Full Wort Boils w/ Extract

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Tenchiro

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Man I feel like such a newb sometimes when it comes to brewing. I had always wondered why extract brewing creates a darker beer than all grain. So I looked it up and it turns out the primary reason is the concentrated boil that most of us seem to be doing...

So the question is, with a full wort boil using malt extract, can you brew the light straw colored Hefewiezens and Witbiers you see from the all grain brewers? Would you still need to worry about doing the late addition extracts or could you boil all the extract for the full 60 minutes?
 
Man I feel like such a newb sometimes when it comes to brewing. I had always wondered why extract brewing creates a darker beer than all grain. So I looked it up and it turns out the primary reason is the concentrated boil that most of us seem to be doing...

So the question is, with a full wort boil using malt extract, can you brew the light straw colored Hefewiezens and Witbiers you see from the all grain brewers? Would you still need to worry about doing the late addition extracts or could you boil all the extract for the full 60 minutes?

I noticed a much better color when I did full extract boils. My last hefe was just right, and the light lager is almost clear! It seems I always had a darker orangish tinge to everything that was boiled concentrated, but I thought it was just me!
 
Late addition with your extract will also help keep the extract from oxidizing and giving you darker then wanted color.
 
Late addition with your extract will also help keep the extract from oxidizing and giving you darker then wanted color.

I normally do, but as Taipans said I still noticed an orange tinge on by brews. Although it does help tremendously with the overall color of the beer. I think I need to step up to full boils soon.
 
Remember also that extract is the product of an already boiled wort. I've steeping grains and boiling that for the 60 minutes to also utilize hops, per the recipe, and adding the extract in the last 15 minutes to pasteurize it and fully assimilate it into the entire mixture. This, combined with full boils has produced a better tasting, properly colored wort/beer.
 
Full boils for me made a world of difference in the finished product, and moving to partial mash made an even bigger difference quality/freshness wise as well as cost wise. In the last few brews I have made I havent used more than a 3.3lb jug of LME.
 
You should be able to added the extract right at the start of the full boil.

Be advised you need to do these 5 things!!!

1) Make sure the burner is OFF! Otherwise you will get burnt carmelized extract. Boil water, flame-out, add extract stir like crazy and crank her up to boil then add the hops.

2) Reduce bittering hop quantity for improved utilization. http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html

3) Also add an extra gallon of water if you still want 5 gallons after its done boiling.

4) At 45 minutes into the boil add a wort chiller, w/o it it will take a long time to cool and you will get DMS in your beer (DMS - Cooked Vegi taste)

5) Aerate your cooled 5 gal of wort with a syphon-nozzle, paint mixer, shaking or with oxygen. Do so in the fermenter.
 
As of my last batch I was doing a 1#/5# split with the DME, and adding the 5# at the 15 minute mark. It did help in getting the overall color down. And it does yield good results. As can be seen here;
2556903652_83691efd1f.jpg


But there is still some orange tint to it I want to eliminate.
 
so when you do a late extract addition I assume you still kill the flame when adding the extract. Usually when I do this it takes a few minutes to get the extract in and get everything back to a boil. So would you count the time it takes to add the extract and get it back to boiling as part of your total boiling time? or would you boil it for a few extra minutes to make up for that time?
 
so when you do a late extract addition I assume you still kill the flame when adding the extract. Usually when I do this it takes a few minutes to get the extract in and get everything back to a boil. So would you count the time it takes to add the extract and get it back to boiling as part of your total boiling time? or would you boil it for a few extra minutes to make up for that time?

When I do it I keep the timer running, it only takes a couple of minutes, and I doubt the temp drops that much lower than the boiling point.
 
Reduce the amount of bittering hops you use by about 25% when doing full boils. Also, take extra care with aeration, you will no longer be topping off with fresh oxygen rich water.
 
As of my last batch I was doing a 1#/5# split with the DME, and adding the 5# at the 15 minute mark. It did help in getting the overall color down. And it does yield good results. As can be seen here;
2556903652_83691efd1f.jpg


But there is still some orange tint to it I want to eliminate.

what was the recipe?
 
Also, if you go to full volume boils, why go another step and partial mash as well? You'll use less extract.

Still another point, if you do this and are still not happy with the color, don't worry about until you go AG. Just enjoy the beer if it taste good.

Rightnow I'm drinking my Saison v1 and holding up to the light it looks pretty close to my eyes to what beer smith predicted (6.8). Maybe a tad darker (maybe orange as well?). It has been in the firdge for a while so it is very clear. If I hold up to the window light, it looks pretty darn close.

BTW, I do full boils, PM, and only use DME (no late additions).
 
That comes out as 6.8 as well in brew smith. I just dumped some yeast into mine and my color is very similar, but if I hold it up to the sunlight at the window much of that orangy color disapears.
 
Also, if you go to full volume boils, why go another step and partial mash as well? You'll use less extract.

Still another point, if you do this and are still not happy with the color, don't worry about until you go AG. Just enjoy the beer if it taste good.

Rightnow I'm drinking my Saison v1 and holding up to the light it looks pretty close to my eyes to what beer smith predicted (6.8). Maybe a tad darker (maybe orange as well?). It has been in the firdge for a while so it is very clear. If I hold up to the window light, it looks pretty darn close.

BTW, I do full boils, PM, and only use DME (no late additions).

I figure it is a step on the way to doing all-grain. One I will make sooner or later, although now I just have very little space to brew as an apartment dweller. So I am taking that as an opportunity to do the best extract brewiing I can. :)
 
When I brew with DME I always use a full boil but I don't use a hard boil. The DME has already been boiled so a light boil works just fine. This prevents carmelizing the sugars and helps to keep the color lighter. Most of my extract beers are just a little more than a straw color, except my Hefe's which come out darker yet.
 
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