Late additions are especially useful with a boil volume lesser than the final brew length. For example, if you're boiling 3 gallons but want 5 in the tank, a late addition is very useful indeed
I think the increase in malliard reaction is really only present in a 3 gallon boil with 5 gallon grain bill. It's concentrated. It's the same as making candy and boiling it at hard crack longer makes it turn amber, is it not?
I still do extracts for ease and time and I make a lighter shcwill beer for deer camp and for a relative and adding LME late makes a difference for sure. I do it at ten minutes though. But, I went to 4# dme (I think, I can't check now) and 3.3# lme. I add it late, and it turns out light enough for the guys there who drink nothing but light beer and liquor. It's funny, to the person who isn't a craft beer drinker I've found color makes a world of difference, albeit psychological.
I think it's been pretty well documented, even if anecdotally, that LME will darken over the course of an hour boil.
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