Originally Posted by spamtrap1888

On Jul 19, 12:35*pm, Whirled Peas wrote:
On 07/19/2010 01:59 AM, Jeßus wrote:



Boil it for an hour??? What on earth for?
Don't try to punch up the alcohol content by adding
sugar, either because that also creates weird, off flavors.

Agree. Actually, I'm not all that concerned about the alcohol content.

If you're starting with a can (or two!) of malt extract syrup than has
already had hops added, you don't need to boil at all. Just follow the
instructions on the can. Often all you have to do is add water, stir and
add yeast.

However, if you need to add hops, a long boil is necessary. Hops add
bitterness and flavor/aroma. Problem is, the bitterness compounds (alpha
acids) aren't soluble in water. So the heat of boiling changes
(isomerizes) them to water-soluble form. The change proceeds slowly,
taking about an hour or more, before everything is converted.

The flavor/aroma components (beta acids) do indeed boil off, so more
hops are added at ten minutes before the end for flavor, and again after
the heat has been turned off, for aroma. Hops are bred for one or the
other use, so you use Saaz hops, say, for bittering and Cascade hops for
flavor and aroma. These are just an example, but they are the
combination that Sierra Nevada uses in their Pale Ale.

Sierra has it ass-backwards then, because Saaz has only half the alpha
acids of Cascades. Saaz is the noblest of aroma hops, and is in short
supply. Essential for Pilsner Urquell, using Saaz for bittering only
is like using your Rolls Royce as a manure hauler. Cascades can be
used for bittering or flavor.


Refined white table sugar only produces additional alcohol when added to
the wort. It doesn't add any off flavors at all, unless you consider
high alcohol a flavor. Every homebrewer has to try at least one
high-alcohol brew, either by adding table sugar or additional malt. It's
so easy, they usually settle down to improving other aspects of their
brew after that.

Only Brits add sucrose to their beer. Americans add corn sugar.

One last piece of unsolicited advice: make sure your wort is well
aerated just before adding the yeast. Yeast starts off in a respiration
phase, where it is coming out of dormancy, taking in oxygen and
nutrients from the wort, building strong cell walls, dividing, etc.
until the oxygen is pretty much used up. This may only take minutes.
Then it goes into its fermentation phase, where the sugar is turned into
alcohol and CO2. If the wort is not aerated enough, the fermentation is
weak, sluggish, and may even stop before completion (stuck
fermentation). Shake the heck out of the wort, raise some foam, do
whatever it takes to get some air into it. Your yeast will be happier
for it. A well-aerated wort might start bubbling within 15 minutes and
finish fermenting in two days. YMMV