Two extract brewing questions

[rpt]

1. Is it necessary to use Irish Moss towards the end of the boil when using a spraymalt based extract kit?
2. Is it a good idea to cool the pan before pouring into the fermenter? Will there be a cold break?

I ask as the recipe for my extract kit doesn't mention either of these things that appear to be a key part of AG recipes.

 

[phettebs]

It's been quite a few years since I brewed extract but I don't remember using Irish moss.

What do you mean by cool the pan before putting in the FV? Do you mean taking straight from the boil and putting in the FV? You want to get it cool enough to pitch the yeast whether you are AG or extract or you will kill them. You want to be 18-22C before pitching the yeast. Apologies if I misread what you were asking.

Baz

 

[cwiseman77]

1. Is it necessary to use Irish Moss towards the end of the boil when using a spraymalt based extract kit?
2. Is it a good idea to cool the pan before pouring into the fermenter? Will there be a cold break?

I ask as the recipe for my extract kit doesn't mention either of these things that appear to be a key part of AG recipes.

I'm on about my 10th extract brew and never use Irish Moss, you probably could but I try to keep my beer to the 4 essential ingredients only. As for cooling the pan, yeah I would. I assume you are doing a concentrated boil of 6-10L and then topping up with cold water after? That's what I do. I like to cool the wort in the pan before putting in the FV. I've tried it the other way round and find it cools quicker in the pan, I assume because metal is more conductive. To cool it effectively fill a basin with cold water and stick the pan in, change the water when in becomes warm. Alternately fill your bathtub with cold water and ice, that way you won't have to change the water. You can stir to speed things up but I like to keep the lid on for fear of infection. Hope that answers your questions. Any more let me know. I started doing extract with a Brew UK kit and found them pretty good, although the instructions are a tad sparce. :thumb:

 

[cwiseman77]

This is my high-tech wort chilling process, works pretty well!

 

[rpt]

1. Is it necessary to use Irish Moss towards the end of the boil when using a spraymalt based extract kit?
2. Is it a good idea to cool the pan before pouring into the fermenter? Will there be a cold break?

I ask as the recipe for my extract kit doesn't mention either of these things that appear to be a key part of AG recipes.

I'm on about my 10th extract brew and never use Irish Moss, you probably could but I try to keep my beer to the 4 essential ingredients only. As for cooling the pan, yeah I would. I assume you are doing a concentrated boil of 6-10L and then topping up with cold water after? That's what I do. I like to cool the wort in the pan before putting in the FV. I've tried it the other way round and find it cools quicker in the pan, I assume because metal is more conductive. To cool it effectively fill a basin with cold water and stick the pan in, change the water when in becomes warm. Alternately fill your bathtub with cold water and ice, that way you won't have to change the water. You can stir to speed things up but I like to keep the lid on for fear of infection. Hope that answers your questions. Any more let me know. I started doing extract with a Brew UK kit and found them pretty good, although the instructions are a tad sparce. :thumb:

It's a BrewUK Tettnang Tiger lager kit that I am going to do. Like all kits it seems it's necessary to modify the instructions - I'm going to make sure the fermentation has stopped before dropping the temperature to 2C. Their instructions just say to do this after 6 days. They don't mention Irish Moss but since I have some for a future mini-BIAB AG brew I wondered if it was worth using. They also don't mention sticking the pan in cold water but that seems like a better plan than waiting for the wort in the FV to be cool enough to pitch the yeast. As long as I remember to put them in the freezer the day before, I shall use some freezer blocks in the sink of water to cool my 15L pan.

I'm hoping it's worth the effort since I'm not a lager drinker.

 

[cwiseman77]

Yeah i remember my first can kit, ferment for 5 days, bottle, drink like 2 days after. Yeah beer in a week, I wish! The brew uk summer lager is really nice, and the bavarian weisbeir too. Think they're the only ones I tried. Hope you have a good brew! :thumb:

 

[c_burgess]

1, use a protofloc tablet. I have used Irish moss but forgot it one time and noticed no difference at all. The protofloc seems to clear the beer quicker for me. It would also depend on what style you are brewing, I wouldn't bother if doing a stout or if I was using chocolate malt in my steeping grains. Also consider how you are serving, if I wanted a light beer in a keg I would want to clear before kegging; if I was bottling I would give the beer more time to clear in a cold place to let the yeast to drop out.

2 I fill my sink and throw in a bag of ice (£1 from any supermarket) leave it for half an hour and I'm down to 25 degrees, you could freeze the ice yourself but 2kgs of ice might take more patience than what £1 is worth to you.

 

[cwiseman77]

If I can remember I fill ziplock bags with water and put them in the freezer the night before