Thinking about adding extract later.

My last beer was a pale ale and it came out a little more amber. They are currently bottled and carbonating. I figured that I carmelized the sugars during the boil. I'm trying to find a balance between getting a good boil (for aeration) and not scorching my fermentables. So what what I was thinking was, for my next batch, which will be a belgian wit, I will add the extract much later (at about 10 min before the end of boil) so that I don't carmelize and turn my wort too dark.

Whatyathink?

Your referring to a late extract addition (do a search for a ton of info). Just add a pound or two of your extract at the beginning of the boil for proper hop utilization, then the remaining within the last 15 minutes. If your using liquid remove pot from heat to avoid scorching.

I do have pellettes and will add them accordingly. I guess I was wondering if my idea was any good.

ChefBrew said:

I do have pellettes and will add them accordingly. I guess I was wondering if my idea was any good.

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Yes, but it's not a new idea. It's called a late extract addition, and it refers to extract, not hops. You add a small amount of your extract at the beginning of the boil because the wort needs some extract in it for proper hop utilization. You then add the remaining extract near the end of the boil to reduce caramelization. Forgive me for being redundant, but I think you may have misunderstood my original response.

Do you do a full boil? If you only do a partial boil then you probably only need a cup or so of the extract for the hops addition. But I would stay pretty close to the hop schedule.

ChefBrew said:

a good boil (for aeration)

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The boil does not aerate your wort. It actually eliminates most of the dissolved gases. You need to aerate the wort after cooling it.

See here for answers to the rest of your post.