Adding DME for increased ABV

[drobaina]

Brewing a Midwest Copper Ale as we speak. I have some extra light dme laying around. At what point can I add a cup of that? Is it added at fermentation time?

 

[steveoc]

You can add it during the boil at any time. I have added it during fermentation. I took the DME and boiled it in a solution of water, then cooled it. I added it when the fermentation when the fermentation began to slow down.

Most measure ingredients by weight rather than volume.

 

[Demus]

Probably best to add it with a few minutes left in the boil, but the yeast will eat it whenever it's served!

 

[dozer5454]

I would also agree adding in the last 15 minutes of the boil. That way your not having to deal with boiling on the stove, cooling it down, and adding it to the primary later. Just make sure you have enough yeast to cover the addition.

 

[duboman]

Adding a cup of DME is kind of a waste IMO, in reality a pound of DME will raise gravity only .009 points in 5 gallons a cup is not even going to be noticed....

 

[woozy]

Adding a cup of DME is kind of a waste IMO, in reality a pound of DME will raise gravity only .009 points in 5 gallons a cup is not even going to be noticed....

I agree. But I'm not sure I'd call 9 points (the difference between 1.051 and 1.060) an "only". Still we tend to obsess over hitting numbers and in actuality being off by 5 or 10 points is no big deal at all.

 

[duboman]

I agree. But I'm not sure I'd call 9 points (the difference between 1.051 and 1.060) an "only". Still we tend to obsess over hitting numbers and in actuality being off by 5 or 10 points is no big deal at all.

True, I should have left the "only" out

 

[Demus]

How many ounces by weight is a cup of DME?

 

[woozy]

How many ounces by weight is a cup of DME?

Volume of powder and weight are not convertable. 1 cup of DME is not an acceptable or consistent measure.

 

[boydster]

Volume of powder and weight are not convertable. 1 cup of DME is not an acceptable or consistent measure.

True enough if you want to split hairs, but when you're talking about 1 cup the window for variation is pretty small. From BYO, there is the following (I highlighted the relevant text, and can confirm that I get the same measurement within .2 oz every time I've tried it. 0.2oz has no measurable effect on OG for a 5gallon batch. 0.75oz makes a difference of .001 for gravity...):

Weight per 1 cup (8 fl. oz.)
dried malt extract: very approximately 5.8 oz. (0.69 g/mL)
liquid malt extract: very approximately. 12.1 oz. (1.4 g/mL)

Volume of 1.0 lb.
dried malt extract: very approximately 2.75 cups or 22 fl. oz.
liquid malt extract: very approximately 1.3 cups or 10.6 fl oz.

Source: http://byo.com/stories/item/614-extract-for-all-grainers-advanced-brewing