Late addition of LME

In another recent thread, the topic of adding you LME right before flameout came up. I didn't want to hijack that thread so I thought I would start a new one...

So, to those of you that use this method, do you normally do it right before flameout, 5 minutes prior, or what?

Do most extract brewers use this method?

Is this only beneficial for LME, or should one practice the same technique using DME?

Please elaborate...

Oh yea, one more question - this one regarding full-boil, vs. partial... I have a 7 gallon brew pot, so I'm a little nervous doing a full-Boil with only 2 gallons of headroom. So would it be beneficial to boil 4 gallons of water, only having to add one gallon later?

Thanks,
Brad

bradneal said:

In another recent thread, the topic of adding you LME right before flameout came up. I didn't want to hijack that thread so I thought I would start a new one...

So, to those of you that use this method, do you normally do it right before flameout, 5 minutes prior, or what?

Do most extract brewers use this method?

Is this only beneficial for LME, or should one practice the same technique using DME?

Please elaborate...

Oh yea, one more question - this one regarding full-boil, vs. partial... I have a 7 gallon brew pot, so I'm a little nervous doing a full-Boil with only 2 gallons of headroom. So would it be beneficial to boil 4 gallons of water, only having to add one gallon later?

Thanks,
Brad

Click to expand...

I like to add the extract at flame out, that way it doesn't stop my boil at 15 minutes. It's plenty hot enough to pasteurize the extract at flame out (as it stays over 200 degrees for quite a few minutes).

The more you can boil, in my opinion, the better. If you can only boil 4 gallons, that's better than 2. I have a 32 quart pot, and I can boil 6.25 gallons in it if I watch it like a hawk. That boils down in an hour to a tad over 5 gallons, so it's perfect. If you're comfortable starting with 4 gallons in your pot, that would be fine.

I've used late additions of extract with both DME and LME. It worked great. There is some debate now on hops utilization (some experiments on Basic Brewing Radio suggest there isn't a change doing full boils or late extract additions, etc) but in my experience adding the extract late in the boil DID change my hops utilization and I ended up happiest by reducing the 60 minute hops by 20% when doing a late extract addition.

I have used various methods for late extract additions. I was happiest when slowly adding it over the course of ca. 5 minutes near the end of the boil. By adding it slowly, the boil does not get interrupted. Adding the extract at flameout would work as well, but depending on the amount of extract you add and the volume of your boil, your temperature might drop below pasteurization range, and you'll end up with a (very small) potential for infection.

I've been brewing 5 gallon batches with a 7 gallon pot for 15 years. I bring it right up to 6 gallons, then watch it closely for the first ten minutes or so of the boil. I start on very high heat, and as I approach 200°F I turn the heat down and reach the boil slowly from there. Once I hit the boil, I turn the flame down as low as I can without losing a rolling boil. In those first ten minutes, I stir, break the foam cap repeatedly, and stand ready to turn the flame down more
. On my gear, at least, I've never had a boil over after ten minutes in. In the early days I had plenty of boil overs, but once I started really paying attention, it stopped. The cap dissipates and flame overs become far less likely.