Briess DME

Pivot · 02-19-2010, 01:04 AM

So I know its fairly common knowledge that beer made with extracts only are really plain and lacking alot, but from reading about the malt extract that Briess offers, i was wondering, are the steeping grains as necessary in conjuntion with these extracts as they are with normal ones? it seems like they use a number of different types of malt in the making of this good stuff

MachineShopBrewing · 02-19-2010, 01:08 AM

I just made a German Pils with only 6 lbs of Pilsner LME and a pound of Pilsener DME plus hops and it turned out great.

Pivot · 02-19-2010, 01:18 AM

why use some of each? why not jus use just DME or LME?

Beernik · 02-19-2010, 01:33 AM

All the extract-only beers that I made seemed a bit on the watery side when it came to mouthfeel. So even if I didn't need any other steeping grains for my recipe, I'd steep 4oz - 8oz of Carapils to help with mouthfeel and head retention.

MachineShopBrewing · 02-19-2010, 01:43 AM

Quote:

why use some of each? why not jus use just DME or LME?

I did that because the LME only comes in 6 lb containers and I needed a little more gravity than that. I can assure you that the beer is not watery at all. Actually the recipe came from Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles book. Normally I brew all grain, but I wanted a good beer that I can make quickly in a pinch. Only about 2 hours from firing up the burner to being cleaned up. I just heated up my boil volume, added my extract, then boiled with hops per recipe. I just kegged it up a couple weeks ago and have been pulling some off everyday as it lagers, but it tastes great already. I wouldn't add carapils to that recipe because you wouldn't be able to get it dry enough. I got it down from 1.048 to 1.009 with only the extract and German Lager Yeast. Carapils might leave you at 1.012 or so, which would be a little much for a German Pils.(At least the way I like it)

MachineShopBrewing · 02-19-2010, 01:45 AM

http://beerdujour.com/Recipes/Jamil/JamilsNorthernGermanPilsner.htm

Here is the all grain recipe.

Pivot · 02-19-2010, 02:33 AM

so a recipe made with just 6 or 7 pounds of Briess Golden Light Extract + hops would be able to stand alone, while just regular DME wouldnt stand alone very well?

Beernik · 02-19-2010, 03:31 AM

I'm more of a malty ale brewer than a dry lager brewer, so I don't have that problem.

wyzazz · 02-19-2010, 11:40 AM

Briess makes very high quality stuff, it's all I use. FYI, Briess uses Carapils and "Base Malt" in it's Pilsen Light.

**kegtoe** · 02-22-2010, 03:22 AM

i disagree with your opening statement of "beer made with extracts only are really plain and lacking alot." I think you'll find of lot brewers using extracts and extracts with specialty grains make quite excellent beers. You can change your flavor profiles a lot by using different yeasts, varying the kinds and amounts of hops as well as adding more sugars. I found the more LME i use, i get more carmel maulty flavors. wich tends to add a lot of mouth feel. You can add your extracts att different times too, this will change how your hops work with the wart and the depth of flavors.

Keep experimenting and trying different things. I find that the most fun part of brewing is finding what i like (and dont like) in a beer and what makes the different flavors.