Extract Kits: Why do some have DME & others don't?

[JustinBeerber]

So I'm trying to build my own version of an extract kit, and from previous kits that I got, with pre-selected ingredients, it seems DME can or doesn't have to go into a recipe.
My questions are:
What does DME add to a recipe
When is it a bad time to use DME
Do/how I adjust a recipe if I add DME?


It's my 4 the brew & I'd like a little ownership in how the recipe is. What I've come up with is similar to a NB Belgium witbier.
I
Ordered two 3lbers of lbe, so is the DME I ordered gonna over do it if I add the DME?

 

[boydster]

I usually prefer DME just because it is easier for me to work with - no can, no syrup, no scorching on the bottom of the kettle, and if you only need a portion of a bag it is easy to store.

Some extracts only come in liquid, so that is one reason it is necessary sometimes. Otherwise, it's really just a personal preference. Both LME and DME are mashed and concentrated base grains, usually with a little bit of specialty grains (Carapils in the light ones, other darker malts in the darker extracts).


DME is a little more concentrated, since there is zero water content. It takes a little less DME to get the same gravity points you would get from LME. You can find the conversion factors if you search. I'm on my mobile and don't remember offhand or I would post.

 

[DSorenson]

It is never a bad time to use DME!

After using both DME and LME, I would take the dry any day of the week. There are also other benefits to using DME, including the fact that during storage there is not sufficient liquid present to cause a darkening of the product. That is not the case for LME, however. Generally speaking when you use pale DME vs. LME, the DME will always appear lighter and have less hints of caramel or residual sweetness than the LME.

 

[flars]

You would use 18% less DME than LME by weight. The 18% by weight is the water weight of LME.

 

[JustinBeerber]

You would use 18% less DME than LME by weight. The 18% by weight is the water weight of LME.

I've got 2x3.3lb cans of Muntons Wheat LME and 1lb of Muntons wheat DME. The last belgian wheat beer I made used 2 cans and the lb of DME. Should I use that much again, or is that too much? All the other recipes I've done only use the 2 cans.