Weak boil

the movement of the water contributes to maillard reactions? i had no idea; my sense was that was basically a heat-based reaction, and that high water activity actually slows down this process. anyhoo, i also don't use a cook pot big enough to allow for a full rolling boil throughout the process without making a bit of a mess, so that probably plays into my perspective quite a bit. i've not yet had a brew turn out sub-par by keeping the boil low, but i'll give it a shot next time and see how the end result differs.

 

I just brewed my first batch on a stove top, I'm guessing you produced more heat than myself. Does anyone brew right on their stovetop or am I in a very small minority?

 

I used to a few years ago, but the break from my hiatus of homebrewing is going to come with I get an outdoor propane burner.

Seems a lot easier to me, more heat, less mess in my kitchen. The yard I can deal with

 

I started out on a stovetop, and will still use one for partial boils in the winter when I can't stand being outside to brew. There really is no comparison. I am doing full wort boils outside on the propane with less heating time than a partial boil on a stovetop. It's asking a lot of a typical stove top (unless you have a restaurant-grade appliance) to vigorously boil a lot of water or wort quickly.

 

good point. i assume that it is the excess heat of a roaring flame that scorches the bottom of the pot, which is not the same as water boiling at 212. if there is not a powerful boil though, most of the burners heat is absorbed into the water. just my conjecture though.
Cheers.

 

After getting a really weak flame on my grill from a fresh propane tank, I asked about it at the place I get my propane filled. They told me that after moving the tank if you try opening the valve quickly to full open, a safety can engage and limit the amount of propane coming from the tank. You need to let it sit for a few minutes, just crack the valve on the propane tank a bit, then a moment later, open it fully. After hearing this, I went back to my tank, did as instructed and the propane flowed normally. ​

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If you were getting rip roaring flame from the burner this wasn't the problem. On mine I had flame but it was just very low and weak. ​

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The stronger the boil is the more heat there is being transfered to the molecules in the pot, the more heat the more maillard reactions occur.

 

I brewed on my stovetop for 9 years before getting my propane burner, it would take me over an hour to get 6 gallons up to a boil but once it boiled I'd have no problems. That said it depends on the stove, some can handle it and some can't.

 

I'm in the same boat as HB42, for the last two winters I have gone inside to brew... This season with my NG burner I'll try to stay outside... My experience is very similar in terms of time to boil.

 

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Oh, this reminds me...the Bayou regulators do in fact have a safety measure built in. Never heard about the moving thing, but I do know that if you turn the gas on at the regulator before the tank, it will trigger that safety feature and limit propane flow. Make sure that the regulator is turned totally off, then open the tank fully, then open the regulator and ignite.

 

Ah, now I know why that happens sometimes when I change tanks. Thanks!

And HB42 longtime no see. Hope all's well!

 

Also, make sure to start with everything in the off position. Open them up in the order the gas flows. That way each segment has time to equalize on each side of the valve. If everything is open when you turn your tank to open it will result in a weak flame.

 

You learned about the proper way to turn on the propane.

Build a wind screen for your burner, that gets the heat to the pot, if it is really windy a lot of the heat gets blown away. I have aluminum roof flashing for mine.

Talked to a guy who will be boiling in the low 190s at his brewpub when it opens later this year. He has to make some adjustments for that. Before the questions start, his brewpub will be at a high elevation in CO.

 

Glad that was a easy fix, then! Yeah, those burners put out plenty of heat...actually had a boil over the other day on a 9 gallon pre-boil volume...turned away briefly to do something, and I lost a quarter gallon before I knew it. Incidentally, anybody know--would boiling over and losing 1/4-1/3 of a gallon at the beginning of the boil account for a 4-5 point drop in OG? I was perfect in all temps, pre-boil volume & gravity, etc. up until the boil over. I knocked out at 70 minutes as planned with a slightly small post-boil volume. I guess I should have kept boiling for just a little bit longer.

 

A boilover wouldn't cause a low OG. But if the ratio of the original volume of the portion that didn't boil over to the final volume of that same portion is lower than the ratio of your total original volume to the planned final volume, then you would get a lower than expected OG. In other words, it's all about boil-off, not boil-over.

 

Ok, I think I get what you're saying. I did adjust my boil-off rate in BeerSmith because it looked like I was undershooting it a bit on my previous few batches and coming in at a lower final volume than planned. I just ballparked a higher boil-off rate, though, so I guess I overshot it. If I lost 1/4-1/3 of a gallon in the boilover but wound up with the expected final volume after the planned 70 minute boil, that would mean that I didn't boil off as much as I expected and would thus have the lower ratio that you mentioned, right?

Sorry to threadjack, but OP's issue was resolved...

 

You got it.