I am DONE using DME for priming. Never again!

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Tall_Yotie

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First of all, no, not going to go to kegging. Kill that before it rears its head.

So, my father in law kits recipe kits from the local Organic brew shop, and they always have 8oz DME for priming. So I used that as a base for when I bottled a batch. Thing is, I had DME from a different store, and becuase it is a different type of DME, all the bottles are foamers. I have had others that end up under-carbed, becuase I used the organic stuff and calculated for the other kind. Inconsistent carbing is a pain, and doesn't make my brews look well put together. I have no idea what type of DME I am even getting at the stores, and the online calculators ask for the type or AA%.

So thanks DME, but I think corn sugar is now going to be my friend for priming. I doubt that cares where I buy it from or who produced it.

Wanted to share my rant/frustration. Now I feel better!
 
You could always claculate an amount on unferemented wort to add to your bottling bucket to prime as well rather than using DME.

Are you dissolving your DME beofre addingit, or sprinkling it in?

Are you making sure your priming solution and wort are thoroughly mixed (usually the problem with batches that are unevenly carbed).

I have had uneven carbing with dextrose too, again, I don't think my priming solution was mixed well, I learned to stir the wort gently with a spoon and create some turbulence in the bottling pail to better mix things up rather than letting the swirling action of rcking do it.

I have since moved to kegging, no more of those issues, and I can still bottle from the keg.

Regardless, good luck!

Cheers!
 
Not planning on doing the wort thing, not wanting to worry about the storage and I don't mind the dissolving and cooling of priming sugar.

Yes, I dissolve the sugar before adding it, and yes, I make sure the sugar is added uniformly.

I don't have issues of inconsistent carbing from bottle to bottle; it is batch to batch.

The complaint was about the fact that there are two many types of DME out there that makes using a calculator difficult and a lot of guess work. I figure using corn sugar will make life easier, I have always had good results using it before, I just don't always have it on hand for priming. I tend to have DME though because I am set up for starters.
 
Ummm, the potential extract from the various brands of DME are available online. You could, I dunno, look it up and adjust your priming rate based on said information... :drunk:
 
I use both dme and Priming sugar... not a problem with either. Beersmith calculations are pretty right on.
 
Randar said:
Ummm, the potential extract from the various brands of DME are available online. You could, I dunno, look it up and adjust your priming rate based on said information... :drunk:
Click to expand...

I don't want to have to keep referring to that thoguh every time I buy DME, and have to keep everything specifically labeled so when I use it I know what type it is. When the package says "Organic Light DME" it doesn;t give me much to work with. Too much effort than it is worth.

And richbrew99, if I don't know the %AA of my DME then I can't use software or calculators to figure it all out.


Long story short: Different %AA in DME = frustration if you tend to buy it at different places, so corn sugar is the answer for me.
 
Tall_Yotie said:
First of all, no, not going to go to kegging. Kill that before it rears its head.

So, my father in law kits recipe kits from the local Organic brew shop, and they always have 8oz DME for priming. So I used that as a base for when I bottled a batch. Thing is, I had DME from a different store, and becuase it is a different type of DME, all the bottles are foamers. I have had others that end up under-carbed, becuase I used the organic stuff and calculated for the other kind. Inconsistent carbing is a pain, and doesn't make my brews look well put together. I have no idea what type of DME I am even getting at the stores, and the online calculators ask for the type or AA%.

So thanks DME, but I think corn sugar is now going to be my friend for priming. I doubt that cares where I buy it from or who produced it.

Wanted to share my rant/frustration. Now I feel better!
Click to expand...

Although I keg everything these days, I'm with you...used DME once and did not like the results...very small bubbles, different mouth feel and texture...I always use dextrose if I'm not kegging.
 
Tall_Yotie said:
Long story short: Different %AA in DME = frustration if you tend to buy it at different places, so corn sugar is the answer for me.
Click to expand...

Do you buy pre-hopped DME? I know you can buy pre-hopped LME but I didn't know about pre-hopped DME. Anyway, if your DME doesn't specify that it's pre-hopped, then I don't think there's going to be any AA so the value in the calculator should be 0.

I just added 50 pounds of light DME to a test recipe in BeerSmith and didn't get any IBUs from it...
 
I like to boil my priming sugar in the microwave. It is very difficult to do that with DME because it will boil over. I only primed with DME a couple of times.
 
Why does the AA% have anything to do with priming? It doesn't come into play with dextrose? Why is it a factor with DME?
 
Are you measuring by volume or weight? Dme alone shouldn't cause the inconsistencies you are experiencing.

And fwiw, every style has a different carb guideline, your temperature will rarely be exactly the same, and I'm willing to bet that your volume is slightly sufferer with every batch, all causing variations in carb amounts. A calculator really should be used with every batch.
 
So, if you can use table sugar (sucrose) for priming, why would you use ANYTHING else?

Carb tabs? Corn sugar / dextrose? DME? Why make it difficult?

BTW, 2.5 oz works fine for 5g fermented at 65F. Look up the table yourself tho.
 
Schnitzengiggle said:
Why does the AA% have anything to do with priming? It doesn't come into play with dextrose? Why is it a factor with DME?
Click to expand...

If i am using DME, then it does come into effect, becuase the yeast is using a certain part of the stuff to carb. It matters. Look at any DME calculator, you have to call out what type of DME (%AA) it is.

o4_srt said:
Are you measuring by volume or weight? Dme alone shouldn't cause the inconsistencies you are experiencing.

And fwiw, every style has a different carb guideline, your temperature will rarely be exactly the same, and I'm willing to bet that your volume is slightly sufferer with every batch, all causing variations in carb amounts. A calculator really should be used with every batch.
Click to expand...

I measure with a really good scale. From one calculator, for 5g at 68F for 2.4 volume CO2:

Glucose (dextrose or corn sugar) 4.1 oz
Sucrose (table sugar) 3.9 oz
DME 55% AA (eg: Laaglander) 9.5 oz
DME 70% AA (eg: Northwestern) 7.5 oz
DME 75% AA (eg: Munton & Fison) 7.0 oz

So, if I THOUGHT I had 55% but HAD 75%, that is going to be a rather foamy and over carbed beer. That is over priming by almost 40% more sugar than needed.

If my issue was measurement or mixing or the like, I would fix that. It is not.

I don't care for having to label the exact type of DME I have, and as I buy from several sources (I brew in a few counties) and the bags have no labels it is a pain to keep track of.

So yeah, the %AA makes a big difference, and if you don't know it you won't have correctly carbed beer.
 
Tall_Yotie said:
If i am using DME, then it does come into effect, becuase the yeast is using a certain part of the stuff to carb. It matters. Look at any DME calculator, you have to call out what type of DME (%AA) it is.



I measure with a really good scale. From one calculator, for 5g at 68F for 2.4 volume CO2:

Glucose (dextrose or corn sugar) 4.1 oz
Sucrose (table sugar) 3.9 oz
DME 55% AA (eg: Laaglander) 9.5 oz
DME 70% AA (eg: Northwestern) 7.5 oz
DME 75% AA (eg: Munton & Fison) 7.0 oz

So, if I THOUGHT I had 55% but HAD 75%, that is going to be a rather foamy and over carbed beer. That is over priming by almost 40% more sugar than needed.

If my issue was measurement or mixing or the like, I would fix that. It is not.

I don't care for having to label the exact type of DME I have, and as I buy from several sources (I brew in a few counties) and the bags have no labels it is a pain to keep track of.

So yeah, the %AA makes a big difference, and if you don't know it you won't have correctly carbed beer.
Click to expand...


Alpha Acid %, or % Apparent Attenuation, lol

Guess I answered my own question, duh! :eek:
 
Tall_Yotie said:
If i am using DME, then it does come into effect, becuase the yeast is using a certain part of the stuff to carb. It matters. Look at any DME calculator, you have to call out what type of DME (%AA) it is.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you don't know the brand/attenuation potential of the DME you are using either due to unlabeled brands or laziness, then yeah, you are going to have issues.

Is that really all this thread is about? Either buy DME with a traceable %AA or use something else. No need to rant about it.
 
Randar said:
Yeah, if you don't know the brand/attenuation potential of the DME you are using either due to unlabeled brands or laziness, then yeah, you are going to have issues.

Is that really all this thread is about? Either buy DME with a traceable %AA or use something else. No need to rant about it.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is what the post/rant is about.

Unlabeled brands, no %AA mentioned. And yes, I am doing the "use something else" approach now; corn sugar. This is what I have mentioned since the beginning.

I figured if I had a point of frustration with brewing that has changed my process, I may as well share on a forum about home brewing.
 
Ok phew! So the rest of us that use DME that we know the %AA of are fine to continue using DME as we always have without issue.

Glad we cleared that up.

Back to your rantings and ravings about poor general practices, then. Carry on.
 
mrk305 said:
I like to boil my priming sugar in the microwave. It is very difficult to do that with DME because it will boil over. I only primed with DME a couple of times.
Click to expand...

REALLY??!? I never thought of that! How long do you microwave? How much water do you usually use?
 
Randar said:
Ok phew! So the rest of us that use DME that we know the %AA of are fine to continue using DME as we always have without issue.

Glad we cleared that up.

Back to your rantings and ravings about poor general practices, then. Carry on.
Click to expand...

Sorry to seem to bring some drama or what-not to the forum, but why the rudeness and hostility? I did nothing to offend you. Yet you take a smack at me about my practice.

I bought my most recent bag of DME from the organic brew shop where I live. There was no %AA marking on it. Same with the bags of DME I get in the other brew shop I shop at, they are just marked by weight. So tell me where MY practice is poor.

I was tired of inconsistent batches due to not knowing the %AA of my DME as I shop locally (supporting local businesses). I am saying I am switching to a method that does not require such info. I figured I would give a post about it as I was frustrated at having a batch of beer that was way off on carbonation, and having just recently bottled a batch with knowing that the carb level is possibly going to not be where I want it to be as the DME I buy has no info.

I was sharing. I figured this forum was a place to share.

Leave your snide comments to yourself please.
 
Boy, I'd be shocked if there was enough of a variance in fermentability between different brands of DME where that's the cause of the gushers. How certain are you that you didn't bottle prematurely? That's a much more common cause (as is infections, although you didn't mention any off flavors).

The one brand of extract that was always different was Laaglander, but that was very low attenuation (~60%, IIRC) and I don't think it's being sold domestically any more.

But, I've never heard of anyone else complaining about different brands of DME causing a material difference in carbonation, not at the amounts that we're using. I'd be looking into the many other potential issues.

EDIT: Nothing wrong with table sugar, it's cheap and I'll be damned if I can tell a difference versus using DME... but I'd bet the real issue lies elsewhere.
 
the_bird said:
Boy, I'd be shocked if there was enough of a variance in fermentability between different brands of DME where that's the cause of the gushers. How certain are you that you didn't bottle prematurely? That's a much more common cause (as is infections, although you didn't mention any off flavors).

The one brand of extract that was always different was Laaglander, but that was very low attenuation (~60%, IIRC) and I don't think it's being sold domestically any more.

But, I've never heard of anyone else complaining about different brands of DME causing a material difference in carbonation, not at the amounts that we're using. I'd be looking into the many other potential issues.

EDIT: Nothing wrong with table sugar, it's cheap and I'll be damned if I can tell a difference versus using DME... but I'd bet the real issue lies elsewhere.
Click to expand...

The thing is, when I always got my DME from the same place I always had really good consistency. I think however the two types I get are a 55% and a 70% or 75%. When a calculator gives a difference of 2.5oz or so, that is cause for some significant carbonation variations.

And I will admit, part of it is the DME, part perhaps is not precise volume measurement of the beer I am bottling. Though a 5% difference in volume vs 40% priming sugar level is not as significant.

Wasn't a premature bottling, fermentation is well done by the time I bottle up, and the beer tastes great (no infection).

Again, when I moved I started getting stuff from an organic shop that didn't mark, so who knows how good that stuff is.

Long story short, I am going off of DME to make sure I am consistent, but I am not trying to steer other people clear of it. If you know your %AA, then by all means do it!
 
Tall_Yotie said:
Sorry to seem to bring some drama or what-not to the forum, but why the rudeness and hostility? I did nothing to offend you. Yet you take a smack at me about my practice.
Click to expand...

Sorry if it offends you, but it is very plainly related to the controls you place (or in this case, do not place) on your process. You made what turned out to be incorrect assumptions about the ingredients you were using. There are hundreds if not thousands of threads on this site where people rant and rave about certain ingredients or techniques that have caused them issues and swearing them off for this or that reason. Most of the time, it's user error.... A simple word of warning or buyer beware type of caution suffices without the whole "I'll never use DME again!" business.
 

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