Boil intensity

A spot to talk general homebrew
Post Reply
User avatar
sgrhyno
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 146
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:20 pm
Name: Shaun Rhyno
Location: Lewis Lake

Boil intensity

Post by sgrhyno » Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:54 am

Morning folks...I have a question that's been bugging me, but never think to ask.

I'm interested to know how intense of a boil you all keep on your brew days. Does boil intensity have an affect on the final out come or just evaporation rates?

I've recently started doing 40L-ish batches in my keggle and that doesn't leave a lot of room at the very top. As hard as I try, hotbreak boil overs have become a relatively normal thing. Though I fight it hard as I hate a sticky garage floor. Then if its a heavy rolling boil, I still get a fair bit of splashing.

Which leads me to another question now that I think of it. When do you all start your clock for your boil time? After hot break is basically over?

I think I brew a little too haphazardly most days to get this part of my process dialed in (heavy vs light boil) . I haven't had to dump a batch yet...so its more just a general interest 'whats everyone else doing' kinda question.

ok...ler 'er rip.... :cheers:

User avatar
jacinthebox
Award Winner 16
Award Winner 16
Posts: 3047
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:44 pm
Name: Justin
Location: Hubley
Contact:

Re: Boil intensity

Post by jacinthebox » Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:13 pm

I have mine on full tilt (propane)...only because I know the boil off when it's on blast with wind blocker
Brathair Brewing



Brew Hard...Stay Humble

User avatar
mckay75
Award Winner 6
Award Winner 6
Posts: 750
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:36 pm
Name: Mark
Location: Truro
Contact:

Re: Boil intensity

Post by mckay75 » Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:16 pm

Invest in some Fermcap and never worry about a boil over again.

I run a pretty vigorous boil...I use one the Stilldragon DIY electric controllers and am prob running it at 85% throughout the whole boil. It's at 100% until the hotbreak finishes.

User avatar
CartoonCod
Award Winner 1
Award Winner 1
Posts: 858
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:39 am
Name: Adam Comeau
Location: Halifax

Re: Boil intensity

Post by CartoonCod » Thu Nov 29, 2018 8:42 pm

When I was brewing with propane I could set it as low as it could go, just enough to see the wort overturn, mostly to save on propane.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

User avatar
sgrhyno
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 146
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:20 pm
Name: Shaun Rhyno
Location: Lewis Lake

Re: Boil intensity

Post by sgrhyno » Fri Nov 30, 2018 10:54 am

Thanks guys! I use propane too, hoping one day to go electric. I tend to turn mine down too once I hit a boil to manage the hotbreak and stop the spills. I've been missing my numbers since I started the 10 gal batchs and now I think it might be due to my lower intensity boil (less than expected evap).

My take aways
1. fermcap. I'm getting some
2. boil intensity doesn't seem to matter as much as dialing in your evap rate...

Time for some more experiments.

User avatar
GAM
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 5402
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 2:50 pm
Name: Sandy MacNeil
Location: North End HFX

Re: Boil intensity

Post by GAM » Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:34 am

The evap rate is effected by exposed surface area not volume. Beersmith is a good tool to estimate the loss.

Also I use Fermcap all the time.

S

User avatar
sgrhyno
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 146
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:20 pm
Name: Shaun Rhyno
Location: Lewis Lake

Re: Boil intensity

Post by sgrhyno » Sun Dec 02, 2018 6:19 pm

Yeah...I use beer smith pretty much exclusively. The only reason I was relating my evap rate to volume was because I could run my 5gal batch’s at a much more vigour boil, so I was likely getting more evap loses.

Brewed this weekend and am definitely getting some fermcap. Garage floor is still sticky...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Post Reply

Return to “General Homebrew Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests