Does DME gets darker after boiling?

[ericd]

Hi, i just made a 2 gal batch with 1 kg ELDME and 0.75 kg LDME thrown in at the half way point of a 60 min boil. Promash said it should come out to arround 7L. Well I just got done making it and it looks A LOT darker. Any ideas why fellas?

 

[homebrewer_99]

The LME is always darker...stop using it!!

 

[BigKahuna]

Yup...either add 75% in the last 5 minutes of the boil, or go AG. That's the unfortunate truth.

 

[EvilTOJ]

It can also be because if you're looking at it in the fermenter, it will always look darker. The actual color will show up in the glass.

 

[SteveM]

I'm confused. The subject line refers to DME. The original post talks about "ELDME" (a term with which I am not familiar). The responses refer to LME. Can someone clarify please? I've always heard talk of LME darkening during boils because of carmelizing. Could this not potentially apply to DME also? And what is ELDME?

 

[oberon567]

ELDME = Extra Light DME

Yes, it applies to all extract. They carmelize because the sugars are just hanging out, fully present, in a much denser concentration than a full AG brew. I do not know if LME and DME carmelize differently or have different propensities for it, but both carmelize and darken your beer.

 

[ericd]

ELDME = Extra Light DME

Yes, it applies to all extract. They carmelize because the sugars are just hanging out, fully present, in a much denser concentration than a full AG brew. I do not know if LME and DME carmelize differently or have different propensities for it, but both carmelize and darken your beer.

If DME beers had such different composition than AG wouldn't they taste a lot more different than they do?

 

[SteveM]

ELDME - duh! Of course!

 

[devaspawn]

I could swear that I have heard Daniels or Papazian talk about AG darkening during the boil too. Obviously not at the same pace as ME. Something about boiling a scotch ale and boiling it for a couple of hours before hop additions to caramelize it a little and darken the wort some.

 

[oberon567]

I am willing to bet that if you made three versions of the exact same recipe, one all extract, one partial, one AG, you could taste a difference. Of course, it depends on the style of beer. Some beers have so many other flavors happening that they mask anything out of the ordinary. But the denser boil carmelizes the sugars, creating a darker beer and possibly a somewhat buttery underflavor, and it also does not allow the hop flavor or bitterness to be utilized as efficiently. Generally that is compensated for ina recipe by upping the quantity of hops somewhat. More math than I know how to do off the top of my head, but tables, conversion rubrics, and software all exist to help out.

You can carmelize with AG, but it has to either be done very intentionally, or you have to not be paying any attention to what you are doing. I just listened to Jamil's "Scottish Ales" podcast today, and he talks about intentional kettle carmelization during an All Grain brew. In order to do it, you run your first gallon or so of your run-off into the kettle on its own, boil it down to about 0.5 gallon, and this creates unfermentable, carmelized sugars. Then just add the rest of your batch and continue like usual.

 

[devaspawn]

that may be in line with what I heard. I definitely remember getting the impression that it had to be intentional for caramelizing.