homebrewandbeer.com

Being new to this I will firstly apologise for my ignorance. I have brewed a couple of Coopers and Westbrew cans and followed the directions and am very happy with the results so far. My question is; according to the instructions you add boiling water to dissolve the ingredients yet in this forum every one seems to boil the ingredients for a variety of times. Why is this so?
I plan to try the Strawberry Blond next and am very keen to get it right.
Any other basic hints that the instructions don't tell you would be appreciated..
Cheers,
Brad.

Hi Brad, boiling the dry ingredients and the can of extract kills any bacteria that may be present in these additives. You should always boil all the water you use giving the yeast a "clean" enviroment to work in. Although I know a guy that mixes everything together with tap water and he is happy with his brews.

I find the beer ferments faster with less off tastes, clears better and leads to less chill haze

Dogger

I have only ever boiled when adding hops, specialty grains etc. Anything simpler just gets disolved in a kettle or 2 of boiling water and mixed in the fermentor. Was also a bit when I started reading on here but as DD and Oliver have both said, why change what works for you (or something along those lines).

Thanks all great info... So how long should I boil for? I have read on this forum some people boiling for 30mins or so..

If its just kits and malt extracts 15 should be sufficient. hops and speciallty grains require more specific timing for the desired result. there was a topic on this not long ago, cant remember if it covered timing for boils, may be worth doing a search.

keep it reel

I boil all fermantables for 50 mins then add the kit with flame out, stir for 10mins. add to fermenter, Melbourne water is fine and presto, we have a brew.

No need to apologise for questions. It's how we all learn. I'm always asking as this forum is my bible.

this from the muntons site in the "ask andy" section ...


"Only one comment I would make is that none of our kits require boiling of any description and it actual fact will lose some of their character if boiled as the hoppiness will be destroyed. Most kits nowadays don't need boiling as yeasts are far better and the extracts used are of higher quality."

I just though that I should point out, if you are making a strawberry blonde, put the strawberries in during secondary. Don't put them in the first boil.

Boil Baby Boil

My own opinion is to boil the goods. I find quocker cleaner fermentations which clear faster as the unfermentables tend to be broken down and long chain protein gets broken down

Add the strwberries after boiling. With kits I add them to the primary and dump the boiling wort on top. Then top up with cols

Dogger

I heat the berries (no higher that 70*C- to avoid pectin release), and then put them in my 2ndary fermenter. Then I rack onto the berries.

If you put them in primary, you loose a lot of the berry's flavour, as the esters are broken down.

I have boiled the last few mainly because I've bee adding hops and more hops to my brews.
I'd agree with Dogger and others that the fermentations have been more vigous and appear healthier than before.
I've also begun to airate the wort by stiring for 5 mins before pitching the yeast -this might explain the vigor though.
Guys that strawberry blond sounds awesome. Thats a must do!
What's your recipe Brad?

Silk,
Very basic.. Couldn't find any Strawberry clover honey so I just used a light honey ( 300ml), Coopers Blonde, SAFALE, brew booster....
result... Yumo! The most refreshing Summer Beer I have ever had...
Cheers & Beers,
Brad.

Cheers Brad!
Did you add any fresh strawberries or is this not a traditional part of the recipe?

those posts came too late but I will give it a go next time...

Cheers,
Brad.

I too am a boiler

Theoretically, the kit itself does not require boiling. It has already been boiled and boiling it again risks losing any aroma hops. However, you definitely want to boil any malt extract you add, in order to get a good hot break (which will help your beer clear).

Personally, I like to boil the malt extract until I get a nice hot break and then add the kit. I let the kit boil for a few minutes... but not long enough for any of the aroma to be lost. So far, my beers have all cleared very nicely (and I don't even rack), and fermentation is usually pretty solid. So I'll stick with what's been working unless someone can give me a better suggestion

How much water do you need to boil in (because the more, the hotter the initial wort)