Buying bulk LME with my own container

[TripleC223]

My LHBS sells bulk LME if you fill your own container. I wouldn't want to buy more LME than for one batch at a time (5-7 gallons), but at $2.69/lb. (vs ~$12 for a 3.3 lb Briess container, or $14 for 3 lbs DME) I could save several dollars per batch.

A couple questions for those of you who have done it...

Would a standard 64 oz growler work as a container? How many pounds of LME would that hold?

How should I go about sanitizing the container before I get it to the store? Just soak it in starsan?

What are the risks, and how long would it keep?

 

[jerbrew]

Food grade bucket with a "tight as possible" lid. When I did extract it was you could buy a simple plastic container with a screw cap for $2 but if you came back with it it was not just that you didn't have to buy it he gave you a buck off so that was cool.

Anyways, a plastic 3 gallon food grade bucket would do. Making sure its clean would be my biggest concern, as in no gunk caked in the bottom. I think a growler might be harder to keep clean but could work. As for keeping time, if its not hard or time consuming for you to get to the LHBS then try and keep it as short a time as possible if all that gets you the discount is "your own container". Just to make sure if something tastes weird/off about a brew you're not introducing a new variable like "time my LME stuck around in my cabinet or fridge".

 

[kh54s10]

Water is 8.34 pounds per US gallon. LME would weigh just a little more. If you are going to use it right away I would use milk jugs. The thin plastic would allow you to soak in warm water to loosen it up some for pouring. Sanitize with Starsan.

 

[JBone120]

You could also consider DME as it is usually cheaper. I keep mine in an air-tight glass jar, the kind with the rubber gasket and latch on the side to hold the top down (something like this: http://www.target.com/p/bormioli-ro...4923?lnk=rec|slp|search_bought|slp|14954923|0). With DMA you just need to make sure the jar is completely dry before you put it in, so wash well-enough in advance, or get ridiculous and hit it with a hair dryer (I've actually done that). I have kept my DME that way for months with no off flavors, smells, color or anything that I can see.

I wouldn't think you really need to sanitize since you would be boiling the wort.

 

[ong]

I use quart mason jars. Two of them hold around 5.5 lbs of LME. That would be what your growler would hold, as well.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Baking Molasses is shipped / distributed in 5 gallon food grade buckets.

And food grade plastic buckets to be had for free @ your nearest Publix Bakery or equivalent, 3 gallon approx. size, held frosting........

 

[ong]

You could also consider DME as it is usually cheaper.

LME is significantly cheaper than DME everywhere I've ever shopped, even given the higher sugar content of DME/lb.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

LME is significantly cheaper than DME everywhere I've ever shopped, even given the higher sugar content of DME/lb.

Concur, since less labor to manufacture.

Usable stuff as well!

 

[IslandLizard]

One of my two LHBS here fills LME into a heavy duty plastic bag closed with a ziptie. It then gets double bagged and placed into a cardboard box for transport. You could fill a few bags and place into a bucket for transport and to keep them in if you don't brew with them immediately. Keep cool and they will last a few weeks. If refrigerated, even longer, perhaps up to 2 months, and will be fresher.

As long as the LME you buy is fresh, it's a good substitute for DME. If that barrel sits there in his shop for 2 months, maybe not so.

 

[JBone120]

LME is significantly cheaper than DME everywhere I've ever shopped, even given the higher sugar content of DME/lb.

You may be right... where I typically shop the cost difference is about $1, but you use less DME than LME, so maybe the cost just balances out in the end.

 

[TripleC223]

I'm not sure how long their bulk LME has been on the shelf. May be best to avoid the risk of old LME by going with the prepackaged 3.3 lbs.

 

[Steveruch]

...
Would a standard 64 oz growler work as a container?

Wouldn't it be a real pain in the arse getting LME into and out of a growler?

 

[mj1angier]

I'm not sure how long their bulk LME has been on the shelf. May be best to avoid the risk of old LME by going with the prepackaged 3.3 lbs.

It is still a crap shoot. The pre-packed stuff may have been packed a year ago....

If your local place does a high volume of bis, then the chances are good that it has turned over the product fast, especially on the most common malts. But if it is a place where there is more dust than customers, then you might be better off ordering on line from one of the bigger guys who are turning over stuff faster.

But in the end, unless something is really bad with it, you will still make beer.

 

[mj1angier]

Wouldn't it be a real pain in the arse getting LME into and out of a growler?

My thought too. I would rather use some heavy zip lock bags and a box.