DME solid in kit

[MedBrewer]

Hello all, thanks in advance for any advice! I picked up a 1 gal brewers best kit at a local brew shop (the only shop within a long drive being from miami), its the American Classic. When i got home I opened it up and it has 2 bags of DME, the smaller one is solid in the bag. My question is if i can still use that? Has any one used solid dme before ( i have read many post here about using solid dme but it goes both ways...ok to use, not ok will give off flavors). I really want to brew this beer and the shop is not open on sundays when i can get there. Any ideas? thanks again! happy brewing.

 

[flars]

I've used a DME rock with no problems. Break it into pieces and dissolve it in about a half gallon of water over low heat to prevent scorching. Takes some time so maybe do this the night before brew day.

 

[stonebrewer]

Brew it. I have made starters and added DME to beers, both powder and solidified. It just means it absorbed water from the air. Should be fine.

 

[Brewskey]

How solid are we talking about? I think you'd be fine as long as you can get it most of the way crushed up. I use DME for starters and the little hard balls that develop can be tough to deal with if you dont smash them before they go in the boil. As far as off flavors, I wouldn't let that worry me.

 

[MedBrewer]

Thanks so much for all the quick replies, much appreciated. It's a small bag that is maybe 2 cups of the, could I put it in a bowl with water and microwave it to melt it? Then use it once in solution? It's like the consistency of an extremely tough taffy.

 

[Brewskey]

Thanks so much for all the quick replies, much appreciated. It's a small bag that is maybe 2 cups of the, could I put it in a bowl with water and microwave it to melt it? Then use it once in solution? It's like the consistency of an extremely tough taffy.

If its so tough that you cant crush it up you may be able to slowly heat it in a pot with a little water and kind of melt it down to a LME state. I haven't actually done this but it sounds like it would work I think if you throw it into the boil kettle in its current sate its going to be difficult to get it broken up.

 

[IslandLizard]

Just break it up as much as you can and toss it in the kettle. Keep stirring, it will be dissolved by the time your boil is over.

Do NOT try to dissolve it in a little water over heat, it will scorch, and make the beer undrinkable.

The best way to brew with extracts is to add only 1/3 to 1/2 of the extract at the beginning of the boil, and the remainder at flameout. Your solid chunk is your hour boil candidate, of course.

 

[MedBrewer]

Thanks again my dudes for all the advice! It is truly so appreciated! I went ahead and brewed it up, I cut the dme into little chunks, not much larger than a finger (it's was about 1 cup that was solidified, like a rock!). It did dissolve as far as I could observe, and I kept stirring it for a while during the boil to make sure it would not stick and burn. All in all it has been a positive learning experience and I'm looking forward to the final product! Thanks again guys! I'll let you know in a few weeks how it turns out. Brewers best says to secondary ferment but I have read lots on here that says it's not really that big of a deal. I've got some time to make up my mind about that...

 

[Pantherjon]

Secondary is NOT needed..Keep it in primary until fermentation is complete..