General Questions

[BillyRaygun]

I'm coming closer to brewing a batch of beer and have some general questions after doing some research. It would be great to hear the forums thoughts on these.

1. I plan on doing an extract brew. Do I add the syrup to the water when it begins to boil, or before?

2. I'm told to boil for 45 to 60 minutes. Does the clock start when the water with extract begins to boil, or the minute the flame turns on?

3. What would happen if I boil longer than 45 minutes or less than 45 minutes? I recall 60 minutes produces a good wort. Does 120 minutes make it better?

4. What's the purpose of using one can of syrup and one pound of dry malt extract together?

5. If using both the syrup and dry malt extract, they both added at the same time?

Hearing the forums thoughts on these questions would be very helpful for me as I plan my brew day.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Scruffy1207]

I'm coming closer to brewing a batch of beer and have some general questions after doing some research. It would be great to hear the forums thoughts on these.

1. Can I boil 5-gallons at one time if I have the capability?

2. What's the advantage of boiling 5-gallons at one time?

3. I plan on doing an extract brew. Do I add the syrup to the water when it begins to boil, or before?

4. I'm told to boil for 45 minutes. Does the clock start when the water with extract begins to boil, or the minute the flame turns on?

5. What would happen if I boil longer than 45 minutes or less than 45 minutes?

6. What's the purpose of using one can of syrup and one pound of dry malt extract together?

7. If using both the syrup and dry malt extract, they both added at the same time?

Hearing the forums thoughts on these questions would be very helpful for me as I plan my brew day.

Thanks in advance!

1. Yes.

2. you'll need to boil like 7-8g and as far as I know it's to get better hygrometer readings

3. Either or is fine. People usually add when you start the rolling boil (pull off the burner, add extract, put back on)

4. Time begins when rolling boil begins.

5. Generally we boil for 60 min, so the sugars get caramelized, boiling the extract for less time will produce a lighter color.

6. Just different types of extract.

7. Yes unless stated otherwise.

Anyone correct me if I'm wrong or if you have anything to add.

 

[jbsg02]

It's common to add part of the extract at the beginning of the boil and the rest towards the end, to help lighten the color of the beer.

60 minute boils are designed to get the bitterness from the hops as well as boil off DMS, which is a bigger issue with all grain brewing.

I see you're in flowermound, are you using tap water?

 

[BillyRaygun]

Thanks for the response! The speed was unexpected. Yes, I'm in Flower Mound and plan to use tap water. The taste doesn't bother me, so I figured why not.

I'm curious, why such a question? Do you know something about FM water I need to know about?

 

[JonK331]

I'm coming closer to brewing a batch of beer and have some general questions after doing some research. It would be great to hear the forums thoughts on these.

1. I plan on doing an extract brew. Do I add the syrup to the water when it begins to boil, or before?

2. I'm told to boil for 45 to 60 minutes. Does the clock start when the water with extract begins to boil, or the minute the flame turns on?

3. What would happen if I boil longer than 45 minutes or less than 45 minutes? I recall 60 minutes produces a good wort. Does 120 minutes make it better?

4. What's the purpose of using one can of syrup and one pound of dry malt extract together?

5. If using both the syrup and dry malt extract, they both added at the same time?

Hearing the forums thoughts on these questions would be very helpful for me as I plan my brew day.

Thanks in advance!

1. Most folks are actually adding their extract at the end of the boil now. This way you get less caramelization and a lighter colored beer. This way it is easier to control the color of the beer. Also, extracts have already been boiled so it is not necessary to boil them again except for just a few minutes to sanitize.

2. The length of the boil depends on the timing of your hop additions. If the recipe calls for a 60 min addition then you need to boil for 60 minutes. Timing of boil is the total duration the wort is at a rolling boil.

3. See 1 and 2. Sometimes all grain brewers boil for longer to concentrate the wort or to boil off dimethyl sulfide. Its not necessary to go longer with extract.

4. What types are in your kit? One light and one darker? There are advantages and disadvantages to both dme and lme. There is a ton of info on here about it.

5. Yes i would reccomend adding both closer to the end.

 

[emjay]

Keep in mind, if the recipe doesn't specify when to add the extract, it generally means at the beginning, and if you use it at the end instead, you will end up getting more utilization out of your hops. Basically, if you switch to a late extract addition, you need to use less hops (I recommend using software to figure it out.)

Also, most experienced brewers I know tend to consider the boil started only after the hot break. Once it breaks, you start your timer or whatever, and do your hop additions based on that.

 

[unionrdr]

Since I use pre-hopped cooper's cans as a base,& use 3lbs of plain (un-hopped) DME as well,I put half of the DME in the boil. Then do my 3 aroma/flavor hop additions. If you're using both un-hopped,I'd still use half the DME for the boil to do all the hop additions. Then,I add the rest at the end for a 15 minute steep with the lid on. Works way better for hop utilization by using only half the DME for the boil.
I also use o2 caps on my bottles. They help a lot to keep oxygen out,so the flavors can improve with age instead of fading. The regular caps just didn't cut it. They allowed the malt flavor to degrade to different aroma/flavor qualities than they had at 3 weeks,for instance. And at 4 weeks,hops started fading. Not so with the o2 caps so far...

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Thanks for the response! The speed was unexpected. Yes, I'm in Flower Mound and plan to use tap water. The taste doesn't bother me, so I figured why not.

I'm curious, why such a question? Do you know something about FM water I need to know about?

I lived in Keller for awhile until last December. I wasn't thrilled with the water in that area and used purchased spring water. They do alot of treating to the water in north texas to make it drinkable. It's probably ok to brew with, but pure spring water leads to better results IMHO.

 

[JonK331]

Keep in mind, if the recipe doesn't specify when to add the extract, it generally means at the beginning, and if you use it at the end instead, you will end up getting more utilization out of your hops. Basically, if you switch to a late extract addition, you need to use less hops (I recommend using software to figure it out.)

Also, most experienced brewers I know tend to consider the boil started only after the hot break. Once it breaks, you start your timer or whatever, and do your hop additions based on that.

THis difference is negligible, especially for someone about to do their first brew. Here's an article about late extract additions: http://www.baderbrewing.com/store/product.php?productid=22691&cat=396&page=1

 

[TopherM]

Sounds like you have not yet bought an extract kit. Any good kit should have instructions that read like a baking recipe, telling your what to add and when, when to stir, how long to boil. Just follow the instructions, and you'll make good beer!

If you have not yet purchased your extract kit, check out Northern Brewer and Austin Homebrew Supply....both really fresh ingredients and SIMPLE DIRECTIONS!!

Good luck!

 

[unionrdr]

Well,at least that article backs up what I've been doing. Hop utilization is way better,better color,great head,way better flavors.:rockin:

 

[BillyRaygun]

I lived in Keller for awhile until last December. I wasn't thrilled with the water in that area and used purchased spring water. They do alot of treating to the water in north texas to make it drinkable. It's probably ok to brew with, but pure spring water leads to better results IMHO.

I honesty do not keep track of what they do to the water in Flower Mound, but I know because we're squeezed in between two lakes, the water has a lot of contaminants. It makes sense they treat it so much.

I'll pay closer attention to it know, and as i get a few brews under my belt, will try alternative water sources.

 

[prrriiide]

Most of your questions have been answered, so I'll leave you a tip...pre-heat your LME in the can.

About 20 minutes before you add your LME, bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil. Turn off the heat and place your can of LME in it and let it sit until you need it. It'll be pretty warm so you might want a pot holder or an ove glove to handle it. But it'll be WAY easier to pour at a hotter temp.

 

[emjay]

Most of your questions have been answered, so I'll leave you a tip...pre-heat your LME in the can.

About 20 minutes before you add your LME, bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil. Turn off the heat and place your can of LME in it and let it sit until you need it. It'll be pretty warm so you might want a pot holder or an ove glove to handle it. But it'll be WAY easier to pour at a hotter temp.

Very hot water from the sink works fine IMO, no need to boil.

 

[prrriiide]

Very hot water from the sink works fine IMO, no need to boil.

Whatever works! I always wanted the water hotter than my tap flows just because 3.3 pounds @ 74* is a pretty good sized thermal mass to heat up in a sauce pan.

 

[emjay]

Whatever works! I always wanted the water hotter than my tap flows just because 3.3 pounds @ 74* is a pretty good sized thermal mass to heat up in a sauce pan.

True, but since it's coming from the tap, I just let the water stay in the sink, allowing for a good amount of it.

 

[jbsg02]

I'm guessing they use cloramines in your water there, which will ruin your beer and give it a plastic flavor. You can use campden tablets to neutralize it or just buy jugs of water. Reverse Osmosis and Distilled water are fine for extract brewing

 

[BillyRaygun]

I'm guessing they use cloramines in your water there, which will ruin your beer and give it a plastic flavor. You can use campden tablets to neutralize it or just buy jugs of water. Reverse Osmosis and Distilled water are fine for extract brewing

I recall reading that distiller water was never to be used. Is that not right?

 

[emjay]

I recall reading that distiller water was never to be used. Is that not right?

Only if you're mashing grain, like in all-grain or partial-mash brewing.