Adding DME at flame-out

Christian · 12-05-2008, 10:26 PM

So i got a Rogue Brutal Bitter clone and i was reading the instructions it came with and it comes with 2 bags of DME 1 big and 1 small. It says to add the small one at the beginning of the boil....but then it says to wait and add the big one when you turn off the stove.

I have never seen this or read about this anywhere else before. Has anyone else ever seen this or done this?

Oh and has anyone ever had a Wyeast smack pack that never swelled up? I had that happen for the first time today. It never swelled up, not even a little, i'm wondering if my fridge maybe got to cold and crystallized the yeast.

**Yooper** · 12-05-2008, 10:32 PM

Sure, you can add the DME at the end of the boil. Most people add it with about 15 minutes left, though. It doesn't matter- you can add it at the end. This gives you less carmelization of the wort, and better hops utilization. (For more info, do a search on "late extract addition")

I never had a problem with the smack packs- I always do a starter about 2 days before I brew, so I just add the liquid yeast to my starter and don't wait for the pack to swell up anyway. If you're in doubt as to the viability of the yeast, you might want to make a starter.

Christian · 12-05-2008, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YooperBrew

Sure, you can add the DME at the end of the boil. Most people add it with about 15 minutes left, though. It doesn't matter- you can add it at the end. This gives you less carmelization of the wort, and better hops utilization. (For more info, do a search on "late extract addition")

I never had a problem with the smack packs- I always do a starter about 2 days before I brew, so I just add the liquid yeast to my starter and don't wait for the pack to swell up anyway. If you're in doubt as to the viability of the yeast, you might want to make a starter.

Ok that makes sense since it's a VERY hoppy Brutal Bitter. I have added extract later in a boil but never at flame-out, it just struck me as odd so i figured i'd ask. Now that i know the reasons behind it i'm going to look further into it to see how i can apply this logic to other recipes. I loves me some hops.

Yeah i was going to brew on Sunday and was making a starter today before work so it would be ready then. But i've always seen the pack swell a bit before adding to the starter, this is the first time it hasn't so i was just curious if anyone else had seen that happen. I still added it to the starter though to see what happens.

MoRoToRiUm · 12-06-2008, 12:20 PM

Smack packs are finicky when it comes to temp- I think it's only about 25% of the yeast manage to stay alive for activity. That said, I know Northern Brewer has this policy because of this- They encourage smacking your pack 3 to 24 hours before you intend to brew, and if it doesn't swell, they will send you a replacement.

I've only used them once, and I didn't like it too much. It only swelled a little bit, after 24 hours. Sanitize anc open it- The one inner pack didn't bust open! I beat the $hit outta it! WTF!? Pitch and prey... took 2 days to begin active fermentation, went for 3 almost 4 days very active so brew's ok...

+1 on doing a search on late extract additions. You do have to recalculate somethings to maintain your IBU's, unless you are adding additional hops (1/2-1 oz of each). I also tend to boil for five minutes or so after adding.

Happy brewing!