Adding Extract During the Boil

I have been wondering why some extract recipes call for adding the extract at different points in the boil - like for example adding 1 can of LME at the beginning and a second can with 10 min to go, or something like that. What is the advantage to doing it this way rather than adding it all at once?

The reason certain recipes call for this is that the LME you are referring to has already been boiled and condensed. By boiling all of the LME again for 60 minutes you are in fact "cooking" it twice, which will deepen the color and affect the potential flavor of your finished beer. This typically is not much of a concern in darker beers, but lighter beers are hard to get the color right with LME. From my experience I don't have that issue near as much with DME, although it does turn out slightly darker than if it was an all grain version using the same base malt. I'm sure you might see lots of preferences for people just adding all at once in the beginning and for those that add 1/2 at the beginning and 1/2 at the end (also known as the "Texas Two Step"). Try it both ways with the same recipe and see what you prefer best. Cheers!

Makes sense - thanks for shedding some light on that. Seems like its definitely something to keep in mind when trying to brew to a particular style.

Yep...any lighter style of beer is harder to nail down the malt profile and color...like a kolsch, blond ale, or pils. Good luck to you and happy brewing!

as a rule of thumb...i add 1/2 to 3/4 of my lme/dme at the beginning and then add the rest with about 20 minutes left to boil...then at 15 minutes i add a whirfloc and it seems to help me hit the color i am looking for pretty damn good...never perfect the taste is great and really that is all that matters to me

I add ~1/3 of my DME for 60 minute boil, then the rest and if any, all LME at 15 minutes boil remaining.

Adding LME at flameout helps with hop utilization since a higher gravity during boil will yeild less hop bitterness. It works well for me since I usually do a 3 gal partial boil for a 5 or 6 gal batch. My LHBS says DME should be boiled to pasturize it while LME can be added at knockout and let sit for 5 min to pasturize before cooling the wort. They said if you boil it for only a few min you instead of 45-60 min you can get DMS flavors.

I've been adding most of my DME and/or LME at 15 minutes or at flame out. The beer is very light in color and I have no issues with clarity.

Cheer,

Mike