Briess or Muntons
 

Which DME is better, Briess or Muntons? I ask because Briess runs quite a bit cheaper.

I've used Briess for 2 batches and haven't had a problem. I'd check the date on the can though to make sure you have fresh supplies. That concern is why I went to Briess DME.

Briess is used in most American styles while Muntons in British styles. They have different flavors, one is not, necessarily, better that the other. Briess is made from American barley (I think) so it should have a very neutral, clean flavor. Muntons is made with British barley and has a biscuity flavor, since the malt is kilned differently. I would say if you want to make a bitter, use Muntons, if you want to make an IPA, use Briess.

This might be old information, but I recently read somewhere that Briess uses American 6-row for their extracts. Not sure about Mutons.

My co-brewer and I have used both Muntons and Briess extensively.


In beers we reproduce, we have been unable to detected any real flavor difference or difference in fermentability between Muntons and Briess.

Briess itself is located in Chilton, Wisconsin, my neck of the woods. They have a nice page on their brewing products.

http://www.briess.com/brew/index.shtml


We have bought Briess in bulk and keep it sealed in five gallon plastic buckets that have rubber seals. Briess does not sell direct, but you can get the bulk through Northern Brewer. (www.northernbrewer.com)

For us the choice was easy, the Briess is cheaper and there is no noticeable difference using it over Muntons. On top of that its a local company for us, and we like to support the local businesses. Muntons is imported.


All that being said, I liked the Muntons too. I find DME to be superior to LME in nearly every single way and I don't think you could go wrong with either Briess or Muntons.



Gedvondur

I was with you 100% until the last sentence. To me LME has the potential to be fresher and closer to what you start with in AG brewing. The place I have been buying from doesn't sell the LME in cans but rather in O2 barrier bags and sells so much of it that it is never more than a week or 2 old. Where as DME will definitely have a longer shelf life but is much more likely to be older, more processed, and more likely to have been exposed to light and O2. I don't have any evidence that the fresh LME makes supperior beer but I feel good about using freshly made malt rather than reconstituted.

Briess has a higher sugar content than Muntons. To see for yourself, build a recipe using hopville. A balanced recipe with Muntons will be unbalanced when you swap it for Briess. I prefer Muntons because you have more flexibility to convert more sugars from grain if doing a partial mash.

I am actually looking at buying some briess DME bulk at wholesale cost ($98 for 50lb bag + ~15 shipping per bag). I haven't used briess yet, but have used muntons. at about $2.26 per lb it is tempting (actually $2.42 per lb with NY tax).

If someone thinks there is a big flavor difference please let me know, I am on the edge of grabbing some bags. My LHBS and online places seem to all have muntons and some briess LME. I did use briess LME in an AHS arrogant bastard clone, but haven't tried it yet. Never have use Briess DME

I am looking to buy a 50# bag myself... Can I ask where you found that price from?
Thanks

You will also have a higher OG with DME over LME per pound used due to moisture in the LME but I agree LME is fresher most the time from my LHBS...