See anything wrong with this???

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Ol' Grog

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Wow. Found this at ebrew.com on their recommended brewing practices. These are new to me.



How to Dissolve the Malt Extract - After filling the stock pot with the with 2 gallons of warm water (not too hot for human touch), pour in the dried malt extract (DME) and/or the contents of the malt syrup can. I normally do this 15 minutes to an hour before I intend to turn up the heat. Stir it well initially and once or twice more.

Want to make sure the malt is dissolved, try this: Having washed your hands and forearms, roll up those sleeves and dive in, feel for any syrupy malt on the bottom of the stock pot. If the malt was to remain undissolved, it would surely scorch, making the resulting beer much darker than intended and potentially develop some interesting flavors.
 
If I were an extract brewer that kept getting scorched malt, I would dfinately be doing something like this.
 
Sounds like someone's not using their brain...turn the heat off first!

I always place my initial malt in warm water and let it dissolve. All additional pounds are added 1 at a time and dissolved before adding the next lb.

Just makes sense.:D
 
Why on earth would you stick your hand in the wort instead of just using a spatula to make sure nothing's stuck on the bottom? Sanitized or not, that's just nasty, and a PITA.
 
I can understand placing the extract syrup can in a pot of warm water for a while to "loosen" it up, that's what I do, but geeesh.
 
Remember to pick your nose and scratch your crack before you reach into your brewpot and check for undissolved syrup.:rockin:
 
Besides being nasty and a PITA, you'd end up with dry malt on your arms if its not completely dissolved.

I thought scorching was more of a problem for liquid extract than dry. When I add my dry extract, it floats on top until I get it stirred in.
 
Ol' Grog said:
Want to make sure the malt is dissolved, try this: Having washed your hands and forearms, roll up those sleeves and dive in, feel for any syrupy malt on the bottom of the stock pot.
I see nothing wrong with it except for making a mess of yourself. It certainly seems reasonable to dissolve your extract ahead of time and stir it liberally to ensure there are no clumps. I've never had a problem with just dumping it in and stirring well.

After reading about late extract addition, my last boil went really well when I added half of the extract at the beginning of the boil and the other half 15 minutes before the end of the boil. This also avoids scorched sugars by limiting their exposure to the heat.

Playing devil's advocate, I made a lightly hopped amber ale recipe where I accidentally scorched some extract on the bottom of the kettle, and the "roasted" flavors that resulted were actually quite pleasant.

You sound like more of a brewer if you refer to your "stock pot" as a "brew kettle."
 
any five year old will tell you it's more fun to finger paint then use a brush.

dive in if it pleases you :)

i use a large spoon to stirr it in slowly... ;)
 
you guys dont make bread do ya?

Sometimes you hands are the best tool for the job reguardless of how "gross" it may be. Thats why ya do things like wash your hands and not pick you nose or scratch your ballz when cooking:p

If your going to be boiling the wort yet anyway WTF is the big deal? Unless you have massive pscoriasis to the point it looks like grated parmesan falling off your arms I wouldnt worry too much.
 
Pumbaa said:
you guys dont make bread do ya?

Sometimes you hands are the best tool for the job reguardless of how "gross" it may be. Thats why ya do things like wash your hands and not pick you nose or scratch your ballz when cooking:p

If your going to be boiling the wort yet anyway WTF is the big deal? Unless you have massive pscoriasis to the point it looks like grated parmesan falling off your arms I wouldnt worry too much.
I love making bread...and making a mess. Just doesn't seem necessary in this case, but by all means, give it a shot - it's not gonna hurt anything unless you've got cancerous sores flaring up and oozing a bit (right back at ya, Pumbaa...).
 
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