Using DME in partial mash

[Elmo Peach]

I am at the end of my beer supplies this year (well last years I guess) I have 3 pounds of DME pils and 4 pounds of 2 row and 1 pound of flaked maze I have Saaz hops 3.4 aa cascade 11 aa

I want to try and ferment in a corny keg I only want 4 gallons of wort so I have room for the head space in keg. Usually make 5 gallon batches of all grain and I ferment in a fermzilla. The beer is brewed on a Brewzilla (not the new one but maybe one day)

I am not sure when to add the DME to the wort. Do I add DME at the start or at the end of mash in for the grain. I am thinking of using 5.5 gallons of water for the total water (3.5 for grain and 2 gallons for DME)

Any advise would be helpful

 

[lumpher]

Do the boil with the normal amount of water for the total wort you're looking for, and add the DME in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil. I'd collect about 4.5 gallons of wort if you want 4 gallons total post-boil, then just pour the dme in in the last few minutes.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, at four gallons fermentation volume, QBrew says that's a 1.067 OG with the ingredients/amounts listed, 1.060 at 4.5 gallons. I would definitely wait to add the DME until the requisite boil off has been nearly accomplished so you don't accidently end up with too much volume to the keg. Add the DME in the last couple of minutes, it doesn't need any more time than that...

Cheers!

 

[madscientist451]

I don’t brew with extract very much, but when I do, it goes in at flameout.

 

[brewSJ]

Just to be a contrarian, I do it at the start of the boil. I don’t make super-light colored beers so I can’t tell if it darkens by 1 SRM or not, but otherwise it makes no real difference.

 

[day_trippr]

There's nothing to be gained by protracted boiling of DME - all that was done when it was created.
But there may be things that can be lost. Like any resemblance of character being boiled off...

Cheers!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

eta: The "darkens by 1 SRM" (reply #5) number comes from a Basic Brewing Radio podcast (Aug 25 2005 / Nov 17 2005).

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There's nothing to be gained by protracted boiling of DME

Which is why many brewers boil for just 60 or 30 minutes.

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"Essentially malt extract is made by mashing and dehydration.".

Not boiled.

Vacuum evaporated.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-malt-extract-is-made/