Adding first hops without boil

[Mther]

Hi guys,

I transferred the wort in the kettle and after an 1.5h the temperature was still 80C and no boiling was achieved (starting temp was around 60C). Therefore I started adding the hops without the boil but still the wort was very warm at 80C.

Do you think it will make much difference?

I have to buy a better gas burner basically.... but will that be ok for now ?

Cheers

[Zephiacus]

Did the wort get to boil eventually? You won't isomerise the alpha acids in the hops so much at 80C or achieve most of the primary benefits of a true boil. --you can however add hops at any point in the brew, before boil is called first wort hopping and is practised by many brewers, look it up,

[Mther]

Thanks Zephiacus...

My gas burner has a power output 5.33kW, however the wort never reached full boil. The temperature went up to 85C eventually...

My questions are:

-Do I need a gas burner with higher output (i.e. 7.5kW)?
-Should I have the lid on and remove it when the boil is reached? I was told not to have the lid on to avoid any DMS in the beer thats why I had it off.
-What would the 'worst' consequences of this brew be? I tasted it, it had some bitterness so if I did not get all the alpha acids I am not bothered for now... but the beer was very hazy, maybe because the proteins did not break up? Any other problems that you think I will have? The beer is fermenting nicely at 21C btw.

The Keg is 100L and the wort volume was 55L.

[Zephiacus]

No idea, but if you cant reach full boil then yes you do need a new burner, did you not try a test boil w/water 1st?
Lid on until you reach boil is fine, the DMS should have evaporated off after about 45 mins of boiling.
Well its fermenting so try and see when it tastes like, i'd be concerned for the lack of evaporation to remove volatiles and poor protein/polyphenol formation/precipitation.

Chalk it up as an experiment, I've had half decent beer out of [censored]-ups before, you never know

[Mr. Dripping]

The half life of DMS is around 38 mins, so a 45 minute boil will not drive off all the DMS present.
From what I understand, DMS is only a real issue when a really low colour malt provides the majority of the base and discernable DMS is considered a fault in the beer style. By low colour, I'm talking 2 EBC or less.
It is said that if you remove all of the DMS, even in a really pale beer then the beer will not taste as expected.....low levels of DMS (below flavour thresholds of <30 ppb) are supposed to form part of the overall flavour character of the beer and it would be lacking without it.
2 hour boils are recommended for styles where detectable DMS is considered a beer fault.
DMS pre cursors are not very abundant in typical British pale malts; but you will find a lot in pilsner malt or American 2 row.

Back to the OP.
Yes, you do need a bigger burner, as you need a good rolling boil.
You will get some iso-alpha isomerisation (ie bitterness) at the lower temperature......but not nearly as much as at boiling. SO the beer will most likely be under bittered.
WIthout a proper boil, I'm guessing you would have a problem securing the hot break. IIRC, it is the boiling that creates turbulence that makes smaller protein particles collide and stick together......this is probably why the wort looked very hazy.

[Mther]

Thank you both for your replies.

I guess I will wait and let you know how the beer will taste in a month.

For future brews I will buy a 7.5 kW burner and adjust the burner (where the flame comes out) to 6 cm distance from the boilers base (Powell Brewing recommended this after some tests he did).

The beer was an IPA, 10 EBC or so.

I will try to cold crash to clear it a bit,but to be honest the only thing I care at this stage is if the abv is 4%+ and if it tastes nice:)

Cheers guys

[Ben711200]

I presume if using a gas burner, that you were outdoors? Did you shield the flame? Gusts of wind will do you no favours at all and it could be that with a bit of shielding you would have been alright.

[Mther]

I used some bricks for the last hour Ben but still nothing...