General Guidelines for Late Malt Addtions

All-

I know that with every recipe it can vary... etc.

But can anyone give just some general guidelines for adding DME or LME late in the boil?

(1) What is a range of % it to add (example: add 60-80% late and 20-40% early)

(2) When to add? Flame out? Over the last 15 min?

I expect to get different answers... But I want to see what some peoples general ideas are!

Thanks!

1) 50/50 works.
2) Generally the last 15 minutes.

If you check out Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing there's a Hop Utilization Chart that specifies using 1 lb of DME to 1 gal of water to get the maximum bitterness extraction.

I've been successfully using this guideline since 1994.

I boil for 45 mins then remove the pot from the flame then add the remaining DME, dissolve it then let it steep for the last 15 mins.

With that said, most recipes call for 6 lbs DME. If you boil 2 gals then you should use 2 lbd of DME, 3 gals=3 lbs., etc.

I like to add 3lbs DME at the beginning of a 3gal boil, and the rest at flameout so as not to affect the flavor hops too much, plus then you don't have to worry about bringing the wort back up to a boil.

Pasteurization only requires 10 minutes in 160-170* water. It'll take at least 5 mins at your 212* just-boiled wort just to mix it all in, and I doubt your chiller gets the batch down below 160 in 5 more minutes, so there's little to no risk of infection from not boiling the late addition, imo.

homebrewer_99 said:

If you check out Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing there's a Hop Utilization Chart that specifies using 1 lb of DME to 1 gal of water to get the maximum bitterness extraction.

I've been successfully using this guideline since 1994.

I boil for 45 mins then remove the pot from the flame then add the remaining DME, dissolve it then let it steep for the last 15 mins.

With that said, most recipes call for 6 lbs DME. If you boil 2 gals then you should use 2 lbd of DME, 3 gals=3 lbs., etc.

Click to expand...

Guys... all awesome advice. If I boiled for 45 minutes then take off flame and allow the DME to steep... does that affect my hop additions? Like if I am supposed to add 1oz at 5min.... Does it get added 40 minutes in? Or do I just still add it 5 min from the end of 60min? Does this question make sense?

Thanks for helping...

As stated, methods vary. My method:

2.5 gallon boil for a 5 gallon batch
~half the extract is boiled
~half is added at flame-out to steep for 5-10 minutes while I get the ice bath set up.

The amounts vary based on the IBUs I'm shooting for. I tend to shoot for the lower-end of IBUs for the style (or a little less even). Everything just gets plugged into Beersmith, which allows me to play around with when extract and hops are added to get me the IBUs I want.

Yep...methods vary as I was suspecting but there are parameters that are becoming clear.
Now, just gotta see if if affects WHEN I add my hops. If I flame out at 45 minutes.... Do I add my 0 min hops THEN or wait the 15 minutes of steeping and add at the actual 60 minute mark.

jalgayer said:

Yep...methods vary as I was suspecting but there are parameters that are becoming clear.
Now, just gotta see if if affects WHEN I add my hops. If I flame out at 45 minutes.... Do I add my 0 min hops THEN or wait the 15 minutes of steeping and add at the actual 60 minute mark.

Click to expand...

For consistency and clarity, times are always listed as time till the end of boil, so flame-out is always 0, regardless of the total amount of time boiled.

So, your 0-minute hop addition should be at flame-out, then let it steep for a little while to extract the oils. There would be no reason to wait a while after flame-out to add your steeping hops; it only delays when you can begin cooling it down.

The above applies for however long your boil is: 30, 45, 60, 90 minutes, etc. Hops don't care how long you've been boiling before they're added, only how long they are boiled (or steeped).