How is that possible?

[1OldJarhead]

I've taken delivery of a 'Zoomin' Pale Ale' kit from Northern Brewer, and the "zoomin" part refers to the boil: just 20 minutes. -What? Every post I've read has LME boiling for a good hour. Just curios: how does the chemistry and biotics work so well in a 20-minute boil?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

The idea of shorter boils with 'extract' and pellet hops has been around for decades.

• 15 Minute Cascade Pale Ale from late 2010.
• Looks like the "Zoomin' Pale Ale" kit has been around for over a decade (internet archives link).

(Note the URL to the kit changed in mid-2015).
​

how does the chemistry and biotics work so well in a 20-minute boil?

We boil to add things (malt flavors, ...) and to remove things (DMS, ...).

Start with a list of those "things" from the 2010s.

• How many of those thing apply to a mashed wort using whole hops (common in the early 2000s)?
• How many of those things apply to a 'extract' based wort using T90 pellets?

Basic Brewing Radio (Aug 25, 2005 / Nov 17, 2005 & Nov 1, 2018) are good starting points for evidence that one can do shorter boils with extract / pellet hops (vs a mashed wort & whole hops).

There are also "mashed wort" brewers who do mashes / boils that are shorter than 60 minutes. For 'hop forward' recipes, I often do a 45 min mash & a 30 min boil. I tend to mash / boil longer as the beers get darker and maltier. My best barley wine from a number of years ago was a 60 min mash and a 120 min boil.

 

[Rish]

I never boil dme or lme. Steep the grains, boil the hops, flame out, add the extract. Makes good beer (to me and those I share with, anyway).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

FWIW ...

... across the various USA based forums, ...

... I'm seeing roughly one failed batch a year where un-pasteurized LME is involved.

For those topics outside of HomeBrewTalk

• there were a number of personas where were surprised that the LME wasn't boiled
• the general consensus seemed to be boil (or at least pasteurize) the LME.

YMMV; "brew how you like, like how you brew", etc.

 

[Steveruch]

I make great beer with short boils all the time, extract and all grain.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

What's the consensus on short boil extract brews? (external link, Apr 24) has insights from those who brew across the range of shorter "boils" with DME (from heat it to just 180F to 30 min boils). Similar ideas can be found in various 'extract' topics here at HomeBrewTalk e.g. "I brewed a favorite recipe today", "Advanced Extract Brewing", "I brewed an experimental recipe a few weeks ago", ..., ...)

No-Boil Recipes! New for 2019! (HomeBrewTalk link) and Blasphemy - No Boil NEIPA (HomeBrewTalk link, 2019) are a couple of topics that challenge the 'conventional wisdom' that 'extract' must be boiled.

Finally, there's MoreBeer's recent introduction of Flash Brewing™ kits (external link).