Priming with Dried Malt Extract

I am bottling soon (next hour) and I am going to use DME to prime, first time, have always used corn sugar in the past.

How much should I use? I think I read 1 1/4 c. but I can't find that thread.

I am using Briess Pilsner DME 80% fermentability.

Used this: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?8711233#tag
Says 8.66oz. but I don't have a scale and it says DME has a fermentability of 55% (?).

Thanks.

1 1/4 cups is what most people recommend.

-a.

What are the effects of priming with DME vs. corn sugar?

Rammelkamp said:

What are the effects of priming with DME vs. corn sugar?

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Takes a bit longer to condition. Try 3 weeks instead of 2

Some people claim that it gives smaller buubles as compared to more soda like carbonation with sugar.

I don't know if I buy it but I had left over DME and I will see in 2-3 weeks.

Rammelkamp said:

What are the effects of priming with DME vs. corn sugar?

Click to expand...

Your beer is truly beer, made without sugar. When I extract brewed, I always primed with DME in order to stay within the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law).

Bottle conditions beers are made by adding more wort to the batch, not sugar, so why not do the same?

The bubbles are smaller, and like it was mentioned, it takes longer to condition, but It's much better IMHO.

EdWort said:

The bubbles are smaller, and like it was mentioned, it takes longer to condition, but It's much better IMHO.

Click to expand...

For the sake of arguement why would DME produce smaller bubbles? CO2 gas is CO2.

photogscott said:

For the sake of arguement why would DME produce smaller bubbles? CO2 gas is CO2.

Click to expand...

Chemistry, or Physics, or Physicstry...Or something.

photogscott said:

For the sake of arguement why would DME produce smaller bubbles? CO2 gas is CO2.

Click to expand...

I don't know, but I have heard a lot of people say it does.

Now, if I had to guess i would say that the increased unfermentable sugars and some proteins increase the surface tension thus result in smaller bubbles.

If I was you, I would start with a cup, before I went with 1.25...depending on your beer style. You likely wont have any gushers with 1.25, but it will be awfully carbonated. I typically use a cup, and I even use .75 on English Bitters. I have never gone over 1 cup and I cant see any reason to.

It was a Koelsch-style, moderately carbonated. I went for 1.25cups. We will see in a few days er...weeks.

1.25 cups of dme for priming is recommended in most recipes in beer captured...i think it tastes better. when you drink it green it still tastes better than corn sugar IMO

DeathBrewer said:

1.25 cups of dme for priming is recommended in most recipes in beer captured...i think it tastes better. when you drink it green it still tastes better than corn sugar IMO

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I haven't primed with DME yet however i've primed with Dextrose and Honey, Dextrose IMO gives the beer a slight acid-y taste and the honey keeps it pretty smooth and gives it a real nice carbonation.

yeah, there's also alot of recipes in BC that combine dextrose and honey. i thought i'd try a mix of honey and dme for my honey rye

EdWort said:

Your beer is truly beer, made without sugar. When I extract brewed, I always primed with DME in order to stay within the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law).

Bottle conditions beers are made by adding more wort to the batch, not sugar, so why not do the same?

The bubbles are smaller, and like it was mentioned, it takes longer to condition, but It's much better IMHO.

Click to expand...

Unless you run into my problem, wherein the sh*t decides not to ferment. I've got two 5-gal batches of hefe and wit that I decided to prime with DME, and 6 weeks later, I've got nuthin. Never had that problem with corn sugar, nosiree.

I have an American Wheat that I primed with DME (because I forgot to buy corn sugar) and was starting to wonder if it would ever get fully carbed. It's been 4 weeks since bottling and it is just starting to come around. It still doesn't have much head when poured, but it is starting to tingle the tongue when I drink it. Typically it takes my corn sugar-primed brews two weeks to get to this stage... I guess I'll keep waiting and see if it gets fizzier.

It tastes damn good at least. I'll probably put a six-pack in the fridge at lunch time so I can enjoy them tonight.

I am kind of surprised by this thread to be honest. What brand of DME are y'all using? Using Munton Light DME, I use .75 on my EB's and 1c on everything else. MY EB"s are perfect and my pale ale's and other beers are borderline over carbed. Usually only takes 10 or so days to start carbing and by two weeks, they are ready for a week in the fridge before drinking. Interesting.

Except for my first couple of batches, I've used nothing but DME. Normally, Muntons extra light, but I just used some Laaglander on the last couple of batches and it's worked well. 1-1/4 c. is the recommended dosage, but it helps to experiment. I have a digital scale and, through trial and error, found that ~7-7.5 oz. is 'right down the middle' for 'standard carbonation'. I use less for an English bitter - ~6 oz. Never more than 8 oz., which works out to ~ 1-1/4 c.

As stated, it does take longer to carbonate - usually 1-3 more weeks. Again, it depends on what I'm bottling. Some ales are great within two weeks, some - my 'house ale' for example - take a full four weeks until they are ready for human consumption.

Hi

Do you dilute the DME with 1 cup water as per the Dextrose, or use it dry when bottling?

J

jaymack said:

Hi

Do you dilute the DME with 1 cup water as per the Dextrose, or use it dry when bottling?

J

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Yeah, boil 1 cup of water or so, add the DME, allow it to boil for ~10 minutes, cool, into bottling bucket

jaymack said:

Hi

Do you dilute the DME with 1 cup water as per the Dextrose, or use it dry when bottling?

J

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Don't use it dry when bottling. It is the stickiest, messiest fiasco of a bottling day. Table or corn sugars in the bottle, no problem, but DME is bad.

As far as the standard goes, I'm sure it differs with the quality/type of DME. Briess, which is what I currently have, recommends 1 cup for priming. Since I'd rather drink an undercarbonated beer than an overcarbonated one, I'm going to err on the side of caution and stick with one cup.

For anyone interested here is a Carbonation Calculator:
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?8735764#tag

It has the recommended carbonation values for each beer style and can switch in various fermentables.

Thanks for the carbonation calculator. I'll give it a shot when I bottle next. It's pretty cool that it will switch on the fly.

I'm glad that someone brought weight into the mix. As an amateur bread baker, I know that when dealing with dry ingredients, a cup isn't always a cup.

Gentlemen,

This will be a rambling {3:45am} discourse
on how the art of brewing is learned step by step,
we learn and we evolve and it is cool.
I have been brewing since 1990 or 91,
{hold on I need to go 'get me' another}
{eine Acht Pfund Hammerbier!}
...
Alright, now hold on and let me
'get me 'a big-ole-drink...'
There,
I have been brewing 14-15 years
and at first improvement was slow but steady,
it would race ahead then level off.

I, just last winter, started taking the tip off my racking cane off
when I sanitize.
The valve at the bottom of the bottling bucket hadn't ever been taken off and sanitized, but it is regularly now.
I threw away all my old 10 year old cloth hop bags and use nylon.
I am seriously considering 'getting me'
a 'new' bottling bucket !!!!!!!!!

I always run strings or wires with rags tied on them
through my hoses, canes and wands or whatever
when I am sanitizing 'stuff'.
My own hands, I soak them in the idaphor water in a small bucket.
3-4 minutes!
More than 1-2 times!

I clean all that xxxx,

and use bottled water to brew.

I'm like 'Mr. Clean' you know.

'Mein Acht Pfund Hammerbier'
is my favorite beer, {Ale}
Seben Pfund, Acht Pfund,
Seben und halb Pfund Hammerbier
ist se goot!

But tonight I couldn't sleep
and came in here to my computer searching for mental food.
And there it was!
I have heard of priming with DME rather than sugar
in the Papazian book 15 years ago,
but it was never the time to add that step to my brewing
'hoard of knowledge'
to 'the recipe database in my head'
till now...

I can't believe it!
'Mein Acht Pfund Hammerbier'
Goot as ist ist...
Fine clean tasting ale !!!
ist, or has been, primed with xxxx-xxx sugar!
I am humbled and profound gratefull y'all.
Thank you!

A new step involving no extra effort or expense
but making 'mein bier' better.
Would be to prime 'the Hammerbier' with DME!
I use DME to make 'the Hammer'
I will use DME to prime it!
It is so simple!

Better hammerbier,
and I owe it to [ ]
{whatever his name is, ... I forgot}
who just mentioned it at just the right time
for my mind to be receptive to it
and to just 'glom' onto it, wow!!!

Welp, that is about the discourse for tonight boys.

Keep them carbouys full!

Keep your heads down!

and don't git none on ya!!


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J. Knife and Sandymae