Late Addition Questions...

[benxrow2002]

I just wanted to make sure I understand the reasoning behind this...

I am brewing up a blue moon style tomorrow and wanted to keep it light in color. I am doing a 3 gallon boil and the recipe calls for 2lbs of DME and 3.3lbs of LME. The reason for doing the late addition method is to keep the wort lighter in color, right? And, would I want to add the LME or DME later in the boil? AND, at what point in the boil (45 minutes) do you add the extract? AND, is this a good beer style to even try this method.

I know I'm asking a ton of newbie questions...but can any of you help a brutha out?

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Yeah, the lighter the beer, the better this technique is suited for. The basic idea is that the longer wort boils, the darker it gets. Adding the extract (all extract, LME/DME, etc) late in the boil is preferred for these styles. I've seen it go both ways (both of which I've done with success): add at flame-out (right when you kill the heat), or add for the last 15 minutes of the boil. I would probably go for adding at the last 15 minutes so you are not rushing to get it all added ad flame-out.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I usually turn the flame off at 45 mins and let it steep for 15.

 

[debaniel]

homebrewer_99 and avidhomebrewer are exactly correct - i cannot add anything other than to say don't fear the late addition - the first time i did a late addition brew, i was totally unsure about the end result. Now, i'm a believer.

by the way, as other threads describe, late addition changes your hop utilization. you could do a 30 minute boil and keep the hops the same, or you can reduce the hops for a 60 minute, late addition boil.

Also, if you aren't going to do any steeping grains, put just a touch of extract in your water when you start the boil. Boiling hops with plain water can produce grassy flavors.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I usually turn the flame off at 45 mins and let it steep for 15.

How do you adjust for your hop additions then?

 

[Jamo99]

Use some brewing software to adjust for the hop utilization. There are free trials, or you can buy it.

It's a good style to use this method for. I would add the DME preboil at the typical time, and use the LME as a late addition, just because it's easier to disolve the LME than the DME.

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Or, sit back with one of your homebrews, and dump in the hops once the water starts to boil. I have already boiled just hops and water for about 45 minutes before adding any other fermentables with no ill-effects. Drink another homebrew!

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

To answer your other question, I'd add the DME at the beginning of the boil, and the LME with 5 or 10 min left. In my experience a full boil of DME doesn't impart nearly as much color as LME

 

[Danek]

The above is all good advice. From the other side of the equation, the first beer I ever made was an IPA made with LME. I didn't really have any idea what I was doing, so I boiled all the LME for 60 minutes. I didn't realise that it was also quite old LME, so it had darkened a little anyway - but my India Pale Ale eventually turned out the approximate colour of Guinness.

So that's another vote for not boiling all your extract.

 

[homebrewer_99]

How do you adjust for your hop additions then?

This has been discussed before with some extra zeal...

I actually use less hops than anyone else I know...except Anheuser Bush.... I am NOT a hophead so I can't help with IPAs, etc.

For a batch of Hefe Weizen using 6 lbs of malt I only use 3%AA. Since my Hallertau hops are 6% I only use 1/2 oz. In the past I have used 4.8-7%, but I was (foolishly) boiling 1.5 gals of water and adding in all my malt in the beginning.

I was actually doing smaller boils with less hops and malt on my own before learning there was a late addition method.

Check Papazian's The Complete Joy of Homebrewing book, around page 258 or so. There's a chart there on hops utilization. It recommends, or states, that 1 gal of water with 1 lb of malt is equal to 1.040 gravity. Using that as a basis you can add more or less hops to your liking.

 

[neuron555]

I've been reading the threads about late addition, and they make sense about getting a lighter color with a short boil, and I can understand different hop utilization if there is just water, but what happens if I am doing a partial mash or just specialty grains. There is obviously something in the wort at that point, so do I still have to adjust the amount of hops?

 

[MashStirBrew]

Download the trial version of BeerSmith. It acounts for late extract additions. It has a check box in the extract properties for adding in the last 15 minutes of the boil. Just set it up for your equipment and how you are going to brew. It's 20$ and takes all the gues work out.

 

[RonnieDobbs]

Hope I'm not hijacking here, but whenever I've done the late addition I've worried about stopping the boil and how that affects my earlier hop additions.

I'll kill the flame then add my extract at 15 minutes and it takes about 5 minutes to stir everything in. Then another 5 minutes to get back to a rolling boil.

Does that mean I should add my 60 minute hops closer to 50 minutes? When I'm adding extract should I count that in the 60 minute boil time (i.e. I'm at 5 minutes when I get back to boil in my example)? It kinda hurts my head thinking about this!

 

[gwood]

Hope I'm not hijacking here, but whenever I've done the late addition I've worried about stopping the boil and how that affects my earlier hop additions.

I'll kill the flame then add my extract at 15 minutes and it takes about 5 minutes to stir everything in. Then another 5 minutes to get back to a rolling boil.

Does that mean I should add my 60 minute hops closer to 50 minutes? When I'm adding extract should I count that in the 60 minute boil time (i.e. I'm at 5 minutes when I get back to boil in my example)? It kinda hurts my head thinking about this!

I've never adjusted additions for that time lost. Just track the actual boil times and you should be fine.

 

[BierMuncher]

Switching to Extra Light Dry Malt Extract will go a long way in lightening up the color of your beer.

 

[IowaStateFan]

Hope I'm not hijacking here, but whenever I've done the late addition I've worried about stopping the boil and how that affects my earlier hop additions.

I'll kill the flame then add my extract at 15 minutes and it takes about 5 minutes to stir everything in. Then another 5 minutes to get back to a rolling boil.

Does that mean I should add my 60 minute hops closer to 50 minutes? When I'm adding extract should I count that in the 60 minute boil time (i.e. I'm at 5 minutes when I get back to boil in my example)? It kinda hurts my head thinking about this!

I found that my late hop additions for flavor and aroma were not having the desired affect because I couldn't get my wort back to a boil. To solve that, I just started adding the remaining extract at flameout and letting it steep for 10 minutes before cooling. In other words, boil for 60 minutes as usual, kill the flame, stir in the remaining extract, let it sit for 10 minutes, then chill and pitch as usual.