[aparce]

Hello All,
I recently moved apartments and my gas stove in my new apartment is strangely weaker than the electric burner I was using in my old apartment. I am an extract brewer and have been fairly pleased with my results, I try as much as possible to do full volume (6 gallons starting for a 5 gallon recipe) boils. While my new stove is quite weak it does eventually get the wort to 100 C. However there is not that much motion on the surface and I definitely would not say the boil is "rolling." Is this a problem? Is there a benefit to having a vigorous boil or is the fact that the wort is 100 degrees sufficient? Also if it helps, I am getting a decent hot break.
Thanks!

[yso191]

There needs to be some action, some turn-over of the wort during boil.  Much more is not necessary.  Some of it is kinetics: hot break, where proteins run into each other and stick, and moving around helps get rid of DMS. 

Steve

[dcbc]

Is DMS an issue with extract?

[denny]

Is DMS an issue with extract?

Don't think so.

[yso191]

Is DMS an issue with extract?

Don't think so.

As much as I hesitate to contradict someone with so much more experience than I... I think it is an issue.  It is created wherever heat is applied in each step: mash and boil.

Steve

[denny]

Is DMS an issue with extract?

Don't think so.

As much as I hesitate to contradict someone with so much more experience than I... I think it is an issue.  It is created wherever heat is applied in each step: mash and boil.

Steve

There have to be DMS precursors (SMM) in order for DMS to be formed.  Those are driven off when the extract is produced.

[tom]

+1, there is a finite supply of SMM.  Once it is boiled off, it is gone.
And SMM/DMS is only a worry in pale-colored malts like pilsner malts.  With any malt as dark or darker than pale ale malt it's not a concern.

[tschmidlin]

There's no reason your gas stove should be that weak though - are you sure the gas pressure is where it is supposed to be?  It doesn't sound to me like the stove is working the way it should.

[Jimmy K]

There's no reason your gas stove should be that weak though - are you sure the gas pressure is where it is supposed to be?  It doesn't sound to me like the stove is working the way it should.

I used to have problems boiling 4G on my gas stove. I now have an electric stove that boils 6g easily. Different burner powers.

[tschmidlin]

There's no reason your gas stove should be that weak though - are you sure the gas pressure is where it is supposed to be?  It doesn't sound to me like the stove is working the way it should.

I used to have problems boiling 4G on my gas stove. I now have an electric stove that boils 6g easily. Different burner powers.

Weird, my electric stoves were always way under powered.  But then I started brewing outside long before we had a gas stove, so I guess I can't directly compare the two.

[morticaixavier]

There's no reason your gas stove should be that weak though - are you sure the gas pressure is where it is supposed to be?  It doesn't sound to me like the stove is working the way it should.

I used to have problems boiling 4G on my gas stove. I now have an electric stove that boils 6g easily. Different burner powers.

Weird, my electric stoves were always way under powered.  But then I started brewing outside long before we had a gas stove, so I guess I can't directly compare the two.

some of the newer electric stoves are beasts. I have a BIG element on my electric stove, meant for big pasta pot type boils that will make water jump out of the pot. It's about 14-16 inches across and if you crank it you can feel the heat across the kitchen.

[tschmidlin]

some of the newer electric stoves are beasts. I have a BIG element on my electric stove, meant for big pasta pot type boils that will make water jump out of the pot. It's about 14-16 inches across and if you crank it you can feel the heat across the kitchen.

That is a huge element.  I never had (and have never seen) an electric burner more than half that size.

[Jimmy K]

There's no reason your gas stove should be that weak though - are you sure the gas pressure is where it is supposed to be?  It doesn't sound to me like the stove is working the way it should.

I used to have problems boiling 4G on my gas stove. I now have an electric stove that boils 6g easily. Different burner powers.

Weird, my electric stoves were always way under powered.  But then I started brewing outside long before we had a gas stove, so I guess I can't directly compare the two.

some of the newer electric stoves are beasts. I have a BIG element on my electric stove, meant for big pasta pot type boils that will make water jump out of the pot. It's about 14-16 inches across and if you crank it you can feel the heat across the kitchen.

Yeah, I have two large burners (same diameter) with a 0-10 knob. On one I saute in the 6-8 range. On the other I must keep it below 3 or scorch everything. I only go higher to boil water.

[hubie]

There have to be DMS precursors (SMM) in order for DMS to be formed.  Those are driven off when the extract is produced.

I've wondered about this.  When I make a starter with DME and boil it for 10 minutes on the stove, why do I get hot break?  I figured that would have been taken care at the maltster as well.

[morticaixavier]

some of the newer electric stoves are beasts. I have a BIG element on my electric stove, meant for big pasta pot type boils that will make water jump out of the pot. It's about 14-16 inches across and if you crank it you can feel the heat across the kitchen.

That is a huge element.  I never had (and have never seen) an electric burner more than half that size.

Okay, looking at it once I got home it's maybe 12-14 inches across but it is still a beast. The other three elements on the stove are LED based I think, looking at them they appear to be clusters of small elements in the traditional spiral pattern but the big one looks like a classic one piece element, just under the surface glass.