EnjoyGoodBeer
Well-Known Member
Doing reasearch here was thinking about going AG. My question is if doing AG you dont use DME or LME right? This is was what I was thinking about even before I rolled out of bed. Thanks for the input fellas.
AG need LME or DME?
- Thread starter EnjoyGoodBeer
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Right. But it won't hurt to have some on hand, just in case you miss your desired gravity the first time and you can add some DME to make up the difference.
I still buy DME occasionally, to use it for starters, but I haven't used any in a brew for years.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
The vast majority of the time, you don't use any extract. You can use it if you want to boost your OG either because you missed your mark, or you're shooting for a super high OG.
As stated the only time you would want to use it is if you miss your OG or want to brew a really big beer and don't have the capacity to fit the grain bill. If you plan on using liquid yeast strains you should always have some extra light DME on hand so you can always make starters!
EnjoyGoodBeer
Well-Known Member
Cool. Just watched a few AG vids on utube last night and it actually seemed fairly easy and the most important for me little more your own brew plus you know it will be fresh.
Should I use yeast starters all the time? I havr done 6 batches with extract in the past 7 weeks but I have not done one yeast starter. If you know a good link on that Ill take a look at it.
Should I use yeast starters all the time? I havr done 6 batches with extract in the past 7 weeks but I have not done one yeast starter. If you know a good link on that Ill take a look at it.
EnjoyGoodBeer
Well-Known Member
duboman said:
LME on hand? Meaning you can just use a little bit and store the rest? If you do store it does it need to be in the fridge?
you should almost always make a starter - unless you are making a small (low-gravity) beer with fresh yeast, in which case a straight up vial or smack-pack should be enough. this applies only to liquid yeast. no need for a starter with dry yeast.
check this out:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/how-make-yeast-starter-pictorial-76101/
use MrMalty http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html to figure out how big a starter to make. make the starter 48 hours before your brewday. let the starter run for 24 hours, then crash it for 24 hours in your fridge.
EnjoyGoodBeer
Well-Known Member
sweetcell said:
So what exactly is a "small beer"? I have done 2 beers (over 7% are those big?) and it was with dry yeast should it be okay if I didt make a starter?
small beer = low OG, something like 1.050 or less. over 7% = big beers 
dry yeast does not need a starter. you can, however, rehydrate it before pitching. most yeast packs have instructions printed on them, typically it's something like "sprinkle into 10 times its own weight of water, at 80*F, let sit for 15 minutes then mix for 15 more". see the manufacturer's website for specific instructions on your yeast's preferred method of rehydration. this isn't strictly necessary, you can make fine beer by just sprinkling the yeast directly over the wort - however you'll have more yeast cells if you rehydrate.
dry yeast does not need a starter. you can, however, rehydrate it before pitching. most yeast packs have instructions printed on them, typically it's something like "sprinkle into 10 times its own weight of water, at 80*F, let sit for 15 minutes then mix for 15 more". see the manufacturer's website for specific instructions on your yeast's preferred method of rehydration. this isn't strictly necessary, you can make fine beer by just sprinkling the yeast directly over the wort - however you'll have more yeast cells if you rehydrate.
EnjoyGoodBeer
Well-Known Member
Thanks sweetcell, hopefully in the next 2 months imma get into AG cant wait looks like even more fun.
Also i have a belgum triple and an emperial blond ale in the primary. How long should I let thosr sit? Like 5 or 6 months? Then like a month or two in bottles? Those are around 7 to 8 ABV
Also i have a belgum triple and an emperial blond ale in the primary. How long should I let thosr sit? Like 5 or 6 months? Then like a month or two in bottles? Those are around 7 to 8 ABV
EnjoyGoodBeer said:
Yes you can buy it by the lb or more. I just keep it sealed up in a ziplock in the fridge.
Starters are done in a 10:1 ratio so for example a 1L starter would use 100grams of DME, a 2L is 200g and so on. Measuring by weight is more exact than by volume. IMHO I recommend starters for all liquid yeast and use the calculators previously mentioned.
Dry yeast does not require a starter but there is less strain variety available.
EnjoyGoodBeer
Well-Known Member
To duboman, now are we talking about LME or DME for starter?
you certainly could let them bulk age that long in primary, but i think that's a bit excessive. i'd flip your numbers around: at least a month in primary, two max; then let them age in bottles. the advantage there is you can taste them as they age and decide when they're ready. some big beers need 6-12 months (or more), others are very tasty after just 2.
eh, i don't keep my DME in the fridge. as long as you keep them air-tight & sealed, room temps should be fine. certainly doesn't hurt to put it in the fridge or freezer, tho.
First of all,I'd like to mention that you don't get more yeast cells by re-hydrating. Re-hydration just cuts down the lag time from pitch to seeing active fermentation. DME is easier imo to keep around,since it can be sealed up & tossed on the pantry shelf. I like to keep it on the 2nd highest shelf so mice have a harder time climbin wire shelving to get to my dry ingredients.
Actually, you do get more yeast cells by rehydrating. Not because they multiply in water, but because through osmosis they suck up water which is healthier for them than having wort permeate the cell walls first. Just sprinkling on the wort works, but it means that many of the cells do rupture from having wort cross the cell walls instead of water. They have to rehydrate before starting metabolism.
That said- I often do just sprinkle since I don't brew high OG beers very often and the cell count is plenty high enough for my batches.
By that reasoning you aren't geting more cells from re-hydrating. you just started with more cells in the dry packet vs liquid. & re-hydrating in water vs wort,you're loosing far fewer cells. So in that sence one would wind up with more cells to start fermentation with due to lower attrition rate.
rehydration doesn't create new cells (like a starter does), it reduces the number of cells that die as they "wake up". so the net effect is that you have more live cells available to do your fermentation (an additional benefit is that more viable cells = shorter lag time).
DME is easier to keep, as long as you live in a relatively dry environment. here in the national capital region summer = swamp. DME is a pain in the @$$ to deal with under those conditions... i rant about it here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/dme-pure-evil-331291/
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