Extract brewing.

[Goldback52]

I am still a new brewer and plan on making a brown ale. Recipe says to use liquid malt. Is that better or worse than the dry powder??

 

[Golddiggie]

IF it's fresh it's ok... You'll need more of it than if you use DME though.

 

[freisste]

My understanding is that liquid is basically wort that has most of the water removed. Dry has the rest of the water removed. I'm not sure that one is BETTER than the other, but I think it is easier.

 

[Shooter]

Agreed, if it's fresh, no problem. DME is nice because it has shelf life and also doesn't seem to color as much in the kettle, but that's not really much of a concern unless you are brewing one of the lighter styles.

 

[Golddiggie]

I haven't used extract in any batches in almost two years now. I use DME to make my starters though. :rockin: I like it since, as mentioned, it has a long shelf life. I get 3# bags of it (makes it cheaper per pound) and store in a sealed container.

 

[TopherM]

For your first brew, get a kit. The Brewer's Best kits are a decent place to start that your local homebrew shop probably stocks. I'd stay away from the Moutons and Coopers kits. Some of the larger homebrew shops will put together their own extract kits. If you have the time, the best kits you can buy come from Austin Homebrew, Northern Brewer, Midwest Supplies, and Brewmaster's Warehouse online. You really can't go wrong with almost anything from any of those online shops, and they typically have several reviews of each kit as well to see what others who have actually brewed the kits think. They also have really good detailed instructions.

Also, FYI, when I was an extract brewer, I found liquid malt extract to be much much easier to work with than dry malt extract. DME is the stickiest substance known to man, and gets all over the place no matter how careful you are.

Good luck!

 

[cooper]

AGREED, made a starter before work this morning and that stuff gets everywhere.. and I only cut a small hole in the top.

 

[Golddiggie]

No issue for me. I weigh the DME into a pint container for the starters. Stir in, with heat reduced, and at most there's a little hanging onto the edge of the container (towards the water). Easy to get off with the spoon used to stir the starter.