Temperature questions

[carolinareaper]

Just getting into the hobby and preparing for the first brew. From a high level I've got the following sequence written down:
1.)steep at (160F)
2.)Boil wort (instructions say bring to boil)
3.)Add hops (let sit for 10 minutes)
4.) Rapidly cool (75-77F)

For step 2, do I need to bring to exactly 212F? Or is approximate OK? I'm probably overthinking this step.

For step 4. I have a home-made copper wort chiller. How long should this step take? My plan is to pump ice water through the copper tubing to speed up the process. Thoughts if this would be helpful?

 

[tmagoo72]

On step 2 how long do you boil the wort ? Should be rolling boil for so many minutes I would think.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

1- Yep...recipe depending.
2- Strong simmer to rolling boil. To me it does not really matter. Opinions vary.
3- Don't know what you mean here. You add hops per the hop schedule (60 min, 45, minutes, flame out, etc) not sure what 'let sit for 10 minutes' means.
4- Ideally it would take 20 minutes or less. Stirring the chiller and the right flow of water really helps here.

 

[NSMikeD]

Without getting technical, a rolling boil results in bad stuff evaporating (don't put the lid on) and more efficient bittering of the hops. So bring to a boil means keep it rolling too. For now, don't worry about the temperature of your boil (this is more of a minor concern for high altitude brewers)
What is your hop schedule? For bittering the hops need to be added into the rolling boil. Sounds like you are adding hops at the end which would add aroma and some flavor but come up short in bittering. Usually bittering hops are added for 60 minutes, flavoring at 15 minutes left and then aroma at the end.

depending on the size of batch and your chiller, 10 - 15 minutes, ice water is fine but tap water should do it. Don't overthink this part. The chiller will cool the wort sufficient to pull a lot of stuff out of suspension and minimize the time it takes to get the yeast introduced to do its magic.

Sanitize!

 

[Yooper]

Just getting into the hobby and preparing for the first brew. From a high level I've got the following sequence written down:
1.)steep at (160F)
2.)Boil wort (instructions say bring to boil)
3.)Add hops (let sit for 10 minutes)
4.) Rapidly cool (75-77F)

For step 2, do I need to bring to exactly 212F? Or is approximate OK? I'm probably overthinking this step.

For step 4. I have a home-made copper wort chiller. How long should this step take? My plan is to pump ice water through the copper tubing to speed up the process. Thoughts if this would be helpful?

What is your recipe? Steeping at 160F is pretty high, but it might be ok. I'd rather see 150-155 or so for steeping. Are you using prehopped extract? I assume so, since you are adding hops after the boil, but I don't understand #3 at all, to let the wort sit for 10 minutes after adding hops. Without seeing the recipe, it's just a wild guess if your steps are right or not. You may or may not need to add hops once the wort comes to a boil, and you may or may not need to let the wort sit for 10 minutes after adding some hops.

As far as boiling, you may or may not boil at 212. Water boils at 212F at see level, and lower at higher elevations so if you live in Colorado, your wort might be boiling at 203F. Boiling is boiling- if it's boiling, it's at the correct temperature. You want a rolling boil, not a simmer,

If you're making a kit with prehopped extract, boiling for a length of time isn't necessary so it's hard to say what you really need to do here. If you let us know what you have for your ingredients, we could be much more helpful.

 

[carolinareaper]

Thanks for the feedback on step 2. Looking at the directions again it should be:
2a. bring to boil 15 minutes
2b. Add Bittering hops
2c. Boil for 45 minutes

The part about sitting for 15 minutes was flat out wrong. Thanks to all for pointing that out.

For those who were wondering this is a Brewcraft USA brew kit for Northlands Nut Brown Ale. I can't wait to get this process going.

 

[McKnuckle]

Right... to be clear, they are saying to bring the wort to a boil, and start a timer when it begins. At 15 minutes elapsed time, add your bittering hops. At 60 minutes elapsed time, stop the boil and chill.

Strongly suggest not to pitch yeast until the temperature is no higher than 70ºF, preferably 65ºF if possible. You will not harm anything by waiting, and fermentation temperature is crucial to good beer.

Kits do no favors by not emphasizing this, and by giving high temps in the directions, assuming that users will be so impatient and frightened that all steps should be rushed. In brewing, that's just about the opposite of truth. Patience in nearly all phases of brewing is rewarded!

 

[NSMikeD]

OK, aside from pitching at colder temp, stick to the recipe. Lay out everything in advance and walk yourself through it. Test out that home made worth chiller in advance - mine is DIY too!

Put the wort chiller in a boiling pot for the final 10 minutes of the boil to sanitize it.

Good luck and enjoy. Welcome to home brewing!