Brewing Rules of Thumb & DME vs. Yield?

[EinGutesBier]

I've always been under the impression that when brewing you use one standard 3 lb. bag DME of per 2.5 to 3 gallon yield. For example, for my first batch, I used two 3 lb. bags of DME for a 5 gallon yield. I've made two "half" batches where I used fewer hops and just one 3 lb. bag of DME for a 2.5-3 gallon batch.

Is that correct for a rule of thumb or does it vary by the recipe or the ingredients used? I'd hate to be making smaller batches with one bag of DME if it weren't necessary.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Brewsmith]

It depends on the style you are brewing. That amount of DME will give you an average starting gravity to get an ABV of about 5%. if the style is lower, use less. If you were doing, say a barleywine at 10% ABV, you'd use about twice as much.

 

[paranode]

Yeah, I would say it depends on what OG you are trying to hit, which in turn depends on the style and your preferences.

 

[EinGutesBier]

Okay, thanks for the explanation. So, for the sake of argument and I know this question would require a rough answer, but what's the greatest liquid volume yield a person could get from a 3 lb. bag of DME without the quality of the beer suffering (read: watery, tasteless beer)?

 

[DeathBrewer]

again, the more extract you use, the more flavor and alcohol you will get from it.

if you used only a 3 lb bag of, say, wheat dme to make a hefe, you wouldn't probably want to make more than 3 gallons or it would be watered down and the alcohol would be too low.

you should read up on specific gravity and how to determine alcohol content