Planning my first extract

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Budgie

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Morning guys.

So far I've done a couple of kits, a Coopers Lager (which I'm currently drinking, though not enjoying too much but it was my first go so not to worry), and I've got the Youngs Oaked Rum Ale in bottles so I'm looking forward to that.

I quite fancy having a go at an extract next. I like the idea of getting a bit more involved in the process. I'm also going to have a go at Clibit's AG at some point too.

I have an old gas burner in the garage but I don't have anything big enough to boil the whole amount. From what I understand - please correct me if I'm wrong - it's ok to boil around 10 litres then top it up to final volume. I've also read that doing it this way will loose some of the hop flavour/aroma. Is this correct? If so would it be worth dry hopping after a week or so?

I'm not sure exaexly which extract kit to go with just yet. I'll be calling at my LHBS sometime next week to see what they've got.

Any and all advice greatfuly received.

Cheers.
 
One of the beauties of Extract is that you boil reduced volume, so you don't have to have a pan big enough to take the whole boil, and you don't have to worry too much about cooling as you're adding loads of cold water to it when it goes in the FV. I generally do the boil with 6-8 litres of water, doesn't affect taste IMHO.

The BrewUK Extract recipe packs are a great way to start, everything you need in the right quatities inc instructions:
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/beerkits/craftybrews/brewextract.html
 
The hop thing is mainly about bitterness I think, if you boil a reduced amount of wort then you get less bitterness from the hops. But I don't think it's a massive reduction, especially if you can boil more like 10 litres rather than 6. And use half the extract in the boil, to keep the concentration as it should be. Add the rest after the boil. You can get extract kits from various online sellers, brewuk, geterbrewed.com the home brew company all have extract kits that look really good.

If you are making beers with loads of late boil hops, I suspect you need a full boil volume to maximise the effect. Bunging 100g or more into 6 litres doesn't seem like a wise move. You'd leave a lot of oils behind in the hops, I'm sure.
 
As clibit say the reduction in hop IBU's isn't much. I do maxi-BIAB which means making a concentrated AG wort, I usually I end up with 17L and dilute down to 23L. I only add 5 more IBU worth of hops to account for lower hop utilization in a concentrated wort.

For a 10L brew length I probably wouldn't bother adding any more
 
Thanks guys.

I've got my hands on a 15l pot so I'll be able to do a decent size boil. I think I'll go with adding half the extract in the boil. Would I just dump the other half in the FV when I top it up to final volume?

Great advice as always, I'll stick a thread in Brewdays section when I get cooking :)
 
Either mix the malt extract into the hot wort in the boiling pot after the boil, or mix it with a few litres of warm water in the FV before you add the hot wort to it.
 
That's what I do - half in at the start of the boil, the other half in at the end, either into the pot or the FV.

Regarding late hopping, Extract brewers tend to dry hop rather than go for a steep at flamout, that way they can put a large quantity of hops into the full volume of the brew in the FV.

I've been Extract brewing for 4 years and just moved to AG - you get more versatility with AG, but quality-wise the beer is virtually as good with Extarct. A massive step up in quality from kits. :thumb:
 
Regarding late hopping, Extract brewers tend to dry hop rather than go for a steep at flamout, that way they can put a large quantity of hops into the full volume of the brew in the FV.

Nice tip. I tend to try to avoid doing flameout hops as it takes ages for the wort to cool to 80C and is a real PITA as I'm always looking for ways to cut down brew day not add to it
 
You can do flameout at 100C. It's an option, especially with low AA hops, and it's what a lot of breweries do. The two breweries I've spent time in did full boil hops, and then one did 5 minute hops and the other did hops at flame out and then started transferring to FV via heat exchanger, which took about 90 minutes. I think the key times for hopping are start of boil for max bitterness, 15-20 mins for mas flavour, and 0 -10 mins for max aroma. And then dry hops if you want that dry hop effect. If you work to this kind of schedule and just pick a system that suits you in practical terms, you won't go far wrong with the majority of beer styles at least.
 
I've gone for the Golden Pale Ale kit from the Honebrew Company - using the 5% discount code on here. :)

The recipe calls for 15g of Target @60 mins and 20g of East Kent Goldings @15 mins.

Once everything arrives, no doubt I'll be back for more help.

Now, if you'll excuse me I had one too many homebrews last night so I'm off for a lie down!
 
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