Wort boiling method and apparatus

A method of processing liquid wort comprising:

• using a wort kettle having a lower region for holding the liquid wort and an upper region with a vapor outlet and a vertical column with a bottom that opens to the upper region of the wort kettle;
• introducing into the wort kettle a discrete batch of liquid wort containing protein, malt enzymes, and bittering hops for use in brewing beer;
• boiling the batch of liquid wort in the wort kettle for a predetermined time period to produce wort vapor occupying the upper region of the wort kettle, without adding to the discrete batch of liquid wort during the predetermined time period;
• allowing liquid wort to remain in the lower region of the wort kettle during the boiling step;
• feeding the wort vapor occupying the upper region of the wort kettle through the vapor outlet into the bottom of the vertical column during the boiling step;
• permitting wort vapor condensate that forms in the vertical column to flow downward and into the wort kettle during the boiling step;
• rectifying the wort vapor fed through the vapor outlet as the wort vapor rises upward through the vertical column;
• withdrawing liquid wort remaining in the lower region of the wort kettle and introducing the withdrawn liquid wort into the vertical column at a location spaced vertically from the bottom thereof, wherein the withdrawn liquid wort introduced into the vertical column flows downward therein and back into the wort kettle while contacting the wort vapor rising upward in the vertical column;
• and
• discharging the batch of wort from the wort kettle after the predetermined time period.