Picked up LME instead of DME - What now?

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bmckee56

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I was at the LHBS and had my ingredient list with me but grabbed the wrong stuff for a Blonde Ale. I picked up a 3.3lb can of Muntons Extra Light LME instead of DME. I want the Ale to come out light and I am concerned about adding LME instead of the DME. Here is the basic Extract Recipe:

3lb Extra Light DME
1lb Rice Syrup Solids
1lb Light Honey
1.75HBU Mt. Hood (Bittering)
1/2oz Mt. Hood (Aroma)
1tsp. Yeast Nutrient
1 Wirlock Tablet
White Labs German Ale / Kolsch Ale Yeast

First off, is there a conversion for using LME instead of DME? I seem to remember in one of my reference books that there is.

The recipe calls for boiling the bittering hops for 30 minutes in 1 1/2 gallons of water and removing the brew pot from the heat, then adding the malt and rice extracts and bring it up to a simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the yeast nutrient and whirlock tablet along with the finishing hops and honey and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Cool the wort and top up with water to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast.

Since no significant boiling is going to occur after adding the malt extract, will I have a problem using LME and still maintaining a light color? Aslo, using the above mentioned yeast, would you suggest allowing this brew to sit at low temperatures (50 - 55) in the secondary for a few weeks after transfering from the primary?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Salute! :mug:
 
It won't likely be as light as it would have been with DME, especially if the can is older but you can lighten it by adding half the DME at the beginning of the boil and the other half at about 10 minutes left to the boil.

:tank:
 
Actually based upon the recipe, there is no actual boiling of the malt (25 minutes of simmering). I was understanding that carmelization occurs when the sugars break down and get to the bottom of the pot during boiling and since I am not actually boiling the wort but simmering for 25 minutes would this not keep Carmelization to a minimum.

I am thinking maybe I should hold onto the LME and go back for the DME that the recipe calls for.

Question: Will simmering the wort actually sterilize it if done for 25 minutes?

This is causing me some concern! Simmering! HELP!

Salute! :mug:
 
Yes simmering is still technically a boil. However, beyond that, I am out of my depth. I have never done a "can kit." All of my LME experience comes from boiling it with hops. I prefer DME to LME simply because it's easier to work with and I never have had the problem with color.

:tank:
 
Well I dont use LME much. I use DME when doing partial mashes.
Your question about the 50-55 degrees in the secondary...hey why not it wont hurt it.
I would let the brew sit at a temp of 64-68 degrees for 10 days. I would then drop the temp down to 50 degrees for another 3 weeks. Then move the brew to a secondary for another week still at 50 degrees. Your looking at a little over 5 weeks before you bottle.

Thats just my opinion, that it as it comes...good luck :)
 
1 lb LME is equal to .8 lb DME

You be short of fermentables if you based your recipe on DME.

Carmelization doesn't happen in the boil as you need oxygen to carmelize the sugars. You can scorch the extract on the bottom of the kettle, however.
 
Interesting...I thought all you needed to caramelize wort was for it to touch a hot surface and have a steady flow. I know that caramelization can happen during a boil based on the Wee Heavy I did a few months ago that I boiled for a total of three hours.

:tank:
 
OK, I'm hijacking the forum a little bit, but why do people seem to prefer DME? Is it just the higher concentration per pound of fermentables? I find the liquid easier to work with.


Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.
 
OK, I'm hijacking the forum a little bit, but why do people seem to prefer DME? Is it just the higher concentration per pound of fermentables? I find the liquid easier to work with.


Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.

For me, it's taste. I swear I can taste the extract in a beer made with LME. I've tried using the freshest available, and I can still taste a hint of the extract. I've used LME, though, when certain specialty items weren't available- like pilsner extract only comes in LME, not DME.
 
Okay, so obviously I am short on LME if original recipe called for DME. That's ok because I have some DME Light, left over from another recipe and I can make it up. So I figure I need to add approximately 0.3lb of DME to make up the difference, (Right?) if my LME is 3.3lbs. Can I add an even 1/2lb without any problems?

Yooper: I am getting a few kits using extract under my belt, but I may switch over to all DME recipes if that be the case with taste perception.

Last Question (Yeah Right): I have some Crystal, Cascade, Mt. Hood and Saaz hops available. If I wanted to dry hop this a bit, what might you all suggest as the better hop addition? Is dry hopping advisable for a Blonde Ale?

Thanks again for all the advice.

Salute! :mug:
 
Okay, so obviously I am short on LME if original recipe called for DME. That's ok because I have some DME Light, left over from another recipe and I can make it up. So I figure I need to add approximately 0.3lb of DME to make up the difference, (Right?) if my LME is 3.3lbs. Can I add an even 1/2lb without any problems?

Yooper: I am getting a few kits using extract under my belt, but I may switch over to all DME recipes if that be the case with taste perception.

Last Question (Yeah Right): I have some Crystal, Cascade, Mt. Hood and Saaz hops available. If I wanted to dry hop this a bit, what might you all suggest as the better hop addition? Is dry hopping advisable for a Blonde Ale?

Thanks again for all the advice.

Salute! :mug:

Wow- I can't do math right now. I drink you know. But, if you sub DME for LME, it's about 3 pounds DME= 3.5 pounds LME. If you post the recipe, I can double check and make sure (using Beersmith, not math!) it's right.

Blondes usually have little to no hops flavor/aroma. I like hops, though. so my advice is "why not?" if you don't have any BMC drinkers partaking. I love saaz hops, as they are "clean" tasting. I use them in my Dead Guy recipe, and in my cream ale recipe. Not as dry hops, but as finishing hops. Not cascade- dryhopping with it is awesome, but screams "hoppiness" and is better in a pale ale.
 
Interesting...I thought all you needed to caramelize wort was for it to touch a hot surface and have a steady flow. I know that caramelization can happen during a boil based on the Wee Heavy I did a few months ago that I boiled for a total of three hours.

:tank:

:off:

You may have had maillard reactions that you thought were caramelization but I'm pretty certain that it wasn't caramelizaton. For one, you need oxygen to caramelize as caramelization is an oxidation of sugars at certain temperatures.

Temperature required is the other gotcha in a boil caramelizing the wort. Most sugars caramelize at temperatures above 320*F. Easy to achieve if you reduce the first runnings and boil down to a caramel sugar syrup but fairly impossible to achieve in a full volume boil.

:mug:
 
:off:

You may have had maillard reactions that you thought were caramelization but I'm pretty certain that it wasn't caramelizaton. For one, you need oxygen to caramelize as caramelization is an oxidation of sugars at certain temperatures.

Temperature required is the other gotcha in a boil caramelizing the wort. Most sugars caramelize at temperatures above 320*F. Easy to achieve if you reduce the first runnings and boil down to a caramel sugar syrup but fairly impossible to achieve in a full volume boil.

:mug:

Not off topic at all. I appreciate the input.

Salute! :mug:
 
:off:

You may have had maillard reactions that you thought were caramelization but I'm pretty certain that it wasn't caramelizaton. For one, you need oxygen to caramelize as caramelization is an oxidation of sugars at certain temperatures.

Temperature required is the other gotcha in a boil caramelizing the wort. Most sugars caramelize at temperatures above 320*F. Easy to achieve if you reduce the first runnings and boil down to a caramel sugar syrup but fairly impossible to achieve in a full volume boil.

:mug:

If I hadn't used beano I would have been stuck at 1.040 down from 1.110. Can maillard reactions cause that much of the wort to be unfermentable like caramelization would?

:tank:
 
If I hadn't used beano I would have been stuck at 1.040 down from 1.110. Can maillard reactions cause that much of the wort to be unfermentable like caramelization would?

:tank:

That I don't know. If 8 degrees in a mash can make a huge difference in fermentability, I'm sure mailard browning reactions could make a difference.

Anyway, some caramel or burn sugars are fermentable. Rum is fermented from molasses and that's just cooked cane sugars.
 
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