LME vs DME

Well , I've just joined the forum. I'm new to the business of brewing my own beer. I've made three extract kits and will be starting the fourth which is a pumpkin ale. I'm wondering when making your own recipe do you use dry malt extract or liquid malt extract. I have a very well stocked home brew store here. I want to come up with my own recipes. Are there books to understand the affects of certain adds or is it trial and error? What about the different grains? Thanks in advance.

 

Pros and cons of LME and DME are listed here. You'll find people who use both with great results and people who use both with poor results.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/vs-pro-con-analysis-109318/#post1206306

 

Hard to answer - do what I did. Read LOTS here on HBT and you'll learn tonnes. Use the search for things you're not sure of.

B

 

John Palmer's How to Brew is a great resporce. It will give you a good description of every component of the brew, differences between and descriptions of malts, grains, extracts and hops. It is a go-to book for almost any question, especially as you get started. It's available online as well, for free - just do a search. It has suggested maximum percentages for many specialty grains and adjuncts, which are very helpful.

There are other threads on here about LME vs. DME and while you'll see a lot of different opinions, it just comes down to personal preference. As long as you are converting correctly when exchanging between the two, there really isn't a noticable difference. The one significant advantage of DME is a longer and more stable shelf life.

 

Mostly it is personal preference, including this idea - mixing lme+dme because usually lme is sold in 3.3lb cans. This is 5 gal of beer gives you about 24 points/can/batch... if you want 40 points/batch, you then add some DME which usually can be found in 1 lb bags. So basically mixing alows you to get to a given OG that you want to get to. Other than that, read the sticky for why one is better than the other.

some presold kits include both for this reason - getting to specific gravity