Briess Pilsen Liquid Malt Extract (33 lb. pail)

I'm looking to buy some bulk malt extract, but i only brew ale... can i use Briess Pilsen Liquid Malt Extract (33 lb. pail) for ales? if not, could someone direct me to some bulk extract that i could use for ale? midwest only has the pilsen and Briess Golden Light in bulk...thanks!

Pils extract will work fine for any kind of beer.

groovy-thanks!

One thing: how fast are you planning on using the LME? LME gets stale rather quickly, and it's generally recommended to buy DME when buying in bulk.

probably not that fast... maybe using 6 10lb batches over a couple of months... but i've just been reading about biab... i might start going that way...

jbrookeiv said:

One thing: how fast are you planning on using the LME? LME gets stale rather quickly, and it's generally recommended to buy DME when buying in bulk.

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I agree. LME is definitely better than DME when it's fresh, but gets a lot worse than DME when it's stale. I think stale LME is responsible for a lot of bad "homebrew" flavor. DME isn't quite as good when fresh, but it's a lot more stable.

I find it hard to believe that LME can go stale very easily period,
much less faster than DME. It's just a concentrated sugar solution
with some other proteins from the barley that may darken with time
but that's about it. Staling occurs in finished beer due to reactions
with oxygen and because of the acidic pH, and most if not all of
the substances responsible are derived from yeast and hops. I've
made great beer with canned LME that was years old. There are so
many things a homebrewer can do wrong to make poor beer that
blaming the old extract just seems silly to me.

Ray

I partial mash, and use Briess Pils LME. I've never noticed a problem with it, It generally takes about 3 to 4 months to go through a 33 lb container.

I always check the date of the container to ensure I get the freshest possible. The date is not obvious; on the underside of the container (stamped into the plastic) is a dial with the year and an arrow pointing to the month. If you are buying on-line, you obviously don't have the option to check.

The Golden light is also acceptable for ales. The Pils is 2L, while the Golden Light is 4L. The Golden light has a little more malty flavor.

Quick question: how do you handle measuring LME? Doesn't it create a big sticky mess? I would think it's a huge pain to deal with.

I buy my extract per batch right now, mainly because of this. I'd love to buy in bulk and save some money.

hey crookedtail, where do you get your supplies? brewstore in northport or islip?

Those 33-lb containers are a great deal! Cost less than half at retail per pound than the 3.3 gal cans, and are just a tiny bit more expensive than the larger bulk quantities (carboys and drums).

jonstewartstwin said:

hey crookedtail, where do you get your supplies? brewstore in northport or islip?

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I buy equipment from Arbor (Islip). I've been to both places though. For ingredients I usually buy online. It's cheaper and much more fresh.

I see you live in Patchogue. So do I!

Good thing I have a buddy that works at Briess.. Fresh and Free...

if you live in patchogue, i'll c u at daves bellport beer!! (altho i only go there now when i'm between batches!) i've never been to northport, but i like the guys at arbor... i'm just trying to sort out where to get ingredients cheepest...

@CrookedTail I use the 33lb LME and the easiest way I find to use it is by first warming it to 175 degrees Fahrenheit in a turkey fryer suspending it by the handle across the top of the fryer with a cut off broom handle so the bottom of the plastic container doesn't sit on the bottom of the fryer and against the direct heat. I add just enough water to cover the LME inside the container. While it warms in the water bath, I use an empty wine bottle and measure that weight on a kitchen scale along with the weight of the funnel and then calculate the total weight needed to get 3.3 pounds of malt in the wine bottle. Once the LME is warmed to 175, you will find it pours much easier and neater into the temp holding container until you are ready to add it to your wort. I tend to re-heat it again prior to adding it to the wort and I use wine bottle since they can handle the hot wort being poured into the bottle to get any residual LME left in the bottle. Don't forget to the the remaining LME in the container back into the fridge or you will find mold growing in it in no time at all.

rayg said:

I find it hard to believe that LME can go stale very easily period,
much less faster than DME. It's just a concentrated sugar solution
with some other proteins from the barley that may darken with time
but that's about it. Staling occurs in finished beer due to reactions
with oxygen and because of the acidic pH, and most if not all of
the substances responsible are derived from yeast and hops. I've
made great beer with canned LME that was years old. There are so
many things a homebrewer can do wrong to make poor beer that
blaming the old extract just seems silly to me.

Ray

Click to expand...

According to Bob Hansen, technical services manager of Briess Malt & Ingredients Company, LME does get staler much faster than DME. He went through the malting and extraction process in great detail in a couple of interviews on Basic Brewing radio podcasts and says that the day they are made they are exactly the same. From that day forward the LME will deteriorate much more quickly. He recommends always using DME if you're not absolutely sure the LME is very fresh.

Liquid malt extract is a food product containing no preservatives. Yes, canned food will last quite a while, but even it will go bad after some period of time. Once you open the can that period of time is very short. DME is the same thing, but dried. Dried stuff lasts a lot longer than wet stuff. Just look in your kitchen pantry. You can still use the salt and sugar months after they've been opened. You're probably not going to want to use that leftover can of beans months after it's been opened.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/radio/mp3/bbr08-18-05.mp3

http://www.basicbrewing.com/radio/mp3/bbr08-25-05.mp3

I have been looking for a place to buy bulk DME at a reasonable price. Does anyone have any recommendations?