Extract Addition Timing

Flatspin · 09-25-2011, 11:24 PM

OK, so I made an extract kit today. Everything went well, but I was left with a question. The recipe for the kit called for 3 lbs of LME at the beginning of the beginning of the boil and 6 lbs of LME with 15 minutes left in the boil.

What advantages/disadvantages are there to adding extract at different times during the boil?

Bob · 09-26-2011, 01:58 AM

Advantages:

Reduce kettle wort density (gravity), which improves hops utilization
Reduce color darkening

Disadvantages:

If you add before the end of the boil time, you run into a Catch-22: in order to safely add LME and prevent scorching, you must switch off the heat. When you do that, the boil stops. Which means your 60-minute hops addition just became 45 minutes (or whatever), which screws up your IBU calculations.
It's a PITA to add late.

Solution:

Add your extra extract at flameout. The wort is at that point still hot enough to kill any possible nasties in the syrup (which is highly unlikely).

That's what I do. By the time my chiller brings the bitter wort below pasteurization temperatures, the kettle has sat long enough that anything I put in at flameout is pasteurized.

Cheers,

Bob

nymtber · 09-26-2011, 02:00 AM

Hop utilization, less extract tends toward more hop utilization
Color, lighter beer with later extract addition
Flavor, less caramelized flavors with late addition

Those are the three I know of.

Bob · 09-26-2011, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nymtber

Hop utilization, less extract tends toward more hop utilization.

While true, this is an over-simplification.

I can expand on this if you want, OP.

Bob

Flatspin · 09-26-2011, 12:14 PM

Thanks for all the quick responses. It does make sense that having a thinner wort would promote a higher hop acid extraction. But, if anyone wants to get more technical, I am always up for learning something new!

**CrookedTail** · 09-26-2011, 12:39 PM

While it's (fairly) accepted that late extract additions improve hop utilization, I personally haven't noticed a huge difference with it.

That said the difference in the color of the finished beer is quite noticeable. I also notice a cleaner flavor (ie: no extract twang), which I'd imagine is the lack of (or reduction of) wort caramelization.

TriggerFingers · 09-26-2011, 04:06 PM

Flatspin,

Hop utilization means your beer will be much more bitter (more hoppy) if you use the same amount of hops and split the extract.

TF

**unionrdr** · 09-26-2011, 06:09 PM

The very reasons I started doing late malt additions & hop bursting. Lighter color,better hop utilization,cleaner flavor,more hop flavor than bittering. No caramel flavors,just better flavor complexity of the malts involved in the extract used.

Flatspin · 09-26-2011, 06:28 PM

That's really interesting, I was thinking about making a RIS with extract as the main fermentable, so now I'm thinking that I will put most of it in at the end of the boil. Has anyone here tried something like that before?

**unionrdr** · 09-26-2011, 06:48 PM

Allow me to digress more fully. I typically use 3lbs of plain DME with 3.75lbs of LME in my ales. The LME being pre hopped with some bittering only. I use half the DME.or 1.5lbs in the 2.5G boil for hop bursting (late hop additions). Then,before I turn off the burner,I add the remaining DME & stir to fully incorporate.
Then take it off the heat to add the LME,stiring till no more can be scraped off the bottom. Then chill before topping off in the fermenter. The quicker it chills down to pitch temp,the better. Less chill haze later...