Going back in time a little bit...

[MadBrewer]

I have been an AG brewer for several years now but this summer brewing has been very slow for me. I ned to fill my kegs and knock out some styles that I wanted to get around to this year. So while my Oktoberfest lagers I have a couple batches planned with extract and steeping grain. Lately I just havent had time to give up 5-6 hrs to brew. So this will feel like a walk back in time when I started steeping grains and adding my own hops to extract recipes. I figure if I was making decent beer back then doing so, knowing what I know now I could really produce a fine extract batch. I have never been an all grain snob and always felt brewing is brewing and its something different for everyone. I figured this would be fun for a change of pace. Im thinking about limiting the boil to 30 mins and doing a full volume boil like I normally would. Maybe split the extract between the start of the boil and 15 mins left. I see no reason to boil extracts for 60 min. Ill use more bittering hops with only a 30 min boil but I will gain more hop flavor...win win.

I placed an order with Williams brewing. They have a full line of their own LME and reviews are very good. I have been wanting to try them so here is my chance. First up will be an IPA with my homegrown hops using their Pale Ale LME which is made with Pale Ale Malt and is a replacement for Marris Otter extract they used to carry. I ordered some plain LME and ill pick up some specialty grains for a big Scottish Ale and at the last minute I also tossed in some of their Rye LME made with 2 row , Rye and Caramel malts. With that one Im going to brew an Irish Red. A couple nice beers for this time of year before we get into the much cooler weather and that brings on very different beers.

Has anyone ever tried the Williams brewing LME? I would say at least take a look at them they made me very intrigued.

[BigPapaG]

The late extract addition method works well...

In addition to keeping the SRM a bit lower, I find you can get very good hop utilization in 30 minutes by boiling the lower gravity wort...

You already know most, if not all of this but for those reading who might not...

Play with just your bittering charge (T-30), your water volume and various gravities of malt addition (1.025, 1.030, 1.035, 1.040) in your favorite brewing program and note where you get the best utilization over 30 minutes...
Edit: I'm not a stickler about it so I end up between 1.030 and 1.035 ish usually...

The rest of the malt is of course then reserved for the late boil addition to get to your projected OG.

You can then plan out your flavor and aroma additions if desired.

By devoting some hops to flameout and whirlpool, you can add to the utilization as well as jam more aroma in the brew!

I do a lot of 3-4 gallon PM's and Steeps with Extract, topping off at the fermenter and they come out really well...

[mashani]

I do lots of these too, because I also often run short on time. And everything Big Papa said is spot on.

I like to start with a 1.03ish wort, and add all the rest of the extract in the last 10 minutes. I seem to get the best results that way.

I also do a lot of very short boils (20 minutes or <). If you use the right kind of high AA hop, you can get the IBUs you need, and get flavor that's fully appropriate. For example, I've had really excellent results in beers where I'd use Streisselspalt for flavor and light aroma additions using French Armais in it's place, and changing up the entire boil to 20 minute or 15 minutes, and then leaving out the flavor addition completely.

[John Sand]

Add me to the club. Pretty much AG for a couple of years, but extract batches do well for experiments, or when I cut my hand so badly that I only have one with which to brew.

[MadBrewer]

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/mobile/W ... T-C99.aspx

Check some of these out. They have Pale Ale Malt LME, Light LME, American Lager LME made with 30% Flaked Corn, German Pilsner LME, Munich, Belgian LME...etc. That is a strong line up. I cant wait to what I ordered.

[mashani]

I'm interested to see how they work for you because of the variety. I've never ordered their stuff because I don't know what their turnover is and I don't know anyone who has made beer with their stuff. I like my extracts to be very fresh. Mostly I get them from MoreBeer, I use their pils extract in place of mashing pils all the time and have never had a bad result, it ferments out like a < 150 mash.

[MadBrewer]

I would suspect that they also have a high turn over. Any big online supply probably does. I'm interested in trying something different. Most of my extract brewing was with Briess products which is what the couple LHBS always have in my area. Briess is a solid, reliable and consistant product. Maybe it's just me but they also seem very boring and sometimes bland. I have been moving away from their malts and products little by little if I can help it. I feel there are better options out there for more flavor. With that said, who knows who it is that makes the LME for Williams Brewing but they sure sound great. Does more beer also have their own line of LME?

I haven't ordered thier LME before, but I never had a problem with Williams Brewing. Been in the bussiness since 1979. I will surely post about the LME.

[mashani]

MoreBeer doesn't make their own extracts, they source them from various places. I think the pils is just Briess based on ingredients (mix of Pils and Carafoam). But I think they literally go directly to the dock it's initially distributed from and bring back barrels of it and sell it within a week. That's how fresh it seems to be. I have never had low attenuation or dark colors due to maliard reactions using it. Where in a jar, the Briess stuff gets sketchy pretty fast. Pils extract degrades more quickly then any other type in my experience.

That said, I'm very interested conceptually in the WW Pils with a touch of Vienna. That would potentially be really nice. The American stuff would be great for a cream ale too. And some of their other German/Belgian extracts sound interesting to me as well. So I do look forward to hearing about your results. I bookmarked their page - I want to order some of those polish hops they sell anyways - so I might just order some extract at the same time.