splitting extract question

I have read some people add half of the extract at the beginning of the boil then add the the other half at 20 minutes. Does anyone recommend this, and what are the advantages?

As you boil your wort, Maillard reactions occur within the wort causing it to darken. If you want a light colored beer you need to control these reactions and the easiest way it to not have all the extract in the pot while boiling. The reason for the hour long boil is to isomerize hop oils to make your beer have the proper amount of bitterness to balance out the sweeter malt flavors and boiling all the extract isn't necessary for this.

Yup half and half at the end.You can do the second half near the end of boil, if its dry malt extract (DME) it needs to be stirred in to disolve the clumps, but liquid extract (LME) can be stirred in at flame out or the last few minutes. Extacts at the start need to be stirred every few minutes during the boil to avoid burning in the bottom of the pot, causing a slight bitterness called extract twang. Have fun & Cheers

If you add late additions of extract just be sure to boil it for long enough to sanitize it and kill any microbes which may be living in the extract. 15 minutes should do the trick. I've always used that timeline with my yeast starters with good results as well.

adding the extract late helps limit caramelization and helps with hops utilization.

squirrelly said:

If you add late additions of extract just be sure to boil it for long enough to sanitize it and kill any microbes which may be living in the extract. 15 minutes should do the trick. I've always used that timeline with my yeast starters with good results as well.

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^not so. all you need is to pasteurize the LME, which happen over 180. many brewers add LME at flameout and let it steep til the wort hits 190 or so before chilling to pitch temps. actually, the flameout add is the BEST way to limit caramelization since that LME addition is never on the burner.

If that is true what precautions are taken to ensure all the microbes which have been picked up from the maltster, the brew shop that packaged the extract, and the wild bugs that are floating around your own brew house don't contaminate your extract? If you plate your extract sample prior to boiling it you will see what I mean. In my area especially Brettanamyces live on just about every surface being that we are in a large agriculture and wine making area. The only way to actually kill wild yeasts on brewing ingredients is to boil it for about 15 min. By boiling extract or anything on the hot side for that matter makes work on the cold side much easier.

make sure you calculate your hops schedule according to the density of your wort.

squirrelly said:

If that is true what precautions are taken to ensure all the microbes which have been picked up from the maltster, the brew shop that packaged the extract, and the wild bugs that are floating around your own brew house don't contaminate your extract? If you plate your extract sample prior to boiling it you will see what I mean. In my area especially Brettanamyces live on just about every surface being that we are in a large agriculture and wine making area. The only way to actually kill wild yeasts on brewing ingredients is to boil it for about 15 min. By boiling extract or anything on the hot side for that matter makes work on the cold side much easier.

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boiling is NOT the only way to kill microbes.

look up 'pasteurization'. you don't need to boil to kill these nasties you speak of, simply pasteurizing the extract will kill anything and everything that would otherwise hurt your beer.

obviously, if you leave extract out in the open, without pasteurizing or boiling, you'll grow some nasty $hit. that goes without saying.

like i said, read up on pasteurizing, and on flameout LME additions. that should clear up your questions and worries about microbes.

I suppose that would work, but I'm still overly paranoid. No wild bugs come into my brew house uninvited due to a hepa-filter installed for air purification. I normally buy 5 pound bags of DME at a time for starters, and these last about a month and a half. I guess I'm just overly cautious due to extract being left on the shelf for weeks on end.

squirrelly said:

I suppose that would work, but I'm still overly paranoid. No wild bugs come into my brew house uninvited due to a hepa-filter installed for air purification. I normally buy 5 pound bags of DME at a time for starters, and these last about a month and a half. I guess I'm just overly cautious due to extract being left on the shelf for weeks on end.

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i try to keep everything super clean too, not to that extent, but i do regularly clean every surface in the kitchen with star-san, even when i'm not doing things brew related. starsan in all empty vessels and anything that comes in contact with anything on brew day is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. i'm sure i could grow some nasties if i left a wort agar out in the open, but i'm not at all worried about any being on LME after it's steeped for 15 mins in ~200 degree wort.
i seldom buy canned/shelved LME. i BIAB, so i rarely use LME (a few #s DME is more typical of my brews). when i do use LME, i go to Midwest Supply and buy their house brand, it's usually quite fresh, and i'm in control of how it gets to my house. that said, i would have no worries about, and have added Alexanders LME from the HBS down the street from my house (which is small, those cans may be old. i've gotten ones that'd darkened) at flameout. i've brewed a lot of beer, and a lot of extract beer when i first started out, and i've NEVER had an infection. *knocksonwoodendesk* i really feel that if your sanitation regimen is up to par, infected batches are few and far between and more an issue for new brewers who've yet to realize the importance of a strict sanitation procedure.