Ran out of propane... did I do the right thing?

[DawgBrewer]

I ran out of propane today with 10 mins remaining of my boil. It was an IPA recipe calling for 1 oz @ 60, 1 oz @ 20, and 2 oz @ 5. The tank didn't completely die, but the flame was small and I could only maintain 200 degrees for the last 10 mins. I thought that since the heat was a little lower I should add the finishing hops a little bit earlier. I threw them in as soon as I realized the problem so they sat at 200 degrees for 10 mins. How will this effect this batch?

 

[onipar]

I'm not all that well versed in hop utilization, but it seems to me that there will be slightly less aroma and slightly more bitter by adding it at 10 instead of 5. But in the long run I don't think it will be that big a deal at all. The beer should be fine.

 

[the_bird]

Shouldn't make TOO much of a difference. It's mostly the heat, not the actual boil, that's doing the extraction (at least that's how I've understood it). You might have lost a little bit of the flavor extraction. HArd to say, since that's counterbalanced with the longer "boil" time. Not sure how much the "twelve degrees cooler" factor balanced against "five minutes longer."

It's kind of like you did a large flameout addition, which is a well-established technique.

Dryhopping might help, *if* you find the overall extraction was a little light. It's not the same, dryhopping adds aroma, not really a lot of direct hop flavor, but it still might you get a little closer *if* you find the beer's a little lacking post-fermentation. I bet in the end, it's not exactly the beer you were shooting for but I bet it's *close enough*.

A real-world example of why you should have two propane tanks!

 

[kappclark]

Try to get another tank ... I ran out once with a few ft of snow on the ground...had to use the stove, in 2 pots...

Swore that wld never happen again ..and it hasn't (smile)

 

[davefleck]

The only issue you will have is in replication when this becomes your favorite batch

 

[SHOOK]

The only issue you will have is in replication when this becomes your favorite batch

no problem...

50 min boil, add hops at flameout, rest 10 mins

 

[lou2row]

Try to get another tank ... I ran out once with a few ft of snow on the ground...had to use the stove, in 2 pots...

Swore that wld never happen again ..and it hasn't (smile)

I've got 5 tanks and have still about ran out! Luckily my 100 lb tank still was half full.

If you have made this recipe before, let us know how it differs from this batch. Some of the world's greatest innovations came from mistakes.

 

[wolfman_48442]

It sounds like you'll still make a nice beer, even if it's maybe not exactly what you had planned.
I have gotten into the habit of weighing my tank before and after brew days, and it allows me to track how much propane I use on a typical day, and how much I have after I'm done.
Comes in real handy when I forget to keep track and use a bunch of propane grilling chicken or ribs on the grill...
Just this evening I started out with 21.4# in the tank, and knew that I typically use about 4.5# for mashing and a 90 min boil. I ended up with 17.2# as tank weight, which means I had 0.6# to spare (the tank weighs 16.6# empty)