So this past weekend I brewed batch number 2 and both times I had some scorching. The first wasn't much at all, but the second thinking because of higher sugar/malt has a spot that I'm now onto two rounds of PBW. For the second batch I don't think I could have done any better modulating the burner keeping a constant non-violent boil rate and stirring frequently. What can I do to correct? Sign of a low quality kettle that I'll need to upgrade at some point? Better burner, more evenly heating? Add a diffuser? Deal with it, nature of the beast?
BarKeeper's Friend will clean better than PBW on stainless. How close to the burner is your kettle? Are you stirring like crazy and pouring the malt slowlly?
I'll have to take a measurement for the burner distant question. As for stirring and pouring slowly, I don't have much of a point of reference. However, I think I'm doing well on both, pretty anal process orientated kinda guy. I'll check out BarKeeper's Friend, thanks!
That's a little confusing one. I got a lot of the equipment used and the guys aid said 10 gal megapot. It's neither 10 gal or a megapot, 7.5 gal and thinking it's something like this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...conomy-kettles/30-quart-stainless-kettle.html Thou, it's not that exact one, because mines got measurement units.
One other note, plan once I go all grain is to get a much better / bigger (15 gal maybe) kettle and use the current 7.5 gal for sparging. However, I want to give extract some time to learn and I also want to keep spending within reason.
I was hoping you knew exactly what you have, so we could see if it might be a little bit thin-walled.
i got some industrial strength pot cleaner from the local restaurant supply store. its a pre mixed solution, looks like concentrated windex. just pout in a thin coating and peels the scorching away, then rinse. alot. i only get scorching with LME. never with grain wort or dme. you are pouring in LME? pull off some hot water into a second pot, then add your extract to the hot water, it will dissolve and thin the LME. do that a few times until it is all added. if you add LME to a hot pot it will typically dive right to the bottom and get scorched. strirring helps, but not enough. Cheers.
Me too! I was so excited that I was getting equipment to finally after years wanting to get started brewing that I didn't do a good job looking at the kettle. It's got the marks so it was easy to tell it's not what the guy thought it was. I'm pretty sure it's a thin-wall, already showing a little distortion. Thanks for the helpful suggestion; I'll try with LME the two pan approach to thin the LME and bring it up to temp before diving into the main kettle.
If you're using LME, you're allowed to add this right after you're done steeping. You're allowed to turn your burner off when adding malt too if it helps you get it off the bottom. Make sure you stir like hell and bring your wort up to a boil before you add your bittering hops. Don't be a slave to the recipe and do what you need to to prevent burning. If it adds 5 minutes to the brew day, so what? I agree with others that heating your LME in warm water will help it pour and help it dissolve.
