Pale malt extract vs. Light malt extract

Hey everyone,

I'm looking at ingredients for an extract wheat beer. I've brewed my first, and its still in the fermenter, but at the moment it looks a little darker than I want (I'm reserving complete judgment of color until bottling day). I want to use dry malt extract for the next one to lighten up the color a bit (used two 3.3 lb cans of wheat LME for this one). Was thinking of a combination between Wheat and Pale extracts. My question (may be a dumb one) is, is light DME pretty much equivalent (ingredients-wise) to pale LME? I see wheat malt and pale malt both as ingredients in a lot of all grain wheat recipes, so that's where I'm coming from there. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!!!

You just need to find some wheat extract. Briess wheat LME should be fine if you can find a supplier that buys in bulk and has a good turn around. I believe their wheat is made with wheat and 2-row which will provide a lighter color then someone like Muntons that uses wheat and pale malt. Plus Briess isn't imported and more likely to be fresher.

I used Briess wheat LME, and it looks much darker than what I think it should be. Thats why I wanted to use a combination of wheat and pale (both DME, I've read those turn out a bit lighter than syrup... plus the syrup was kind of a pain to deal with). Just wondering if Light DME is similar to pale LME.

Quick answer: Yes

Long answer:
The difference is in potential. DME is more concentrated than LME. You need less DME in a recipe.

I've used both as a sub for base malt in partial mash recipes. I get whatever is cheaper. Although I think DME is a good call unless you know the LME is fresh.

Wheat beers are rarely (never?) 100% wheat, so def. a combo is a good idea. Look at some successful recipes and go from there (if its AG, replace 2 row with the light/extra light DME and wheat with the wheat DME).

Finally, if darkness is a problem (and particularly if you don't do a full wort boil) consider adding a large proportion of the extract in the last 10-15 of the boil. Unlike AG, you don't need the full boil time with extract since the malsters have done that. A quick sterilization will do. This reduces caramelization and darkening, especially in thick worts.

... it will also affect your hop utilization, so you'd need to factor that in.

I believe Briess Wheat DME & LME is not 100% wheat btw., for example.

It's 65% Wheat / 35% Barley.

Source: http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Products/Malt_Extracts.htm#BavarianWheat