adding spray malt

gone · 03-13-2011, 06:18 PM

recently brewed the brewers best kit for imperial pale ale. added 3/4 pound of light spray malt in addition to the 3 pounds that was already included. the original gravity was still the same as what it should have been.

should this addition have affected the o.g.?
what generally should you expect from the addition of spray malt?

**unionrdr** · 03-13-2011, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gone

recently brewed the brewers best kit for imperial pale ale. added 3/4 pound of light spray malt in addition to the 3 pounds that was already included. the original gravity was still the same as what it should have been.

should this addition have affected the o.g.?
what generally should you expect from the addition of spray malt?

Weather spray dried or belt dried,it's all DME. I did,however,add plain extra light SDME (3lbs or 1.4kg) to my Cooper's pre-hopped can (1.7kg). And did a 15 min hop "tea" as the base to mix the malts. I got an OG of 1.044. It is rather odd that with all that malt,you'd expect 1.050+.
My FG was 1.012 over 3 days,so I dry hopped yesterday. It'll be 4.8%ABV. So,it seems that the use of extra malt instead of dextrose or brewing sugar will give more flavor,color,body & the like. But doesn't contribute as much fermentable sugars as sugar does.
So in the end,which do you prefer? Big taste or big buzz? Add more sugar to all that,you get more buzz,but I'd wonder about the color,flavor,etc.?...

**Pezman1** · 03-13-2011, 10:42 PM

Keep in mind that OGs in kits are approximations. Some kits even list a range, like OG 1.041-1.045.

Also, if you only do a partial boil, it is often difficult to get an exact OG as sometimes the wort doesn't mix perfectly with the top-off water.

Last but not least - If you are extract brewing from a kit, and follow the recipe, don't bother with an OG reading at all. Your OG is sure to be close enough to spec, so why waste the time and effort? It won't tell you a single thing you don't already know.
I haven't taken an OG in two years! The FG is all that matters in an extract kit.
Pez.

**unionrdr** · 03-14-2011, 02:19 PM

Not all kits give an approximate OG. ALWAYS use your hydrometer,since your actual OG/FG may differ slightly. No matter how well you mix everything. There are other factors involved.

slicksmix · 03-14-2011, 08:25 PM

If your directions said it would be 1080 or so its wrong. I did the same kit and what's weird is on the box it said around 1080 and the directions in the box said around 1070 which is what I got

**Pezman1** · 03-15-2011, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unionrdr

Not all kits give an approximate OG. ALWAYS use your hydrometer,since your actual OG/FG may differ slightly. No matter how well you mix everything. There are other factors involved.

There really are no other factors at all concerning the OG when talking about extract with grain kits. Really.
Taking an O.G is simply not needed. It doesn't matter at all if you end up with the exact OG as on the kit.

If the kit says an OG of 1.050, and you get 1.047, 1.051, 1.052..... you are perfectly good to go. Unless the printed instructions/kit inventory is in error, you have come close enough to make the beer indicated on the kit.

Maybe your batch isn't exactly five gallons, maybe your grain tea extracted a litlle more or less sugars from the grain, maybe your top-off water didn't mix completely into the wort... whatever. It just doesn't matter to the beer at all.
Kits are supposed to be easy, not hard. Why make it so? What will you do if your kit says 1.050 and you get 1.051? -keep adding water a bit at a time, taking repeated hydrometer readings tiill you get 1.050?????? What did you gain, and did you contaminate your wort with all those hydrometer readings????

I'm not saying you shouldn't take an OG. It might be fun or interesting for you to do.
What I am saying is that if you brew an extract with grains kit, there is no reason at all that you have to take an OG.

Note that I am only speaking of extract with grain kits and OGs - NOT all grain, partial mashes, or FG readings.

Cheers! Pez.

**unionrdr** · 03-15-2011, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pezman1

There really are no other factors at all concerning the OG when talking about extract with grain kits. Really.
Taking an O.G is simply not needed. It doesn't matter at all if you end up with the exact OG as on the kit.

If the kit says an OG of 1.050, and you get 1.047, 1.051, 1.052..... you are perfectly good to go. Unless the printed instructions/kit inventory is in error, you have come close enough to make the beer indicated on the kit.

Maybe your batch isn't exactly five gallons, maybe your grain tea extracted a litlle more or less sugars from the grain, maybe your top-off water didn't mix completely into the wort... whatever. It just doesn't matter to the beer at all.
Kits are supposed to be easy, not hard. Why make it so? What will you do if your kit says 1.050 and you get 1.051? -keep adding water a bit at a time, taking repeated hydrometer readings tiill you get 1.050?????? What did you gain, and did you contaminate your wort with all those hydrometer readings????

I'm not saying you shouldn't take an OG. It might be fun or interesting for you to do.
What I am saying is that if you brew an extract with grains kit, there is no reason at all that you have to take an OG.

Note that I am only speaking of extract with grain kits and OGs - NOT all grain, partial mashes, or FG readings.

Cheers! Pez.

Actually there are some dif factors. Extract is a bit dif in practice from AG or partial. Like,did you add DME to an LME kit instead of dextrose? Or maybe brewing sugar instead of that? The OG readings are a bit different. But not by much. I'm just saying don't trust a recipe or that "I know what I'm doing ALL the time",over confident thing. That's leaving yourself open for mistakes. I trust my readings,& senses. Not just a piece of paper.

**Pezman1** · 03-15-2011, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unionrdr

Actually there are some dif factors. Extract is a bit dif in practice from AG or partial. Like,did you add DME to an LME kit instead of dextrose? Or maybe brewing sugar instead of that? The OG readings are a bit different. But not by much. I'm just saying don't trust a recipe or that "I know what I'm doing ALL the time",over confident thing. That's leaving yourself open for mistakes. I trust my readings,& senses. Not just a piece of paper.

Even if you somehow use table sugar instead of the DME that came in your kit, taking an OG won't fix it and turn it back into the kit it was supposed to be. Just ferment it and see what you get. Might be good!

Why buy a kit if you don't trust it? All the ingredients are listed and pretty basic.
Pez.

**unionrdr** · 03-15-2011, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pezman1

Even if you somehow use table sugar instead of the DME that came in your kit, taking an OG won't fix it and turn it back into the kit it was supposed to be. Just ferment it and see what you get. Might be good!

Why buy a kit if you don't trust it? All the ingredients are listed and pretty basic.
Pez.

I never said I didn't trust it,& never said I used table sugar. Dextrose is corn sugar. Brewing sugar is 80% dextrose,20% maltodextrine. I also said the difference won't be that big,but a lil dif non the less. And furthermore,the one where I tried some DME instead of dex or brewing sugar was for the simple fact that they are all fermentables,basically. Some more than others. It depends on what you're going for,so don't twist my words...

**Pezman1** · 03-15-2011, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unionrdr

I never said I didn't trust it,& never said I used table sugar. Dextrose is corn sugar. Brewing sugar is 80% dextrose,20% maltodextrine. I also said the difference won't be that big,but a lil dif non the less. And furthermore,the one where I tried some DME instead of dex or brewing sugar was for the simple fact that they are all fermentables,basically. Some more than others. It depends on what you're going for,so don't twist my words...

Goodness, I'm not twisting your words. I was using an example. You said you didn't trust a peice of paper. I assumed you meant the OG printed on the kit?????

If you use ANY substitutions, then you are not brewing the kit. If you are experimenting, by all means take an OG to see what you got.

If brewing a kit, it doesn't matter what the OG is. Pez.