Extract Brewing, delayed extract addition and other tips

[JonGoku]

I wanted to expand more on what Lance brought up in another thread, as I was really wondering about this myself and am debating about doing so on my next brew day.

brewed the kolsch from midwest supplies last night and did a late addition of half of the extract. stoked on this one it will be nice to have a brew you cant normally find around here!!
cheers,Lance

Cool Lance. Have you tried the late extract method before, or is this the first time? I've heard good things about that, but only after I started brewing all grain.

i have done it several time to keep the color light.

Lance, could you possibly explain a little on how you personally do this? You seem to be an expert on extract batches, while I know most of the guys in brewcommune started with extract, I believe most of their expertise are with all grain brewing. If I'm wrong about that, please chime in as I'd love to get a well rounded debate on how to get the most out of an extract batch as possible.

Let me start the topic off with one way I have read that some people use when making extract batches, and that is to start with only 1/4 of the extract amount (not cup, quart, gallon etc., talking about 1/4 of the entire extract in the recipe), get it boiling and then start the 60min boil with the first hop addition. Add additional hops (or don't) in line with whatever recipe you are making, and then add in the remaining 3/4 extract with 15 min remaining in the boil.

By not boiling all the extract for the entire 60 min, what are the pro's? Lance mentioned something about a lighter color? What are the con's? Do you have any problems about making sure you get a good hotbreak for the second addition? Does the 2nd addition of extract kill the boil and does that have any ill effects on the outcome such as messing with the "60 min" boil? Does the wurt know it's being timed ?

Are there any other tricks or ploys other then delayed extract adds that can help make an extract batch the best it can be?

Cheers!

[kevinham]

With less extract in the wort initially, you avoid carmelization, which will affect the color, and possibly the flavor as well. A denser wort also lowers hop utilization. So by holding off 50-75% of the extract you increase the bitterness, and keep the color and flavor at the proper level. The extract is already boiled, all you really need is to sterilize it for 15 min in the boiling water.

The time when this is seen as really important is when doing a partial boil (2-3 gal of wort, and adding water to top off to 5 gal), since the wort will be much thicker than the recipe was calculated for. However I did this with all my extract batches, partial and full boils, with great success.

[JonGoku]

With less extract in the wort initially, you avoid carmelization, which will affect the color, and possibly the flavor as well. A denser wort also lowers hop utilization. So by holding off 50-75% of the extract you increase the bitterness, and keep the color and flavor at the proper level. The extract is already boiled, all you really need is to sterilize it for 15 min in the boiling water.

The time when this is seen as really important is when doing a partial boil (2-3 gal of wort, and adding water to top off to 5 gal), since the wort will be much thicker than the recipe was calculated for. However I did this with all my extract batches, partial and full boils, with great success.

Alright, what about the hotbreak for the late addition of extract? I would assume you stop the burner or take it off the flame when adding the remaining extract, but wouldn't this kill the boil? Any problems associated with killing the boil such as getting it back to boiling quick enough to be sure the added wort is sanitized before the boil is done? Any effects to the hops flavor if the wort is not "always boiling", or is there a certain temperature that as long as the wort is above that the hops could care less?

Why split the extract addition and not add 100% of the wort with 15 min left in the boil?

Cheers!

[kevinham]

Hops require a vigorous rolling boil to isomerize, so it isn't the temperature itself that extracts the bitterness. I always just kind of stopped the timer as it brought itself back to a boil. One thing I did, since I always used LME, was keep it in really hot water to loosen it up, and bring it up to temperature a little more. That way it is easier to pour in, and won't drop the wort temp down as much.

I hadn't really thought about not adding any at the beginning, but from what I can tell there is some worry about the type of bitterness, and the vegetal flavor that can come through if there is absolutely no sugar present. So it seems like some sugars are required to get the proper bitterness and flavor out of the hops. http://www.byo.com/stories/wizard/artic ... tilization

[drunk Jeremy]

I only worry about doing this on lighter colored beers. On the beers that are like porter, stout, dunkelwiezen, brown's, etc. I wouldnt worry about it so much.