Boil time and hop addition, should i follow kit advice?

[dand]

I have done a few kits now, but still consider myself a beginner, and i am trying a new kit this time around and had a few questions on boil times.
It's a belgian amber recipe and everything seems kosher from the instructions vs advice on HBT here except the boil/hop addition times.

Kit instructions are boil water, add DME, start timer at the hot break, but then set timer for 30 mins, add tattnang hops at 30 min, then Styrian Goldings at 10 min.

Everything i have read thus far has pointed towards 60 minute boils, with longer not hurting anything.
What would the risks/effects of only a 30 minute boil have?
If i just go with a 60 min boil, should i stay at Tattnang at 30 and Styrian Golding at 10, or go 60 and 10?

Any advice would be appreiated.

 

[Xpertskir]

Follow the kits advice.

60 is the "standard" but there are recipes with 90, 120, and yes even 30.

The longer hops are boiled the greater the hop utilization. IE bitterness efficiency. If the people who made your kit are happy with the level of hop utilization and thus bitterness they get from 30 minutes of boiling, then just do what they tell you to do.

 

[flars]

I would go with the instructions you have. 60 minute boils are mainly for hop oil utilization for the amount of bittering hops and flavoring or aroma hops for the specific recipe. The hop profile for your recipe only requires 30 minutes for bittering and 10 for flavor/aroma.

You could do a 60 minute boil and keep the hop additons at 30 and 10 minutes. The 60 minute boil will only have the effect of darkening your finished wort.

 

[smccarter]

Really depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want your beer to turn out like the kit expects it to turn out, follow the instructions. If you want different results, mix it up a bit.

You can create different types of beer with the same exact grain (ingredients) by altering the mash temps, boil times, hop addition schedules, etc. There really is no hard and fast rule to brewing home brewed beer. We get to make the rules as we go... if you like a thinner beer, mash in at a lower temp... if you like a beer with a full body, mash in at a higher temp. If you like your beer very bitter, boil your hops longer... it's really up to the brewer to decide what to do based on the outcome they're looking for, but a safe bet is always to follow the instructions. Especially if you're new to brewing.

I'm no brewmaster - by any stretch of the imagination. I've been brewing for awhile, and if I buy a kit, I follow the instructions. If I come up with a recipe on my own, I taylor the boil times, mash temps, etc... to what I'm trying to accomplish. I've drank every single beer that I've brewed in the last 10 years. Some were better than others, but they were all drinkable... even when I didn't follow the instructions.

The only thing you HAVE to do is keep the environment as clean as possible. Other than that, it's supposed to be a fun hobbie, so don't over-analyze any part of it. Just keep it simple and have fun. Unless you aspire to be a brew master... then disregard everything I've said lol.

 

[IslandLizard]

Only add 1/3 of your DME at the beginning of the boil. Turn the flame off when adding while stirring really well so nothing scorches on the bottom of your pot. Then return to boil add your bittering hops and start timing from there on. Add the remainder of the DME (2/3) when you're done boiling (flame out). The late DME addition makes a nicer, lighter, and cleaner tasting beer.

If you want your beer more bitter, you could boil your Tettnanger 45 or 60 minutes. Or buy and add a bit more halfway through, or split the Tettnanger amount between 60 and 30 minutes. An amber should be clean and malty with decent bitterness and clean hop notes, not a hop-bomb.

The longer you boil hops the more bitterness gets created and the more flavor and aroma you lose. That's where you want to balance.

Let me add.
Do not rack to a secondary fermentor, even if the instructions tell you so, it's outdated. Ferment/condition the beer for 3 weeks in the same vessel, then do a FG reading.