Boil kettle with lid or not

[Ian]

I'm sorry if this one turns out to be a bit of a stupid question, but since I don't know the answer for sure I need to ask it. My kettle is a modified 55L beer keg and I saved the disc cut out of the top and put a slit section of hosepipe around the edge so it can function as a lid to get the boil up quicker and keep it cleaner in between uses. My question is, once I have achieved a rolling boil, do I continue the boil with the lid on or off? I have read somewhere that keeping the lid in place can result in re-condensation of unwanted elements, but I'm a bit hazy on that and I wondered whether boiloff loss was calculated on an open kettle boil or with a lid in place, which logic would suggest would result in less total boiloff.
As a matter of interest, I discover to my chagrin that despite the hose edging, the lid can still fit through the cavity in the top and end up in the wort. I discovered this by accident whilst boiling - say no more!
Cheers,
Ian

[Reviled]

Apparantly you need the kettle lid off to get rid of DMS and the like, I boil for about half an hour with the lid off completely and then half cover it, and then I do the last 10 mins with the lid on, raising it every min or so, so that I sanitise the kettle lid for no chilling..

[jt]

I'm a lid half on (or off, depending on your view) until the last 15 minutes when I throw the immersion chiller in (and the lid won't fit .. )

[JoKing]

No debunkage from me. I seal her up at the end of the boil and leave it after cooling for at least 2 hours. Sometimes (depending on style) I'll leave the whirlpool running too. For hoppy beers like Pale Ales I have the lid on, cooling with the whirlpool running for 3 - 4 hours after the boil. It just feels wrong decanting the wort of hops that have only been in there for half and hour. You gotta give those hops justice! They sacrificed their lives to give us good beer!

And Ian - smack on the back of the hand. Don't boil with the lid on! Reviled speaks the truth!

[Stu McKinlay]

DMS is only an issue if you are an all-grain, or partial mash, brewer.

I leave the lid on until close to the end of the boil. Then lid off until I switch off (no need to sterilise/sanitise as the lid never actuallytouches anything, it just needs to be clean).

[Ian]

Thanks for all the input - I should have qualified that I have now ventured into the world of full mash brewing and it is in that context that I ask the question. As a sort of progression from that, how long should one leave the wort in the kettle after the boil before running it through the plate cooler into the fermentor? Is there any specific rule or has most of the trub found its way to the bottom during the last part of the boil after I have added the Irish Moss?

[MrC]

I always cool as fast as I can as soon as the boil is finished in an attempt to "lock in" the hop flavour & aroma.

[Reviled]

Yay, congrats on going AG Ian :o)

[Ian]

Thanks for the encouragement Reviled. I have literally dabbled ocacasionally (starting with a disaster in 1969) with kit brewing etc every few years until a mate in Aussie waxed so lyrical about AG brewing that I finally got my A into G (arse into gear - and bad pun on all grain) and built/bought the wherewithall to go for it. I have jumped a couple of steps I know and did not achieve a high level of proficiency in other methods first, but I'm having fun and I know the best way is to get on with it and brew. One brew so far and kegged and drinking. Quite a drinkable Golden Ale with no nasties or off-flavours in it, but a bit 'thin' tasting and I'm sure it was (as discussed once before) because I had way too much of a void beneath my false bottom. But I think I have remedied that so I hope to get a proper sparge next time and flush all those sugars out of the grain that probably got left behind last time! I'm still a tad confused about what best sparge method to use but I thought flood sparging by adding water to above the grain bed and drain several times might be easiest. Any comments on no-no's with this method happily received.

[Reviled]

Are you referring to batch sparging instead of fly sparging? I cant help you too much with that mate cos im a BIAB purist :oP But a few on here are batch sparging, its probably the easiest way of sparging IMO and if I was to go traditional I would definately do it this way...

[James P]

That sounds similar to batch sparging, except when you do that you want to take a hydrometer sample and make sure you don't take runnings past 1.012 (i believe) as you may start extracting tannins etc.

[Ian]

Well, as I understand it (and that doesn't mean that is certainly the way it is) the flood sparging is similar to fly sparging but that, instead of trying to run the wort out at the same rate you add water in, you can fill to above the level of the grain and then drain until the grain bed is just exposed. Then you fill it to the higher level and drain again until all the sparge water is used up - two or three runnings. I believe that with the batch sparging you should re-do the vorlauf clearing process each time you have refilled the mash tun because the grain bed has been disturbed, which sounds like hassle, whereas with the flood sparge you only need to do it after the first draining. But I don't want to sprout off as though I have it all sorted in my head - that is just what I make from all the information on the subject I have tried to process, and being a bit lazy the easiest possible method that works appeals to me.

[jt]

So with a flood, you'd need to keep an eye on it and top up serveral times ?

With batch, you top up, let it rest 15 mins , recirculate and drain. Add sparge water, rest 15 mins, recirculate & drain.

Rest times allow for making coffee, reading paper, googling "flood sparge", frying eggs and all good Sunday morning stuff !

edit * work is also good for googling http://home.alltel.net/billvelek/glossary.html#flood-sparging