wobdee
Junior Member
I brew 2.5gl batches and have been boiling 60 minutes, any harm in cutting that in half to 30 minutes? I realize I will have to up my hops to get the same IBU's but is it really nessasary to boil extract 60 minutes?
2.5gl Batch Boil Times?
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homebrewhaha
Well-Known Member
Edit: sorry, didn't see this was extract. My bad.
Odin_Brews
Well-Known Member
No, it's not neccessary to boil extract for 60 minutes, in fact I don't think you have to boil extract at all. like you said it's about the hops and utilization. 60 minutes is just the happy medium where you've extracted the majority of hop bitterness. You could also boil only part of your DME keeping a lower SG wort which gives you higher hop utilization, then toss in the rest of the DME at the end.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/minimum-boil-time-extract-brewing-192440/
There's one thread among a few that discuss this idea.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/minimum-boil-time-extract-brewing-192440/
There's one thread among a few that discuss this idea.
wobdee
Junior Member
Thanks for the info. I think I'll try a 30 minute boil next. Brewing 2.5 gl batches won't cause too much loss in IBU utilization at 30 minutes according to Promash, just have to use a little more. I also think it will lighten up the beer some, they seem to be a little on the dark side.
A good way to keep the color light and the flavor from tasting like "cooked extract", is by adding the majority of the extract at flame out.
There are several advantages to this- one is reducing maillard reactions (similar to caramelization flavors). Another is that you have more room in your pot for a bigger volume boil if you don't have 6 pounds of extract in there! That's important for people brewing on a stove top with a partial boil. it also keeps the color light.
As far as the boil time, that's strictly for hops utilization and has nothing to do with the extract. The thing is, a 30 minute boil of hops will taste a bit different than a 60 minute boil will. It will change the bittering character a bit, as well as require more hops. But you may find that you prefer it, so it is worth a try!
wobdee
Junior Member
So could just just boil straight water for 60 minutes and add your hops at different times to get your bitterness and flavors, then just add the extract at flame out?
wobdee said:
From what I have found in the researching of this subject, boiling water alone and adding hops results in poor hop utilization. You need some sugars in the mix to get your expected hop character from the boil.
You don't need sugars to extract hops oils- but it's commonly done. (To see, boil 1/2 cup of water with a couple of hop pellets- it'll get bitter!)
Normally, a good recommendation is one pound of extract per gallon of water being boiled. That seems to work well for everybody, and I have no reason to doubt that amount.
Normally, a good recommendation is one pound of extract per gallon of water being boiled. That seems to work well for everybody, and I have no reason to doubt that amount.
I've moved to 2.5 gallon batches with 30 minute boil for several reasons and it seems to be working out well so far. With my 5+ gallon batches I would do 50/50 early/late extract additions, but have just been adding all of it at the beginning of the 30 minute boil. Mostly just because the 30 minutes goes by so quick that I don't want to bother with adding more extract, and I figure the carmelization won't be so bad in only 30 minutes.
Odin_Brews
Well-Known Member
Exactly! Never heard of DMS being an issue with extract.
I switched to 2.5 gal batches this fall (for a bunch of reasons) and most of them I only boil 30 minutes and just increase the amount of hops I use. The 3 batches I've made this way have definitely been the best I've ever made. So I would say go ahead and boil for 30 min. In my experience I've gotten excellent results.
I wondered about this and found an article somewhere (of course I can't find it) that seemed to state the wort environment was required for proper hop utilization.
If it isn't, then an extract brewer could simpy mix their extract with the appropriate volume of water and add a hop tea. No boil, no mess, no wort chilling...probably take less than 1.5 hours start to finish.
wobdee
Junior Member
I'm liking my 2.5 gl extract brews, just did another last night and also went with a 30 minute boil but added a 30 min steep for some good hop flavor.
Giggliato
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Yes, and if you're using malt extracts, why not use hop extracts? Just pour everything into the fermentor toss in some yeast and wait. A small addition of cooked material can give your beer that personal touch.
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Yeesh, I hope you're being sarcastic. Why not just go to the store and pick up a 6-pack instead? It would shave off even more time and money. Using malt syrup and hop syrup, and you're pretty much just diluting ingredients to turn it into a beer.
Gordon Ramsey would be appalled.
Giggliato
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Yeesh, I hope you're being sarcastic. Why not just go to the store and pick up a 6-pack instead? It would shave off even more time and money. Using malt syrup and hop syrup, and you're pretty much just diluting ingredients to turn it into a beer.
I don't think so, if the beer tastes good I think Mr. Ramsay would be delighted that one was able to create such a beer with such a low input of time and effort. Money of course has to factor into the equation and once I figure out the simplest all grain method for my kitchen I will probably do that.
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