Kettle Lid on or off

Get advice on making beer from raw ingredients (malt, hops, water and yeast)
Post Reply
private4587
Tippler
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 3:34 pm

Kettle Lid on or off

Post by private4587 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 8:50 am

Yesterday I attended a home brew course ran a local microbrewer, when the time came to build the wort he did so with the lid on the boiler. When I mentioned to him on what I had read from this and other forums about the posible formations of nasties forming the the wort(cannot remember the correct name for them) he stated that it was rubbish or myth. His microbrewery and main breweries don't have lids to remove whilst boiling the wort. So my question is which is correct Lid on or Off?

cerbera84
Piss Artist
Posts: 262
Joined: Thu May 01, 2014 8:06 pm
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by cerbera84 » Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:00 am

i usually boil with the lid off, as, like you, i've read about issues with DMS etc.

did the microbreweries' boiler have an extractor pipe attached to the lid? as far as i'm aware, as long as there is somewhere for the evaporation to escape, DMS is less likely to be an issue?
Planning: BrewEasy system build; possibly a Wychwood Hobgoblin Gold clone
Fermenting: Simcoe SMASH
Drinking: Cascade Centennial Pale

MTW
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 905
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:04 pm
Location: Just outside Scarbados

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by MTW » Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:50 am

I've certainly seen 10/12bbl micros with no more than a 6" pipe running without a fan straight out. Most stuff must surely drip back onto the wort. Due to my excessive boil (boiling as I do, in twin pots) I leave lids on until the last 30 mins or so, and even that may be more than enough.
Busy in the Summer House Brewery

User avatar
Jim
Site Admin
Posts: 10250
Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:00 pm
Location: Washington, UK

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by Jim » Mon Mar 06, 2017 10:02 am

Many breweries' coppers are enclosed, but they are all vented and this is how the dms escapes.

The man you spoke to is misinformed.
NURSE!! He's out of bed again!

JBK on Facebook
JBK on Twitter

AnthonyUK

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by AnthonyUK » Mon Mar 06, 2017 10:42 am

It is pretty much a non-issue with UK Pale malts but if you use a lot of pilsner malt there is a small chance.

There is of course more options than on or off. You can have it partially on to get a more vigourous boil and let out the precursors of DMS.

Jambo
Hollow Legs
Posts: 396
Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:00 pm
Location: Aberdeenshire

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by Jambo » Tue Mar 07, 2017 3:35 pm

DMS issues aside, I leave mine on when coming up to temperature to get the temp up quicker and then I am sure to take it off before reaching a vigorous boil, as boiling with the lid on is quite a good way to cover the kitchen floor in sticky wort. Which, I am told, is also a good way to have your brewing moved to a cold shed!

Funny isn't it that this "craft beer revolution" has got quite a lot of people who definitely aren't experts running breweries.

scoobybrew

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by scoobybrew » Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:33 pm

I solute the last post as at the brewing club where I brew my pal leaves the lid on until the last moment as the Braumeister struggles to get from 95-100 with the lid off. But time it wrong, and I had a close shave, and you will be spending a fair while trying to clean up boil over wort.

chefgage
Hollow Legs
Posts: 492
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:37 am

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by chefgage » Wed Mar 08, 2017 9:07 am

I always boil with the lid off only because thats what i have read you are supposed to do :) :)

I always leave the lid on till i get a good foam forming and its just starting to boil then the lid comes off for the duration. I have only had one boil over when i used to boil in the garage (luckily) and it indeed did make a mess as the wort down the sides of the vessel had an hour to get really sticky!!

The point about DMS as i understand it is i dont really :). Some litterature says you must not cover, others say you can cover as long as you have some sort of extraction and others say it does not matter.

I see some extraction systems where there will definetly be some condensate dropping back into the boil, so i wonder if as long as a good portion of the steam/vapour can escape a little condensate dropping back in does not matter??

User avatar
Meatymc
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:36 pm
Location: Northallerton, North Yorkshire

Re: Kettle Lid on or off

Post by Meatymc » Wed Mar 08, 2017 5:24 pm


Post Reply