Do I need protofloc for Extract brewing

[johndavies]

I was just wondering if I need to use a protofloc tablet for an extract brewing kit.

very best regards,

John

[Jocky]

I don't think you need them for any kind of brewing.

In any case, they'll have the same effect on extract brews as they do on any other.

[gnutz2]

I'm quite sure you dont need it for extract, afterall all you are doing it a custom kit with none of the stuff that happens in a full mash.

Someone will correct me in a minute.

[Renzyme]

I'd appreciate some guidance here too. Isn't the purpose to protafloc to aid the extraction of break material from the wort. I found this to be quite considerable on my first (and only) brew, using unhopped DME and LME.

[RobWalker]

You still get a hot and cold break with extract brewing, protoflac/irish moss helps to drop proteins out during the cold break.

What you basically have with extract is mashed wort with no solids - malt etc - in there. After that, it's basically the same as doing an all grain brew.

[Renzyme]

You still get a hot and cold break with extract brewing, protoflac/irish moss helps to drop proteins out during the cold break.

What you basically have with extract is mashed wort with no solids - malt etc - in there. After that, it's basically the same as doing an all grain brew.

Thanks Rob. What's the best way to get rid of the break material once the wort's cooled? - I've read that whirlpooling and siphoning to the FV is a good idea. I poored my first brew directly into my FV (via a kitchen sieve) and ended up with lots of brown detritus suspended in the krausen when it formed a day or so later. I'm currently blaming this (and my failure to skim the krausen) for the unpleasant bitterness of my first brew.

I'm confident I got the hops right (I adjusted for their AA%, which were much higher than those in the receipe).

Cheers,
Andy

PS: Apologies to the OP for slightly hijacking his thread :S

[Jocky]

Admittedly I'm new to extract brewing, but the information I've read is that you won't get much hot break from extract at the reaction has already happened in the creation of the malt extract?

[Renzyme]

Admittedly I'm new to extract brewing, but the information I've read is that you won't get much hot break from extract at the reaction has already happened in the creation of the malt extract?

This is my understanding as well. I boiled 1.5kg of LME and 1kg of DME on my first extract brew, adding the LME once I'd achieved a boil. The hot break was very noticible after a couple of minutes, though I had nothing to compare it against.

[boingy]

.. and ended up with lots of brown detritus suspended in the krausen when it formed a day or so later. I'm currently blaming this (and my failure to skim the krausen) for the unpleasant bitterness of my first brew.

Neither of those things caused your bitterness. The brown bits are normal and don't need to be skimmed off. They end up dropping though the beer or depositing themselves on the side of the FV. Your bitterness was caused by something else.
What was the recipe?
Did you treat the water in any way?