craigb12 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 hi, I've been using the simplest brewing method imaginable: pour the can straight into the fermenter, add some boiling water, mix in the sugar, make up to 23 litres, pitch the yeast. Pretty basic, but all the beers that i've made have come out tasting great. I get the impression that some people here are boiling their canned malt, either mixed with water or on its own. I've heard a few bad things about boiling it - that it drives of the aromatic compounds, that it makes the finished beer darker than normal, etc. Is this true? Surely, if some people are doing it, there must be something beneficial in it. What are people's thoughts on this? Do you boil, or are you a straight in the fermenter kind of guy, and why? Thanks Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregT5 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Craig, I tend to follow the KISS principle...(Keep It Simple, Stupid!) If you have been making it without boiling it & brewing great beer, why change? I just pour it in the fermenter, mainly because the good people at Coopers said to do it. I have tried a couple of their recipes & the only thing I have boiled is the kettle to get the hot water for mixing ingredients. This is only my opinion, I am sure there will be spirited debate here about the pros & cons of boiling malt extracts etc. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biermoasta Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 From what I've read, you shouldn't boil the Coopers kits. Doing so will drive off any aroma (and also flavour?) hops [pinched] I think it also darkens the extract. So I have to agree with Greg, keep it simple. If it's working, don't try and fix it! [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weggl Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Don't know wher you live Craig, but here in Sydney i do my mixing in a stainless pot before I put it in the fermenter. I dont boil except the jug. I do this because I have to cool the mix before I put it in the fermenter, otherwise the 23L would be too hot for the yeast. Maybe your in Canada or come othe cool spot? Weggl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb12 Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 Yeah, i'm in Scotland. So my battle is always with trying to keep the temperature high enough during fermentation. There seems to be far fewer boilers than i'd thought. Maybe I was wrong; maybe most people here are 'straight in the bucket' folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 hi craig, i started out with the KISS principle followingthe little booklet with the kit. then somewhere along the way started to boil as much of the wort as possible for an hour. this was in my thoughts making better beer. since i have been hanging out with all of you on this forum i don't boil as much water. i do boil a couple of liters and the fermentables (not the hopped kit) for along as the hops need to produce their flavour and aroma(20mins or so). there is no doubt in my mind the sugars dissolve better in boiling water.[rightful] it used to take all afternoon to put down a brew, but now it done in an hour or so.[cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I never boil my kits. I do a boil with water hops and some unhopped malt if required but if it isn't I just add it all straight to the fermentor. I've got 2 x 5L cubes which I fill with water put in the fridge the day before I put a brew on. That way I always have plenty of cold water on hand to bring wort down to pitching temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I only boiled the water for the 2 I've done so far just to get it hot enough to dissolve the fermentables. Save for the second one in which I boiled the Kent Golding hops for 15mins to make a tea out of them. But the results,from 2/21 to today tell me I should add the plain (unhoped)DME to the boil. At least half,anyway,since I only boil 1 1/4 gallons of water in the kettle anyway. That is said to better utilize the qualities of the hops. Maybe make it 2 gallons even,& use spring instead of tap water.? The way I did the addition is ok,but not as good as I expected. Then take it off the heat at the end of the addition to add the OS lager kit can & any sugars or DME's I may want to add to boost the ABV color,etc. Don't want those sugars burning on the bottom of the brew kettle. But,I'm still gunna try dry hoping this batch. May change the next one,& do the Kent Golding for 15 mins,the Willamette for the last 10mins in half the DME (in my case,about 1.5lbs). So,there's the currant knowledge I've gleaned from a few forums so far. New thinking,jeez... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kearnage Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 There is no need to boil a pre hopped Coopers kit, and no benefit. If you want to add hops and boil them, do it in water +/- some of your additional fermentables. There is info in the FAQ's about why you should not boil the kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 What I said was,many add some unhoped (plain) DME to the boil to soak up more of the hops flavors/aromas. I've run into this one on a few forums. Supposed to work better. But I've never added kit cans to a boil,since they're pre-hopped. Def a no-no. I just added the Munson's plain (un hopped)extra light DME to the Cooper's OS lager can to kick it up some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Leonard LME isn't pre-hopped and you can add it to a boil as you DME (or SDME as you like to call it [tongue] ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 The Cooper's LME (kit can)I used is pre-hopped with pride of ringwood hops. Obviously,we'll never know how much & when. So,in light of that,boiling hopped LME (kit cans)will destroy some of the flavor profile,at least. Mine is tasting somewhat clean & crisp already,even though it's still green. SDME just means "spray dried malt extract,vs belt dried malt extract-just called DME that I know of. The DME's are what their adding some of to partial boils for late additions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 The only coopers extract that are pre- hopped are the brew cans. The LME is unhopped. These days I know what you mean when you say SDME but it is usually just referred to as DME or LDM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 The Cooper's LME I used is pre-hopped with pride of ringwood hops. Obviously' date='we'll never know how much & when.[/quote'] You've got the Technical Development Manager scratching his head... Do you have a description of the packaging or a photo you can post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 You've got the Technical Development Manager scratching his head... Do you have a description of the packaging or a photo you can post? That wouldn't be you, would it Paul[ninja] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 You're kidding,right? I thought certain people were just jerkin me around or something. Look over all the threads describing this recipe I've discussed (pale ale,862 views& counting). I used the OS lager can known to the rest of the world as LME-Liquid Malt Extract. It's a term that does not describe weather it's hopped or not. It can mean either. belt Dried Malt Extract is just called DME for some reason. SDME is the Spray Dried Malt Extract. Either denotes the "style" of drying only. They are called "plain" if unhoped. So,the beer kit can,the green & white one,the one with the pale colored glass of beer on the front. I expressed myself quite plainly with the ingredient list,procedures,what I used. And still people talk about "not boiling LME",when I distinctly Said SDME,for instance. Gotta pay attention,folks. And I was feeling so good about myself yesterday. Looked like I came up with a good one,with all the views & such. But the 2 sites I frequent have such different usage...IDK,...maybe I'm cross pollinating the two...Maybe I'm just wizzin in a headwind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Wow! I'm going to have to read that post again as I didn't quite follow [pinched] People DO NOT talk about not boiling LME they talk about not boiling the beer kits (hopped extract). I also still think your confusing things by differentiating between DME and SDME as it is essentially the same thing - DME [cool] BTW - The rest of the world do not know OS Lager as LME. It is a beer kit or could be known as a Hopped Malt Extract. Chill out and have a beer [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Leonard, you will find details regarding colour, bitterness and late hop aroma (if applicable) in the Brewing Products section of this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeonardC2 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Thanx for the product info link. Sorry if I'm confusing everyone,I was just trying to be accurate with the exact style of DME I used. Muddy,I typed as I thought,guess I should try harder to remember using paragraphs. Sorry bout that. Over here,many forums call the kit cans LME's,since they are basically Liquid Malt Extracts. So I guess I just got a little too used to that. You're basically right about the extract usage. But they just don't express it that way on some forums over here. Again,I wind up cross pollinating usage from here to there,so to speak. Guess I'll have some editing to do to clarify for you folks. Not to sound stuck up or anything. Just trying my best to be dead on accurate about exactly what I used. It seems the terms just don't transfer well. And I understand not to boil the kit cans. It was just the terms I used that led some to miss-understand my intended meaning. So,I hope this clears things up,& we can get back to our favorite subject. eine prosit! *PS-I just went back & re-wrote a few post for easier reading,& better clarity. Sorry,folks. Didn't sleep at all the the night before last. I got back on the net around 2am. Must've been a lil toasty. Didn't pay too much attn to lil details like usage in dif places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I think we're all on the same page now [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.