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Hi, I've just started out home brewing. How fascinating and educational! Can someone pse explain further why it is good to boil the wort in water for an hour before putting into the fermenter? From Oliver & Geoff's site, quote:

1. Add the malt, sugar, glucose or other soluble ingredients and bring the contents back to the boil. Be careful, especially with liquid malt, that the ingredients do not catch on the bottom of the pan. Boiling the malt extract (there's no need to boil the other sugars)for at least an hour is a good idea, as it causes protein, which can cause hazy beer, to come out of solution.

What is the meaning of the sentence: "which can cause hazy beer, to come out of solution".

Also, it says (there's no need to boil the other sugars). Does this mean that you don't dissolve the dextrose in the boiling pot with the canned beer malt? When is the dextrose then mixed in?

Can someone recommend a practical, good beginner's home brew book?

Cheers
RobRoy

How to brew better beer by Jack Faber. $24 or so from some HBS.

It is easy to understand and is written by an Aussie.

Jub.

RobRoy wrote:1. Add the malt, sugar, glucose or other soluble ingredients and bring the contents back to the boil. Be careful, especially with liquid malt, that the ingredients do not catch on the bottom of the pan. Boiling the malt extract (there's no need to boil the other sugars)for at least an hour is a good idea, as it causes protein, which can cause hazy beer, to come out of solution.

What is the meaning of the sentence: "which can cause hazy beer, to come out of solution".

what it means is that boiling the malt extract will remove the protein from the solution. if this isn't done, the protein can cause hazy beer. hoping that you were just after a rewording, and not a technical explanation

chris

Robroy,

the online book How to Brew
is considered by many to be the home brewers bible.

cheers Ross

Thanks Keg. Yes a rewording does the trick.
What about the second part of the question... Is the dextrose dissolved and boiled up with the Malt or stirred in later after the malt is cooled?

Ross & Jub
Thanks for the book suggestions.

Throw it in, if your using kits then some/most of these shouldnt be boiled but can be thrown in at the end of your boil once the heat is off, all other fermentables go in the boil including any hops you may want to put in at different intervals..

Leigh, Thanks.
I have just done my first batch and this is from a Brewcraft Kit which consisted of Munich Lager Liquid Malt (in a can), Yeast Sachet, Dextrose, MG No rinse Sanitizer & Carbonation drops. I bought the complete starter kit as I was just starting out and the kit contained all the basic equipment and ingredients for a brew. For my next brew I have bought a can of ESB English Ale, Safale S-04 Yeast & Goldings finishing Hops. The recipe on the can does not include boiling the Malt but just says to add it to 4 Litres of boiling water in a fermenter. I would like to boil it but wasnt sure when to add the dextrose.

Reading from John Palmers on line version "How to brew", Dextrose is never mentioned and yet it seems like most recipes include about 1 Kilo of Dextrose.

RobRoy wrote: yet it seems like most recipes include about 1 Kilo of Dextrose.

Best bit of advice, get over the use of dextrose and use all malt.

Ofcourse dextrose does have it's place in brewing but it seems to be a fixation with new brewers to use it as the bulk additive.

RobRoy,

Read all the stickys on this forum, especially the Basic Brewing instructions. It will give you a good dot point list of what to do. My suggestion is to forget boiling any of your ingredients if using a Kit and kilo of malt or dex/sugar. none of them contain enough proteins that will haze your beer as they would have been removed if they are good quality kits. Boiling is more for partial/all grain brewers. Read Palmer etc for a more technical understanding.

OldBugman wrote:

RobRoy wrote: yet it seems like most recipes include about 1 Kilo of Dextrose.

Best bit of advice, get over the use of dextrose and use all malt.

Ofcourse dextrose does have it's place in brewing but it seems to be a fixation with new brewers to use it as the bulk additive.

If excluding Dextrose from the recipe, should you then use 2 cans of Liquid Malt extract?