Boiling with lid on

Nudge

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I've recently moved into a new apartment and have started brewing again, however this one has electric stove hobs instead of the large gas ones that my old apartment had. Now, the only way I can get my wort to a rolling boil is to keep the lid on the kettle. All how-to brew resources I've seen involves boiling with the lid off, but I don't know if there is any particular reason for this.

Does it make any difference to the overall beer production? Can I just continue like this and factor in less water from water evaporation?

Thanks
 
If you're making wort from grain, lid off is pretty crucial. IMO. Extract beer can be boiled with the lid on, even if there's steeped grain involved. Any mashed grain, though,especially Pilsner will benefit from a rolling boil with the lid off. One of the processes in boiling is to release compounds that are precursors to DMS that can produce off flavors. You might be able to just remove the lid every couple minutes during the boil and do a decent job of getting rid of the SMS/DMS-laden steam and water condensed on the lid.
 
Can you get by with leaving the lid on partially? You want the steam (and DMS precursors) to get out.
 
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Yes, that^^^
Boiling with the lid on may not produce a nasty beer. For me it's an easy call in order to avoid the possibility altogether. If you can't boil any other way, the odds probably aren't stacked too heavily against you. ;)
 
Yes, that^^^
Boiling with the lid on may not produce a nasty beer. For me it's an easy call in order to avoid the possibility altogether. If you can't boil any other way, the odds probably aren't stacked too heavily against you. ;)
Roger that!
 
My math all assumes I'm losing volume so while I have no particular preference I would have to redo all my recipes if I put the lid on.
 
That's really interesting, thanks for the replies. I guess for the time being, I might try boiling with the lid on and shaking the evaporated water off of the lid until I can think of a better way of heating the wort. I'll see if I can taste anything weird in the beer!
 
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That's really interesting, thanks for the replies. I guess for the time being, I might try boiling with the lid on and shaking the evaporated water off of the lid until I can think of a better way of heating the wort. I'll see if I can taste anything weird in the beer!
You could do as noseybear suggested in another thread to boil it in two smaller potso_O.
 
You'll know your procedure didn't work when you get a creamed corn or cooked cabbage like flavor in your beer. That's DMS. At least leave the beer partially open, simply shaking the condensate off the lid when the boil is finished won't get rid of all of it.
 
Yeah...partially covered is a pretty common work-around. Also, leaving the lid on until it gets to a boil saves a lot of time. I think most brewers do that. I definitely do.
 
Yeah...partially covered is a pretty common work-around. Also, leaving the lid on until it gets to a boil saves a lot of time. I think most brewers do that. I definitely do.
Yup, me too.....and I have had a couple of boil-overs because I wasn't paying attention as the temperature got close to the boiling point. :eek::rolleyes:
 
Or just brew Rolling Rock clones. They purposefully left dms in the beer to make it taste different then everyone else's pale American lager.
 
Or just brew Rolling Rock clones. They purposefully left dms in the beer to make it taste different then everyone else's pale American lager.
There's that.... And the acetaldehyde in Budweiser.... Last Miller anything I was handed to drink tasted like cabbage juice....
 
you can rig up a device that vents the lid at a slant about an inch off not touching the pot and as the steam hits the lid it travels towards the low side and drips off like a drip ledge but still keeps most of the heat in, I've tried it and it works very well
 
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Yup, me too.....and I have had a couple of boil-overs because I wasn't paying attention as the temperature got close to the boiling point. :eek::rolleyes:
I'm happily boil-over free since I built my electric system. I set my controller to several degrees below boil and put the lid on. I can either monitor the temp while I'm doing other stuff or go take a break and come back. Either way, it's ready to go when I take the lid off. I'll increase the temp, scoop off break material while I wait for about 5 minutes until it gets rippin' and then turn down the power to about 75% for the remainder of the boil.
 

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