kettle lid

[Arbe0]

doing a brew on my electric stove (ya I know that isn't a good way to do it)
if i do an extract would it be ok to leave the top on the kettle so I can get a better and faster heat / boil.
also when do you and when do you not put a top on a kettle even with all grain?

 

[Nosybear]

I suppose putting the lid on while heating to the boil wouldn't hurt anything but take it off throughout the boil! As your wort boils, it produces dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which has a nasty vegetal taste. Fortunately DMS is very volatile and boils off quickly but if you have a lid on, it condenses and drops back into the wort. Boil it off! And if you're using a lot of Pilsner, boil longer (90 mins) to boil the extra DMS off.

 

[LarryBrewer]

+1 Nosybear!

 

[Nosybear]

correction: Pilsner malt.

 

[LarryBrewer]

correction: Pilsner malt.

Just fixed it for you.

 

[cearum]

Just be careful with leaving the lid on as boil overs happen super quick when it's on. I'd monitor the temp and pull it off when you hit about 190 F. I've seen the majority of boil overs happen above that temp.