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Boiling Malt Extract for 10 litre batches


Malibu

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Hello, I have just started this adventure and been making ten litre batches. Why? Because I don't drink that much butI like making stuff and a list of other reasons I can give if pressed. I started by just putting in a 1.7 litre can of Coopers PA in 10 litres, pitching the yeast and got a brew that was not great: but I drank it regardless. Did a dark ale, threw the can in with a cup of dextrose and I got something that was ok but still not great. 6+ on the alcohol tho. anyway 6 brews later I am up to a lager made with a Golden Ale Malt extract with a S-23 salfager yeast brewing at 15 degrees. (not hard to do achieve Ballarat) Guy at the brew shop raised an eye brow when I said what he was doing but nevertheless....... Anyway my question is if anyone can help if I am going to hop and unhopped malt extract do I have to boil the lot? It would be very convenient if I just took 300 grams of the extract, boiled it in a couple of litres of water with my hops and then chucked the rest in the fermenter taking it up to the ten litres.

what say you lot?

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Most certainly you can do that. Did 10 or 15 like that in my journey to all grain. 10L pot boil with a can. Add it with another can to go to 21L. What you have to take into account though is reduced hop utilisation. You won't get as much out of them in a smaller boil as you will a bigger boil. Below is quite a good calculator.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/ibu-calculator/

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If you are making 10L batches, you might want to consider the craft series kits for pre-bittered batches.

The bitterness level of the regular Coopers kits is designed for 23L batches and will make a very bitter brew made to 10L.

Aim for SG 1.040 for the wort you use for the hop boil. That works out to ~100gm/L of DME. Not sure why but IanH's spreadsheet recommends no less than 6L of wort be used for a hop boil. A 6L boil is just as convenient as one of 2L. It might take a couple minutes longer to come up to a boil, but that is not going to make or break your brew day.

If you boil 2L of wort for 60 minutes, for a traditional bittering addition, there won't be much left of it. You can boil shorter if you use more hops. 

Cheers,

Christina.

Edited by ChristinaS1
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Thanks, that gives me some confidence. And certainly from my own experience with a 1.7kg can in10 litres I can testify that it is a beer way too bitter. Tossing up which way to go next; either use 2/3rds of a can with some dextrose and then do another brew after that with somethings goes with the first- then using the two remaining thirds for a toucan brew or, alternatively, just hopping an unhopped malt extract and see what I get. I have a week or so to think about it in any case as my fermenter is tied up with my lager..

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4 hours ago, Malibu said:

Thanks, that gives me some confidence. And certainly from my own experience with a 1.7kg can in10 litres I can testify that it is a beer way too bitter. Tossing up which way to go next; either use 2/3rds of a can with some dextrose and then do another brew after that with somethings goes with the first- then using the two remaining thirds for a toucan brew or, alternatively, just hopping an unhopped malt extract and see what I get. I have a week or so to think about it in any case as my fermenter is tied up with my lager..

You could get yourself another FV and make the brew, split it half and half into the 2 FV's and then try different additions - easier to split a (say) 10L batch in half than try and get that sticky mess in the can to split evenly. 😄 

As a plus you would double your enjoyment of making stuff and have 2 different beers to enjoy at the end.

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5 hours ago, Journeyman said:

You could get yourself another FV and make the brew, split it half and half into the 2 FV's and then try different additions - easier to split a (say) 10L batch in half than try and get that sticky mess in the can to split evenly. 😄 

As a plus you would double your enjoyment of making stuff and have 2 different beers to enjoy at the end.

I reckon that's a bonza idea. Make one a control group and fart about with the other.  Bit like like giving one person hydroxyclouroquinnine and the other a placebo. Could have a lot of fun here. Guess I would need another yeast for the experimental batch in the first instance regardless.

Thanks for the tip

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1 hour ago, Malibu said:

I reckon that's a bonza idea. Make one a control group and fart about with the other.  Bit like like giving one person hydroxyclouroquinnine and the other a placebo. Could have a lot of fun here. Guess I would need another yeast for the experimental batch in the first instance regardless.

Thanks for the tip

Think of me as your white rabbit... 😄 

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