Do you have to boil dme?

[Dondlelinger]

Just as the title states do you have to boil dme if so why?

 

[bullinachinashop]

I like to bring it to a boil to make sure it's sanitary.
I don't know who re-packaged it into the smaller packages.

Bull

 

[Dondlelinger]

Ok thats a fair enough answer, but is that the only reason?

 

[bullinachinashop]

Basically yes. Some think you may create more hot break by boiling it, but I can't say that's true.

I only use it for starters and I want to be 100% certain of my sanitation.

 

[Malric]

Yup, Chris white from white labs was quoted saying that the spray dry production method for dme allows for some contamination. Lme does not generally show a great risk due to how it is produced.

 

[Revvy]

You also need to boil SOME dme if your are adding hops. You don't get much utilization from plain water.

 

[bullinachinashop]

You also need to boil SOME dme if your are adding hops. You don't get much utilization from plain water.

I've never heard that before.

I've made hop tea and added it to balance an under attenuated beer, but never calculated the difference from H2o.

Do you remember where you read that?

Bull

 

[hector]

You also need to boil SOME dme if your are adding hops. You don't get much utilization from plain water.

I'm an Extract brewer and I use DME .

If I boil water and add the Hops at 60 Min. and then add DME at 15 Min. , would it be O.K. with the utilization ?!

Hector

 

[Revvy]

I've never heard that before.

I've made hop tea and added it to balance an under attenuated beer, but never calculated the difference from H2o.

Do you remember where you read that?

Bull

It's all over the place on here.....especially in the late extract addition discussions thread.

It's also in books, and even byo articles. It's not shocking news.

Hops contain hundreds of components and about three classes are of most interest to brewers: polyphenols, bittering acids and the aromatic oils. Polyphenols or tannins react with proteins during wort boiling and aid in trub formation. Some survive into the finished beer and can add a grassy character if present in highly hopped beers. The bittering acids in hops have a very low solubility in aqueous solutions, e.g., wort and beer, and isomerize during boiling into iso-alpha acids that are water-soluble. Finally, there are the oils in hops that lend piney, citrusy and spicy aromas to beer.

When hops are added to wort and boiled the pH is around 5.2 and there is protein present to precipitate much of the polyphenols extracted from the hop leaf. Boiling time is important and most beers that have hop aroma use late additions. During the boil, hop acids undergo numerous chemical changes and the resultant mix has a profound influence on beer bitterness and the quality of bitterness. When the pH of wort boiling is increased by adding alkaline buffers, hop utilization increases but bitterness is reportedly unpleasant. If you boiled hops in water as opposed to wort, the pH would be higher and the flavor would lack.

 

[unionrdr]

I'm experimenting with this very thing between my last batch (Summer Pale) & my latest brew a pale ale of the same general recipe,save for a hop schedule that removes dry hopping for a steeping addition for that purpose. The Summer Pale was quite good,but at 4-5 weeks,the dry hop started to disappear,& the 15min "tea" I did at the beginning was getting weak. It left some bittering & brightness,but the real flavors were gone.
So,this time I'm doing what seems to be closer to what many have done. I got 2.8G of water boiling (nearly to the 10L mark) on the ale pale I sanitized to measure the water to account for boil off. It was a bit less than 2.5G by the time it boiled,& I added all 3lbs of the DME. Took about 5mins to do that,& get it back to a boil with a small hot break.
I then added 1oz US Perle hops timed to 20mins. At ten mins,I added .5oz of Czech Saaz hops. At flame out,I pulled it off the heat & added the other .5oz of Saaz,letting it steep for 10mins. I then removed that last hop sack & added the 1.7kg can of cooper's OS draught & stirred well. Chilled in ice water bath to 70F,added to same fermenter & topped off to 23L (6.072G). I want to see how these changes to my method of adding hops changes flavor,aroma,bittering,& most important of all...longevity of these attributes. I want the flavors I designed into my ale to be as good from the 1st to the last,with no loss of intended qualities.

 

[Curtis2010]

I'm experimenting with this very thing between my last batch...

What was the result of this experiment?

I have been experimenting with late DME additions to HG partial-mash brews. Seems to work fine, avoids dropping your hops utilization due a HG and relatively low volume.

 

[Zamial]

I'm an Extract brewer and I use DME .

If I boil water and add the Hops at 60 Min. and then add DME at 15 Min. , would it be O.K. with the utilization ?!

Hop utilization needs sugars. Adding DME into a boiling pot is sticky and horrible experience if you have ever done it you will know. I find it MUCH better to add the DME to cool/cold water then bringing the stuff to a boil and add hops as normal. It even seems to mix in better/easier. That way there is no worry about utilization but to answer your question... No it would not be ok as you will not get the correct utilization with just water.