DME Adding through out boil

[SkagitNScandi]

When I first started home brewing I would add my DME / LME at time intervals according to my recipe BUT sometimes I would add it all at 30min if the times were not on the recipe. Sometimes this resulted in over boiling and a mess on my stove.

It was recently brought to my attention that many people add all their DME at flame out.

My last two brews I have added some DME at the beginning of boil some at 30min and the bulk of the DME at flameout.

- A stout I just did with 7lbs total I added 1lb at 60min, 2lbs at 30min and 4 lbs at flame out -
***I am careful to keep it off the bottom of the kettle***

Can anyone tell me what advantages (if any) for color or flavor or etc might come from adding DME and different time intervals. OR adding the DME into the boil minutes before hops.

 

[STMF]

Adding the malt extract gives a lighter color, and, according to some, less "extract twang".

 

[parjay]

I add about 1/2 in the beginning, and the rest after flameout. I don't add any extract during the boil because it stops the boil and then you have to make decisions about whether or not the timer should stop/keep running.

 

[SkagitNScandi]

With some darker beers wouldn't it be better to add it during the boil over time to hopefully achieve more of a darker color and more of a caramelized flavor?

 

[4of7]

When I started with the stove top.. I added dme and lme in the beginning.. I had to stir the entire time because scorching on the bottom.. I think it is a learning curve for your Brew day .

 

[SkagitNScandi]

That's the exact thing i battled when I first started brewing. Hovering over the kettle the entire time religiously stirring.

I still brew stove top with a 4 gallon kettle. Id like to start BIAB brewing but im struggling to find info about my pot size and still accomplishing 5 and 5.5 gallon (in carboy) batches.

Most recipes Ive done lately I have started with 3 and 3.5 gallons in the kettle, cooled, and topped off the carboy to get to either 5 or 5.5 gal with tap water that is roughly 65-70 degrees before pitching and storing the carboy to ferment.

 

[ncbrewer]

With some darker beers wouldn't it be better to add it during the boil over time to hopefully achieve more of a darker color and more of a caramelized flavor?

My take on late extract addition when doing a partial boil: For most beers, add roughly 1/4 - 1/2 of the LME at the beginning of the boil. (I normally add about 3 pounds to get starting boil gravity of around 1.040.) Add the rest at flameout and let it stand for 10 minutes to let it pasteurize. This helps prevent over-darkening.

For porters, stouts, browns I add more at the beginning - about 4.25 pounds to get a starting boil gravity of around 1.055. I feel this helps get some darkening and caramelized flavor [Edit: this should be Maillard reaction flavors - not caramelized flavor]. Adding all at the beginning might actually be a good idea for these dark beers, but I've worked out a routine that works for me. I don't see any advantage in spreading out the extract addition through the boil (earlier is better for this purpose), and it would make calculating IBUs more difficult since hop utilization is dependent on boil gravity.

I don't stir during the boil because the boiling action agitates the wort very well. I only stir when the boil stops, e.g. when I add the extract and when I add dissolved yeast nutrient.

I hope this helps.

 

[RM-MN]

With some darker beers wouldn't it be better to add it during the boil over time to hopefully achieve more of a darker color and more of a caramelized flavor?

You'll get a little darker wort because of the Maillard reaction but carmelization requires that you boil down part of the wort until the sugars become concentrated enough to raise the temperature above the boiling point of water by quite a bit. You'd be better off using different malts to get the color and flavor. Try adding some C-120 or something similar.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Can anyone tell me what advantages (if any) for color or flavor or etc might come from adding DME and different time intervals. OR adding the DME into the boil minutes before hops.

I'm not aware of any advantage to adding DME in the "middle" of the boil. Either 1) add it all at the start of the boil or 2) add part at the start and part at the end of the boil. The timing for the late addition appears based on the brewers understanding of how long it would take to pasteurize the DME.

For color (SRM), the best "citizen science"-like article I have seen on controlling color with long boils and DME can be found here: http://menuinprogress.com/2007/08/on-importance-of-late-extract-addition.html . Note the color differences between batch #1 and #4, then note how much DME was added at the end of the boil. Also be aware that "Cover and let sit 15 minutes" will add IBUs (see Basic Brewing Radio, Nov 1, 2018 for details).

There appear to be a lot of people who quietly brew with 15 minute boils. For those who talk about it: some continue to do late extract additions, and others just add all the DME at the start of the boil and accept a slightly darker beer.

Basic Brewing Radio's recent (2017 - 2018) hop experiment brews (zero minute boil, add the hops, let sit for a while, the chill quickly) offer an interesting approach for making SMaSh style beers. The color definitely comes out lighter, similar to the results from the MenuInProgress article.