Late Extract Method Question

TonyAngelo · 03-21-2009, 02:44 PM

I had a thought about late extract additions and wanted to see if anyone had done it this way and if it worked. The thought is to dissolve the extra DME that does not go in the boil at the beginning in the top off water.

So as an example after wort starts to boil I would pour some hot water in my fermentor and dissolve the extra DME in there, topping off with cold water when dissolved and then pouring my chilled wort into this after the boil.

Does anyone see any potential problems with this that I am not seeing?

**Nurmey** · 03-21-2009, 03:09 PM

I don't see any real problem with this but I would boil up water in a pot and mix the DME in there instead of in the fermenter. The water will be much hotter and you will not be scratching your bucket while stirring.

Last time I did an extract I added the DME at flameout directly into my brew pot. Worked fine and the DME dissolved just fine.

TonyAngelo · 03-21-2009, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nurmey

I don't see any real problem with this but I would boil up water in a pot and mix the DME in there instead of in the fermenter. The water will be much hotter and you will not be scratching your bucket while stirring.

Good point.

Quote:

Last time I did an extract I added the DME at flameout directly into my brew pot. Worked fine and the DME dissolved just fine.

My reason for wanting to do it this way is two fold. I have been doing it where I add the extract in the last 15 mins. I don't like this way of doing it because adding the extract usually kills the boil and sometimes it takes longer to get the boil going again than there is time left.

I was just reading some threads on late extract additions and found out that a lot of people are adding the remaining extract at flameout. I started thinking about this and the problem I see is that I recently made a wort chiller and so adding the DME at flame out seems like it would be a little difficult to dissolve it in there with the wort chiller also in there. It just seems like too much stuff.

So my thought was to just dissolve the DME in the top off water but I wanted to see if anyone had actually done this. I can't see any reason that it wouldn't work, but than again I'm fairly new to this.

double_e5 · 03-21-2009, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyAngelo

My reason for wanting to do it this way is two fold. I have been doing it where I add the extract in the last 15 mins. I don't like this way of doing it because adding the extract usually kills the boil and sometimes it takes longer to get the boil going again than there is time left.

If you are going to add the extract at 15 min. You should stop your timer, and start it back up when you get back to boiling.

The only problem I see with your idea is the small possibilty of infection. I wouldn't take the chance but if you're fine with it, go for it.

TonyAngelo · 03-21-2009, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by double_e5

If you are going to add the extract at 15 min. You should stop your timer, and start it back up when you get back to boiling.

So if I do this is there anything I need to do to account for how ever many extra minutes the hops are in there?

scinerd3000 · 03-21-2009, 06:16 PM

you change your total IBU's from the hops because the lower the gravity the higher the utilisation of the hops will be. Potentially you could end up less bitter. Hop Utilization Page
As for the infection risk, you should really boil the DME for 10 minutes to kill anything residing there. Wheather or not thats in water that's then added to the boil, or to the boil itself shouldnt make too much difference...

SumnerH · 03-21-2009, 08:09 PM

Quote:

you change your total IBU's from the hops because the lower the gravity the higher the utilisation of the hops will be. Potentially you could end up less bitter

Not really. See:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/estimating-bitterness-algorithms-state-art-109681/#post1209409 for a rundown of the latest science courtesy of John Palmer on Basic Brewing Radio.

At any rate, he's going to wind up _more_ bitter if anything by decreasing the amount of ME (hence break generated) in the boil.

Quote:

As for the infection risk, you should really boil the DME for 10 minutes to kill anything residing there.

People say this but I'm not really sure why. The FDA-approved procedure for heat pasteurization of liquids only requires raising them to 161F for 15 seconds See:

US FDA/CFSAN - Grade "A" Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (2003 Revision): Appendix H. Pasteurization Equipment and Procedures

Is there some reason that this would be insufficient?

Joos · 03-22-2009, 04:02 PM

SumnerH is trying to say(or I think anyway) RDWHAHB it'll be fine either way.Just much more scientific.

TonyAngelo · 03-22-2009, 04:59 PM

I wouldn't worry too much if I was brewing a stout or wheat beer, but I do a lot of IPA's and APA's with a lot of late hop additions and this seems like a good way to maximize hops utilization towards the end of the boil.

I just wanted to make sure my thinking was correct. I will probably give it a go and see what happens. Thanks for all the input.

SumnerH · 03-22-2009, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyAngelo

I wouldn't worry too much if I was brewing a stout or wheat beer, but I do a lot of IPA's and APA's with a lot of late hop additions and this seems like a good way to maximize hops utilization towards the end of the boil.

Again, hops utilization is independent of the gravity of the boil. The common estimation formulas get this wrong, but you won't actually get higher IBUs by doing extract-late (though your software might spit out a higher number for the estimate).

Listen to http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-20-08ibu.mp3 (from Basic Brewingâ„¢ : Home Brewing Beer Podcast and DVD - Basic Brewing Radioâ„¢ 2008 ) for more information.

Late addition will help with color and avoiding Maillard effects on taste, so it's still a good idea. It's probably most important for wheat beers and other lighter (in color and flavor) beers.