Ask The Brewmasters

  • 1.  Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-21-2022 22:24
    We are currently looking into reduction of boil time (10-15mins per turn of the brewhouse).
    Not only for reducing costs but also from a quality side. From what I'm reading these days it seems that excessive thermal load during malting, mashing, boiling and even in package can cause excessive staling reactions and affect the shelf life potential of a product. We were looking at reducing our boil time to 50 or even 45 mis to hopefully improve the overall quality of our beers as they go to market. Have you heard of anyone doing this on any scale? 

    ------------------------------
    Adrian Graeber
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-22-2022 12:03
    Hello, 

    Zero issues from boiling an IPA / Hazy less than 60 minutes . Often we only boil for 20 minutes for our hazies. 

    Cheers 
    --
    Eric Gomez

    Head Brewer
    ELLIPSIS BREWING

    7500 Tpc Blvd #8, Orlando, FL 32822
    407-250-5848





  • 3.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-22-2022 12:04
    I think if you can reduce boil time without increasing your DMS values all while hitting your bitterness targets, you should reduce boil time whenever possible for the reasons you've already stated. When I've done these tests, I pulled 5 minutes incrementally and measured our CCPs along the way, but start wherever you're comfortable!

    ------------------------------
    Justin Alexander
    Analytical Chemist
    New Belgium Brewing Company
    Fort Collins CO
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-24-2022 11:33

    I think its important to track HCN (Heat Coaguble Nitrogen) and the impact it will have on downstream filtration if your beers are filtered.  Setting up a series of Imhoff cones and looking at the levels of hot break formation during the boil and taking a fixed level of supernatant from each cone treating that with some form of protein precipitant silica sol) (is a good way to visualize (in graduated cylinders) what you are not precipitating out towards that section of the boil you want to eliminate. 

    Keep in mind E-2 Nonenal potential is something that will be negatively impacted as I have presented findings on that.  Just a watch out.

     

    Sent from Mail for Windows

     




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-22-2022 14:32
    Reduce  boiling time at your peril and with the greatest caution. My informant was brewing in the hard times of WWII. The product was a strong flavoured beer with roast barley and plenty of hops. They tried shorter boiling time for the same reason. He told me that the effect on flavour was "instantaneous and catastrophic". I have always thought that the reason was that the delicate separations of flavour compounds which take place during boiling were upset and incomplete. I have rarely met any brewer who was conscious of this possibility, although it is probably built into the mind-set of the traditional brewer, "for a successful product change as little you dare".
    However, for a lightly flavoured product you might get away with a little slow change, at least for a while
    Jonathan Virden





  • 6.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-22-2022 15:21
      |   view attached

    Hi Adrian,

    Yes, in the last 20 years breweries all over the world have abandoned the old goal of 10% boil volume reduction.  Most functions of the boil can be accomplished in a shorter time, and with the kettle at a mere simmer.  The main function of a vigorous boil is to drive off DMS and other unwanted volitiles.  The attached review article describes various alternate systems and strategies for boiling wort.  The driving factor for most breweries has been energy conservation, but the evidence keeps mounting up that lower energy input to the kettle generates fewer staling-compound pre-cursors.  So for the sake of your beer's shelf-life, your operating costs, and the health of the planet I encourage you to explore this.  You may want to contract with an outside lab to monitor the DMS levels in your finished wort, and/or begin trials with styles that can stand up to a little residual DMS (i.e.: not light lagers).  Effective protein coagulation is another factor that is hard to quantify; I recommend you establish a baseline of what is normal for your system with Imhoff cones, and watch for any change that comes with shorter boils.  Again, to be on the safe side, start out trials of shorter boils with your hazy styles.

     

    Cullen Dwyer

    Q/A Manager

    P: 978.874.9965 X1160


    Wachusett Brewing Company, Inc.
    175 State Road E.
    Westminster, MA  01473

    www.wachusettbrewingcompany.com

     




    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    Wort_boiling_today.pdf   3.54 MB 1 version


  • 7.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-22-2022 16:19
    I agree with everyone else that shortening boils is a worthy enterprise. Lots of good intel, particularly from Cullen regarding DMS and protein coagulation. I just have one suggestion to add regarding DMS to add to your risk assessment. 

    Watch the moisture content on your incoming malt COAs. This past summer as our maltster was working through the '21 crop year, we received lots with higher than spec moisture content which we then correlated to DMS flags in our lagers. The narrative from our supplier was that they were pushing cast and germination moisture, which was then forcing them to adjust kilning protocols to keep color in spec. Debate on the validity of all that aside, take into consideration the consistency of your malt supply. I certainly didn't expect to be chasing a DMS issue in 2022! You can also ask your supplier if they can measure DMS - precursor on your lots. Ours has agreed to do that for us at no charge. 


    ------------------------------
    Campbell Morrissy
    Head Brewer
    pFriem Family Brewers

    PhD Candidate
    OSU - Barley Project
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-23-2022 05:17

    Hi Adrian,

    Controlling the intensity and length of the boil is a good way to reduce costs, produce more stable wort and and an overall more sustainable product. 

    A first step, if not done already, would be calculating the appropriate level of steam flow/pressure/temperature relative to your kettle heating jacket area and target evaporation. You can then ensure that this at least sense-checks with modern brewing standards (Steam/Wort ΔT = <15°C, 4-7% Evaporation/hr).

    In terms of assays, Coagulable Nitrogen, Thiobarbituric Acid Index and DMS are all likely useful analyses in confirming both the baseline and the impact of any changes. When stripping volatiles, two phase flow of liquid and gas is what drives DMS off, so in theory any change in evaporation may have an impact on your DMS levels though as others have said, it depends on the beer style and the pre-cursors in your raw materials. 

    Cheers and good luck! 




    ------------------------------
    Wilson Hede
    Jing-A Brewing
    Beijing, China
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-23-2022 15:38
    Hi Adrian,

    This is definitely a worthwhile exercise in my opinion. I would recommend reducing boil time in 5 min increments and running a control side by side through the whole process (basically a batch using the standard process that is kept separate all the way through finishing) so that you can compare the impact the change has on finished beer. 
    The influence is going to be different for different brands so it's advisable to do this for all the beers you brew on a consistent basis.
    And one other thing that may be worth trying: we hold the wort in our kettle for a period of time with the steam supply off. That allows for conversion of alpha acid and reduction of DMS-P while not using energy. I recommend trying this for 5-10min in the middle of the boil. Make sure to vigorously boil for some time after this rest to drive off DMS. This works really well for us and significantly reduces energy consumption.

    ------------------------------
    Florian Kuplent
    Brewmaster/Co-Founder
    Urban Chestnut Brewing Co
    Saint Louis MO
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Reduced boil time

    Posted 11-27-2022 19:37
    Boil time effects all sorts of factors; DMS, Haze, Oxidation and even fermentability

    (Wort boil time and trub effects on fermentability.  J. ASBC. 79: 46-52). Some of these factors may or may not
    matter depending on the type and brewsize. 



    ------------------------------
    Alex Speers B.Sc. (Agr.), Ph.D.,FIBD
    Canadian Institute of Fermentation Technology
    Dalhousie University,
    Halifax, NS
    ------------------------------



Related Content