Difference in adding extract all at beginning or adding some near the end?

I am a new brewer and have a ton of questions , but just will ask one here.

I see recipies that call for adding all of the extract at the beginning of the boil, and some that call for adding a portion near the end (usually with about 10minutes to go).

What does this do to the taste of the beer? Or does it do anything else?

Just trying to learn as much as possible.

First brew is still in fermenting. I hate the waiting..........

I know RDWHAHB but I don't have any Home brew yet. I guess the Flying Fish Belgian Style Dubbel thatbI am drinking will have to work....

I believe late addition mostly keeps the color lighter, but it also prevents a caramel flavor.

Completely agree w/ suds. I've been brewing mini-mash w/ liquid extract for a little over a year now and i've tried a pale ale adding all the extract as the recipe stated (at the beginning) and then tried another pale ale adding like 15-20% at the beginning and the rest towards the end of the boil. It really did result in a lighter color of the final beer. According to the wizards at my local home brew store, adding the sugar late in the boil keeps it from darkening/caramelizing as much.

Adding extract late in the boil also increases hop utilization, which means you can use a little less hops for bittering your brew.

There's nothing wrong with the "old" way of adding the extract at the beginning. But many people over the years discovered that adding the bulk of the extract at or near the end of the boil found that the beer was a little more to their liking. Mostly, it's cosmetic, as boiling the extract darkens it. But there are some flavor differences, too, like less maillard reactions. That means less of an "extract-y" taste to me.

The other thing to consider is that this is most effective in partial boils. That is, when you boil only maybe 2-3 gallons of the wort, and then dilute with water to 5 gallons. That's because adding all of the extract at the beginning causes a more concentrated boil in 2-3 gallons that if you were doing all 5 gallons at once. That causes even more darkening and maillard reactions.

If you're doing a batch where you're starting with 6 gallons, and boiling it, just like for an all-grain batch, there may not be as much benefit to adding the extract late in the boil.

I've added the extract as late at flame out for LME, with good results. But sometimes that makes other people a bit nervous about sanitation, so they add it it earlier, like with 15 minutes left in the boil.

Thanks for the replies.

I am not so concerned with color. Hop utilizaton is good. mmmmm I love a good hoppy beer. Maybe I will try adding some of the extract later in my next brew,since I am doing partial boils.

Yooper I love your avatar...

downinit said:

Adding extract late in the boil also increases hop utilization, which means you can use a little less hops for bittering your brew.

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I do recall reading a post that indicated this was in fact not the case. There's been a bit of conventional wisdom that the gravity of your wort impacts the utilization rate of your hops but (IIRC) Jamal and company did some experiments that indicated this was the case. I'll have to see if I can find that post again.

Do it just like it was your recipe. I have only made one fruit beer and added the fruit (in the form of juice) to the secondary. So I say go for it. I am about to doctor a Brewers Best kit I was given as a gift.

New to brewing I have been using multiple pots to get close to a 4g boil. And then add the other gallon to help chill. Is adding the extract late going to give better flavor then using 2 pots?
Thanks

orangeryno said:

New to brewing I have been using multiple pots to get close to a 4g boil. And then add the other gallon to help chill. Is adding the extract late going to give better flavor then using 2 pots?
Thanks

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Yes, in general. You can still do the two pots, and add 1/2 the extract late near the end of the boil, and have a finished beer that will have a less "cooked extract" taste to it.

Yooper said:

Yes, in general. You can still do the two pots, and add 1/2 the extract late near the end of the boil, and have a finished beer that will have a less "cooked extract" taste to it.

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Have to give it a try next time. Thanks

orangeryno said:

Is adding the extract late going to give better flavor then using 2 pots?
Thanks

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I'd say 'yes'. Lately, with my extract beers, I've been adding any and all LME at flameout. (DME still goes in at the beginning if it's in the recipe.)
I find that not only do I get a slightly lighter (in color) beer, but I seem to get better and more consistent attenuation. The flavor is also improved, as none of the LME gets cooked or caramelizes. I've done half a dozen or so all LME batches like this, with zero extract added until after the boil, and they've been some of the better extract beers I've made.

Using two pots isn't going to add anything to your beer, but your own ability to boil more at once.

You will not caramelize the extract as much, and that will give you a bit lighter color, and a less extract-ey twang in the beer from cooking down in partial boils.. Past that, "better" flavor will be subjective. A less sweet, caramel taste in your beer is better in certain cases, and others it might not matter as much.

FATC1TY said:

Using two pots isn't going to add anything to your beer, but your own ability to boil more at once.

You will not caramelize the extract as much, and that will give you a bit lighter color, and a less extract-ey twang in the beer from cooking down in partial boils.. Past that, "better" flavor will be subjective. A less sweet, caramel taste in your beer is better in certain cases, and others it might not matter as much.

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So I was using 2 pots mainly because I thought the more water I boiled with extract and grains the more flavorful the beer would be overall. Is this not these case?
Thanks

orangeryno said:

So I was using 2 pots mainly because I thought the more water I boiled with extract and grains the more flavorful the beer would be overall. Is this not these case?
Thanks

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I could be wrong, but most of the time I've heard of people using two pots to boil in, is because their pots aren't big enough to get a proper boil in, or don't have the BTU capacity to do a full boil in one pot.

You are right that full boils are better than partial, as mentioned before, that there is more diluted wort during the boil, and not as concentrated, hence the less chance of it getting darker and caramelizing.

You won't extract any more flavor with your method than you would doing it any other way, the flavor is already there with the extract anyways.

The late addition of malt is for a few reasons, mainly it changes your hops utilization. If you add all your extract at the beginning your hops will be utilized less and your beer will be less bitter. Also your brew will be darker in color if you add the extract in the beginning due to caramelizing of the sugar. As you get more into brewing and start plugging your recipes into programs like beersmith you will start to notice what difference it makes to your brew when you add early vs late.

I brewed today, used my iBrewmaster on my phone, worked pretty well at timing it out and calculating things for me after I input my recipe

I used DME, and put 2#'s in the beginning after I had steeped some grains in my kettle. Added the other 3#'s right at flameout while it was still boiling, and hot, and mixed it all in really well right before I turned the chiller on.