Boiling

When your wort has reached a boil, it's time to start brewing in earnest. But before you start adding hops and start the timer, we recommend boiling the wort for 5 minutes or so. This allows some time for the wort to stabilize and for you to adjust the heat to maintain a rolling, but not violent, boil.

Your wort is most likely to boil over at this point or with the first hops addition. So be ready for it. Have one hand ready to turn down the flame. It's not a bad idea to keep a spray bottle of water handy either. Spritzing the top of the boiling wort with water can discourage the dreaded boil over.

Never cover the brew kettle during the boil. Keeping the lid off discourages boil overs and allows undesirable aroma compounds to evaporate.

In our CB&B Pale Ale recipe, hops are added to the boil at the following times:

• 1 ounce (28 grams) Columbus 60 minutes before the end of the boil
• 1 ounce (28 grams) Columbus 10 minutes before the end of the boil

On the next page, Steve Koenig will explain how to add hops to your brew kettle.