Dry/liquid extract?

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xpoc454

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Im kinda new at brewing still, all my brewing has been from Brewer's best kits.
In these kits they have always had a liquid and a dry malt extract.
I dont remember the exact sizes, but thenormal size liquid extract can and maybe 1lb dry?

Anywho, in the future I would like to mess around with extract brewing and experimenting with new beers and recipes you dont get in kits.

Is there any reason why I cant make all my experimental beer with dry extract?

The liquid seems to be more of a mess for me and heavier if I get it shipped.

If I find a recipe online that asks for a mix of dry and liquid, can I get an equivelent dry that will match any liquid they ask for?

Im doing kits now, but (unless im misunderstanding) I see myself taking yeast, dry extract, hops and possibly minor grains as described by others home recipes as my next step in brewing.

thanks for any info
 
My last two batches I've converted LME/DME recipes to DME only. There's just two things to worry about. 1) DME is supposedly more expensive than LME, although lately it looks like that might not be the case. 2) You need to find out what % of fermentables is in the LME. For example, John Bull LME has a low percentage of fermentables, so you'd want to sub something like Laglander DME which also finishes out sweet.
 
xpoc454 said:
Im kinda new at brewing still, all my brewing has been from Brewer's best kits.
In these kits they have always had a liquid and a dry malt extract.
I dont remember the exact sizes, but thenormal size liquid extract can and maybe 1lb dry?

Anywho, in the future I would like to mess around with extract brewing and experimenting with new beers and recipes you dont get in kits.

Is there any reason why I cant make all my experimental beer with dry extract?

The liquid seems to be more of a mess for me and heavier if I get it shipped.

If I find a recipe online that asks for a mix of dry and liquid, can I get an equivelent dry that will match any liquid they ask for?

Im doing kits now, but (unless im misunderstanding) I see myself taking yeast, dry extract, hops and possibly minor grains as described by others home recipes as my next step in brewing.

thanks for any info
Are you sure you are getting LME AND DME? Maybe you are confusing what you think is DME with what is in reality steeping grains?
 
It doesn't seem that uncommon to see recipes call for both LME and DME. There shouldn't be much trouble converting them to all DME recipes as El P has described. I image that the cans of LME have more varieties of "flavors", but if you're steeping specialty grains, I wouldn't think that would be much of a factor.
 
I'm really curious about this too. I read somewhere that DME was better on acount of the better rate of sugar something or other but that it was just more expensive, so you only used as much as you dared. When I went to get ingredients though I found the LME was much more expensive, although I suspect the store I went to ripped me off. Does anyone know more about this?
 
Of my last 8 extract brews, 6 were DME only. I had read Janx post that he thought it made for a cleaner tasting beer. I have read that for lighter colored beers, DME only beers will be lighter than LME, maybe because LME's supposedly can darken over time.

You'll do fine with DME only.
 
bikebryan said:
Are you sure you are getting LME AND DME? Maybe you are confusing what you think is DME with what is in reality steeping grains?

Some of the kits Ive done have a mix of dry malt powder, liquid malt extract and a small bag of grains I put in a bag and steap up to 160 F.
 
Whatever you use, I HIGHLY recommend you user a lot of the lightest DME (Extra Light) you can find to form your brews then add the darker malts for bocks, stouts, dunkels, etc.

A little bit of the darker stuff goes a long way. :D
 
I've only seen a few "shades" of dry extract. Seems that would make it harder to get the right blend. Although if you also use specialty grains, a large box of the lightest DME would a great savings.

I mainly use DME to boost a wort's gravity, if it comes out a little low. If I'm doing an extract ale, I tend to use LME.
 
david_42 said:
I've only seen a few "shades" of dry extract. Seems that would make it harder to get the right blend. Although if you also use specialty grains, a large box of the lightest DME would a great savings.

I mainly use DME to boost a wort's gravity, if it comes out a little low. If I'm doing an extract ale, I tend to use LME.

But if you move to using extra light DME as your base malt you can buy in bulk and always have it around. :D
 
I've read somewhere (maybe on this forum) that storing DME is a pain. How do you guys store your extract and about how long can you keep it around?
 
I just did a little experiement. The first batch of a recipe called "Yellow Dog" (a nice hoppy pale ale) I used DME. The second LME. The only difference was in the color. The flavor was exactly the same, but the LME turned out a shade darker.
 
Storing DME seems trivial to me.

DME: stored in a plastic ziplock or tupperware at room temp or in the fridge.
LME: stored in an plastic cubitainer in the fridge.

I usually have a big bag of extra light DME on hand for times when I want to prime with it, or (now that I am doing it) for making yeast starters. I have never suspected that my DME is going bad in any way.

I just recently bought a 30lb container of LME, which I will probably use up over the next month or two. I know that one will probably start oxidizing (because I can smell it through it's cubitaner), but I don't know how long it will last.

-walker
 
I have the understanding that DME last for a long time as long as you dont place it in a swampy basement and keep it dry.
I heard LME , like has been said above, gets darker and darker over time.
 
Walker said:
Storing DME seems trivial to me.

DME: stored in a plastic ziplock or tupperware at room temp or in the fridge.
LME: stored in an plastic cubitainer in the fridge.

I usually have a big bag of extra light DME on hand for times when I want to prime with it, or (now that I am doing it) for making yeast starters. I have never suspected that my DME is going bad in any way.

I just recently bought a 30lb container of LME, which I will probably use up over the next month or two. I know that one will probably start oxidizing (because I can smell it through it's cubitaner), but I don't know how long it will last.

-walker

What are the benefits of using LME , it seems DME would be the way to go but all the kits Ive done have had a mix of dry and liquid.
 
the liquid extracts come in more varieties, which is probably by you have kits that use both. they probably contain a very generic DME, and a specially blended LME for additional flavors (like roasted taste, amber colorings, smokey flavors, etc).

you can make any beer with plain old DME or LME and adding your own grains to it for flavor. Or you can buy a pre-tweaked LME and skip the grains.

-walker
 
I store them in the freezer section of the keggerator along with the hops. I keep LME blends around for very malty ales. Williams Brewing has some really nice LME and they come in 6 & 8 lb bags. A bag of light DME is good for growing yeast and boosting gravities.
 
xpoc454 said:
I have the understanding that DME last for a long time as long as you dont place it in a swampy basement and keep it dry.
I heard LME , like has been said above, gets darker and darker over time.

So true.

I still have DME that's 6 years old (in 3 lb bags) as well as 200+ lbs that I use some from weekly.

I dont have a dungeon-type basement so I don't have to worry about bugs and mice etc. Never had a "varmit" problem either. :D

DME should last indefinitely as long as you keep moisture away from it.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
So true.

I still have DME that's 6 years old (in 3 lb bags) as well as 200+ lbs that I use some from weekly.
DME should last indefinitely as long as you keep moisture away from it.

The roaches may take over the world after the bombs drop but it'll be HB99 that'll be supplying the Homebrew to them! 200+lb? REALLY? How long do you expect that to last?
 
wow.... I brew every 1.5 weeks, so that would last me a little over a year if I used it exclusively for every batch.

howm uch did THAT cost?

where's Cheesefood? I might knock my price-per-batch down to under $15 with 200 lbs bulk DME and sub-$10 pounds of hops from online bulk sellers. :D

-walker
 
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