spent 25 min taming DME hot break!

I just spent 25 minutes trying to tame the hot break that happened when I put 6 lbs of dry malt extract into 3 gallons of water in my 5 gallon kettle. I had to keep turning heat on/off and scooping out/re-inserting the liquid/foam until finally after 25 minutes it was not about to boil over, and I could finally insert the hops and start my 60 minutes...

I'm a little worried this extra 25 minutes might do something to the taste... any predictions? Maybe the color?

Did I do something wrong? This was my 5th brew, definitely a new experience for me.

One thing - when I put the 6 lbs of DME into 3 gal of water, it probably filled up my kettle more than any previous brew... so maybe all my brews had the same thing happen but I just let it happen because it didn't get close to boiling over. This one would have gone everywhere...

That's not a hot break...that's the oxygen being cooked off of each and every powder crystal (for lack of a better term) of DME. Much like nucleation in a glass.

With 3 gals of water I would not add any more than 3 lbs. Adding 6 lbs makes for a denser gravity and lowers the hop bitterness extraction. Using only 3 lbs in 3 gals of water is just about right.

If you continue cooking as you do then I would recommend moving the pot about 50% off of the flame until the escaping air is burned off (gone).



EDIT: (Per Schnitzengiggle's comments)...here's a pic of one of my Late Addition Extract brews...

Like homebrewer99 said do not boil all of your DME for the entire 60 minutes. I have put as little as 2 lbs of DME in 3.5 gallons of water for the initial boil and then I usually add the rest in the last 10-15 minutes along with Irish Moss, yeast nutrient, and any other adjuncts or candi sugars/honey if I am using them. If you take a look at HB99's pics his beers look awesome, I am a fan and envious.

If you are using an electric stove take the pot/kettle off the element when adding DME, if you are using a gas range, which is what I have, I just turn the flame all the way down when adding DME so I don't lose all my heat and it doesn't take as long to return to boiling.

I am still learning as well, but these are a couple techniques I have found to be beneficial.

EDIT: AWESOME PIC HB99!!! I am fermenting what will be a Raspberry beer for SWMBO I hope it comes out as clear as yours!

Yup. I've read about doing late extract additions but since this came as a recipe that explicitly said 3 gallons I figure they already adjusted the hops... We'll see!

Thanks!

I have always added all my hops in my recipes and all I do now are Late Additions, and they still stay within style guidelines. When you add your top-off water you are in effect going to be diluting your wort including IBU's, I don't think that IBU efficiency is increased so dramatically that it will have a negative effect on your finished beer. There is a somewhat technical thread somewhere here about the argument of LA method and its effect on IBU's. If you haven't yet, check out Beersmith.com, they have a free 21 day trial and you can plug in numbers and play with recipe calculations, I bought it after my free trial was up and I think it is a pretty user friendly program, there is also Pro Mash and Beer Tools. Beersmith does calculate for late additions, I'm not sure how well, but it seems to work for me.

FWIW, if it is a "Kit" and not a "recipe" such as those from this site or out of a book, kit instructions are usually not the best.

Fermcap-s and never again.

If you have a tall fan, you can point it at the pot as its boiling, that will take care of the foam so you don't have to do the burner dance.

Coastarine said:

Fermcap-s and never again.

Click to expand...

What has your experince been with Fermcap-s, I have heard really good things about it. But know no one personally that has used it.