Subject says it all. I’m brewing the NB Cream Ale kit this Sunday. I asked on the forums earlier this week if I should hold some of the LME back till later in the boil to try and achieve a lighter color beer (lots of msgs in ratings of that beer saying they’re batches came out darker than what the kit shows). Someone suggested keeping back 75% of the LME til 15 min left in boil. Sounded fine by me, but after watching this past BTV video and Dawsons comments about hop utilization, I’m wondering if I should scale back on the 1oz of Cluster they call for at 60 min. Will it even make a difference?
how much LME is in the kit?
6pnds
So I assume you’ll boil 3 gallons and the LME is 36ppg so your wort gravity with 6 lbs would be:
6lbs*36ppg/3gal =72 or 1.072. Hop utilization is about 0.196.
With 3 lbs
3*36/3=36 or 1.036. Hop utilization is about 0.290 which is 2/3rds higher.
So I guess that means you need 2/3rds of your 60 minute hops to reach the same bitterness.
I’m just now figuring these formulas out so please someone confirm or deny these calculations.
The formula and chart I used come from John Palmer’s book How to Brew: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html
Don’t be surprised if I’m totally off base here.
:cheers:
I do all my beers with late addition, extract and partial mash. I do the full hops and they’re fine. I tried cutting back a little in the beginning and the beers were too balanced, not much bitterness. Also late addition of extract will lighten your beers.
Thanks for the responses. I’m thinking I may just do it as the recipe calls for. I’m not afraid of hops!
[quote=“mvsawyer”]So I assume you’ll boil 3 gallons and the LME is 36ppg so your wort gravity with 6 lbs would be:
6lbs*36ppg/3gal =72 or 1.072. Hop utilization is about 0.196.
With 3 lbs
3*36/3=36 or 1.036. Hop utilization is about 0.290 which is 2/3rds higher.
So I guess that means you need 2/3rds of your 60 minute hops to reach the same bitterness.
I’m just now figuring these formulas out so please someone confirm or deny these calculations.
The formula and chart I used come from John Palmer’s book How to Brew: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-5.html
Don’t be surprised if I’m totally off base here.
:cheers: [/quote]
I use a turkey fryer that has a 7.5 gallon pot but only start my boil with 4 gallons. I wanted to do full boils but since I don’t own a chiller, it’s nice to add the gallon/gallon and a half of cold spring water to my wort to help cool it down. I don’t even have a decent thermometer. I use the one that came with the turkey fryer but the lowest temp it shows is 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
What I’ve learned is that (at least on a 30 to 40 degree winter day) if after I turn the burner off at the end of the boil, I immediately dunk the pot into a laundry basket partially full of ice water. I stir the wort as well as the ice water around the pot, adding ice to the ‘bath’ as necessary. It only takes about 15 min to get the wort to the 100 degree mark. I then rack the wort to the bucket and then add my chilled spring water and I’m at pitching temp. (60 to 65 degrees) It seems almost as quick as using a wort chiller.
Last batch I timed it and it was about 32 min from end of boil to putting the lid on the bucket, ready for yeast. 15 min chill down, 10 min racking time and then adding my top up water.
I have a batch of the Speckled Heifer in the primary now. It is a cream ale, but a different one of course. I did the partial mash kit which has no late addition. I just post this pic for reference. It might clear up some, but here is a pic of a sample from brew day. 
If you’re boiling 4 gallons I don’t think you’re going to have a problem with the wort coming out dark putting all the LME in at the beginning.
