1st's - late extract addition to 2.5 gallon batch

I have been searching for various information on the late extract addition and have not been satisfied with my answers (or lack thereof). Here is a 2.5 gallon batch i plan on brewing.

3.3# LME
0.25# crystal

I have: 0.75 oz of Simcoe (14 AA)
0.5 oz of amarillo (9 AA)

I was thinking of doing a late extract addition and having a total boiling time of 30 minutes. So...
1. Steeping grains
2. Bring to boil & add 1.5# of LME and 0.50 oz Simcoe (30 min)
3. Add 0.25 Amarillo (15 min)
4. Add 0.25 Amarillo and 0.25 (1 min)

I have heard that the late extract addition method increases the utilization of the hops, but by how much? I figure it is based on the gravity of the wort, so is anyone aware of a chart that compares gravity to hop utilization? Or know enough to tell me what i can expect as far as IBU's are expected from this specific recipe. I have followed a few equations (i have no software) and think that with the given rates it would give roughly 50 IBUs but that does not account for the late extract addition. I am going for an IPA but don't want something above 80 or so. So in a nutshell, i know enough about brewing to have myself confused but not enough to solve the problem (quite yet). Any comments/answers would be great.

P.S. This batch is from leftovers from my last batch b/c i decided to make an APA instead of an IPA to save on the hops$

Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels. This has the info for you. Yeah, utilization is increased the lower the gravity is. This is a big advantage of doing a full boil. instead of a partial. Get the Ray Daniels book. It'll just make better beers in addition to helping you with this answer.

Just to be clear. Is this a 2 1/2 gallon batch and you are doing a full boil? If so, the late addition is not as important, but add the extract before the boil starts or take it off the burner to avoid carmelization.

I have tried adding all but about a cup of LME after the boil on a couple of lighter ales and find the texture and color to be lighter than when boiling all of the extracts. Never thought about it until now, but the hops did stand out more when the extracts were steeped rather than boiled.

anoldur said:

Just to be clear. Is this a 2 1/2 gallon batch and you are doing a full boil? If so, the late addition is not as important, but add the extract before the boil starts or take it off the burner to avoid carmelization.

Click to expand...

Yep, a 2 1/2 batch full boil. I guess my main question is how much more utilization of hops can be expected when the majority of extract is added the last 15 minutes of the boil...and if more bitterness is derived from late extract addition how come more people don't do it - especially with the cost of hops increasing 200%.

VA Brew said:

Yep, a 2 1/2 batch full boil. I guess my main question is how much more utilization of hops can be expected when the majority of extract is added the last 15 minutes of the boil...and if more bitterness is derived from late extract addition how come more people don't do it - especially with the cost of hops increasing 200%.

Click to expand...

I know this thread is a bit old, but does anybody have an answer for the question about late extract & hop bitterness? Is there some reason more people don't use this late extract technique?

Nevermind & sorry for the lazy post. It's getting late.

I did a search & found plenty of answers including this one.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=26151&page=2

Check Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing...there's a chart that specifies 1 gal of water with 1 lb of malt will extract the maximum hop bitterness at 1 hour of boiling time giving you a gravity of approximately 1.040.

There have been other debates on this, but it comes down to is it really is about the peak extraction.

I've been doing Late Addition brewing for years now.

I boil 1.5 gals (there will be boil off) with 1 lb of malt. For 5-6 lbs of malt I only use 3AAs. All of my brews have a really good balance. Not overly bitter like West Coast brews and not sweet either, except in the case of Hefe Weizens. I boil for 45 mins and remove the pot from the heat. I add and dissolve all the rest of the malt and let it sit for 15 mins before racking to the primary and topping off with water I place in the freezer for 4-5 hours prior to brewing.