when to add extract?

[afio18]

I have been told different things about when to add the malt extract. The instructions say once the water boils, but I have been told that a good time to add the malt extract is when the water hit 160 F. Any thoughts on what would be the best way? I can see adding it at 160 F you would have a less chance of burning the malt.

 

[Gman2]

I always bring the water to 155, steep grains, bring to a boil, turn heat off, add extract, bring back to a boil and start the timer once you have a rolling boil.

just watch out for boil over once the extract is added.

 

[Pubwilson]

That's a good question. I have seen some threads on late addition of the extract for light beers, and I have even tried it myself once. I can' t say for sure if I noticed a difference, but the beer was significantly lighter than some brew full boil extract brews.

 

[TipsyDragon]

add the extract when the water is above 160F. if thats boiling thats ok. just remove the pot from the heat before adding the extract. then put it back on the heat once its fully dissolved.

 

[MBasile]

I always bring the water to 155, steep grains, bring to a boil, turn heat off, add extract, bring back to a boil and start the timer once you have a rolling boil.

just watch out for boil over once the extract is added.

That's how I've been doing it too. Although in addition to turning off the heat, I also move it to a different burner. For my last pale ale and IIPA I added half of the extract at 15 minutes to help get better hop utilization (damn 3 gallon boils )

 

[JJL]

Bring to boil.
Remove from heat.
Stir in extract until dissolved completely.
Put back on heat.
Bring to boil.
Watch for boil overs.

 

[NJtuna]

I also read about adding half at boil then the rest at 15 minutes left of boil. Does this benefit partial boils or full boils also?

 

[Yooper]

I also read about adding half at boil then the rest at 15 minutes left of boil. Does this benefit partial boils or full boils also?

I can't really see a benefit for doing that for full boils. The idea is to keep the color light, and get the same hops utilization you would get for full boils like an AG batch.

For partial boils, where you boil less than the full batch and then top up with water, I love adding the bulk of the extract at the end of the boil. You get better hops utilization, less darkening of the wort and a less "extract-y" flavor in my opinion.

I did that for the first time a few years ago with my Dead Guy clone. The first time, I did it the "traditional" way and added the extract before the hops, and boiling the entire 60 minutes. Later on, I did it again- adding 1/2 the extract at the beginning, and 1/2 at the end. It was great- except I thought the second batch was about twice as bitter. Still good, but it's a low IBU beer. Later, when I bought brewing software, I found out I was right. The "traditional" recipe calculates to about 15 IBUs, the "late extract addition" recipe calculated out to near 30 IBUs!

The point of that story (and I do have one!) is that late extract addition is great. But make sure you are either following a recipe that includes that technique, or you use some brewing software (or one of us to give some advice) if you do add 1/2 the extract at the end. It really does change the bittering of the beer.

 

[NJtuna]

Oh boy...I have split the extract on my last few batches. Amer. Wheat, Kolsch, and Irish Red. I'm boiling at about 4.5 gallons. I did use about 2/3 of the extracts at first boil. Hopefully they're not on the bitter side.

 

[BlueSunshine]

I can't really see a benefit for doing that for full boils. The idea is to keep the color light, and get the same hops utilization you would get for full boils like an AG batch.

For partial boils, where you boil less than the full batch and then top up with water, I love adding the bulk of the extract at the end of the boil. You get better hops utilization, less darkening of the wort and a less "extract-y" flavor in my opinion.

I did that for the first time a few years ago with my Dead Guy clone. The first time, I did it the "traditional" way and added the extract before the hops, and boiling the entire 60 minutes. Later on, I did it again- adding 1/2 the extract at the beginning, and 1/2 at the end. It was great- except I thought the second batch was about twice as bitter. Still good, but it's a low IBU beer. Later, when I bought brewing software, I found out I was right. The "traditional" recipe calculates to about 15 IBUs, the "late extract addition" recipe calculated out to near 30 IBUs!

The point of that story (and I do have one!) is that late extract addition is great. But make sure you are either following a recipe that includes that technique, or you use some brewing software (or one of us to give some advice) if you do add 1/2 the extract at the end. It really does change the bittering of the beer.

+1, Very informative response.

Personally, what I do is add 1 pound of DME at the beginning of the boil and then add the rest at about 15 minutes before flameout. I too have found this method to produce less "extracty" tasting beer and brings a little more out of the hops. Give it a whirl, thus far it's made my beers better.