Adding LME at different times during the boil

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gcdowd

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So got my 2nd extract kit (English Pale Ale). Came with 6 lbs of Gold LME and 1 lb Gold DME. Instructions say to boil only 3 lbs of the LME and the 1 lb of DME for the full 60 minutes. Says to add the second half of the LME at the 45 minute mark (so boil for only 15 minutes). Is there a reason for this? Would it hurt if I threw it all in at the beginning? I'm sure there may be another thread on this but I don't have time to look for one so I figured I could just get a quick response on this. Thanks!
 
I love doing that- it keeps the beer from getting too dark in color, it helps reduce maillard reactions (less carmelly flavor) and improves the hops utilization. I found that adding the majority of the extract near the end of the boil (even flame out) makes a better tasting beer.
 
I love doing that- it keeps the beer from getting too dark in color, it helps reduce maillard reactions (less carmelly flavor) and improves the hops utilization. I found that adding the majority of the extract near the end of the boil (even flame out) makes a better tasting beer.
This has been my process since the beginning. I don't have a kettle that will allow me to do a full volume boil, so it makes the best sense for hop utilization, as Yooper says, and though color doesn't really matter to me at this point, it is good to keep it lighter, too (hopefully this is the case with my Blonde ale in the fermenter right now. we'll see in a couple more days). I tried adding toward the end of boil, but the amount I added late cooled it enough to take forever to get back to a boil, so this time I added at flame out. As many have stated in other posts, the recently boiled wort is hot enough to pasteurize the late added LME. Just a word of caution from my most recent experience, be sure to stir the wort well, or you'll end up with thick extract staying on the bottom and not mixing well.
 
I do late extract additions too. Since I always add 3lbs of plain DME,I use half (1.5lbs) in a 2.5G boil that reduces to about 2G when it does boil. Stir the DME till all the clumps dissolve. Then I do my hop additions,the last for 10 minutes at flame out with the lid on. I stir in the rest of the DME,LME,then steep it for 15 minutes to sanitize it all,again,lid on. I go about sanitizing the FV,etc during that time.
It helps keep my ales at or very near their intended color & flavor/aroma. It flat out works!:rockin::mug:
 
Then what is the reasoning for a 69 minute boil? Is it just hop flavoring?
Not so much for hop flavoring, more accurately for hop bittering:
hop_utilization.jpg


You get the bitterness characteristic of beers by boiling hops for long periods, flavor from moderate to short boils, and aroma from short boils and dry hopping.
 
So if I add most of my extract at the end, and it causes the boil to cease, shall I just boil longer? If so, would I wait until the boil begins again before I add flavoring or aroma hops? Seems like there is no down side to boiling longer than 60 minutes, other than potentially a tad more bitterness from the bittering hops.
 
Well,if you're doing bittering additions,& not using any DME,then I'd just add 1.5-2lbs to do the hop additions. But with LME,you have to keep it stirred off the bottom. I even keep it stirred using DME at that point. Better safe than sorry. I'd think late malt additions would work in that instance as well. When at the point where my hop additions are done,it comes off the heat,& I add the remainder of my fermentables. Lid,on,15 min steep to sanitize it all,since it's still really hot.
 
So if I add most of my extract at the end, and it causes the boil to cease, shall I just boil longer?

I think that temperature drop is the best reason to add it at flame out, not at 10 or 15 minutes as some suggest. Don't stop a good boil.

Besides, why not put that temperature drop to some good use - like helping to cool the wort after the boil - rather than having it be a "problem"?
 
On the same token, I let my wort chiller sit in the starsan solution and put it in the boiling wort 10 minutes till end to make certain it's not going to be adding any nasties to the beer. This makes adding wort at the end a bit trickier. Maybe not necesary since i'm already sanitizing it with starsan?
 
mdwmonster said:
I think that temperature drop is the best reason to add it at flame out, not at 10 or 15 minutes as some suggest. Don't stop a good boil.

Besides, why not put that temperature drop to some good use - like helping to cool the wort after the boil - rather than having it be a "problem"?

Good point, as long as there is enough heat to kill anything that may get in, right?
 
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