Boiling no-boil kits

[Flairns]

Hi all,

I'm about to make my second batch of homebrew and wondered if anyone could offer up some of their brewing wisdom?

"The complete joy of homebrewing" book states that it is ALWAYS best to boil the wort even if the kit is no-boil. Searching round the internet, I've also found the following page: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Beer-2269/20 ... g-Wort.htm which seems to back this idea up along with seemingly convincing reasons. It seems that most people don't bother with boiling though (at least when using a kit).

Can anyone suggest whether it's best to boil or not? I am about to use 3kg Muntons Gold IPA to which I plan to add 0.5-1kg of dry spray malt.

While I'm typing, I've bought some safale US05 to use with this instead of the supplied yeast. Is this a good idea?

Thanks for any help!

Dan

[Garth]

Hi Dan

if you boil a kit you'll obviously get the benefit of a sterilised wort but you'll end up with a slightly darker beer in the end, also you may destroy any hop aroma that the kit has.

I can't really see why you would want to, I did 20 odd kits before going AG and never boiled any of them, got good results from the majority of them.

If you use the US-05 you'll probably end up waiting an age for the beer to clear unless you use some finings in the keg later on. Don't get me wrong, it is a brilliant yeast giving a crisp finish letting hops come through, but it is known for it's clarity problems.

[Flairns]

Thanks Garth. I can see your point about the hops and that's certainly not something I want to get rid of in an IPA! Will try not boiling. I have read advice that diacetyls can are produced at hot temperatures. What temperature would you reccommend mixing the extract?

With regards to yeast, is there one that people particularly reccommend? Will the safale taste better than the one supplied with the kit but just take longer to clear? I'm not too worried if it takes longer but tastes better but how long are you talking? (I'll be bottling and storing at room temp)

Again, thanks for any help. Been reading this forum for a while now and have taken some great advice from it.

Dan

[OldSpeckledBadger]

I have read advice that diacetyls can are produced at hot temperatures.

That's during fermentation. Nothing to do boiling or mixing. Keep the fermentation temperature down to about 18-20C and you'll be OK (unless you have a nice cool cellar or a specially modified fridge you may not be able to achieve that at this time of year).