LME - is it pre-boiled?

[dedken]

Kit extract is pre-boiled, presumably for bittering reasons?? Is LME also pre-boiled? I guess what I'm getting at is whether it is absolutely necessary to boil up your LME when you're making up a brew - can you just do a hop boil and simply pour the can straight into the fv like normal kit extract? Just curious really.

[Befuddler]

I think it depends on the brand.. John Bull Maris Otter extract is supposedly pre-boiled but that's quite hard to find. I don't think most others are.

[OldSpeckledBadger]

Generally it's not pre-boiled. You'll need to boil it to cause the hot break to happen.

[dedken]

I thought that would be the case. But if I use kit extract as a base for a brew I shouldn't need to boil it at all because it has already been through hot and cold breaks?

[Befuddler]

I thought that would be the case. But if I use kit extract as a base for a brew I shouldn't need to boil it at all because it has already been through hot and cold breaks?

Yeah that's right. In fact, boiling pre-hopped kit extract would ruin it because you'd break down the hop oils, resulting in hardly any flavour or aroma.

[micromaniac]

ive recently done a few few extract brews using some kits i got as a job lot .just boiled for half an hour with some hops then late hops for flavour . all guees work realy as the kits all ready have hops added.but they av all turned out very good the best being a head cracker with some added elderflower bludy bostin .the kits i used were two can kits but i only used one tin for each brew and calculated what to add.