Well, it looks like Saturday is the day and I’ll be honest – I’m getting kind of nervous as my first brew day ever approaches. My goal is to have every detail figured out before I dive in so I make no major mistakes. I’ve been reading a lot, but I’d also like to lean on the enlightened readership of B&WB for guidance.
Today’s question is where to boil my wort.
I have a ceramic cooktop in the kitchen, and I’ve heard they stink for brewing. Speaking of stink, I’ve also smelled wort cooking, and have determined that it’s probably something best done out of doors. My kids would be whining for hours.
So I got myself a Bayou Burner which runs on propane and now have to figure out where to use it. I was planning on sitting outside in a snowbank (which I’ll be using for cooling when the boil is done) but then remembered seeing guys cooking in their garages. I also have a large back porch with a roofed section that might also provide a little shelter from the frigid winter wind. The more I think of it, the more I’d like to see if I can get by with cooking it on my ceramic stovetop. Forget the kids – I’ don’t want to freeze!
My objective is to boil the wort (it’s from an extract kit, BTW) and not burn down my garage/porch/house in the process. So where do you cook your beer? Have you used a ceramic electric stove top (a smooth one)? Let us know below!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
Doesn’t matter either way, just stir the crap out of it. The bayou burner generates an ENORMOUS amount of heat, and if you don’t pay attention, will scorch your batch. Same goes for the Ceramic stovetop, but in a slightly different manner. The ceramic stovetop will only generate heat in the area it is touching, which means that area gets a whole lot of heat prior to dispersing.
Bear in mind, however, that this is your first batch. You’re going to screw it up, and it’s going to turn out fine. I would recommend getting new yeast that DID NOT come with the kit. Usually kit yeast is nasty. Also, consider purchasing some whole leaf hops.
As an example of how you cannot screw this up, a buddy of mine dropped his lighter out of his pocket, into the cooled wort prior to pitching the yeast. He was making an IPA. Claimed it was the best beer he’s ever made, and he’s a hell of a brewer. Sterilization is important, but the yeast will most likely out-compete everything else.
The key is exactly as Charlie Papazian (AKA the God to which all homebrewers bow and praise) says, “Relax, have a home brew.” Or, in your case, relax, and have a wonderful craft beer.
It’s going to be OK.
Thanks, Brian. I actually sprung for the Wyeast liquid yeast upgrade for the kit from Northern Brewer. I’m not sure if it’s better than they typical “nasty” stuff you refer to, but I wanted to get the best stuff I could.
Is there a better place for yeast, grains and the like on the web? There’s really no good home brew shop in Northern NJ (which i find shocking). I think I’m going to quickly move on to all grain brewing, as it is more manly, and we all know how important that is!
Manliness is next to Godliness!
Where does that put cleanliness? Next to Manliness? There should be some space between those two I think…
Doesn’t Godliness have two sides? 6 if it s three dimensional…
And square…
Northern Brewer is who everybody I know who buys off the web uses. As for all grain, I wish I had the cajones and finances to do it. It’s just so easy to keep doing partial-mash.
I’m not sure what it’ll cost to move into whole grain, but it’s really attractive. I might just need an Igloo cooler and a sparge-y bucket thing-y type deal. Okay, I have no clue!
OK Jim, you need to ask yourself where is the manly place to boil wort for beer. Fists, is it on your ceramic cooktop stove…NO! First of all it might just break under the sheer weight of the awesomeness of the wort. So it has to be out. Second, is it manly to boil wort in a snow bank? NO! It’s just stupid. More manly than the cooktop, but stupid if you have options. Third is the Deck a Manly place to boil? You’re getting closer. If thi swas your only option I would say yes, take it, go to the deck and have at it. However this is not your only option. Your best and most manly option is to boil your wort in the garage with the big door open! Three sides of shelter, tools around, and snow banks just beyond where you do the boil. Crack a cold one and get out a lawn chair! It is the next most manly activity short of brewing beer while tailgating at Lambeau Field! Enjoy my Brother!
If we’re speaking of manly places: you should be doing it on top of a frozen lake, with your shirt off, while you ice fish with the hand you’re not using to stir.
Good idea, Brian! Maybe I could fighting a bear while singing a sea chanty as well…
Jim good luck. Don’t use that burner in an enclosed space… darwin award material 🙂
BUt like @brain said, You’ll make mistakes, forget something, do something in the wrong order. I still make mistakes, but still make damn good beer. So Relax, have fun. (don’t get drunk while brewing)
Cheers!
Thanks, Peter. I agree with the whole “don’t get drunk brewing” thing – It entails an open flame and a boiling cauldron after all!
i know I’ll screw up somewhere, but if I plan right, it won’t be anywhere major. Or maybe I’ll over plan and forget something simple, like sanitizing the carboy or something. BandAid Beer anyone? 🙂
I heartily disagree with the whole, “don’t get drunk while brewing” mantra. While it normally ends with me dumping 6.5 gallons of wort through a funnel drunk by myself while my friends are passed out, it’s never led me astray. I as well, have yet to make a bad batch.
I think I’ll do the first batch with my head screwed on straight, Brian. I’d probably put the funnel in the bottling bucket or something!
Nate will tell you how hard a time he has with his ceramic top. I recommend doing it with the Bayou burner. If you don’t get a good boil, you’ll end up with some possible corn flavors. Save the corn for the Bourbon and do it outside.
Relax, you’ll do fine.
Good advice. Don’t want a corny beer. Hmmm…Summer Corn Bourbon Porter – a great name if I screw it up!
It will stink for weeks! Boil it outside. Do you have nice neighbors that won’t mind the smell or call the gas company?
Sounds like outside is the way to go, Rachel. I think I’ll keep out of the garage as well until I know what the Bayou Burner is capable of.
I’m not sure how my neighbors will react, but I’m fairly certain my wife will be happy it’s happening outdoors.
I just want to say that is the exact burner I have in that picture all the way down to the red label on the hose.
And that’s a good thing, right? It seemed like the most economic/sensible choice and the comments on Amazon were full of home brewers saying it was the shizzle (a technical term for “very good”).
A co worker gave it to me for free. He over heard me say I needed one. It worked really well for my first one.
Now Don wants me to fry a turkey with the thing – typical. Very typical!!
HEY! What’s wrong with Turkey? I’m looking for a pot myself. Brew stuff doesn’t come with it! I will be taking inventory this weekend. Hopefully…
You’ll be fine Jim. I’m looking forward to reading about this too!
If you wear an apron, it’ll tone down the manliness of it all, but if you wear a welder’s mask that’ll bump it back up a bit.
I also think its going to be decent this weekend – not frigid or blizzardy as its been recently.
I think the forecast is good for brewing, Scott, so I’ll be okay out there. I might bump the manliness to 11 by brewing barechested while wearing Viking horns and/or a hockey mask.
I brew outside, no matter the weather. I brewed out in the rain once with a make shift cover. As for stirring the wort I have found I have never needed to stir as long as you have a rolling boil. It’ll pretty much stir itself.
Also I got my burner at Wal-mart with an 8 gal. aluminum pot. Not the best pot but it works for me. Supposedly aluminum changes the taste of the beer but I have never noticed anything and neither has anyone I know. But I am cheap and 50 bucks for a pot and burner combo was super sweet.
As for using the stove I have a ceramic top stove too and I use it for heating my mash and sparge water, that’s pretty much it. Anyways have fun and I look forward to more updates.
I think it’s the driveway for me. I’m curious to see how my HUGE 10 gallon pot will do on the burner with 2 gallons in it. I’m afraid I’ll scorch my grain bag because the water level is too low.
Jim, it won’t hurt if you use more water. you want the bag submerged but not sitting on the bottom either. I’m not one for following recipes to the letter to begin with. You end goal is 5 gal of beer. If you use more in the beginning then you just need to top off with less water.
there are two types of extract brewing, partial boil and full boil. The recipe you have is designed for a 3-5 gallon pot on a stove top, using partial amount of water to make a high gravity wort which is diluted to the correct 5 gallon volume. A full boil extract uses the full volume of water for the boil (roughly 6 gallons of volume, need to account for evaporation in boil).
not to confuse you but you don’t have to use one or the other you can go in the middle somewhere and top off at the end to meet you 5 gal final volume.
make sense?
Makes perfect sense, Peter. I was thinking about just that. If the HUGE pit I gave is too shallow to steep the grain bag with it touching bottom, I’ll just add more water to the boil (but not exceed 5-6 gallons). Great to know this is an option. I’m sure I’ll be peppering you with questions tomorrow night.