No malt extract

[Boydo]

Hi all,

Quick question. I have all the ingredients I need to put a brew on this weekend. I intend to put on a standard pre hopped brew kit, a William Warn Blonde Ale to be specific.
The only thing I don't have is malt extract. What I do have Is Maltrodextrin and standard dextrose. Can I use a kg of both or each one to replace my DME.

I usually use DME or a liquid malt extract so not sure if the above will be an OK replacement.

Cheers all, happy brewing.

Boydo

 

[Gnomebrewer]

You could replace with maybe 25% maltodextrin/75% dextrose, but the result still won't be the same. Malt extract gives mouthfeel, flavour and body that the others can't.

Also, have you considered moving up to extract brewing - boiling malt extract with hops - rather than pre-hopped kits? It's well worth the effort.

 

[Boydo]

You could replace with maybe 25% maltodextrin/75% dextrose, but the result still won't be the same. Malt extract gives mouthfeel, flavour and body that the others can't.

Also, have you considered moving up to extract brewing - boiling malt extract with hops - rather than pre-hopped kits? It's well worth the effort.

Thanks for the response.

Yeah that is my concern. I'm wondering if I should just wait till I have some malt extract, no point in wasting a kit and other ingredients if the result will be poor.

To answer your question, I have but haven't really looked into it in terms of that next step. I definitely want to so I can get better at brewing and start experimenting but kinda feel like I need to perfect the basics. Have been brewing for a while with pre hopped kits so maybe it's time to expand my brewing knowledge.

So what is the difference between extract brewing and what I'm doing now (which I realize is essientally just adding ingredients together). And is extract brewing the next logical step?

Thanks for your time.

Boydo

 

[Gnomebrewer]

If you can get malt extract within the next couple of days, you could add it after starting the ferment with the other ingredients.

A simple extract brew involves boiling some extract (not hopped) for up to an hour. You add hops to the boil at various times for bitterness (boil for 30 to 60 minutes) or flavour and aroma (boil for 0 to 30 minutes). Extra flavour can also come from 'steeping' some grains, which is simply soaking some crushed specialty grains (eg. caramel or roasted malt) in hot water for half an hour or so. The downside versus pre-hopped kits is that it is more expensive....the upside is better beer and more scope for creativity. The only equipment you need is a big pot (3 gallon would be OK, 5 is better, 8 is great), a grain bag for steeping specialty grain, and something to chill the wort after boiling (10ft of 1/2inch copper pipe bent into a coil, attached to a hose, works well).

 

[Boydo]

If you can get malt extract within the next couple of days, you could add it after starting the ferment with the other ingredients.

A simple extract brew involves boiling some extract (not hopped) for up to an hour. You add hops to the boil at various times for bitterness (boil for 30 to 60 minutes) or flavour and aroma (boil for 0 to 30 minutes). Extra flavour can also come from 'steeping' some grains, which is simply soaking some crushed specialty grains (eg. caramel or roasted malt) in hot water for half an hour or so. The downside versus pre-hopped kits is that it is more expensive....the upside is better beer and more scope for creativity. The only equipment you need is a big pot (3 gallon would be OK, 5 is better, 8 is great), a grain bag for steeping specialty grain, and something to chill the wort after boiling (10ft of 1/2inch copper pipe bent into a coil, attached to a hose, works well).

Awesome, thank you. It actually sounds a lot easier than I imagined. So I take it you would steep the grain in a separate pot then add it to the extract. Sorry if this is a stupid question, just wanna be sure.

My brewshop sells the copper piping wort chiller and I am working on setting up a brew fridge. Would that be OK to chill the wort?

I'll do some more research and give it a go. Thanks again

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Awesome, thank you. It actually sounds a lot easier than I imagined. So I take it you would steep the grain in a separate pot then add it to the extract. Sorry if this is a stupid question, just wanna be sure.

It's not a stupid question, and yes, you steep in a separate pot then add to the extract. Or you could steep in the same pot, remove the grains, then add the extract.

My brewshop sells the copper piping wort chiller and I am working on setting up a brew fridge. Would that be OK to chill the wort?

The copper piping wort chiller would be perfect. You can make your own a bit cheaper though (but it won't be as pretty). A brew fridge for controlling ferment temps is a really good investment regardless of the method of brewing.

 

[ncbrewer]

Lots of brewers use a 4 - 5 gallon kettle and do a partial boil - then top-off in the fermenter. The advantages are 1) Smaller boil means you can do it on the stovetop in most cases and 2) Smaller kettle means you can chill it in the sink with an ice bath (check the kettle and sink dimensions). You can keep a low gravity boil (similar to a full boil) by adding 1/4 - 1/2 of the extract at the beginning of the boil and the rest at flameout. That way you avoid maillard reactions that can darken the wort (I think it also affects the flavor, but I don't know if that's a fact). If using the late extract addition method, hop utilization may be affected - there is some disagreement on this. Using the various formulas or software is helpful. Hop utilization is part of the recipe formulation even with a full boil.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Lots of brewers use a 4 - 5 gallon kettle and do a partial boil - then top-off in the fermenter. The advantages are 1) Smaller boil means you can do it on the stovetop in most cases and 2) Smaller kettle means you can chill it in the sink with an ice bath (check the kettle and sink dimensions).

The other advantage of the smaller kettle is that you can probably boil on your kitchen cooktop (it depends on your cooktop). A full 6gal+ boil would likely need a separate gas burner or heating element. A 5gal kettle (really cheap to buy) with a 3 to 4gal boil is probably the best way to start. I'd still recommend an immersion chiller though.

 

[ncbrewer]

Immersion chillers (or similar) are favored by most, but I actually prefer the ice bath for smaller boils. You can keep the lid on while cooling, use less water, and can easily get down to a good pitching temp. I can get to 80 degrees in 20 minutes - then down to pitching temp in roughly an hour total.