A little warning from a couple brews ago

Adeering · 01-31-2012, 01:21 PM

So Ive got 13 extract brews done and on my 10th extract brew I did something stupid and figured I would share my experience to warn off new brewers from doing it. So Ive pretty much been using liquid extract as its whats more available from my supplier. one of the problems with liquid is getting all the extract out of the container, so i soaked it in hot water like always. And I scooped up some of the boiling water in the pot to rinse it out, but this time I thought hey if i get a little water (and very little maybe 1/2" in the container) close the container and shake i can clean all the sides off, well it worked, except the water never made it back to the pot, because by the time I closed the lid and went to shake the steam had built enough pressure to blow the lid off and send boiling water all over my face and arms. Luckily i was wearing a sweatshirt and was able to wipe it off immediately and didnt get any bad burns, still hurt like a bitch but no burns. Looking back obviously steam in a closed container equals bomb, but didnt think that much water would be a problem. Lesson Learned

**yancydc** · 01-31-2012, 01:36 PM

Yikes, glad you're okay. I never thought of doing that with LME, and now I never will!

**Stauffbier** · 01-31-2012, 01:53 PM

I did that once, but I caught it just in time before it blew off. I slowly released the pressure and poured it back into the boiling wort. After that I started heating water in the microwave to about 140F which got the job done without building up much pressure...

**Grinder12000** · 01-31-2012, 01:58 PM

LOL - wow! You know you only need luke warm water right? I just put any extract into a pan of hot water o the stove - works great.

BTW - get into extract with steeping grains and if you are there Mini mashing is SO easy and so much better. Just saying . . . . I'm anti AG (I taste very few All grain brews that can beat good mini mash brews)

**danpemby** · 01-31-2012, 01:59 PM

I just use warm tap water and add it to the boil.

**unionrdr** · 01-31-2012, 05:42 PM

I just use a sanitized soup ladle to fill the container,stir,& return to BK.

kh54s10 · 01-31-2012, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grinder12000

LOL - wow! You know you only need luke warm water right? I just put any extract into a pan of hot water o the stove - works great.

BTW - get into extract with steeping grains and if you are there Mini mashing is SO easy and so much better. Just saying . . . . I'm anti AG (I taste very few All grain brews that can beat good mini mash brews)

Who is brewing these AG batches??? My AG is as good or better than my extract and then partial mash brews!

I dip the container in the wort (carefully) swirl it around and dump it back in.

Beer-lord · 01-31-2012, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grinder12000

LOL - wow! You know you only need luke warm water right? I just put any extract into a pan of hot water o the stove - works great.

BTW - get into extract with steeping grains and if you are there Mini mashing is SO easy and so much better. Just saying . . . . I'm anti AG (I taste very few All grain brews that can beat good mini mash brews)

+1--for over a decade I did nothing but all grain and while very good, my extract/grain brews are every bit as good IMO. Nothing at all against all grain, BIAB, but for just minimal more time, you can make amazingly good beers.
When I first started brewing in the late 80's, extracts weren't that good. Today they are extremely good. So much so that some breweries actually use them too.
Basically, AG is awesome and I still do them occasionally but if you prepare the recipe right, mini mash and extract and take your time, you'd be surprised how good they can be. And, I am somewhat of a beer snob who likes very hoppy IPA's and heavy brews. Possibly, for lighter brews, AG would be my first choice.

**unionrdr** · 01-31-2012, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beer-lord

+1--for over a decade I did nothing but all grain and while very good, my extract/grain brews are every bit as good IMO. Nothing at all against all grain, BIAB, but for just minimal more time, you can make amazingly good beers.
When I first started brewing in the late 80's, extracts weren't that good. Today they are extremely good. So much so that some breweries actually use them too.
Basically, AG is awesome and I still do them occasionally but if you prepare the recipe right, mini mash and extract and take your time, you'd be surprised how good they can be. And, I am somewhat of a beer snob who likes very hoppy IPA's and heavy brews. Possibly, for lighter brews, AG would be my first choice.

I agree. With good ferment temps,& the right yeast pitch,extract can be quite good. Steeping grains isn't bad either,& I'm wanting to try partial mash next. Maybe an APA similar to the all extract one in the fermenter now. See how close I can come with English grains & whatnot. The current AE batch had a rich hop smell with a touch of citrus from the Ahtanum & sterling pellets used. Midwest def has some fresh stuff. Even the 15g cooper's ale yeast packet was dated 5/30/13! So using this APA recipe for comparison purposes may well be in the books in the next couple months.

Adeering · 01-31-2012, 08:57 PM

We are switching to BIAB this weekend to try it out, Ill will probably end up doing a combination of BIAB mini mash/Extract to be honest. I made several delicious beers with extract and steeping, but the problem weve seen, and its mainly the type of recipes weve been sticking to, is the lack of definition in the flavor. Steeping adds some flavor but not much definition and complexity IMO. So Ill probably end up doing a BIAB mini mash to get the best of both worlds