Boiling cans

[Goodbeer]

G'day guys

Third batch down, an attempt at a White rabbit dark ale clone, OG of 1064! Perhaps too much malt extract?

Anyhow right at the end of the boil I put a can of coopers dark ale in. Found this process at the last to be a bit of a pain.

For my next I have a can of mangrove jacks Bavarian wheat. If I boil the can for the entire boil, will be 30-45 mins I think, am I right in thinking that all it will do is boil away the hop profile already in the can? And if so I can just put my own bittering hops in at the start of boil?

Cheers

 

[dannymars]

Any hops in the canned extract will get MORE bitter if you boil it, the longer you boil the bitterer it will get. bitterness does not evaporate away in the boil.

Flavour and aroma will fade with boiling as the aromatics get driven off.

 

[siege]

The hopped extract has a particular bitterness in IBU stated on it. I think it's 12 to 18 IBU.
This bitterness can't be boiled away.

What is lost during a long boil is hop aroma and flavour, which is why these additions are made toward the end of the boil and contribute less to the total bitterness.
However with malt extract the production process involves a very long boil and so there isn't much aroma/flavour left. You can add late hops for a short boil if you want this.

Any hops in the canned extract will get MORE bitter if you boil it, the longer you boil the bitterer it will get. bitterness does not evaporate away in the boil.

Flavour and aroma will fade with boiling as the aromatics get driven off.

I don't think this is correct.
Extract might get darker with a longer boil but won't get more bitter unless you add more hops. The hops added when that extract was made have already been boiled for much longer than AG hops, and there is a logarithmic relationship between boil time and bitterness utilisation which basically means you get little extra bitterness for >60min boils and very little for >90min

 

[manticle]

If any aroma hops were added to the tin that contained alpha acids then the extra boil might increase bitterness. Depends a bit on the tin. I know Coopers use both iso-alpha and hop pellets in their kits but unsure if any flavour hops are pellet/leaf or flavour extracts. They are very responsive to emails from homebrewers in my experience so worth asking.

 

[yum beer]

Why are you boiling the kit tins?
They don't need to be boiled!
If you are boiling grain juice or hops just add your tin to the fermenter with boiled liquid that's left.

 

[Feldon]

The hopped extract has a particular bitterness in IBU stated on it. I think it's 12 to 18 IBU.
This bitterness can't be boiled away.

What is lost during a long boil is hop aroma and flavour, which is why these additions are made toward the end of the boil and contribute less to the total bitterness.
However with malt extract the production process involves a very long boil and so there isn't much aroma/flavour left. You can add late hops for a short boil if you want this.




I don't think this is correct.
Extract might get darker with a longer boil but won't get more bitter unless you add more hops. The hops added when that extract was made have already been boiled for much longer than AG hops, and there is a logarithmic relationship between boil time and bitterness utilisation which basically means you get little extra bitterness for >60min boils and very little for >90min

Boiling removes water and reduces volume and therefore increases IBUs (bitterness units) relative to the volume you started with.

 

[Goodbeer]

Ok thanks guys

I just chucked the can in for the last few mins, thought it couldn't hurt.

I know they don't need to be boiled, just thought I'd get some opinions on if it would do any harm

 

[panzerd18]

If they don't need to be boiled, why are you boiling them?

Why add another step and potentially ruin the cans hop profile?

Just heat can in sink with hot water and add to the fermenter.

 

[Goodbeer]

Again that's why I'm asking. Have done 3 brews, two with cans, one full extract, and for some reason found that one a bit easier. More involved, but easier nonetheless.

I've found kit instructions to be a bit ambiguous, and of course half the things you read say ignore the instructions.

I think in hindsight I wouldn't have got pre hopped cans. But hey, brew and learn.

 

[panzerd18]

Again that's why I'm asking. Have done 3 brews, two with cans, one full extract, and for some reason found that one a bit easier. More involved, but easier nonetheless.

I've found kit instructions to be a bit ambiguous, and of course half the things you read say ignore the instructions.

I think in hindsight I wouldn't have got pre hopped cans. But hey, brew and learn.

The good thing about full extract or all grain is, you can make your own creation. The beer is really your own making. I think this is where a lot of the fun is.

 

[manticle]

No real need to boil prehopped cans.