Extract Brewing

[Newbiebrewer]

Someone mentioned in another thread I started about extract brewing and I have absolutely no idea how it works, well apart from the use of malt extracts. Can anyone clarify this for me?

 

[Oatlands Brewer]

Extract brewing is basicly using unhopped extract either out of tins ie:Coopers or muntons or dryed malt extract as your fermentable base.

The major attraction i think is that you get to design the hopping schedule, and its a lot more hands on.

There is also a lot of specialty grains used to get different flavours with extract brewers...its the first fall on the slippery slope to AG i think......im on that slope myself

 

[enoch1973]

Slippery slope indeed... I'm still doing extract brews as it's easier with equipment I have.
As soon as I can I'm going to attempt AG...
Generally with Kit brews you're at the mercy of what they put in the tin as far as hops go and how bitter it is.
With extract brewing you have control over how bitter your brew will be.
I currently do extract brews with 9l of wort that in end is a 23l batch.
With my extracts I currently use 2 tins of LME (Liquid Malt Extract). Most of the time I use a Pale LME.
Then there's the specialty grain. They helps with colour and some of the flavour...
The way I extract brew is:
Steep my grains for 1/2 an hour min. in 70 degree water and then sparge (rinse) them in the same volume of water.
All the liquid from the grain goes in my pot with some additional water and some LME.
As always Ian has made a great spreadsheet that can be located on this site which will help.
It covers the amount of malt you need to put in the pot with water and water from the grains.
From there I boil for 60 minutes and add hops over the course of the hour.
The wort is bittered with the hops added at 60 minutes and then the flavour hops are added at around 10-20 minutes.
You can experiment and see what works for you.
Once the 60 minutes is I up I let it rest for 20 minutes and let it cool. You can add the rest of the malts at this point.
Once it gets down to 25 degrees (this can be achieved by putting the pot in a sink full of water or adding clean ice to the wort).
From there you can transfer to your fermenter and pitch your when the temperature is right. This depends on the yeast.
There's plenty of recipes on the site here.
Try and find that spreadsheet. It's super helpful.
Pete

 

[ianh]

Extract brewing requires a bit more work than kits and bits brewing but I think you get a better beer as you have more control of the process and get rid of the isohop taste associated with kits.

Unlike Pete almost all my brews are based on light dried malt extract (which I buy in 20kg bags)

I tend to use about 500 -800 grams of speciality grains per brew (23litres) these are steeped at 65-70C for 30 minutes in about 3.4litres of water (2 kettles full) and then rinse then with another 2 lots of 1.7 litres at 65C.

I add another 3.4 litres of water (total about 10litres) and some malt to bring the SG up to 1.040. This is then boiled and hops added during a 60 minute timeframe.

The remaining malt is added at the end of the boil and the whole lot is cooled by putting the pan in a sink of cold/ice water. Then poured into the fermenter made up to 23 litres and when cooled to about 20C yeast added and fermented as normal.

Thanks Pete for promoting the spreadsheet, should be a new version out in the next few days.

cheers

Ian

 

[Nick JD]

To those familiar with K&K, I find the best way to describe Extract brewing is to say:

With K&K you pour in 2L of boiling water to dissolve the can goo and the sugaz. With extract brewing that boiling water has your hop bittering and flavour in it - and probably some colour and grain flavour and body. Everything else remains the same.

It's exactly the same as K&K except a bit of effort goes into that boiling water bit. This effort pays off hugely for two reasons:

1.) You are adding real hops. Goo cans are hopped with "instant" hops.

2.) Because you don't get yeast with UN-hopped malt extracts you are forced to buy it. This means you are buying high quality yeast, and a yeast better suited to your recipe.

 

[Fireman Sam]

Hi Hughezy

+1 for all the comments above... I did my first extract brew last weekend, based on Neill's Centenarillo receipe... can't wait to see how it tastes. Such a small step up can make such a huge difference.

Can you boil a pot of water and count to 60 sixty times ? Then you can extract brew ! Pretty much the only real difference process wise.

 

[Newbiebrewer]

Do you have to steep the extra grains or is that optional?

 

[phas21]

Steeping the grains will allow you to adjust things like color (EBC) and also body/mouthfeel if using only a light malt extract - if using say amber or wheat extract a different combination a grain would be required to achieve the attributes of the different beer styles available - best advice is get hold of ianh's spreadsheet and have a play with it it gives you the selection of different style, extracts, grain etc - you'll have a ball

 

[Newbiebrewer]

Ok last questions

1. With the hops do I need to have a little bag to add them to the boil

2. Can anyone point me in the direction of an easy recipe to start with?

thanks

 

[Thunderlips]

2. Can anyone point me in the direction of an easy recipe to start with?

This is a real easy one, just needs a 5 litre boil, and tastes great.
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...&recipe=867

Edit: As for the hops, I just chuck em in the pot but I do strain into the fermenter when done.

 

[tavas]

You should be able to get a "Hop Boiling Bag" from your LHBS. They cost about $2-4$ from memory. Might make straining the hops easier. Alternatively you could use a muslin bag or a pair of the missus' stockings/pantyhose.

 

[enoch1973]

Hughezy,
Here's the link to the Spreadsheet:
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...act+spreadsheet
You're after version 2.2 which is toward the end of the thread...
It's well worth putting the recipe you settle on in there just for educational purposes...
Also, have a look on the recipe DB for something you like...
I would look for something with Cascade in it... It's a great hop to start off with...
If you're after something simple you can add 200g - 400g of Crystal Malt.
The recipe will have the type of grain and the quantity you need to make the beer with.
You should be able to get Crystal Malt from your local home brew shop.
Pete
Edit: oh yeah... Hop bag is a good investment...

 

[bconnery]

Someone mentioned in another thread I started about extract brewing and I have absolutely no idea how it works, well apart from the use of malt extracts. Can anyone clarify this for me?

I've posted this a few times. It's the method I used when extract brewing, which I did for a number of years before going all grain. You can easily adapt this to a mini-mash, where you use even more grain, of up to 2kg, without additional equipment, depending on the size of your brewpot.