adding extract later in boil

Getting ready to do my second batch on Sunday ( hefe-weizen) For my first, it was recommended by a friend that i add half my LME at the beginning of the boil and the other half of the 7lbs at the 5 minute mark.

For my hefe-weizen i have 6 pounds of wheat DME. What difference, if any does it make if the extract is split up or added all at the beginning?

It really depends on the size of your boil. If you're doing something close to a full boil (5-7 gallons) then it really won't matter much about adding some extract late. On the other hand if you're doing a partial boil where you might be only boiling 2 gallons of water, it can make sense to do a late extract addition.

This would help you get better utilization of your hops (because the gravity of a partial boil would be higher) and also keep you from possibly scorching some of the sugars while trying to add all the extract to the initial boil.

So to answer your question, the main reason to add some of the extract later in the boil is simply to keep from burning some of the sugars you might get from adding everything to a partial boil and to help keep your hop utilization as close to accurate as possible.

You'll still make excellent beer either way, but just some things to consider.

On a hefe probably not a huge difference. When i use extract I use about 25% at 60 min, the other 75% at 15. You want some of your sugars in there with the hops to extract the AA of them.

The more important thing to look for is avoiding carmelization...kettle off the heat, add and stir stir stir....back on heat.

You won't ruin it either way. Experiment and you'll come up with what works best for you and your tastes.

late addition extract is a good thing if you are doing a partial boil with top off water. You will get better hop utilizarion and less carmalization of the maltose.