Enough Wort?

For many brews now I've been using at least 1 lb of DME plus the wort I get from steeping 1 lb of grains, usually crystal, to utilize the hops in a 3.5-4 gal boil.

Is this really enough? I can't say I've noticed any problems, though I target my IPA's for 65-70 IBU's and it doesn't seem to be enough, yet I target my pales and ambers for their low end and some times they seem a little hoppier.

What say you?

My problem is that I generally buy the bulk of my extract as LME as it's cheaper, and use 1-2 lbs of Bavarian wheat DME and 1-2 lbs of grains. I've tried using some LME for the boil, but it made such a mess!

These are 4-5.5 gal brews.

Today's was a 5.5 gal IPA that I used 1.5 lbs of wheat DME and 1 lb of crystal. My boil was with 4 gals.

BS2?

What are your gravity readings? Only a poind of grain and 1-2 lbs of extract? Seems like a 1 gal batch to me, or perhaps a near odouls beer as you would likely have very little abv, color, and flavor. Did I misread? I use 10-17lbs of grain for 5 gal ag batches amd used at least 5 lbs extract when I did extract beers....

Oh, sorry for the confusion.

I am adding the bulk of my extract after the boil. I'm using the DME and wort from the steeping grains to boil my hops in, but I'm uncertain if it's enough to capture the hop oils.

My hydrometer is broken. A new one is on the way...halfway here by now.

The IPA I just made was done using 1.5 lbs of wheat DME and the wort from 1 lb of crystal (20/40) with 7 lbs of LME added at flameout. The hops were 1 oz of Chinook (11.1%) @ 60 mins, 2 oz Simcoe (13.5%) @ 15 mins, and 2 oz Simcoe (13%) @ 5 mins.

Is the little bit of DME and crystal wort enough to deal with the high amount of hops?

The DME and crystal wort and hops were boiled in 4 gals of water.

I'm a newbie, but my understanding is that if anything, you should actually get more hop utilization by having such a low gravity for the boil. The higher the gravity of the boil, the lower the utilization of the hop bitterness.

I've not heard that, but it would make sense only in that a few of my low IBU beers (pale and amber) seem hoppier than the brew calculator claimed.

Take a look at chapter 5-5 of How to Brew by Palmer:

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html

I've read some threads on here that suggest that is no longer the accepted wisdom though. In any event, the hop bitterness should be as strong or stronger if you are waiting until flameout to add the bulk of the malt extract.

I certainly prefer waiting to add the bulk at the end as I've had curious looks when I've handed a buddy a "pale" ale that was dark amber.
"Are you sure this is a pale?"

Sometimes it seems my beer is a little darker than intended, but I'm good if it's close.

It does take some wort to hold the alpha acids correct?

Don't know. BeerSmith gives me an IBU rating if I create a recipe with hops but no grains or extracts.

Its all good buddy. We're all learning afterall. I would suggest that you put your grain in the bag and start to steep as you turn ON the flame. Turn flame off once you get to your desired temp (165° if I remember correctly) then let it sit for 20 to 30 mins. Sparge your grains then turn your burner back on and start to add the DME and the LME at the same time. Should have plenty of time to do this before you start to boil. I always added all sugar before the boil started. I've never heard of adding the LME at the end.

Oh and I forgot to mention to drink a beer...or several while you do all of this... that is a very important step in the whole process. Gotta be in the right mindset afterall.

Enjoy your brewing. You will learn a lot as you go! This is an awesome hobby. Like the good book says, relax. Dont worry and have a homebrew

The general rule I've always heard is that you want about half your fermentambles in the boil ... Palmer suggests that, as did the very helpful owners of my LHBS. I've never tried less. I HAVE done a few boils with all the fermentables in the boil, and they worked fine.

As for the brew color, it has been noted by a number of extract brewers that LME tends to darken with boiling (another reason to only use half in the boil). For reasons inexplicable to me, however, DME does NOT share this characteristic ... That being said, I've not experienced significant darkening of my LME in a 60 minute boil.

I don't know if the LME has darkened in my brew (or had darkened in the cans), but I can say that my three batches that were supposed to be a pale ale or blonde ale have all turned out closer to amber color. I'm moving away from LME, so we will see if it that solves the color issue.

So DME isn't darkened by the long boil?

I realized I wasn't using the brew calculator properly. I see how my IBU's have been higher as I wasn't assigning the LME to late addition and so it was counting it in the full boil.
Ooops! Oh well...