Belgian IPA and late extract addition

I plan on doing my 2nd extract batch this weekend. I ordered the Belgian IPA from Midwest Supplies. I have been reading that late additions can be a good thing, but I am unsure as to how much to hold off and how late to add it as this includes both LME and DME. Can someone help me out with the amount and timing?



http://www.midwestsupplies.com/media/downloads/10/Belgian%20IPA%20instructions.pdf

Put the LME in at 15 minutes. You'll get a bit more hop derived bitterness out of the recipe that way and a little less of the darker colors associated with LME. BTW, I just bottled a Belgian IPA inspired by Le Freak from Green Flash. Whoa...is it ever gonna be good!! I used T-58!

So just boil the DME for 60 and the LME for the last 15?

I got the T-58 but I think I am going to go with a the Wyeast 3522.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/wyeast-belgian-ardennes.html

Your DME and LME timing is right. You could probably wait until flameout to add the LME, as the heat is still high enough to kill any bugs, but 15 is fine. Pull the pot off the heat before adding the LME to avoid scorching, and watch that pot like a hawk when it goes back on the burner for boil overs.

Wyeast 3522 is a nice Belgian workhorse. If you keep it in the mid to high 60s for the entire fermentation period, it will give you subtle notes. If you pitch in the mid 60s and then let it rise slowly into the mid 70s (OK for a Belgian yeast), you can get more attenuation and more Belgian character. Get a blow off tube ready- this stuff gets going.

The kit came with only 1lb of DME and 6lb of LME. That means I would only be boiling 1b of extract and adding 6lb at the end. That ratio seems very strong towards the late addition.

I will try to get it down to the 60's before I pitch. Would you recommend a starter? I do plan on picking up a carboy and blow off set up just for this brew as my last brew I just used a bucket.

It seems odd, but it works. For a while, people believed that the gravity of your wort had a direct correlation to hop utilization, and that boiling with such a small amount of extract in your beer was going to throw your IBUs off. This theory has generally been rejected. You should be fine boiling with only the pound of DME.

If you are pitching liquid yeast into five gallons of beer, a starter is generally advisable. Read the articles at Mr Malty for the whole explanation of when you need a starter, but I suspect you will want one here.

If you already have a bucket and want to save some money, it is easy enough to rig a blow off tube to the bucket. Just buy a three piece airlock, cut off the small X shaped bit of plastic on the bottom, remove the cap and the floating piece, and affix sanitized plastic tubing to the airlock's inner valve. Run that tubing to a growler full of sanitizer, put the airlock in the bucket lid as normal, and you should be good. This works best if you have extra headroom in the bucket.

I will also be doing a full boil and not a partial. Will that up the initial extract amount?

Also for the yeast starter should I use the DME that I came with the kit or should I purchase more DME?

I do a full boil + late addition and usually use about 2 lbs. of either DME or LME while bringing the water to a boil. Some people say that a late addition isn't necessary with a full boil... they're wrong. You will get caramelization and "twang" if you boil all of your LME for 60 minutes. Hell even 15 minutes has produced a some twang in my brews. I would add the LME at flameout, then cover and steep for about 15-20 minutes before chilling. Also throw in some late addition hops and steep them with the extract, and you'll get wonderful flavor and aroma from them.

Yes, buy more DME for the starter. You can get away with pitching the starter wort into the beer, but some people try to avoid that, as the starter wort can be oxygenated. So it might be safer to buy separate DME, make a starter, decant off the wort from the starter, and then pitch mostly yeast.

I need the same DME for the starter that I will be boiling with as well correct?

It would probably be a good idea, but any light DME will do the trick. Some of the starter wort is bound to get into your beer, so you wouldn't want to use dark or amber DME if the kit came with light extract. Just try to find some light DME and you should be fine.