Crystal malt after boiling

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.

hector

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2010
Messages
668
Reaction score
8
Location
Last Station
Hi there !

Does a light crystal malt (DME) after dissolving and boiling in water lead to

a dark brown Wort ?!

Hector
 
DME is not crystal malt.

But yes, you can end up with a dark brown wort several ways.

One is that you continue heating the extract before it is fully dissolved in the water, leading to scorching.

Another is that you boil for a long time, which carmelizes more of the sugars in the wort, which causes them to turn darker.

Another thing that effects the color is the density of the wort. So if you have a lower ratio of water : extract, it will be darker.
 
Another is that you boil for a long time, which carmelizes more of the sugars in the wort, which causes them to turn darker.

you can not caramelize an extract during the boil. caramelization requires high heat and low water content to occur. the darkening is a mailard reaction similar to what happens to a loaf of break when you bake it. but you are right the longer you boil the wort the more the mailard reaction darkens the brew. extracts always come out darker than what you would get with grain because they have already been boiled before you even get them.
 
you can not caramelize an extract during the boil. caramelization requires high heat and low water content to occur. the darkening is a mailard reaction similar to what happens to a loaf of break when you bake it. but you are right the longer you boil the wort the more the mailard reaction darkens the brew. extracts always come out darker than what you would get with grain because they have already been boiled before you even get them.


Semantics...

Back to the OP: Steeping crystal will darken the wort. How dark depends on what level roast the crystal is and how much you use. 10L crystal will make a light color. 120L crystal will be much darker.
 
Back
Top