# "Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer."  Why?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-to-a-boil-then-lower-the-heat-and-simmer-why/388070
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 15, 2007, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-to-a-boil-then-lower-the-heat-and-simmer-why/388070 "2007-01-15T15:20:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)
#### Post date: [January 16, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-to-a-boil-then-lower-the-heat-and-simmer-why/388070/21 "2007-01-16T20:04:54Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=Balthisar]  
When I make beer wort at ~600 feet altitude, I have a good, full simmer at 170 degrees F. That actually surprises me, because I would expect it to be higher due to a higher boiling point.  
[/QUOTE]

Has to be good for hitting color values!

Do you AG, or Extract? Do you come up to a full boil at any point? What is full boil for you? I can’t imagine that 600ft ASL is making that much of a difference in the boil point, especially with the malt in there, which would tend to raise it a bit.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)
#### Post date: [January 17, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-to-a-boil-then-lower-the-heat-and-simmer-why/388070/22 "2007-01-17T21:41:46Z")

</div>

Some things only happen at full boil, like melting of beef fat. If the pot is boiling at the bottom but only 170\* at the top, the fat will stay in a lump.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bring-to-a-boil-then-lower-the-heat-and-simmer-why/388070.md?page=1)