Higher Elevation Brewing

[Aileen]

I'm brewing extract kits, and my most recent brewing upgrade was to get a large kettle to do full volume boils. I used it for the first time this weekend. I was a bit worried that my stovetop wouldn't be sufficient to boil, but wanted to give it a try before buying a burner. I was able to get the wort to boil, but not a full rolling boil. The temperature was 208, which should be ok considering my altitude of almost exactly 5,000 ft. However, because the wort wasn't at a full rolling boil the entire time I ended up with almost a 1/2 gallon of extra volume. I'll adjust that next time, but this also makes me wonder if I should have boiled it longer or added additional hops (it's an IPA) or other adjustments. The fact that I'm at a higher elevation never occurred to me before. Any tips for brewing at higher elevations?

 

[twistr25]

Just speaking on the water side, the temp to boil goes down with elevation, so even at 208, it technically should have been "boiling". Now to caveat that, as you suspected, this isn't quite the same as boiling at 212, so the best thing you can do to compensate is to allow for a longer boiling time. Someone else may have more experience for precise times, but I would think adding 15-20% additional time to the boil and see if that gets you closer to your proper volumes.

 

[CapnHook]

I also think your thermometer needs calibration (or replacement). At 5,000 feet elevation, the boiling point of water is 202.4, so you should have had a full boil, not just a slightly rolling boil.

 

[beerenstein]

Water doesn't boil at the same temperature at different elevations? U can't crank your temp up for a full boil??? How do you cook red beans and rice? ??

 

[Brettomomyces]

I'm in Denver and found out the hard way that my wort boils at 201F...other than that I haven't really had any changes to my brewing since I moved out here from Connecticut. I would also agree your thermometer is probably not calibrated.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I have always brewed at 7k feet or higher. I just moved to the desert and I am going to brew soon for the first time down here in the low lands. Weird. I don't worry about it much. I have made some wonderful beers, or so I am told, at nice high elevations.

If you didn't get enough boil off then just adjust your process a bit until you hit your numbers.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

You should also look into a heat stick. Bobby from Brewhardware has a nice one I believe. That could give you the extra heat input you need to really push the boil. Also, I want to reiterate what other posters have mentioned: always calibrate your thermometers. That is very important when brewing.

 

[CapnHook]

When I'm going for the boil, I don't worry about temperature. My eyes, not my thermometer, tell me when my wort is boiling. It's the interim temps - for mash, for pitching - that matter and need an accurate thermometer.

 

[Aileen]

Thanks! It did occur to me that maybe the thermometer was off a bit, but it's a brand new one from Northern Brewer, the one provided with my kettle (a MegaPot). I thought about boiling longer but didn't know what that might do to the wort so I didn't. Generally how much volume should boil off in an hour using a 1:2 proportion brew kettle? Should I aim for a full rolling boil?

 

[flars]

You now know your boil off rate for a one hour boil. Keep this in your brew day notes. Adjust the total volume, according to this boil off rate, on your next brew day.

If you should come up short on volume in the fermentor, with extract brews, you can top off to the recipe volume with sanitary water. Common practice when doing a partial boil with an extract brew.