Worried about off flavors...

[paratroop]

So last night I started my first extract brewing experiance. At the point where I transferred the wort into the primary to pitch the yeast, I noticed a light brown ring in the bottom of my brew kettle, clearly the size of the burner that was previously below it. It didn't look burnt or anything, just brown. Should I worry about this throwing off the flavor of my finished beer?

 

[shawnbou]

First of all, you should never worry.

I'm guessing you added the extract to the boil while it was on the burner?

What you are seeing is almost certainly some scorched extract stuck to the bottom of the pot. You may get a little more toasted/caramelly flavor in your beer, and maybe darker color than you expected, but I don't think it will throw off the flavor by much. Especially if it didn't get really burned.

It might be a pain in the butt to clean, though ...

In the future, I'd suggest removing the pot from heat while adding extract - turn off the burner and it couldn't hurt to move the pot to a cool burner while you stir. Return to heat once the extract is dissolved.

 

[paratroop]

I did remove it from the burner to add the extract, I guess I returned it before it was fully dissolved!

Oh well, sounds like if there's any effect it won't ruin the batch! Thanks for the help!

BTW, it wasn't that hard to clean, it was nearly nothing at all!(Hope that's a good sign!" I just never saw it in the brew videos or pictures I've seen, henceforth my concern.

 

[RM-MN]

I did remove it from the burner to add the extract, I guess I returned it before it was fully dissolved!

Oh well, sounds like if there's any effect it won't ruin the batch! Thanks for the help!

BTW, it wasn't that hard to clean, it was nearly nothing at all!(Hope that's a good sign!" I just never saw it in the brew videos or pictures I've seen, henceforth my concern.

Can you smell something burned? If not it probably won't affect your batch as I think you have "beer stone" on your kettle bottom. Try scrubbing it off with a nylon scratch pad. It might take a bit of scrubbing to get it off and you have to do it each batch because you "cook" more on with each batch until it does seem to be stone.

 

[BigFloyd]

Light brown = no worries.

Scorched black = could be a problem.

Next time, be sure to turn off the fire when adding LME or DME. Stir it in really well before resuming.

To clean, simply fill the kettle with hot water, mix in a scoop of OxyClean or PBW and let it sit overnight.

 

[unionrdr]

I see that light brown ring in my SS kettle as well when doing extracts. I use half a 3lb bag of plain DME in a 3.5-3.75 gallon boil. It's just a thin,light brown mark shaped like the electric burner on the bottom. And I stir the DME in on the heat,as it floats. Unlike LME which goes straight to the bottom. I also kep the boil moving one way or another. but that mark isn't enough to cause off flavors or darker colors being so light & thin. I just rinse the pot,then scrub with a Dobie brand scrubber & a little PBW in the bottom.

 

[aiptasia]

You'll be fine. Just scrub it out with a scrubby pad/sponge with some barkeepers friend or a little PBW in the bottom of the pot. I find it's easier to remove residue by scrubbing your brewing equipment immediately after use (before it dries out).

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,def better to clean any equipment that touched the beer/residue while fresh. Faster & easier to clean at that point!