It's affects the color. When you brew light-colored beers using extract, you risk what's sometimes called kettle caramelization. Caramelization is actually a misnomer, as the lowest caramelization point for any of the sugars in wort would be above the boiling point of water. Though, the caramelization point for fructose is 230°F, which is close enough to the boiling point of water that if you have a higher concentration of malt extract near the bottom of the kettle, it's possible that you could get some limited caramelization.

The culprit is the Maillard reaction, which, in cooking, is responsible for a huge amount of yumminess, but in brewing, just provides a not-very-pleasing brown color.

If your recipe calls for a late addition, here's some tips:

• Add the extract off heat
• Make sure it's fully mixed with the wort before reapplying heat
• Bring it back to the boil
• Count the time that it was off heat and returning to boil toward the total time

You can't add all your extract as a late addition because the sugars in malt extract are beneficial to the isomerization of the alpha acids in the bittering hops (possibly by bringing the pH of the wort down?).

When you brew light-colored beers using extract, you risk what's sometimes called kettle caramelization. Caramelization is actually a misnomer, as the lowest caramelization point for any of the sugars in wort would be above the boiling point of water.

The culprit is the Maillard reaction, which, in cooking, is responsible for a huge amount of deliciousness, but in brewing, provides a not-very-pleasing brown color.

If your recipe calls for a late addition, here's some tips:

• Add the extract off heat
• Make sure it's fully mixed with the wort before reapplying heat
• Bring it back to the boil
• Count the time that it was off heat and returning to boil toward the total time

You can't add all your extract as a late addition because the sugars in malt extract are beneficial to the isomerization of the alpha acids in the bittering hops (possibly by bringing the pH of the wort down?).

It's mostly about color. When you brew light-colored beers using extract, you risk what's sometimes called kettle caramelization. Caramelization is actually a misnomer, as the lowest caramelization point for any of the sugars in wort would be above the boiling point of water. Though, the caramelization point for fructose is 230°F, which is close enough to the boiling point of water that if you have a higher concentration of malt extract near the bottom of the kettle, it's possible that you could get some limited caramelization.

The culprit is the Maillard reaction, which, in cooking, is responsible for a huge amount of yumminess, but in brewing, just provides a not-very-pleasing brown color.

If your recipe calls for a late addition, here's some tips:

• Add the extract off heat
• Make sure it's fully mixed with the wort before reapplying heat
• Bring it back to the boil
• Count the time that it was off heat and returning to boil toward the total time

You can't add all your extract as a late addition because the sugars in malt extract are beneficial to the isomerization of the alpha acids in the bittering hops (possibly by bringing the pH of the wort down?).

It's affects the color. When you brew light-colored beers using extract, you risk what's sometimes called kettle caramelization. Caramelization is actually a misnomer, as the lowest caramelization point for any of the sugars in wort would be above the boiling point of water. Though, the caramelization point for fructose is 230°F, which is close enough to the boiling point of water that if you have a higher concentration of malt extract near the bottom of the kettle, it's possible that you could get some limited caramelization.

The culprit is the Maillard reaction, which, in cooking, is responsible for a huge amount of yumminess, but in brewing, just provides a not-very-pleasing brown color.

If your recipe calls for a late addition, here's some tips:

• Add the extract off heat
• Make sure it's fully mixed with the wort before reapplying heat
• Bring it back to the boil
• Count the time that it was off heat and returning to boil toward the total time

You can't add all your extract as a late addition because the sugars in malt extract are beneficial to the isomerization of the alpha acids in the bittering hops (possibly by bringing the pH of the wort down?).