Lme

[jslive4now]

Question... What are your thoughts about adding half the LME at the start and the other half at 15min left?? I've been seeing YouTube videos of people doing this and they say the beer turns out better, not as caramelized.... Anyone try this?? Truth behind this or not much of a change??

Thanks in advance!!

 

[NYShooterGuy]

Never tryied it, but I have a feeling it could almost be compared to adding the sugar to a cake halfway through baking. It won't be "cooked" or boiled as long as it should to get a consistent repeated result.

Nothing is saying it wont be good, it just will be different.

 

[Yooper]

Question... What are your thoughts about adding half the LME at the start and the other half at 15min left?? I've been seeing YouTube videos of people doing this and they say the beer turns out better, not as caramelized.... Anyone try this?? Truth behind this or not much of a change??

Thanks in advance!!

Yes, I'd say that most brewers who have any experience at all would do something similar to this.

For me, I wouldn't bother doing half at the start and half at 15 minutes. I'd add about 1 pound per gallon of water boiled at the start, and the rest at flame out. Adding it at 15 minutes means removing the pot from the burner, and stirring it in, stopping the boil. Adding it at flame out means turning off the flame, and adding it then. It's still plenty hot to pasteurize (above 160), and will not stop a boil that way.

 

[flars]

It's called, "late extract addition". Add about 1 pound extract per gallon of boil volume, at the start of the boil for optimum hop utilization.

Gives the final product a lighter color.

 

[Yooper]

It's called, "late extract addition". Add about 1 pound extract per gallon of boil volume, at the start of the boil for optimum hop utilization.

Gives the final product a lighter color.

Right- the lighter color is a part of it. That's by reducing the maillard reactions. If you're a cook you know about maillard reactions- the browning of toast, for example.

Reducing the maillard reactions by not having a sugar-heavy boil is a great way to lighten the color of the beer (most extract beers are darker than desired), and reduce that weird "cooked extract taste" present in many extract beers.

Extract has been processed by the manufacturer, and doesn't need to boil but many people choose to at least add it to hot wort at the end of the boil to pasteurize it.

Adding about 1 pound per gallon of water boiled at the beginning means that there are some maillard reactions, but not as intense as the lowered sugar content means a boil more like an all-grain batch of a similar beer.

 

[jslive4now]

Right- the lighter color is a part of it. That's by reducing the maillard reactions. If you're a cook you know about maillard reactions- the browning of toast, for example.

Reducing the maillard reactions by not having a sugar-heavy boil is a great way to lighten the color of the beer (most extract beers are darker than desired), and reduce that weird "cooked extract taste" present in many extract beers.

Extract has been processed by the manufacturer, and doesn't need to boil but many people choose to at least add it to hot wort at the end of the boil to pasteurize it.

Adding about 1 pound per gallon of water boiled at the beginning means that there are some maillard reactions, but not as intense as the lowered sugar content means a boil more like an all-grain batch of a similar beer.

Can you describe the "Cooked Extract Taste". I'm only on batch number 3 and already looking to improved taste.. I'd probably venture into all grain but I live in an apartment and it would be hard to do full boils..

 

[Yooper]

Can you describe the "Cooked Extract Taste". I'm only on batch number 3 and already looking to improved taste.. I'd probably venture into all grain but I live in an apartment and it would be hard to do full boils..

I've best heard it described as "extract twang". It's a flavor that tastes like extract, instead of a beer made from grain.

There are great beers made from extract, so it's not that it's made of extract. It's an overcooked extract flavor that detracts from the malt flavor of the beer.

 

[kaconga]

Can you describe the "Cooked Extract Taste". I'm only on batch number 3 and already looking to improved taste.. I'd probably venture into all grain but I live in an apartment and it would be hard to do full boils..

Just an aside, temp control can drastically improve your beers flavor.

 

[schokie]

My opinion is the extract twang is due to old extract, not the boil/addition process. When I use fresh extract I don't get this.

I use late extract additions all the time. I find I get a lighter color beer. I also get more IBUs since I'm boiling the bittering hops with a lower gravity. That's a useful technique if you're not doing full volume boils.

 

[dkevinb]

I'm not sure where the "1 pound per gallon" rule comes from. It might work for partial boils, but not for full volume. I rarely do that much. For a 5 gallon batch I start with 6.5 gallons of water. According to this rule I'd be adding 6.5 pounds of LME at the start of the boil, which is pretty much all of it. I add more like one pound of extract total at the beginning of the boil, the rest with 15-20 minutes left. You just don't want to boil the hops in plain water.