why do many recipes call for both DME and LME?

[rhys333]

I notice that many recipes call for both dry and liquid extract, though don't understand the reason for this. Why not just go with one or the other, rather than both? John Palmer includes both in his recipes, so I'm guessing there's a good reason behind it. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

 

[boydster]

With extract recipes, I don't like using LME until flameout. DME is much easier to mix in without worrying about scorching. Some extracts only come in liquid, though, so if I want to use some Maris Otter extract (only liquid available), I use some light DME at the beginning of the boil and add the MO at the end.

 

[CraptainWirtz]

Two reasons I can think of:
1: to hit a certain OG, it's easier to use, for example, a single can or bag of LME at a pre-measured 3-4 pounds plus weigh 1.5 pounds of DME than it would be to weigh out the equivalent amount of LME (~1.8 pounds?).
2: some people say DME doesn't caramelize/Maillard-ize as easily as LME, so you might add DME at the beginning of the boil and then it would be easy to dump a pre-measured can of LME in at the end of the boil.

 

[RM-MN]

My local store has LME in cans. That means I can buy 3.3 lbs. or 6.6 lbs or 9.9lbs but not 7.5. With that option, I buy 2 cans and a bag of DME to make the proper OG.

 

[Queequeg]

Yeah I never got this, unless you want a particular grain type, then DME as fall as I can tell is better than LME.

 

[unionrdr]

I have recipes that use both,where the LME is a Cooper's can. I use plain DME in the boil,as I've found it doesn't succumb to mallard reactions as readily as LME does. So in 2.5-3.5 gallons of spring water,I use 2 lbs of DME for hop additions. Adding the remaining DME & all LME at flame out. Since the wort is boiling hot yet,quickly stir in the remaining extracts,cover & let stand a couple minutes. Since pasteurization happens in seconds @ 160F,it works great.

 

[arbiadya]

Being very new to home brewing I was thinking about the same thing as well for quite a while. I finally decided to contact one of the recipe kit manufacturer directly and pitched them the same question. Their response was - to reduce the weight of the kit, make the kit cheaper and to aid in packaging of the kit. They clarified that LME and DME will not provide any difference in the beer taste, quality etc. However, LME is cheaper than DME since DME is the byproduct of addtional spray drying process that LME has to go through. LME also weighs more for an equivalent DME portion since it contains water. So, inorder to balance the price of the kit along with the weight, they prefer providing the kits with DME and LME.

So to all the noobs out there, DME and LME are essentially the same, except for their physical appearance and form (and price and weight ) !