DME clumping

My last beer was done outside in the wind and while sprinkling my DME on the wort while stirring I was getting lots of clumps on the spoon and on the side of the pot. I stirred and stirred and got most of them out but there were still clumps while I was boiling. My beer turned out fine but was a little weak in the flavor. Anyone have any tricks to minimize clumping and could this be cause of the weak flavor? I'm sure since I was sprinkling it in some blew away in the wind and the clumps on the spoon and side couldn't help. I did hit my OG and was a little high on my FG

I've basically taken clumping as one of the hazards of using DME, much like requiring one to take the kettle off the flame is a hazard of LME. I usually add DME with a bit of time left in the boil if I can, as that almost always takes care of the majority of the clumps. I haven't found any means of reducing them myself, but I just ignore them .

And no, I can't see how this would've changed the flavor of your beer, especially if you hit your target OG.

Add only 1 to 1-1/2 lbs at a time. Use a whisk to break the clumps up before adding the next portion.

+1 to adding a small amount at a time, back in my extract days i added about 5lbs at once, i ended up scooping it out with a blender and hitting puree... not fun...

When I use DME I put it all in to a SS mixing bowl inside the house before brewing. I add it a pound or two at a time and use my Mix-Stir on a drill (Think of a paint mixer for brewing.) to mix it in before adding more. Once everything is mixed up I can dunk the SS bowl in to the kettle to dissolve any clumps that are leftover in the bowl.

Whisk it in slowly. I don't pour from the bag I first pour DME into a bowl then add a little at a time while whisking. I have a nice large whisk I bought recently too. Never one issue with clumping this way.


Rev.

Isn't whisking asking for hot aeration oxydation? The batch I just did with DME, I stirred it to a fast swirl, then slowly streamed the DME in so it would get taken up by the whirlpool and pulled away from where I was pouring. Worked great.

I splash my wort around with no issues, I'm with the clan that believes HSA is a myth...

MazdaMatt said:

Isn't whisking asking for hot aeration oxydation?

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No, because you are boiling after adding the DME. I boil my DME the full 60 minutes since I didn't see any color difference in an experiment I did. But even those that do late additions are still boiling 10-15 minutes after adding. Done 6 or 7 batches so far whisking in the DME with no problems at all with off flavors. Most others do this too and haven't mentioned any sort of problem. I use this whisk since I needed a long one:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=119124

I have the 15 3/4" one. Pro quality whisk.


Rev.

A lot of recipes I've been doing (and constructing, of late) have at least a portion of the DME added at flameout, so I wouldn't say you're always boiling afterwards. I tend to delay addition as much as possible simply because I brew a lot of hop-forward brews and I want to maximize my extraction. Hell, my last batch I almost forgot to add the damn stuff and ended up doing it *while* chilling. And yeah, that made for worse clumps .

MazdaMatt said:

Isn't whisking asking for hot aeration oxydation?

Click to expand...

HSA is not a problem we as homebrewers need to worry about. So whisk away!

I scoop some wort out, create a slurry with the remaining DME and add it back in at about the 15 minute mark.