Explanation of the different stages of the boil

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Mrakis

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So my instructions for my first brew, a belgian tripple ipa extract kit, were pretty generic. I was wondering if someone could shed a little light on the effect some of the steps had on the finished product. I added any of my understanding of the boil process, so please correct me where i am wrong. The last two steps i am most interested in.

-So adding 1oz of hops at the start of the boil of a high alpha acid hop (magnum) is for bittering purposes, correct?

-The instructions called for adding 3.5 lbs of pilsen malt extract at the start, and then adding an additional 6 lbs of pilsen malt extract with 15 mins left of the boil. Is this a way of keeping the malt from carmalizing, causing the beer to be darker in color than expected?

- Add 1 oz of cascade hops with 15 mins left to boil. Add 1 oz cascade hops with 5 mins left to boil. What effect do these different times have on the finished product?

'-Add 2lbs of corn sugar at the end of the boil. Is this strictly for boasting up the gravity of this particular beer? Also, when people do use DME to bump up the gravity, is this step usually done at the end of the boil?


Thanks
 
You are correct on the 1oz addition and the late addition of extract. As for the 15 and 5 minute hop additions, these are to add hop flavor and aroma, respectively. there is some bittering as well, but generally speaking the later the hop addition the less the bittering impact. An addition at flame-out is pretty much a pure aroma addition.

The addition of corn sugar is to boost gravity and dry the beer out. DME can be added any time, but see your second question. If you are trying to keep the beer lighter in color, add the DME later.
 
-So adding 1oz of hops at the start of the boil of a high alpha acid hop (magnum) is for bittering purposes, correct?

Yes. Essentially, the longer the hop sits in boiling liquid, the more bitterness you're going to extract from that hop.

-The instructions called for adding 3.5 lbs of pilsen malt extract at the start, and then adding an additional 6 lbs of pilsen malt extract with 15 mins left of the boil. Is this a way of keeping the malt from carmalizing, causing the beer to be darker in color than expected?

Yes. Plus, a lower gravity wort will get you greater utilization of your hops. You will need less hops to achieve your desired bitterness.

- Add 1 oz of cascade hops with 15 mins left to boil. Add 1 oz cascade hops with 5 mins left to boil. What effect do these different times have on the finished product?

These are flavor and aroma hops. As stated earlier, the longer the hops are boiling, the more bitterness. So, in this case, you're going to not get as much bitterness, but you are going to get a lot of flavor and aroma compounds. They get destroyed by boiling for a long period of time.

-Add 2lbs of corn sugar at the end of the boil. Is this strictly for boasting up the gravity of this particular beer? Also, when people do use DME to bump up the gravity, is this step usually done at the end of the boil?

Yes, the corn sugar does boost up the gravity. But it also makes the finished beer more dry. Corn sugar is 100% fermentable sugar. The yeast will be able to chew through all of it, resulting in a lower final gravity than if you achieved that original gravity via malt. Make sense?

I've added DME at any time in the boil. It depends on if my pre-boil gravity is low (beginning of the boil), or I didn't boil off as much liquid as I thought I would (end of boil).

Hope this helps....cheers!
 
Yes, the corn sugar does boost up the gravity. But it also makes the finished beer more dry. Corn sugar is 100% fermentable sugar. The yeast will be able to chew through all of it, resulting in a lower final gravity than if you achieved that original gravity via malt. Make sense?

Hope this helps....cheers!

Wait..that doesn't make sense does it? Why would the corn sugar lower final gravity? It's not affecting the amount of unfermentable sugars right?
 
They are saying your gravity will be lower if you use corn sugar instead of malt extract because malt extract isn't 100% fermentable.
 
Wait..that doesn't make sense does it? Why would the corn sugar lower final gravity? It's not affecting the amount of unfermentable sugars right?

It lowers FG because it is 100% fermentable to Alcohol and alcohol is lighter than water.

Yes, malt will leave behind some residuals unlike corn sugar which is strictly an alcohol booster.

Those Belgian tripels are no joke, my brother in law makes them and his come out about 10% alc/vol and taste as much like a fruit wine as an ale to me.
 
Wait..that doesn't make sense does it? Why would the corn sugar lower final gravity? It's not affecting the amount of unfermentable sugars right?

He's saying corn sugar as opposed to additional malt to makeup the same OG. So lets say the OG is 1040, in his corn sugar example, a greater percent of the OG is made up by 100% fermentable sugar, as opposed to the same OG made up of malt.
 
Oh man... so now i have to ask the rookie question - What is the difference between bittering and flavoring?
 
He's saying corn sugar as opposed to additional malt to makeup the same OG. So lets say the OG is 1040, in his corn sugar example, a greater percent of the OG is made up by 100% fermentable sugar, as opposed to the same OG made up of malt.


aha. Misunderstood, forgot the type of beer it was. Trying to pump up ABV without adding sweetness. The corn sugar itself is not lowering FG, it's lowering the FG of the recipe.
 
Think about a lemon-- can you separate the sourness from the lemon flavor? Same deal with hops-- some are piney flavored, some earthy, some citrus-y, some grassy. These flavors are in addition to the bitterness the hop delivers-- the higher the alpha acid (AAs) of the hop variety, the more bitterness the hop will impart.
 
Think about a lemon-- can you separate the sourness from the lemon flavor? Same deal with hops-- some are piney flavored, some earthy, some citrus-y, some grassy. These flavors in addition to the bitterness the hop delivers-- the higher the alpha acids (AAs), the more bitterness the hop will impart.


Sorta like steeping a tea bag too long (actually, very much like that) The tea gets more and more bitter, but there is a finite amount of flavor you extract.

In the beer, you destroy that flavor (and aroma) the longer you boil. This is why you'll see recipes with the same hops being added at different points.
 
Sorta like steeping a tea bag too long (actually, very much like that) The tea gets more and more bitter, but there is a finite amount of flavor you extract.

In the beer, you destroy that flavor (and aroma) the longer you boil. This is why you'll see recipes with the same hops being added at different points.

Maybe I misunderstood. I thought the the OP was asking about the difference between hop flavor and hop aroma.
 
I think it might help you to think of it in terms of "taste" versus "flavor". Think of something like unsweetened chocolate. You bite it and it "tastes" bitter... doesn't mean it isn't still chocolate "flavored".... Same goes for a bitter-melon candy. Tastes bitter, but is flavored like melon. Hops will have a bitter taste and a certain flavor. Adding them to the beginning of the boil gives the beer it's bitterness for balance, but as someone has already explained, those hops tend to lose aroma and flavor over the 60 min boil. Adding them late doesn't really give them a chance to extract much bitterness, but adds back that flavor and aroma.
 
It lowers FG because it is 100% fermentable to Alcohol and alcohol is lighter than water.

Yes, malt will leave behind some residuals unlike corn sugar which is strictly an alcohol booster.

Those Belgian tripels are no joke, my brother in law makes them and his come out about 10% alc/vol and taste as much like a fruit wine as an ale to me.

The whole point of a properly made tripel is to be sneaky about how much booze is in it. You should get a little bit of perfumy alcohol aroma and flavor, and just a hint of that kind of champagne feeling in the mouthfeel, but nothing that would jump out and say "this thing will get you drunk".
 
The whole point of a properly made tripel is to be sneaky about how much booze is in it. You should get a little bit of perfumy alcohol aroma and flavor, and just a hint of that kind of champagne feeling in the mouthfeel, but nothing that would jump out and say "this thing will get you drunk".

I had a pint of the Tripel and felt like I just drank half a bottle of red wine. :tank:
 
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