Last Sunday I brewed a variation of NB’s Sierra Madre all-grain kit. This is the first recipe I’ve brewed that had no 60 minute hop addition. According to the recipe, the first addition is 3/4oz Chinook at 45 minutes.
What I assumed is that I should cut the boil to 45 minutes and add the Chinook at the beginning. Was I right? Would the brew have benefitted from an extra 15 minutes of boiling prior to the 1st hop addition?
No that meant you add the hops with 45 minutes to go. I would still boil for atleast 60 minutes.
I personally boil everything 75-90 minutes though, depending on the additions of pils malt.In terms of hops utilization, not really.
In terms of boiloff - yes!
Kits are based on a 60 minute boil.
I boil off almost 2 gallons over the course of an hour, so if I cut the boil short by 15 minutes, that leaves me with an extra half gallon of liquid in my beer. That makes more volume into the fermenters, which makes less ABV and could also offset the priming sugar additions at the end of the line.
So yea…unless you account for the 15 minute shorter boil in the recipe formulation, it changes a lot of variables. None of them are a super big deal - but it makes for an inconsistent brew.
Thanks for the replies. Assuming the hops are boiled for as long as a recipe calls for, what benefit does a longer boil provide?
I should have mentioned: I actually did account for boiloff amount and came in just a hair under 5 gallons.
[quote=“Brick1083”]Thanks for the replies. Assuming the hops are boiled for as long as a recipe calls for, what benefit does a longer boil provide?
I should have mentioned: I actually did account for boiloff amount and came in just a hair under 5 gallons.[/quote]
Boiling drives of DMS from the beer, which produces off flavors. This is why you don’t boil with the lid on. It’s also why you do a 90 minute boil if your recipe has a lot of Pilsner malt in it.
Boiling is also the process that breaks down proteins and tannins in the beer (that’s the hot break you see in the wort).
It also acts as a sterilizer to kill off any microbes and bacteria.
Here’s a good article about the science behind the boil:
http://byo.com/stories/item/1650-wort-b ... ew-science