Toggle sidebar

Anybody know?

  • PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
Barrel Char Wood Products
W

WikdWaze

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 2, 2004
600
0
0
I think this is the right category to post this in since it does concern ingredients.

When I finally get ready to make my braggot I plan to use malt extracts instead of the actual grain. Do these still have to be boiled like a wort? I imagine they could be boiled to make sure they're sanitized, but I want to know if they have to be boiled in order to work right.
 
Wikd,

For beer you generally want to boil your malt extract in order to maximize your hop flavor extraction. You also want to boil as close to your full batch volume of beer as possible because this minimizes the chance of scorching the malt.

With braggot, you're generally boiling your wort to extract the flavor of the hops before you add the honey , so you won't necessarily be boiling it again after you add your honey.

Get on with it man! Make that braggot! LOL

Oskaar
 
I am getting on with it. It's the money that's procrastinating. :-[

And I have no intention of using hops. If I can't get an unhopped extract I guess I'll have to go the all-grain route. I should have specified that in my original post. Do I still need to boil? I know they boil the malt to extract the "juice" and to get the oils from the hops, but since I'm starting with the extracted "juice" and don't want to use hops I don't see why I'd need to boil. It'd be quicker and easier to simply pasteurize it before adding the honey. I'm all about quicker and simpler ;D
 
There's a difference between the process the extracts the sweet wort from the malt and the actuall boil. The first is called a mash, and that's all you skip by using the extract.

As well as getting flavour out of the hops (which I know you aren't using) the boil also helps break down proteins from the malt/malt extract which would otherwise cloud your beer/bragott.

I would boil it for at least 10 or 15 minutes. That should be plenty if you aren't hopping it. Skim off the skum that comes to the surface. I've heard people recomend boiling and skimming the honey too, but I think it's a brewers practice leaching into mead making. I'm convinced that the less heat you expose the honey too the better. When I make honey beers I don't add the honey untill I'm cooling the beer.
 
Derf said:
There's a difference between the process the extracts the sweet wort from the malt and the actuall boil. The first is called a mash, and that's all you skip by using the extract.

As well as getting flavour out of the hops (which I know you aren't using) the boil also helps break down proteins from the malt/malt extract which would otherwise cloud your beer/bragott.

I would boil it for at least 10 or 15 minutes. That should be plenty if you aren't hopping it. Skim off the skum that comes to the surface. I've heard people recomend boiling and skimming the honey too, but I think it's a brewers practice leaching into mead making. I'm convinced that the less heat you expose the honey too the better. When I make honey beers I don't add the honey untill I'm cooling the beer.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know. I've read about a thousand sites and discovered that beer gets boiled roughly 37 times before bottling, but wasn't sure how this related to my situation.

I heartily agree with your stand on boiling honey. Everything I've read on the subject has convinced me that boiling honey is both unnecessary and detrimental to the character of the finished product.

Seems my question was kind of a moot one anyhow. I'm planning to add a grain adjunct, which would require boiling to extract the flavor. Nuts, that means I need one of those little grain mills to break it up. Is there another way to crack grain open before boiling it?
 
If you get the grain from a brew store, they should be able to mill it for you.

I wouldn't recomend actually bringing your grains to a boil. Better to steep them at about 155F for 20-25 minutes, then strain them out. You can get a mesh bag for a couple of cents from the home brew store. Also, disolve the extract before you crank up the heat for the boil. Otherwise it will sink to the bottom of the pot and could scorch.
 
Doh! Was hoping to get back here and edit my post before anybody read it. The rye I'm going to add is flaked, no need to crack it open. Sometimes I honestly believe I could qualify for the Special Olympics :P

Very convenient having a beer expert on the board. Most of the recipes I want to try happen to be braggots, beer techniques will be necessary at points.
 
If you use grain, you'll want to test your wort/mash for starch to sugar conversion with a small pie plate or something similar.

You can use iodine (or iodophor) to check a sample of the wort to see whether the starches have been completely converted to sugars. Iodine causes starch to turn black. The mash enzymes should convert all of the starches, resulting in no color change when a couple drops of iodine are added to a sample of the wort. (The wort sample should not have any grain particles in it.)

The iodine will only add a slight tan or reddish color as opposed to the flash of heavy black color if starch is present. Worts high in dextrins will yield a strong reddish color when iodine is added.

Also a lower mash temperature, less than or equal to 150°F, yields a thinner bodied, drier beer. A higher mash temperature, greater than or equal to 156°F, yields a less fermentable, sweeter beer. You can use this to fine tune your wort to best produce your braggot to your taste and preference.

Hope that helps,

Oskaar
 
i crack my grains in a large zip lock bag using a rolling pin...no need for a mill unless you are doing an all grain beer. grains should never be boiled as it will leech bitter tannins from the hulls. grains do not need to be mashed/converted if they are only being used as an adjunct as you are...steeping is fine with no need for testing for conversion. as far as the original question, malt extract should be boiled in order to break down the proteins, and to a less extent sugars. when i make my braggot i boil the malt extract and hops for an hour before removing from the heat and adding the honey. personally i would boil it for at least 45 min but thats just my opinion...as far as boiling honey, i agree that not boiling the honey yields a finer product, but realize that you will end up with some sediment in the bottle if you dont. its a minor trade off.
 
A virtual cornicopia of useful information. I'm putting everybody on my Christmas card list. ;D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns

Top Bottom