Boiling vs Non-Boiling Extract Question

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wardos

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Hello all,

A couple of months ago I bottled by Coopers Mexican Cervesa brew. This was prepared by simply disolving Coopers Brew Kit 2 in 5 litres of hot (not boiling) water together with the extract that comes in the Coopers can. I did not boil anything here. I trying a bottle the other night - not too bad.

Last night however I did exactly the same brew (well used exactly the same ingrediants) expect I am using some Saflarger yeast this time instead of that which comes with the Coopers can. Anyway I boiled the extract and the Cooper Brew Kit 2 which is basically a combo of DME and dextrose. The result was a dramatically darker wort than the non-boiled version I did some time back. I continuously stirred the wort while boiling so that nothing scorched in the bottom (and nothing did). I boiled it until the frothy stuff stopped foaming at the top took about 20 minutes.

I am aware that the sugars will caramelize, but I didn't think it would be as dark as it came out. It smelled very tastey and no sign of any burning either.

Is this normal ?

I did this as an experiment to see how a boiled kit will come out in comparison to a non-boiled kit (that is why I used the same ingredients).

Is there a generally accepted point of view when it comes to boil vs non-boil when extract brewing ?

Any hints or advice is greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Wardos
 
When you are boiling you are isomerizing hops when they are added. The longer they are boiled the more hop oils will be isomerized. When boiling you can adjust hop bitterness, flavor, and aroma. When boiling you can also kill any bacteria that may be present, thus steralizing your brew at the same time.

I personally have never not boiled wort. But I have added DME and LME late in the boil, which reduced caramelization too.

Not saying that is the only way, it is just what I prefer.

Good luck!

- WW
 
Thanks for the feedback wilsonwj. Next time I will add the DME later in the boil. This time I added both the LME and DME at the same time - that is I waited for the water to boil, then I turned off the heat, added the LME and DME and then brought it back to the boil for 20 minutes. I hope it tastes ok, I guess I will know in a couple of weeks when I bottle the stuff ...

Cheers mate!
Wardos
 
Hey I just bottled my Coopers Mex. Cervesa on Sunday, I put a Whitelabs mexican lager yeast on it tho. rather than the packet yeast. I didn't , and never have, boiled the tinned extract, only add boiling water and stirring inside the fermenter. So far no problems,
Cheers Alx
 
I am newish here but where I come from we always understood one of the key benefits of homebrewing to be the control and personalization of your beer. Pre hopped unboiled extract just sounds like a cheap way to get a buzz, but will not give you any real benefit over storebought beer. In addition boiling extract and fresh hops with a little added specialty grain gives you a fresh aroma and taste that cant be bought. To really get this flavor and a feel for the beer and what is giving which tastes you should use a kit of ingredients from a homebrew store that actually brews, not from some slick commercial place that done understand beer themselves. I have found great differences between one store that i shop at that they themselves brew AG as opposed to another that only brew extract in tat the extract brewers are just following a recipe and dont really understand what exactly causes waht ot personalizze a beer.
 
Hi Ruby,

I hear what you are saying and I agree. I am not brewing though with the purpose of getting some cheap beer, I am merely a beginner. I guess I have to start somewhere and that is with the extract method for now. As I develop my understanding of the brewing process I will be aiming for more complex brews to give it my own style of taste and character. That is why I posted to see if the method I used in this last brew was something that others do, and how to better understand the effects of the boiling process on the extract and ultimately the wort. When I bottle it I will post up my initial comments regarding its taste, colouring etc. for any interested people.

What I am doing for the moment is changing one thing at a time from brew to brew so that I can understand what effect that one change has on the end product, a bit like an experiment with the added bonus of beer !

All the best!
Wardos
 
I found this article that discusses this topic is some detail:

http://***********/feature/1510.html

I found it interesting...

Cheers
Wardos
 
The kits available in the UK are generaly considered no boil kits and we have the same range from the same manufacturers eg Coopers and Muntons etc. Many manufacturers and UK HB book authors now advise against boiling as it drives off the delicate hop flavours.
Sterility of the extract or water supply never seems to be an issue either, whether the water supply in the UK is better than most places I dont know, but I doubt it.
Short boils in the region of 5-10 mins are fine, some kits will include 'advanced instructions' which simply involve boiling and cooling and maybe adding extra hops and grains. One manufactrurer supplies these in handy disposable'teabags' and they produce some of the best results from a kit I have tasted. Often though, this can unnecessarily complicate things for inexperienced homebrewers for that reason I tried to simplify the advanced instructions in a web page so they can be followed to a certain extent but without the need for 25L boilers or chillers. Maybe this site will help anyone wondering about boiling kits...I always have a kit or two in the store cupboard when I cant be bothered to AG brew, this is the method I use to make them up. Partial Boiling of Kits LINK
 
wardos said:
Hi Ruby,

I hear what you are saying and I agree. I am not brewing though with the purpose of getting some cheap beer, I am merely a beginner. I guess I have to start somewhere and that is with the extract method for now. As I develop my understanding of the brewing process I will be aiming for more complex brews to give it my own style of taste and character. That is why I posted to see if the method I used in this last brew was something that others do, and how to better understand the effects of the boiling process on the extract and ultimately the wort. When I bottle it I will post up my initial comments regarding its taste, colouring etc. for any interested people.

What I am doing for the moment is changing one thing at a time from brew to brew so that I can understand what effect that one change has on the end product, a bit like an experiment with the added bonus of beer !

All the best!
Wardos

Attaboy, Wardos. In my opinion, that's a great plan and a great attitude to have in approaching homebrewing. Jumping forward too early skips a lot of learning. I hope you're brewing is fun and tasty! Cheers,

monk
 
Cheers guys for the feedback and that link DAAB is tip top.

Next brew I was going to do was with 2 cans of extract as opposed to 1 can and a pack of the brew booster (DME). Your link just re-enforced that method and I am doing it for sure next time round.

Thanks
Wardos
 
I have heard differing opinions on the boiling vs not boiling issue. At the HB store I go to, they recommend NOT brewing anymore as it does change the characteristics of the sugars in the wort and lead to off colors and flavors as mentioned above.

On the other hand, the guy that got me started in all this swears by boiling, and his beer isn't bad at all, quite good infact. With the last beer I made, Coopers Mexican Cerveza, I didn't boil and it was delicious.

Maybe a poll should be in order.
 
AACJ said:
I have heard differing opinions on the boiling vs not boiling issue.

The only way you can get away with not boiling is if you buy pre-hopped malt extract, which very few of us here do.

There's nothing wrong with buying pre-hopped extract, but it does take a lot of control away from the brewer. I prefer to assemble my own recipes out of selected grains, extracts, hops, and yeast.

-walker
 
Walker-san said:
The only way you can get away with not boiling is if you buy pre-hopped malt extract, which very few of us here do.

There's nothing wrong with buying pre-hopped extract, but it does take a lot of control away from the brewer. I prefer to assemble my own recipes out of selected grains, extracts, hops, and yeast.

-walker

You have most likely been doing this a lot longer than I have. I am yearning to assemble my own recipes like you in the next few years. I wanted to perfect the basics first then work off of that.
 
Hey Art,

I'm with you mate. I just want to know how to brew up a decent beer first, nothing fancy just a basic larger or ale. Once I have that down, then onto the more tasty experiments !!

Wardos
 
AACJ said:
I am yearning to assemble my own recipes like you in the next few years. I wanted to perfect the basics first then work off of that.

Understandable. I think that once you have done a couple of these no-boil kits you'll be ready to move up a notch to boiling and adding hops. You can still get those kinds of beers as pre-assembled kits, so the recipes are already made for you... you just have a few more steps to go through to produce the beer.

brew on!:rockin:
 
Walker-san said:
Understandable. I think that once you have done a couple of these no-boil kits you'll be ready to move up a notch to boiling and adding hops. You can still get those kinds of beers as pre-assembled kits, so the recipes are already made for you... you just have a few more steps to go through to produce the beer.

brew on!:rockin:

EXACTLY!! My local HB store sells pretty much everything I would need for any stage and theres even a homebrew club I plan on visiting soon with my brews.
 
wardos said:
Hey Art,

I'm with you mate. I just want to know how to brew up a decent beer first, nothing fancy just a basic larger or ale. Once I have that down, then onto the more tasty experiments !!

Wardos

What I started with were pre-assembled ingredient kits that I got either online or from the HBS. These include non-hopped extract (LME, DME, or a combo), speciality grains, hops, yeast, priming sugar, and assorted other things that you need to brew up a very good batch. No need to worry about making up or finding a recipe, it's all there. Very, VERY easy to do, very high quality product (the Brewer's Best Red Ale kit I tried is loved by all), and the process you follow is exactly the same as when you step up and work off your own (or someone else's) recipe.
 
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