Tips on using DME

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BigE

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Hey guys,
quick question on using DME. My wife gave me a early father's day gift of a honey nut brown ale she bought through one of our local brew shops. The kit contains all DME for the recipe. I've used a combination of DME and LME in the past and had a terrible time using the DME. When pouring the DME in the bag it tends to clump up around the bag and turn into a mess. Any tips on an easier process to pour the DME into the wort?

Thanks for any help.
 
Pour it into a stainless steel bowl (or a ceramic bowl for that matter) before you put it near the boil kettle. Then dump it in from the bowl, and you can dip the bowl into the liquid in the kettle to get what remains in the bowl, into the kettle.
 
put it in a large bowl and then sprinkle in from there. Or if you are worried about the steam clumping it at all, you could always just spoon it in and mix as you go. :)
 
Instead of cutting a corner just cut the entire top of the packaging off. Then just dump that sucker in. I have never had an issue using that method.
 
Just in case you skipped all the previous posts and jumped directly to mine, pour the DME in a stainless mixing bowl and then dump it in. Dip the bowl into the wort to get the remaining extract. Your welcome. :D
 
I'm laughing at all you guy's responses but my advice would also be pouring it from a bowl.

The other tip is a good whisk to mix it up. Don't panic if you get some lumps, they WILL eventually dissolve!
 
LOL...so I'm guessing you guys are saying to pour into a bowl first then proceeed...gotcha! Thanks guys...and happy brewing! :)
 
And use a whisk! Great for eggs, great for DME!

Ah, the first time I dumped in ~8lb DME into my boil the whiteness of it had me concerned until it settled in.
 
The bowl trick didn't work for me. I had to measure out the right amount of extract by weight. I needed 5 pounds, and had two 3lb pounds. Where my apartment is rather humid due to no central air, it completely hardened and stuck to the bowl like crazy. It got this nice hard sticky coating on top. I measured it out while I was steeping specialty grains, so it sat out for a while. I would recommend pouring it into a bowl ahead of time, unless you have O humidity, or cover with something. But I just might have the exception situation.
 
Could always put some plastic wrap on the bowl if humidity is a problem.
 
Hey I heard of this new way.... you put it into a bowl, then dip the bowl in the water!
 
I like to transfer the extract from the bag into another bag, then into individual cups. Take the cups and stack them in a pyramid fashion, then pour them into the pot one at a time, starting at the top of the pyramid working your way down. This will ensure that the extract will have time to dissolve properly and make the brewing process fun and exciting. :p
 
And use a whisk! Great for eggs, great for DME!

Ah, the first time I dumped in ~8lb DME into my boil the whiteness of it had me concerned until it settled in.

+1 on the whisk, make quick work of breaking up the clumps allowing them to dissolve faster!:rockin:
 
I would recommend 34C's but hey thats just me. Oh wait no one asked what I thought...hmm.

And to the OP disregard my original post. Dont just cut the top off of the bag and dump in.

Just put the entire bag in as is. It worked great for me. I would relate it to the way a time released pharmaceutical works
 
Just put the entire bag in as is. It worked great for me. I would relate it to the way a time released pharmaceutical works

Good call. The bag will eventually dissolve in the hot liquid and leave just a slightly overwhelming melted plastic flavor in your beer. ;)
 
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