Am I Understanding Correctly?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MarsingRedneck

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2013
Messages
75
Reaction score
8
Location
Marsing
Just in the reading phase right now, haven't brewed in over 15 years but I had a question maybe someone will answer. In some place I have read, when doing extracts to put half in at the boil I believe it was and the other half in 15 minutes before the end of the brew. Is this how it is done now?
Thanks
 
It is a common practice. The reason is that boiling the extract for the entire hour causes the beer to be a lot darker. So to keep pale ales light, boiling a portion of the extract late helps.
 
When doing extracts,I do a partial boil of 2.5-3.5 gallons with about 2lbs of extract for hop additions. then the remaining extract at flameout for lighter color & cleaner flavor. Called late extract addition. Since the wort is still boiling hot at flameout,& pasteurization happens @ 160F,it works fine.
 
One pound of extract per gallon of boil is about optimum. What is optimum is still a discussion. The one pound per gallon is sufficient for hop oil isomerization. Use the DME first if it is the recipe to avoid over darkening of the brew.
Happy brewing.
 
Ah, ok I apprecte the answers. I'm thinking my 1st brew may be a Hefeweizen extract (LME). I plane in the next few days to order the kettle from Ama***. Man, equipment sure is getting expensive. A kettle I cooked in 15-17 years ago was like $15 Not anymore. Now that I know it is a good idea to add the 2nd half of the extract at the end, that's what I will do. I 'OBVIOUSLY' have a ton of reading to do which is fine with me. Just hope this old brain can retain it all. May have to forget something to make room for the new stuff :(
 
It can be done that way if you want. It will result in a lighter colored beer in the end and is for cosmetic reasons. You will have to adjust your hop additions to account for the lower boil gravity. Using half the extract in the beginning is most useful when doing a partial boil because of the lower boil gravity. Since switching to full boils I have discontinued the practice.
 
It can be done that way if you want. It will result in a lighter colored beer in the end and is for cosmetic reasons. You will have to adjust your hop additions to account for the lower boil gravity. Using half the extract in the beginning is most useful when doing a partial boil because of the lower boil gravity. Since switching to full boils I have discontinued the practice.

When I use to brew, that' s what I did too. Full 5gal But now that I'm old and can't lift as much, I'm thinking of going to the partial boil method. I wouldn't want and accident like cooking beer outside then coming up the steps and try to figure out how to open the patio door and dumping the whole kettle on mama's hardwood floors. Probably be the end of my beer making :(
 
It's more of a science nowadays to a lot of cats, and there are some cats that go way over the top, and other cats that just brew for the love of brewing. I am one of the latter cats. Not that there isn't anything wrong with being over the top (to each their own).

I still use an old 8 gallon aluminum stock pot and an outdoor propane cooker for my beers. My beers all come out great, and I am proud of my brewing prowess. No need for 400 dollar kettles, and high end burners. I mostly brew 5 gallon all grain batches with a cooler for a mash tun. But I still do the occasional extract brew. If I'm wanting my extract brew to be lighter in color, then yes, I will add about 1/3 of the extract at the beginning, and the other 2/3 about 20 minutes left in the boil. That's the only reason I do it... to keep the Maillard Reaction (sp) down, so there is less browning/caramelization of the wort.

You can still boil it all at the beginning... just personal preference on the end result.

Welcome back! :ban:

Gary
 
If you are using LME, just be aware of the fact that it sinks to the bottom of the kettle because of how dense it is, and if your kettle is still over a heat source the LME can caramalize and leave you with some extra unfermentable sugars in your wort. If I add LME at the beginning, it's always with the kettle off the burner and I stir to the point of overkill probably to get it all dissolved. Generally, though, for an all-extract batch I just use DME at the beginning and if I use any LME at all, it goes in at flameout.
 
That['s what I've been doing. Only now my partial boils are 3.5-3.75 gallons in my 5 gallon SS BK. Some 2lbs plain DME in the boil for hop additions. Remaining DME & all LME (if used) in at flame out. Gives lighter color & cleaner flavor. hop additions are properly intense as well,depending on style/recipe used of course.
 
Ah, ok I apprecte the answers. I'm thinking my 1st brew may be a Hefeweizen extract (LME). I plane in the next few days to order the kettle from Ama***. Man, equipment sure is getting expensive. A kettle I cooked in 15-17 years ago was like $15 Not anymore. Now that I know it is a good idea to add the 2nd half of the extract at the end, that's what I will do. I 'OBVIOUSLY' have a ton of reading to do which is fine with me. Just hope this old brain can retain it all. May have to forget something to make room for the new stuff :(

I don't trust myself to get everything right all the time with my brews. Especially if I'm taking care of something else at the same time. Instead of scanning my recipe sheet during brewing I will make handwritten notes for addtion amounts, times, temperatures, and etc. More like a chart of the brewday without a lot of narrative.

Anything you don't remember or techniques from forum members to try can be added to this chart in your own words.
 
Back
Top