Short boil

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A professional brewer I know said he always does a 90 min boil for all his beers. His reasoning is that he has too much to risk for not doing it. Ie. Too much beer wasted if any off flavours are left behind.
 
I think it's entirely valid to ask why we boil for a certain period, so I'm grateful for the impetus to go and read up a bit more about it.
This article by Mike Benson at Crisp indicates that there is a surprisingly large amount of stuff going on in the boil: The Crisp Malt Guide To Wort Boiling | British Brewing Malt Supplier (well worth a read).

It makes the point that one of the objectives of the boil is isomerisation of the alpha acids in the hops, which may take 45-60mins depending on pH and hop alpha level

The main objectives of the boil are stated to be:
  1. Halt enzyme activity
  2. Sterilise the wort
  3. Concentrate the wort by evaporation
  4. Reduce the pH and precipitate unwanted compounds
  5. Extract bitterness, flavour and aroma from the hops
  6. Remove unwanted volatiles
  7. Develop flavour and colour
 
Is there a right brew length? There is but it depends on the system and the malt bill. Whether you are a home brewer or professional brewer one of the indicators to look for is around the 4% evaporation.
Achieve that and you can consider the action of the boil has done what it was supposed to do. At the end of the day, and this only applies to home brewers. From what I have read on different forums, and I say this without prejudice, I tend to believe there are those wanting to simply make beer and those who want to brew a beer either better, or on a par with beers they buy. I think that is where the different train of thought between brewers comes into play.

Emma
 
I tend to believe there are those wanting to simply make beer and those who want to brew a beer either better, or on a par with beers they buy. I think that is where the different train of thought between brewers comes into play.
You’re not wrong there. It also strikes me that one of the great things about brewing ourselves is that we are free to brew what we like, how we like - without having to worry about factors like cost control, mass market appeal and beer duty that plague commercial brewers.
 
Wort boiling is an interesting subject. It doesn't seem to be a subject of controversy and is normally ignored.
Attached are two articles that range from "no boil" to "long boil." It's just something else to think about.
https://crescentcitybrewtalk.com/wort-boiling/https://crescentcitybrewtalk.com/alchemy-101-magic-in-the-brewery/
Instead of linking yourself I think it would be more advantageous to link the qualified research you mentioned, leaves no room for ambiguity.
 

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