Late extract addition in Partial Mash

[urg8rb8]

I just finished brewing a partial mash that had 1.5# of mash grains, 2# of corn sugar, 5# LME, and 1# DME. I wanted to try out adding the extract late in the boil so I did the following: mashed/sparged grains, added the corn sugar, then boiled the hops for 60 mins, and then added the LME and DME at flame-out.

I've been reading that some people who put do late extract will add some extract at the beginning of the boil. However, the only malt I had in the boil was the mashed/sparged malt. Was I supposed to have added some of the extract early? Or am I ok with what I did (because of the corn sugar)?

Why do people recommend adding some extract at the beginning of the boil? Does that help out with the hop utilization? I thought the thinner the water, the higher the IBUs?

 

[TexasWine]

Why do people recommend adding some extract at the beginning of the boil? Does that help out with the hop utilization? I thought the thinner the water, the higher the IBUs?

You're spot on that it impacts hop utilization. And yes, the lower the gravity during the boil the more your hops are "utilized" (higher IBUs). As to why that is true, I have no clue. Someone smarter than me will need to chime in.

Keep in mind that higher IBUs isn't necessarily the goal. If that were the case we'd all be dumping as many hops as possible into every beer. You're goal is to create a balanced beer with the right characteristics for the style you're making. Heck, you might even be trying to clone a commercially available beer. Either way, that can mean adding extract to keep hop utilization where you want it.

Hope this helps!

 

[Weezy]

Hop utilization has been shown to not be sensitive enough to wort density to worry about. The more common reason for waiting to add extract is that the extract has already been boiled at the factory. Boiling it more isn't necessary, but boiling it more is not necessarily wrong or bad.

 

[urg8rb8]

Got it! So you guys are saying that the reason people put some extract at the beginning is to limit the hop utilization. I brewed a double IPA and I had 1.5oz of magnum for the 60min bittering hops! I hop it doesn't turn into a hop bomb!

 

[Yooper]

Got it! So you guys are saying that the reason people put some extract at the beginning is to limit the hop utilization. I brewed a double IPA and I had 1.5oz of magnum for the 60min bittering hops! I hop it doesn't turn into a hop bomb!

No, that is incorrect. Hops utilization is actually independent of wort gravity. Hops oils will isomerize in plain water, as well as in wort that is 1.080, for example. The IBU calculators do take gravity into consideration, but it's been since about 2008 that Palmer and other experts are saying that wort gravity does not impact IBUs. What does is dilution- in other words, if you are boiling 2.5 gallons of wort and adding 2.5 gallons of water to the wort, the IBUs from the boil are cut in half. So boil as much as you can- boiling "bigger" is the best way to get the most out of the hops.

The most IBUs that can be in wort is generally limited out at about 100 IBUs, as then the wort is saturated and the oils can no longer be isomerized.

It depends on the recipe, but 1.5 ounce of magnum wouldn't be over the top in bittering an IIPA.

 

[TexasWine]

Thanks for correcting me Yooper. I was simply going off what I had read here in the forums about late extract addition. Seems this might be one of those things that keep getting perpetuated based on a previous understanding.

 

[SmCranf]

Would you not get a higher gravity from a late addition? and less caramelization? Those have always been my two reasons for late extract additions

 

[Yooper]

Would you not get a higher gravity from a late addition? and less caramelization? Those have always been my two reasons for late extract additions

The boil gravity would be lower, and you'd get less maillard reactions (not really caramelization reactions which are at a higher temperature than maillard reactions).

Caramelization happens at a far higher temperature than a wort boil reaches, as caramelization happens over 300 degrees. But maillard reactions happen at boil temperature, so using the extract late in the boil (or at flame out) reduces maillard reactions which include browning.