extract kit mods (does this seem ok ?) - Page 2

winzerz · 01-03-2009, 01:49 AM

flyguy not to diss you or anything

but Forrest works/owns a MAJOR LHBS

I trust his advice and welcome his interaction here on HBT

Austin Homebrew Supply Rocks dude

**Austinhomebrew** · 01-03-2009, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyGuy

To clarify, you need to boil hops if you are to extract any bitterness from them. I think the OP recommended a boil to do just this.

If you are only interested in adding hop flavour, a short boil is better.

And that's a very misleading statement to say that any boil will significantly 'darken the beer and make it taste worse'. People re-boil kits all the time and make fantastic beer. The only time I would really worry about darkening beer or making it taste 'worse' is if you are doing a lightly colored beer (e.g., a pilsner) and you add all your extract at the beginning of a long boil and you don't boil the full volume of wort (e.g, only 2-3 gallons because your pot isn't big enough).

I have been told by the manufacturer that if you boil the kit you lose the aroma hops that are there. Don't boil the kit, boil any additional hops you are adding seperately and add.

I am saying that hops need to boil not the hop oils that are in the extract.

Forrest

TexasStu · 01-03-2009, 04:54 AM

Also I posted what one of the American distributors for Coopers Kits said about boiling:

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomheff

Do not boil the malt extract if possible. It is unnecessary and it will darken the beer and caramelize it. Also the bittering in the Lager beer kit will be reduced.

The Malt Extract is pre-hopped, already pasturized and all that (at least as far as Coopers Kits go).
Now, this is not to say you can not boil any OTHER part of a recipe (or even the kit itself). Only have you may experience undesirable results that the manufacturer did not intend.
In fact, I have recently bought ingredients (coincidentally from AHS - sorry again Forrest for continually adding more stuff to my multiple orders!

) to do a hybrid (partial boil + kit + water) and I just used a couple ounces of cascade hops tossed into a kit beer as a dry hop.
My plans include a future recipe that is a full boil as well but I think I am going to have to buy a CWC first. Too bad cuz if I buy it and a nice pot SWMBO may just put a dent in my obsession! I can smell the hops from here!