Some Extract Noob Questions

[mak]

Just ordered boiler and ingredients, planning on following the stout extract walkthrough that tubby_shaw has posted.

Have a few probably lame questions that I couldn't find the answers to in the FAQ:

- Can Hop/Grain Bags be reused and if so how do you guys clean them?
- I've read that hops are best stored frozen, do they need to be thawed out before chucking into the boiler or can they go in frozen?
- How is dried malt extract best kept and how long before it goes off? (I've had to order 3kg and the recipe only uses 2.5)
- Not sure what fuggles are but I've ordered a bag :hmm: :thumb: How do I best store these and how long will they keep?
- Slightly more in depth question perhaps, but I'm planning on extract rather than AG for the moment, but I fancy doing a hobgoblin type recipe, have noticed theres a nobgoblin recipe on the site but it's for AG. How do I convert that for extract brewing? Do I just replace the grains with malt extract? It has 4 different grains in the recipe so this is confusing me! (recipe here recipeview.php?recipe_id=1134)

Thanks :

 

[fbsf]

Ok, to answer your Qs in order (as best as I can - I'm no expert!)

1. Yep - rinse them in hot water afterwards, then drip-dry - that's all they need for grain steeping. For dry hopping (steeping hops in the wort after boiling) you'll need to boil them for 5 mins before hand to sterilise them.

2. Nope - there is so little water content in them, you can just weigh them and bung them in - no need to defrost.

3. As long as it's kept in an airtight container, it should be fine for quite a while. Best thing to do is to measure out what you need and seal the rest before starting your boil, so no moisture in the air gets in.

4. Fuggles are a variety of hops - see point 2!

5. Generally, all you need to do is to replace any pale malt (such as Maris Otter), which will be the malt with the largest weight, with about 75% weight-for-weight with light dry malt extract. the rest of the malt grains can be steeped in boiling water for 30 mins and then added to the liquid for the boil.

If there are non-malted grains in the recipe, such as roasted barley, wheat or oats, this is a different kettle of fish and requires a partial mash. I'd leave this for now and do a couple of standard extract recipes first until you are happy with the process.

Hope this helps!

 

[mak]

Thats great, thanks :thumb:

So for this recipe I would need 1.125kg of Dried Light Malt Extract (can I use dark instead or is the light bit important?)

Then the other 3 grains I would put into the same bag and boil for 30 mins seperate from the main boiler, then add this steeped water to the main boiler and do the main 60 minute boil?

Just noticed that the recipe says it's for 10L, seems a low amount does that sound correct? (I'm too used to doing kits and 23L!)

Last question hopefully... do "Aroma Hops" go in at the last stage, into the FV just before the yeast?

 

[fbsf]

You can use dark, but it will give it a fuller, more roasted flavour and make the beer darker. Up to you on that one!

1.125Kg seems about right for 10L - for my 10L extract brew, I used 1kg DME and 350g honey so that seems ok.

As long as the other grains are malted (so Dark malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt etc) then yes, I would say so - but re-reading things, boiling isn't correct (sorry). Put the grains into the pan, and bring up to about 70 degrees, then keep it there at that temp for 30 mins. Like a mini-mash. Then strain the grains through a sieve or similar and put the liquid into the pan ready for the main boil.

Aroma hops normally go in with about 10 mins of the boil to go. You can put them in at "flameout" (i.e. when you remove the pan from the boil and are about to start cooling), but you may only get aroma, rather than aroma and flavour.

 

[lukehgriffiths]

You can wrap the grains in a bag while you heat the water to boil just don't let em hop over 75 degrees as tannin is released you can hold at 67 for say 20 mins to increase extraction like a giant grain tea bag. As previous post said only certain grains will steep.

 

[mak]

That's great thanks guys. So I can steep any grains that are malted, and just avoid any that aren't for the moment!

I like the tea bag idea, that way I can do the steeping in the main boiler, just so long as I keep the temperature no more than 70? I'll have to keep an eye on it as the boiler I've ordered is to fit on the gas hob and so not thermostatically controlled... cheapskate