When to add DME?

[BW210]

Getting ready to brew another batch this weekend and using up stuff I have... no grain this time, all DME.

I keep reading you shouldn't add to the beginning boil and others who say it doesn't matter.

I'm going to use 3 different kinds of DME and total of 7#.

When do you advise to add to wort and should I schedule it?

 

[frazier]

It depends. Are you doing a full boil or partial? Lots of hops or a little?

If it's a partial boil, I would add half the DME at the start (prior to actual boiling); then add the rest with about 15 minutes left. This will keep your hopping rates more or less the same as expected.

Don't dump the DME into a boiling wort - turn the flame off and stir it in, then resume boiling. This reduces the risk of boil-overs and scorching.

 

[HopHeadGrady]

I usually put in about .5kg for my hop boil and then the rest of the dme at the end. This is done just to keep hop utilization in check. As gravity rises, hop utilization decreases. Rule of thumb is boil with some, not all, then add the rest at the end. The amounts depend on your recipe etc.

 

[BW210]

Here is what I'm planning after playing around on Hopville:

malt & fermentables
% LB OZ Malt or Fermentable ppg °L
50% 4 0 Muntons Plain Light DME 44 5 ~
38% 3 0 Muntons Plain Dark DME 44 60 ~
13% 1 0 Muntons Wheat DME 44 3 ~
8 0
Batch size: 5.0 gallons


Original Gravity
1.071 / 17.3° Plato
(1.063 to 1.074)
Final Gravity
1.017 / 4.3° Plato
(1.014 to 1.018)
Color
19° SRM / 37° EBC
(Light Brown to Medium Brown)

hops
use time oz variety form aa
boil 60 mins 1.0 Amarillo pellet 7.0
boil 30 mins 1.0 Centennial pellet 10.0
boil 15 mins 1.0 Citra pellet 11.0
boil 1 min 2.0 Citra pellet 11.0 **or** 1 oz @ flameout and 1oz dry hopped @ 3 weeks
Boil: 2.5 avg gallons for 60 minutes


Bitterness
35.6 IBU / 7 HBU
ƒ: Tinseth
BU:GU
0.50

yeast
California Ale
ale yeast in liquid form with high flocculation and 77% attenuation


Alcohol
7.2% ABV / 6% ABW
Calories
234 per 12 oz.

 

[unionrdr]

I use 1.5-2lbs plain DME in the boil for hop additions. The rest at the end. Keeps the color lighter,& cleaner flavor.

 

[BW210]

Thanks for the reply's. So with the heavy addition of hops at the end, should I finish the hop schedule first and them add the rest of DME or doesn't it matter since it will be at flameout?

Thanks again.

 

[unionrdr]

By flame out,I'm done with my hop additions,so I add the remaining extracts then. It's still plenty hot enough to mix/pasteurize them at that point in a few minutes.

 

[Brewcrew86]

Today will be my first time using Dme. I usually use lme. After reading many past threads about adding Dme, I was going to steep my grains in about 1 gallon of water, after steeping my grains for 20 min turn off the heat, take out the grains, add the rest of my water (full boil), add the Dme and stir until mixed, then turn the heat back on for the 60 minute boil.

Never done it but I'm going to try it this way. I'm noob so you can either use it or take it with a grain of salt. Either way...good luck!

 

[unionrdr]

I like to get through the hot break 1st,then add the DME. No need to turn off the heat,since DME doesn't go straight to the bottom like LME syrup does. Just start stirring while adding the DME. That's worked great for me,& I've been doing that since my 2nd brew. DME is great for boils.

 

[Brewcrew86]

Thanks for the input uniondr. I will definitely use and abuse it!

 

[BW210]

I brewed the above brew last night. I started with 3# of dark malt extract and followed the hop schedule. I added the rest at flameout, dumped into 2.5 gallons worth of filtered water ice and topped off to 5.5 gallons. Had a nice medium caramel color and had strong notes of a grapefruit flower... what I was kinda working towards. I could notice the hop aroma much stronger than previous brews, even partial grain steeps.

I missed my original gravity of expected 1.071 and hit 1.082? Could this be because I used a 1 liter starter of washed yeast? I started with a weak washed WLP California Ale in a mason jar and feed it 1 tablespoon of white sugar twice a day for 5 days, cold crashed, decanted and repackaged in a small 1/2 pint jar. Pulled out to warm to room temp and started a 1/4 cup of DME and 3/4 cup water. Boiled for 5 minutes, cooled to room temp and added washed yeast. I shook/swirled every time I passed it and was about 30 hours old when I pitched it.

Wanted to say thanks again for the above reply's.

After 8 hours, all I can say was wow... the yeast activity was crazy. By far the fastest and strongest action I have seen.

I really like the fact I used the washed yeast and saved $10 on this brew. I'm going to have to convert to all grain if I like it as much as I think because it cost $55 in ingredients without the yeast. Doesn't matter this time around, I wanted to do a very strong hop schedule to see what changes I could detect. I think it's going to be great.

I'm going to dryhop with 1oz of citra after stable fermentation (3-4 weeks) for 1 week then bottle. I'm thinking of jumping up to 6 oz of corn sugar instead of the normal 5 oz I have been using to increase carbonation.

Here it is today sitting in 64 degrees climate in the basement. Note to others... if you lose the carboy plug in the wort like I did, you can use a turkey baster wand with o rings and blowoff hose setup(best I could come up with at 11:00 last night). Best of all, I got to drink my first brew of APA which was almost 7 weeks old. After 1 week in the fridge, it was still cloudy, but great taste, carbonation and strong lacing(correct term?).

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds wierd that it was still cloudy with 2 weeks of fridge time. Did you use a low to medium flocculation yeast or something?

 

[BW210]

Sounds wierd that it was still cloudy with 2 weeks of fridge time. Did you use a low to medium flocculation yeast or something?

I used a new vile of WLB001 California ale.

Should edit the above since I can't read the calendar... 1 week in frig.

 

[unionrdr]

Midwest says it's medium flocculation with high attenuation & high ABV tolerance. So it seems like it needs some help clearing up. Maybe a little sur-jell in a secondary?...

 

[BW210]

Midwest says it's medium flocculation with high attenuation & high ABV tolerance. So it seems like it needs some help clearing up. Maybe a little sur-jell in a secondary?...

I'm going to wait 1 week and throw another 6er in the fridge for another week and see if it clears up at 9 weeks. If it doesn't, I'll have to address this as I most likely will brew APA again.

I'm going to use a secondary for the first time with the above brew when dry hopping. Can I add sur-jell at this point in a month or so if my APA's don't clear up? Using the same yeast.

 

[unionrdr]

I think it'd be best to use the sur-jell to clear it & settle out right before dry hopping. It'd preserve more hop flavor that way.

 

[BW210]

I think it'd be best to use the sur-jell to clear it & settle out right before dry hopping. It'd preserve more hop flavor that way.

So your saying rack to a secondary with sur-jel, wait maybe a day or two and add then dry hop? Or add sur-jel to primary day or two before racking to secondary and dry hop? Appreciate all your help.

 

[unionrdr]

Rack to secondary,let sur-jell work for a day or two. Then dry hop 1 week.

 

[BW210]

Rack to secondary,let sur-jell work for a day or two. Then dry hop 1 week.

Fantastic. I can't thank you enough for your help. This forum is Awesome!