Bottling with DME rather than dextrose

I was thinking of priming my Guinness with DME instead of corn sugar, any thoughts? I know it's not Nitrogen ;p But hey, I'll try anything!

I noticed Beer Smith has a priming formula for DME, if you use it what type of DME is best? Pale I guess?

Thanks,

:rockin:

This is an interesting question. I was in an Irish bar in Savannah Ga this weekend and they pulled me a pint of G stout and it foamed heavily, he waited till it went down a little and finished filling the pint. It was the creamiest head on beer I've ever drank, awesome! I was sitting there thinking, "I know that batch of dry Irish stout I have conditioning in the bottle right now that I primed with corn sugar is not gonna be nothing like this. I guess you have to pull with nitrogen to get this kind of head. It was great though!!

As light as you can get, use Briess Pilsen Light DME if you can get it.

I think DME is the best unless you want to save some wort to bottle with that is even better.

Doing this gives the beer a fuller flavor.

Do I just boil the DME like the priming sugar? Should I boil it for longer, like 15 min instead of just a few min?

Thanks!

impatient said:

I think DME is the best unless you want to save some wort to bottle with that is even better.

Doing this gives the beer a fuller flavor.

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old thread bump...

anyone have experience doing this.

how would you calculate the proper amount for priming?

HItransplant said:

old thread bump...

anyone have experience doing this.

how would you calculate the proper amount for priming?

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You can use a calculator or just use 1 1/4 cups for a 5-5.5 gallon batch of typical ale.

if you are talking about the wort, save 3 quarts after the boil and can it in mason jars and refrigerate.
Then, after fermentation is complete check your gravity and then add enough of the savexd wort to up the gravity by .003.

impatient said:

if you are talking about the wort, save 3 quarts after the boil and can it in mason jars and refrigerate.
Then, after fermentation is complete check your gravity and then add enough of the savexd wort to up the gravity by .003.

Click to expand...

ahh.. there it is.

any suggestions on where to look for the math on this. How to brew?

i know Ill be calculating a volume of a certain gravity to increase another volume a certain gravity (.003), but not sure of all the conversions.


thanks guys.

I'm sure there is some math on this somewhere but I have never used it. I only know that 3 quarts will get you close. Add 1 quart at a time so you don't up it too much.

HItransplant said:

ahh.. there it is.

any suggestions on where to look for the math on this. How to brew?

i know Ill be calculating a volume of a certain gravity to increase another volume a certain gravity (.003), but not sure of all the conversions.


thanks guys.

Click to expand...

Just add the 1 1/4 cup in place of the 3/4 cup corn sugar. Saving wort is just a bunch of extra steps of racking, cleaning, sanitizing, and storing a bunch of extra containers, then calculating to try to make sure you get the correct amount to not under or over prime. It will gain you nothing over just priming the regular way but substituting DME in place of Dextrose or table sugar. One of my rules is you should only increase complexity in your process if it is going to improve your final product, otherwise stick with KISS.

brewit2it said:

Just add the 1 1/4 cup in place of the 3/4 cup corn sugar. Saving wort is just a bunch of extra steps of racking, cleaning, sanitizing, and storing a bunch of extra containers, then calculating to try to make sure you get the correct amount to not under or over prime. It will gain you nothing over just priming the regular way but substituting DME in place of Dextrose or table sugar. One of my rules is you should only increase complexity in your process if it is going to improve your final product, otherwise stick with KISS.

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wouldnt the amount of wort depend on the gravity of said wort?

I agree.. I just suspect Ill have some extra wort on this next batch so I thought.. "waste not, want not."

Im right there with you on the KISS principle... Last night I did a mini mash for starter wort (3 x 1L starters), because I figured I could make some extra and save it (plus its cheaper).... yeah, it was kind of a nightmare. Next time, I will just pay the few extra bucks and use DME.

Krausening does change the final product. Gives the a beer a MUCH smoother finish. You really notice it on a big beer. And I don't get what you mean by extra work. Putting 3 quarts of wort in self sealing mason jars and take a couple extra reading out of secondary is no big deal.

impatient said:

Krausening does change the final product. Gives the a beer a MUCH smoother finish. You really notice it on a big beer. And I don't get what you mean by extra work. Putting 3 quarts of wort in self sealing mason jars and take a couple extra reading out of secondary is no big deal.

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Every extra step is a big deal to me. Thats why I do single infusion mash in a bag partial mash brewing, don't use a secondary, do Keg as much as possible (only have 2 kegs currently), use dry yeast (no starter). Like most of us I'm damn busy so need to make my process as simple as possible and I'm pretty happy where I am now with it.

I found going from extract and steeped grains to partial mash improved my quality significantly so it's worth the extra effort. Kegging is the only thing I've found in brewing that both saves time, and improves the quality/enjoyability of the final product.

I have nothing against Krausening. I'm sure it makes damn fine beer but it definitely adds complexity so I would say for most home brewers who bottle, just priming with sugar (or DME is they want to be purely all malt) is the way to go.

I have used nothing but DME to bottle, 1 1/4 cups or 6 ounces per 5 gallon batch.
That is what my LHBS suggests.