasionally find myself without a backup. Luckily for me propane exchange stations are plentiful in my area so its never a problem.

 

[beerenstein]

I'm making the switch to primitive electric because of this. I'll only use propane for sparge water now.

 

[Happywanderer]

Here's what I do to save propane... it might or might not work for your purposes...

I crank up the heat in my hotwater heater the night before I brew. WARN YOUR FAMILY. My hot water heater gets HOT. Damn near mash temps hot.

I then heat up the mash water on my propane stove. Going from 150 (hot water heater temp) to 165 doesn't take too long. While it is heating, I gather all my crap in the garage and get things ready.

I also heat my sparge water this way.

NOW - carting 5 gallons of water (165* water!) is heavy and a bit dangerous. BE CAREFUL. If you've got a wife or SO ... now is a good time to enlist their help carting the water to the garage. For me, that's about 100ft.

But - now I only use my propane to boil. My tanks last a LOT longer now.

 

[eadavis80]

I'd totally forget to change the hot water heater the next day and end up scalding myself or a family member in the shower. I'll stick with 2 tanks and at least know I won't burn myself. More power to you if it works for you.

 

[Horseshoot]

In my house, the hot water doesn't taste as good as the cold. Even if both are allowed to sit and reach the same temp. And even after I run them both through a filter. I've read quite a bit about why this may be true.
I'd never use my hot water to make my beer. I'd just rather pay for the propane.