A Great deal (hopefully) / LME NEVER AGAIN!!!

[cheezydemon3]

So, in my LHBS, buying ingredients for 3 PM brews....6 lbs DME slated for each brew, so 6 3lb bags at $14/piece = $84


(I use only pale DME ,no amber, dark, etc. and whatever specialty grains and generally 1 lb of base malt)

Little German lady says "OH!!!! I Have BIG LME I need get rid uv!!"

33lbs of Briess "Golden Growler" LME....."For you...$80....no....$60....no.... $50!"

*briefest of mental calculations.......*

"SOLD!!"

However.....dumping 1/3 of this bitch into the pot SUCKED. LME SUCKS.

Never again.

Re-calculating my recipes (after brewing ) and I see that a mysterious "I" goes in front of 2 of the brews and the name of the third changed entirely.

My pumpkin ale became an IMPERIAL pumpkin ale, My orange Ale.....you get the idea....Imperial pumpkin ale, and my APA? My APA became an English Barleywine.

SO....good deal, but LME sucks.

In 3 weeks I will have 9%ABV brews on tap......and nothing else

 

[krackin]

At least you will be all set for cold holiday season.

 

[kh54s10]

I agree that LME sucks but not for the same reason. I dislike it because it is such a pain to work with and not scorch.

Your problem was that you used it improperly. It is not a 1 for 1 exchange with DME.
You needed to adjust your recipes then brew.

 

[ronjonacron]

Doesnt lme have a lower yeild per pound of dme? Im on my phone, but i thougjt dme had the highest yeild.per pounf of grain lme and dme. If the weight was the same i would assume a lower gravity. Dme has no water. Lme has water, so it would be less extracted... unless i missed a vital part of the post.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I agree that LME sucks but not for the same reason. I dislike it because it is such a pain to work with and not scorch.

Your problem was that you used it improperly. It is not a 1 for 1 exchange with DME.
You needed to adjust your recipes then brew.

It is the same reason, and I knew the abv would be a little higher, I just knew that I would NOT be trying to save any or measure that bitch beyond general thirds.

I am a by the cuff brewer. I care not if they are a bit stronger (except that it reduces IBU's).

It went well, but the streamers of LME and the slight scorching are what SUCKED.

 

[kh54s10]

Doesnt lme have a lower yeild per pound of dme? Im on my phone, but i thougjt dme had the highest yeild.per pounf of grain lme and dme. If the weight was the same i would assume a lower gravity. Dme has no water. Lme has water, so it would be less extracted... unless i missed a vital part of the post.

I think you are right, missed that. So it is a question why the beers became higher in gravity??

Still it is not a 1 for 1 exchange.

 

[IslandLizard]

Sorry about your mishap. What were you thinking? Or maybe you were not? 11 pounds of extract in a 5 gallon recipe?

The bad news is they won't be ready in 3 weeks, and chances are your yeast may call it a day or at best have a jolly good time. Keep the temps low.

Brew something different to hold you over. Or fix the brews you made, at least one of them, by diluting with very low gravity (0.000-0.020) double hopped wort. You can take some from the extra strong batch and reboil etc.

Triple check your arithmetic though, or the result may get worse.

 

[cheezydemon3]

The only real mishap was the LME being a PITA.

The LME was a good deal and 9% is well within the range of the yeasts used.

I am a very experienced brewer. I started extract, went AG, settled back to PMs with all pale DME, base and specialty grains.

I knew what I was getting into, I just wante to share!

It was an "ARGH! " and a "SCORE" all in one.

 

[Epimetheus]

Just picturing you holding a 10 lb can of molasses-thick LME high in the air while it slowly trickles into the brew pot.

 

[Hello]

Well, LME can suck but your mistake isn't a reason for it being difficult.
There's another guy who found a good deal on bulk LME & DME and it's made me consider DME because measuring that much syrup and having to deal with that sounds like a pain.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Just picturing you holding a 10 lb can of molasses-thick LME high in the air while it slowly trickles into the brew pot.

Um NO. Try a 33 lb jug of the crap.

Well, LME can suck but your mistake isn't a reason for it being difficult.
There's another guy who found a good deal on bulk LME & DME and it's made me consider DME because measuring that much syrup and having to deal with that sounds like a pain.

DME lasts longer, it is easier to measure an use.

I had a HUGE thing of DME once, but was able to divide it into bowls for each batch, and store the rest for future batches.

I can not even imagine doing that with LME. It would be a huge mess and waste a lb or 2 on the table, on the floor, on the spoon, on the stove, etc.

 

[Melana]

So, in my LHBS, buying ingredients for 3 PM brews....6 lbs DME slated for each brew, so 6 3lb bags at $14/piece = $84

(I use only pale DME ,no amber, dark, etc. and whatever specialty grains and generally 1 lb of base malt)

Little German lady says "OH!!!! I Have BIG LME I need get rid uv!!"

33lbs of Briess "Golden Growler" LME....."For you...$80....no....$60....no.... $50!"

*briefest of mental calculations.......*

"SOLD!!"

However.....dumping 1/3 of this bitch into the pot SUCKED. LME SUCKS.

Never again.

Re-calculating my recipes (after brewing ) and I see that a mysterious "I" goes in front of 2 of the brews and the name of the third changed entirely.

My pumpkin ale became an IMPERIAL pumpkin ale, My orange Ale.....you get the idea....Imperial pumpkin ale, and my APA? My APA became an English Barleywine.

SO....good deal, but LME sucks.

In 3 weeks I will have 9%ABV brews on tap......and nothing else

Good score?

 

[cheezydemon3]

Good score?

If alcohol is good

 

[plumber_bob]

I've been in there once before! On Westport Rd.
IIRC she had a good selection of grains, and a mill for crushing them.

Have you tried the one on Lexington And Baxter? My old KY homebrew,... or close to that. They got good selection of all kinda stuff.

I'm not sure about their hops though. Seen they didn't have enough room in the cooler, so it looked like alot were just sitting out in the store.

I don't get to either one very much, because they are on the far end of town for me. The liquor barn on Fern Valley is as far as I go most of the time, and just for emergency stuff.

pb ---

 

[cheezydemon3]

I've been in there once before! On Westport Rd.
IIRC she had a good selection of grains, and a mill for crushing them.

Have you tried the one on Lexington And Baxter? My old KY homebrew,... or close to that. They got good selection of all kinda stuff.

I'm not sure about their hops though. Seen they didn't have enough room in the cooler, so it looked like alot were just sitting out in the store.

I don't get to either one very much, because they are on the far end of town for me. The liquor barn on Fern Valley is as far as I go most of the time, and just for emergency stuff.

pb ---

My dad shopped at the one on westport rd, her husband died, she is struggling, so I give her my business.

I am sure MOKHB is cooler, but wine&beer supply is actually closer to me. She seems to have most everything, I hate the impersonal BIG BOX stores. The one out here in Springhurst has almost no grains in stock, but tons of hops and yeast.......

 

[tennesseean_87]

The LME was a good deal and 9% is well within the range of the yeasts used.

But did you pitch enough yeast for that big of a beer? The strain may be tolerant, but you have to pitch a big enough starter. At least I think that's why you were questioned on the yeast. What brewer's yeast isn't tolerant of 9%?

 

[cheezydemon3]

1.33 packs of t-58 in each.

Chilled to 55F and pitched. Warmed up to 65 slowly, fermentation still steady on all 3.