What happens if you don't get a good boil?

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cokronk

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So I did a pumpkin ale at a friend's house the other night and his stove wasn't strong enough to get a really strong boil. It was just enough to reach the boiling temp, but not a full rolling boil like my other batches. We still pitched it. It has an OG of about 1.053 and it's happily bubbling away in the fermentor.

Are we screwed or is it nothing to really worry about?
 
You boil to extract hop acids and to drive off dms from the wort.

If this was an extract batch I wouldn't be too concerned about it. DmS really isn't an issue, and this pumpkin ale probably wasn't intended to be very hoppy anyways.
 
You boil to extract hop acids and to drive off dms from the wort.

If this was an extract batch I wouldn't be too concerned about it. DmS really isn't an issue, and this pumpkin ale probably wasn't intended to be very hoppy anyways.

It's extract and the temp on the brew was 212F and it was on the stove for about 2 hours.
 
It's extract and the temp on the brew was 212F and it was on the stove for about 2 hours.
You should be fine. It's the heat that extracts the hop essence into your wort and isomerizes it, not the vigor of the boil. So if you were at 212°, your hop utilization should be decent.

A vigorous rolling boil is important to get rid of DMS precursors, but if you used extract, that was done by the manufacturer. That's more of an issue with PM and AG batches.
 
I'm wondering the same thing. I did a iba extract that never got above 209 for 60 min. I'll be bottling it tomorrow. My taste test show that it tastes amazing.
 
It will be fine. Maybe not as clear.....not a problem for pumpkin ale....as you might be able to get with a full rolling boil.
 
I was wondering the same thing, I couldn't get a good boil before cleaning my fryer. Did two brews on it and am eagerly waiting a month to see if I messed up. I'm glad it takes that long...not. Need some support and reassurance. I did a wheat beer.
 
A more vigorous boil will evaporate quicker, thereby changing your OG.

(I partially agree if you're doing full boils, but) How? I do a 2 gallon boil on the stovetop with 5 gal of ingredients, fill carboy and top off to 5 gal.

I do a 3 gallon boil on the stovetop with 5 gal of ingredients, fill carboy and TOP OFF to 5 gal.

What did I miss?
 
Here goes with the long answer. Dimenthyl Sulfide is found naturally in beer and is a flavor component that is necessary. Too much DMS will cause the beer in final product to tast like cooked corn and will effect clearity. It attaches to H2O and as a result can be boiled off during the boil. To maximize the reduction of DMS you should have a rolling boil for 90 minutes. Again not all of the DMS needs to be lost and many all grain recipes boil 60 minutes. The books say that to assure loss of unwanted DMS you need to have a strong boil with an 8% evaporation rate durring your boil.

Your SG always be effected by the concentration of sugars in your wort. That is to say if you add or subtract more H2O you will change the SG. Obviously that can also be changed by adding more H2O, "top off" as most do in extract brewing to bring total wort volume up to needed final total. In all grain or any full boil the challange is to add enough H20 to start with that when the boil occurs and the H20 is lost due to evaporation you will have the exact total needed.

A rolling boil is not an exact. It is defined and can be achieved. The actual temprature is effected by altitude. My rolling boil occurs at a lower temprature than yours because I live at a high elevation and my boiling temprature as a result is lower. It is highly unlikely that if you boiled your wort for 60 minutes that you will have a problem. Pay attention to your boil and do what you can to get that nice constant rolling boil.
 
Here goes with the long answer. Dimenthyl Sulfide is found naturally in beer and is a flavor component that is necessary. Too much DMS will cause the beer in final product to tast like cooked corn and will effect clearity. It attaches to H2O and as a result can be boiled off during the boil. To maximize the reduction of DMS you should have a rolling boil for 90 minutes. Again not all of the DMS needs to be lost and many all grain recipes boil 60 minutes. The books say that to assure loss of unwanted DMS you need to have a strong boil with an 8% evaporation rate durring your boil.

Your SG always be effected by the concentration of sugars in your wort. That is to say if you add or subtract more H2O you will change the SG. Obviously that can also be changed by adding more H2O, "top off" as most do in extract brewing to bring total wort volume up to needed final total. In all grain or any full boil the challange is to add enough H20 to start with that when the boil occurs and the H20 is lost due to evaporation you will have the exact total needed.

A rolling boil is not an exact. It is defined and can be achieved. The actual temprature is effected by altitude. My rolling boil occurs at a lower temprature than yours because I live at a high elevation and my boiling temprature as a result is lower. It is highly unlikely that if you boiled your wort for 60 minutes that you will have a problem. Pay attention to your boil and do what you can to get that nice constant rolling boil.

The boiling point for DMS is 99 degrees F. Rolling boils are not needed to boil off DMS.
 

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