boiling temp versus boiling time.

[corkybstewart]

My last post got me wondering about something I was thinking about during my last brewing session.
Water boils at 202F at my elevation, about 5% lower than at sea level. How does this affect hops utilization. Should I boil 63 minutes instead of 60 for my bittering hops? It sounds a little anal(a lot anal) for me at 3100', but for someone brewing at a much higher elevation it could make a difference. There must be a temperature component to the formula, but I guess the assumption is that boiling temp is always 212F

[Otis_The_Drunk]

As far as I know as long as you have a vigorous boil it really shouldn't make much of a difference.

[danno]

sounds like the perfect thing to write on a scoresheet to sound like a know-it-all judge: "a little less hoppy than called for by the style. did you adjust your hop utilization to account for boil altitude?"

(although, it does sound better than "needs more hops"...)


:D

[dparsons]

You will get some reduction in extraction due to decreased temperatures. You'll also get a slower rate of break down into 2ndary products. I don't know how significant this is, but I don't think its that much. I live at 5400 ft and have not noticed any lack of hoppiness in my brews. Maybe I'm just adding more hops. The beer is still good.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by dparsons
The beer is still good.

I think corky will agree - that's all that matters.

[corkybstewart]

Absolutey. Since I started brewing at this elevation everything I've done has already unconciously been accounted for. I'm just bored with work this week and daydreaming about brewing and that thought popped into my head. If I were to move to a higher or lower elevation I might need to adjust my recipes, but then there will be changes in water and other stuff also.

[HogieWan]

I still haven't gotten a full list of the minerals in my water. I just use it with no salts to be sure. However, I'm getting into brewing english styles, so I want to add some minerals. Today would be a good day to figure this out.

[Otis_The_Drunk]

Originally posted by corkybstewart
I'm just bored with work this week and daydreaming about brewing and that thought popped into my head..

To quote Ron White:

Next time you have a thought, let it go. :D

[SoxyinMO]

Originally posted by corkybstewart
If I were to move to a higher or lower elevation I might need to adjust my recipes, but then there will be changes in water and other stuff also.

A good thought. When I moved from just 4,000' to something like 100' it took a few batches to get my bread baking back to something decent. My oatmeal cookies as well :D