Why boil before adding extract?

[IrishBrewer74]

I've made a four of home brew extract kits so far and they all say to bring water to a boil, remove from heat, add extract and return to a boil. I understand removing from heat to avoid scorching, but why bring all the way to. A boil before adding LME? Especially if brewing with speciality grains with water already at 160-170? I would think hot enough to ensure a good dissolve of the extract would be enough then boil for the allotted time. Is there some reason I haven't read about or am I wasting time and propane?

Thanks!

 

[weagle05]

I may have been a liberal arts major, but I'm pretty sure the energy needed to bring water to a boil and then water with malt extract to a boil is the same as the energy needed to bring water + malt extract to a boil. So there would be no or negligible time/propane savings.
That said, I'm not aware of any potential negatives to adding the malt extract before first reaching a boil, other than the fact that you may be less attentive over the longer heating time after adding the extract and may not catch a boil over.

 

[birvine]

You might darken your beer too much by having it in longer, too, I'd think. Some people actually add some LME at boil and the rest around flame-out.

B

 

[weagle05]

That too, I add most of my malt extract later when I want better hop utilization.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

^yep.

 

[drathbone]

^yep.

+1. Hops utilization and when I make very light (SRM) beers I only add a bit of extract at boil, and the rest the last 5-10 minutes. I had a friends Kolsch come out 8-10 SRM due to her adding all extract at the beginning of the boil. Had to brew another for the competition submission.

 

[1Mainebrew]

It has to do with getting a good hot break for coagulation of proteins so that you have better clarity in your wort/beer. It also assists in head retention.