full boil/late extract?

[SpeedyR]

so I've brewed a few batches and getting comfortable with my brewing and starting to experiment a bit more with my ingredients. I've got most of the equipment I feel I need (immersion cooler, stir plate, carboys, kegs, etc) but have a question...

if I have the size kettle to do a full boil, is there any reason to not add more water than the usual instructions call for (ie. instructions usually are steep/add water to make 2-2.5 maybe 3 gallons for the boil)?

my plan is to do maybe 4-5 gallon boil and start doing more late boil extract additions to keep the beer lighter color. Make sense? I just can't find anything that says why you wouldn't want to go this route except for needing a larger kettle for boilovers. wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something before I ruin a batch of Pliny the Elder clone.

 

[Yooper]

In general, the best beer comes from boiling as much wort as you can. A four gallon boil when making an IIPA is preferable to a 2 gallon boil for sure. If you can boil more than that, do it!

As far as adding the extract late, you certainly can do that as well. Pliny has corn sugar in the boil- you can add that late also. One thing I always recommend is using about a pound of extract, more or less, per gallon of liquid boiled in the wort. That helps with hops utilization and flavor (sometimes I get a weird harsh bitterness from "water only" boils) while still keeping the color light and avoiding a "cooked extract" taste.

Pliny is a big beer- 8 pounds of extract(?) so adding about half the extract at flame out would be great.

 

[UberHasselhoff]

One thing I always recommend is using about a pound of extract, more or less, per gallon of liquid boiled in the wort. That helps with hops utilization and flavor (sometimes I get a weird harsh bitterness from "water only" boils) while still keeping the color light and avoiding a "cooked extract" taste.

Yooper hit it spot on. I've had both problems when I started brewing extract beers. Gotta find that sweet spot between "harsh bitterness" and "cooked extract."

 

[SpeedyR]

perfect. I'm going to brew a new (to me) beer this weekend, kind of a mix of Magic Hat #9 and Purple Haze. just a light, fruity summer beer and will give it a go and see how it turns out with a larger boil and late additions. Then if that's decent, I'll do the Pliny brew in a few weeks and hope for the best.

thanks for the input! always something new to learn...