withholding malt extract

[timothywilliam]

what are the positives and negatives to leaving a good portion of your extract until the last 15 minutes or so of the boil...

Explain.

 

[Tenchiro]

Less caramelization of the wort is the primary reason. Which gives you a lighter finished beer. I have not noticed much effect on taste however. Although it is still something I am experimenting with it in my own beers.

http://menuinprogress.com/2007/08/on-importance-of-late-extract-addition.html is a good illustration and explanation of the process.

 

[c.n.budz]

Positves- lighter color, less risk of caramelizing the extract

Negative(and not really that negative)- It affects your hop utilization, so you have to adjust your recipe accordingly

EDIT: Tenchiro types faster than me

 

[solidghost]

How about just boiling the hops in water? Then adding the malt extract for even lighter colours?

 

[Tenchiro]

How about just boiling the hops in water? Then adding the malt extract for even lighter colours?

You need the sugars and enzymes that the extract provides in the water for proper hop utilization. I have found that one pound of DME is generally sufficient for this.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Negative(and not really that negative)- It affects your hop utilization, so you have to adjust your recipe accordingly

Yeah, I would call it more of a side note than a negative - your hop utilization goes way up, so you can use a lot less hops than the partial boil recipe called for, which is definitely good in these times of high hop prices!