Extract Query

[scotsdalebrewery]

Is there any benefit in adding your extract to the boil?

 

[scotsdalebrewery]

as opposed to just chucking it into the fermenter and the adding your wort from your boil

 

[Ash in Perth]

Partial mash or jsut extract?

 

[MHB]

Yes
You can get a better removal of protein, (Break both hot and cold) this will improve the clarity and reduce chill haze in the finished beer, just be careful not to let the malt sink to the bottom and scorch. Keep stirring.

Adding taste additions of hops or steeped grains seems to benefit from a short boil with the malt, the flavours integrate better.

Good Brewing

MHB

 

[apd]

Boiling all of the recipe's extract for extended periods will darken the exttract and therefore your final beer. Not a problem if you're making a stout...

But like MHB said, hop utilisation is better with malt added.

howtobrew.com suggests boiling with a small part of the extract required (eg. 1/8) for the recipe so that the gravity of the boil helps with hop utilisation but the extract isn't darkened. The site has a good table that lays out hop utilisation at different gravities vs boil time.

Remember, the extract has already gone through the boil process so it's ready to go.

 

[Ross]

Hop utilisation DECREASES as you add more malt - The higher concentration of sugars makes it more difficult for the isomerized alpha acids to dissolve. Some malt is beneficial though, to get the desired flavour profile from the hops.

cheers Ross

 

[scotsdalebrewery]

That would explain alot - thanks guys.

 

[deebee]

As mentioned above, to prevent the wort darkening it is a good idea to boil some of the extract but not all of it (to about SG 1.030-40). You get good hop utilisation at these gravity levels. Even so, I still boil the remainder of the extract even if only for a short time - returning the wort to the boil after adding the last of the extract.

I don't like dumping straight into the fermenter. If using liquid extract it sits at the bottom of your fermenter like a turd and you never get an accurate gravity reading. If there is anything on the lip of the can (crap spilt in the warehouse, food from a dirty can opener, etc.) it goes into your fermenter.

If using dry extract, it never dissolves properly and floats around the fermenter, again affecting gravity samples and possibly not fermenting out properly. And again I question the sanitation.

Easy to do your boil and calculate your bitterness on the time up to when you add the remainder of the extract. Then add the remainder (negligible hops utilisation after this point because of high gravity and most of the bitterness already come out of the hops), stir to dissolve, return to the boil, (boil for a bit longer if you like), chill, aerate and ferment.