boil duration 30, 60, 90, 120 minutes sweet beer, full body, dry, thin

[O-Ale-Yeah]

If I boil for 90 minutes versus 60, will I have thinner, drier beer?


What happens with extremes like a 30 minute boil? Sweeter beer?

Will a 120 minute boil make thin, dry beer?

 

[mashpaddled]

Why would you think a longer boil would make a thin dry beer?

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

Why would you think a longer boil would make a thin dry beer?

I read that it caused further breakdown of sugars making them more fermentable.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I think you're confusing mash times with boil times. Longer *mashes* increase fermentability.

Boiling longer will concentrate, raise the gravity, produce a stronger beer.

But it can actually increase unfermentables slightly, and definitely darken and impact the character.

 

[brewdude88]

quite the opposite. Longer boils have been shown to very slightly decrease a worts fermentability through the maillard reactions creating melanoidins. The experiment I saw showed a fg increase of .001 between the same wort boiled for 30 vs 120 minutes. The boil is simply for sanitation, concentration of sugars and flavor development. the longer the boil, the higher the concentration of sugar and melanoidin flavors. fermentability is essentially locked in once the mash reaches mash-out temp and denatures the enzymes.

 

[Robert65]

Longer boils also will degrade some proteins, however, resulting in reduced body and foam capacity. Many factors to consider.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Many factors to consider.

Understatement of century.

Ultimately the only benefit of a long boil is the gravity concentration. And even then unless you're brewing something SUPER high gravity and it's the only practical way to get the gravity up high enough without just adding sugar, or brewing something akin to a turbid mash where the runnings are incredibly dilute, it's really not beneficial even there, rather accommodating for poor system/recipe/process.

Even the feared DMS isn't usually an issue, and a 60 min boil is plenty even with Pils malt.

Every other impact of extended boils can essentially be considered a negative for your finished product.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

Mash temperature contributes the most to fermentability and body, followed by the length of the mash. There is a pretty good article on Beersmith's blog http://beersmith.com/blog/2012/12/20/mash-temperature-and-beer-body-in-all-grain-brewing/ that covers the bio-chemistry behind the mashing process.

Summarizing the article, mashing at 146-150F/63-66 C gives shorter, more fermentable sugars for a thinner, drier beer. 154F-156F/68-69 C gives longer, unfermentable sugars for a sweet, full bodied beer. Somewhere in the middle around 150-153F/65-67C gives a shifting balance between the two extremes.

Longer mash times will result in more fermentable sugars being generated as the beta amylase works slower than alpha amylase.

 

[brewbama]

I could never tell the difference in a beer single infusion mashed at 148*F and one single infusion mashed at 154*F. It just didn’t matter. Same thing with 60 vs 90 min single infusion mash. I can’t tell any difference.

I boil at 2kw for 60 min for consistent bitterness, boil off, and OG recipe considerations. I am sure I could recalculate all that for a shorter or longer, less or more vigorous boil, etc but I don’t see the need.

FWIW: I get very consistent efficiency results with a .040 JSP malt mill gap, recirculation via RIMS at ~.7 gpm, and 1.75/1 water/grist ratio. I mash in at 140*F, raise the temp to 143.6*F and rest for 20 min, raise the temp to 147.2*F and rest for 20 min, raise the temp to 152.6*F and rest for 20-30 min, raise the temp to 161.6*F and rest for 20 min, and mash out at 170.6*F for 10 min. My beers are not thin, crystal clear, and I get great foam.

 

[O-Ale-Yeah]

I could never tell the difference in a beer single infusion mashed at 148*F and one single infusion mashed at 154*F. It just didn’t matter. Same thing with 60 vs 90 min single infusion mash. I can’t tell any difference.

I boil at 2kw for 60 min for consistent bitterness, boil off, and OG recipe considerations. I am sure I could recalculate all that for a shorter or longer, less or more vigorous boil, etc but I don’t see the need.

FWIW: I get very consistent efficiency results with a .040 JSP malt mill gap, recirculation via RIMS at ~.7 gpm, and 1.75/1 water/grist ratio. I mash in at 140*F, raise the temp to 143.6*F and rest for 20 min, raise the temp to 147.2*F and rest for 20 min, raise the temp to 152.6*F and rest for 20-30 min, raise the temp to 161.6*F and rest for 20 min, and mash out at 170.6*F for 10 min. My beers are not thin, crystal clear, and I get great foam.

Thanks for the info. Are they pretty dry? I've been using a 1.35 water/grist ratio.