First all grain BIAB - Low OG - should I add DME?

So we did our first All Grain today in our new keggle. Brewed two different beers that had a target of 1.065. Both of them only went to 1.045.

Should I just leave it be or add like a pound of DME to each 5 gallon bucket?


Thanks,
Brian

beamar said:

So we did our first All Grain today in our new keggle. Brewed two different beers that had a target of 1.065. Both of them only went to 1.045.

Should I just leave it be or add like a pound of DME to each 5 gallon bucket?


Thanks,
Brian

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wouldn't hurt

I keep DME on hand for just that reason.

Here are some other options:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2013/01/hitting-exact-original-gravity.html

Do you just add DME strait to the pal or do you boil and add?

beamar said:

Do you just add DME strait to the pal or do you boil and add?

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You'll need to boil it and add it to sanitize it. If you've already pitched your yeast it wouldn't be a bad idea to chill it down prior to adding it. Keep in mind, boiling DME at such a high concentration will intensify the maillard reaction during the boil and could contribute some caramel flavors. Dependent on the style you made, this could be fine or even desired (stout, porter, amber ale, dubbel, etc), but if you're making a very pale beer such as a blonde, it could create some flavor that you wouldn't have otherwise been looking for in the original recipe.

For future use, take gravity readings before you start your boil. It's good practice to do this every brew day to get a feel for your boiloff rate and what to anticipate your gravity change will be. In my case, I can usually expect about a 10 point increase from preboil to post-boil, so if I'm coming up low I will either a) boil longer if I've got enough wort, or b) toss in some DME to make up for the difference. I'm sure Beersmith (as well as other software, likely) has calculators to figure all of this out for you but I haven't used them personally.

beamar said:

Do you just add DME strait to the pal or do you boil and add?

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Boiling it might be safer, but I would just add it dry.
It takes both sugar and water for bacteriological growth and DME only has one of the two. DME is also extremely hydroscopic, so if there is any significant amount of water it would be sticky. Because of the way DME is made the changes of contamination are extremely low if it is still in the manufactures packaging.