Light Colored Beers With Liquid Extract?

Is it possible to get a light colored beer with liquid extract? I just brewed the AHS American Wheat kit and it came with 7lbs of wheat liquid extract. This stuff was really dark and I find it hard to believe that it would be possible at all to get a typical wheat color using this extract even if I was able to do a full volume boil. Would it be better in the future to use dry extract when trying to go for lighter beers? Or should I in the future always use dry. I don't see myself being able to get into all grain for about another year so that answer is out of the question. Thanks for the help.

You might be able to get a slightly lighter colored beer with dry extract, although I doubt it'll make much difference with the wheat extract.

What is the final batch volume? The appearance of extract in packaged form can be deceiving. If you are doing a 5 gallon batch, 7 lbs of wheat LME will yield you an SRM of around 7-8.

Cream ale

kuphish said:

What is the final batch volume? The appearance of extract in packaged form can be deceiving. If you are doing a 5 gallon batch, 7 lbs of wheat LME will yield you an SRM of around 7-8.

Click to expand...

My batch size was 5 gallons, but only boiled 2.5 gallons per the instructions. Plan on getting BeerSmith soon so that I can pump up my boil volume while keeping my hop utilization at full impact. Hopefully it will lighten up while it ferments and conditions. Only time will tell.

I haven't used wheat extract but I brew very light colored beers with LME. I use extra pale LME and add it just before flameout so it doesn't get a chance to caramelize at all.

ChshreCat said:

I haven't used wheat extract but I brew very light colored beers with LME. I use extra pale LME and add it just before flameout so it doesn't get a chance to caramelize at all.

Click to expand...

Do you do full volume boils?

I am very interested in this late addition extract that I see talked about all the time. If I am doing 2.5 gallon boils do I just add all the extract in the last 15 minutes of the boil? Is it fine putting the hops in there with just the water plus what I got from the steeping grains.

No, put some of the extract in at the start of the boil, it helps with hops utilization (although I have no idea why). When I have done extracts, I used 1/3 dme at the beginning and 2/3 at the late addition. Take your pot off the heat to add the extract and stir like a mad man.

I did a very light blonde ale using this method - it is absolutely possible to get light extract beers.

Next time use our Extra Light extract. It has a lovibond of 2. (2-row is 1.8 Lovibond)
Wheat extract is always much darker, even if it is DME. (DME is made from liquid malt extract.)

Wheat beers flavor is based on the yeast (not the hops or extract).

Forrest

Austinhomebrew said:

Next time use our Extra Light extract. It has a lovibond of 2. (2-row is 1.8 Lovibond)
Wheat extract is always much darker, even if it is DME. (DME is made from liquid malt extract.)

Wheat beers flavor is based on the yeast (not the hops or extract).

Forrest

Click to expand...

Shouldn't the American Wheat kit that you guys sell then use extra light extract as opposed to the wheat extract?

Breck09 said:

Shouldn't the American Wheat kit that you guys sell then use extra light extract as opposed to the wheat extract?

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, people would think we were pulling a fast one if we didn't use wheat extract in a wheat beer. Even though the wheat extract is half wheat and half 2-row, the wheat in the extract does not really benefit the beer. If you are doing all grain, then wheat would make a difference.

Maybe make it half wheat extract and half extra light.

Forrest

Breck09 said:

Do you do full volume boils?

I am very interested in this late addition extract that I see talked about all the time. If I am doing 2.5 gallon boils do I just add all the extract in the last 15 minutes of the boil? Is it fine putting the hops in there with just the water plus what I got from the steeping grains.

Click to expand...

Nope. Partial boils and partial mash. If you're doing all extract, try moving up to partial mash. It's really not much harder than all extract and you can just use actual wheat and stick with extra pale LME. Plus, if you use enough grain to have a full strength wort at the start of the boil, then you only need to add enough extract to make up for your top up water and you can add it right at the end.