Coopers Kit with DME

[ebpaschal]

Hi guys,
I'm going to start my second batch of beer tomorrow and went to my LHBS today. My first batch was good but wanted to improve it by changing a few things and seeing how the two batches differed (they are both the coopers real ale kits).
They sold me a 2 lb bag of light DME to use with the coopers kit. Can I use all of this during the boil (and save a little bit for bottling), and not use dextrose? The coopers real ale kit is 3.75 lbs. The salesguy made it sound like I do not need dextrose and could use just the DME and be fine. Also, I'm using .5 lbs of crystal malt.
Any suggestions? Should I go back and get a little dextrose? What amount of DME should I use?
Sorry for the noob question but I couldn't find the answer searching!
Thanks!
-Ben

 

[boo boo]

It would all depend on how high a gravity you want in your beer. Just using that kit will make a weak beer IMO, so you probably should use the DME to bump up your gravity.
Use the proper amount of dextrose to prime your finished beer with.

 

[ebpaschal]

great I appreciate it, that means I can go ahead and start tomorrow!

 

[boo boo]

Do you take hydrometer readings?

Years ago when I did canned kits, I had to add DME to get up to a reasonable gravity so my beer wouldn't taste watery.

From the look of it you will need all the 2 # of DME plus your kit and the steeped crystal to get a 1040 ish beer.

 

[ebpaschal]

yes i do take hydrometer readings. thanks for the input. I will use 2 pounds and use dextrose for bottling