Vigor of Boil & Isomerization

[Creamy]

So HTB says a significant factor in hop utilization is the "vigor" of the boil. I use a crappy electric stove and can barely achieve a simmer when I boil. Should I increase my boil time by 10-15 mins to compensate? Has anyone done empirical tests along these lines and actually noticed a significant difference in bitterness?

P.S. Since hops are expensive and more boiling = more hop utilization, why not make all your boils 75+ mins? Is 60 mins normally enough to achieve maximum hop utilization, or does it have more to do with not wanting to over-caramelize the malt? If the latter, then why not just boil the hops for 15+ mins by itself and then add the malt and boil for 60? (I'm obviously talking about extract brewing here.)

Any thoughts/opinions? Thanks!

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, yes you want a vigorous boil, I use to use a crappy electric stove too, it works just fine even if you only get a light boil, at least it did for me.

You want to boil hops in wort for proper utilization.

Depending on the recipe and how much bitterness/flavor/aroma you want determines how much hops, boil times.

General rule of thumb for hops in a boil is,
60 min = Bitterness
20 to 30 min = Flavor
5 to 10 min = Aroma

After 60 min in a boil, I don't really think you gain much from your hop utilization, maybe slightly more bitter.

Hope this helps

Cheers

 

[Yooper]

You definitely want a boil, not a simmer. If you can't boil the liquid you have, try reducing the volume of your wort until you can maintain a solid rolling boil. It's important for hops utilization, but it's also important for the formation of hot break, a good cold break, the boiling off of volatiles (like the precursors to DMS) so it's important to do. The other things may not be quite as important in an extract batch, but still good if you want to make the best beer you can.

Simmering longer, for 75 minutes instead of boiling for 60 minutes, won't fix the issue.

 

[Yooper]

Something to consider, if you're not doing it, is to use a pound of extract per gallon of water in the boil and then adding the rest of the extract at flame out. Extract doesn't need to boil- it's already been processed. Using a pound of extract per gallon of liquid in the boil makes a great wort for good hops utilization as well as keeps the extract from caramelizing and reduces maillard reactions.

 

[Creamy]

Thank you both! I haven't tried the process you recommended, Yooper, but it makes a lot of sense. I've been boiling 3.5 gal so next time I'll try reducing to, say, 2-2.5 gal. With evaporation I'll probably be topping off with at least 3 gal of water. Is that going to have any drawbacks?

One more question: is that one pound per gallon dry or liquid extract?

Thanks!!

 

[Yooper]

Thank you both! I haven't tried the process you recommended, Yooper, but it makes a lot of sense. I've been boiling 3.5 gal so next time I'll try reducing to, say, 2-2.5 gal. With evaporation I'll probably be topping off with at least 3 gal of water. Is that going to have any drawbacks?

One more question: is that one pound per gallon dry or liquid extract?

Thanks!!

About a pound per gallon, dry or liquid, is fine. "About" is close enough and I wouldn't sweat it if it was a bit more or less.

In general, the more you can boil the better, but if you simply can't boil more than 2.5 gallons on your stove, then that's what you can do.