I hate LME!!!

[BrooZer]

sorry... Nottingham dry yeast is what it came with. Glad I could be of service

Thanks again!

 

[reshp1]

I've made several batches of the BB Red(SWMBO's fav), and they always come out a pretty, albeit a little dark, red. Maybe you had a mislabeled can? I've recently switched to the late addition method and the most recent batch is definitely lighter red, but the old ones certainly weren't brown.

Ditto, I've made that kit on my first batch and it turned out a deep ruby red. I boiled almost 4 gallons instead of the recommended 1.5 gal or whatever, which might have cut down on the caramelization of the LME.

 

[SteveM]

Leaving steeping grains in too long will also darken a brew up pretty quickly. Make sure you take them out by the time the temp gets to about 160F.

 

[Donasay]

I use LME it is much cheaper and can get good results, I have just 3 words for you: Late extract addition...

 

[Mayday99]

I use LME it is much cheaper and can get good results, I have just 3 words for you: Late extract addition...

Are you talking about using half the LME for the full boil and adding the other half at flameout?

Would I have to adjust my hopping schedule if I was using a kit since the utilization will be higher?

 

[Revvy]

Are you talking about using half the LME for the full boil and adding the other half at flameout?

Would I have to adjust my hopping schedule if I was using a kit since the utilization will be higher?

Not at flameout, do it with about 20 minutes remaining, so you can pasturize the second addition of lme by boiling for 15 minutes.

I never bother to re-calculate for late addition...actually utilization will improve...

If it's liquid LME I do half and half...if it's dme, I usually go for 2-2 1/2 pounds at boil and the remaining in the last 20 minutes...

 

[The Bone2]

and they all are different color depending on the type of LME, steeping grains, etc...

 

[shafferpilot]

I've run many BB kits through recipe calculators and they ALL come up way short on their stated IBU's, so I do full volume boils with late addition and the result is perfect.

 

[Jaeger48]

Not at flameout, do it with about 20 minutes remaining, so you can pasturize the second addition of lme by boiling for 15 minutes.

I never bother to re-calculate for late addition...actually utilization will improve...

If it's liquid LME I do half and half...if it's dme, I usually go for 2-2 1/2 pounds at boil and the remaining in the last 20 minutes...

Liquid worked great in my Dubbel, but being a dark beer has advantages ^^.

 

[BrooZer]

I've run many BB kits through recipe calculators and they ALL come up way short on their stated IBU's, so I do full volume boils with late addition and the result is perfect.

Ive noticed that recently as well, i wonder why?

If you calculate based on the boil volume in their recipes it ends up at like Half the IBUs they say it is.

 

[sirsloop]

The Extra Pale LME from AHS is exactly that... Extra Pale. Good stuff!!

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

I've never used a BB kit before, but the second beer I ever brewed was a red ale kit from my LHBS. It used all liquid malt extract, and I didn't even know about late extract addition at that time, so the full amount of extract(6.6 lbs) got boiled the full 60 min. It still turned out great, and had a nice red color to it.

 

[Hagen]

as far as extracts go, I only use Breiss Pilsen Light DME. It's the lightest extract I have found so far. If I want any color or flavor, that's what specialty grains are for.

 

[solidghost]

I asked my supplier the same question and he told me he reason why LME is better - LME is of better quality than DME because of the drying process. However, LME is difficult to store and if not properly stored, tends to go "bad" fast. It is best to store LME under refridgation.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

as far as extracts go, I only use Breiss Pilsen Light DME. It's the lightest extract I have found so far. If I want any color or flavor, that's what specialty grains are for.

Excellent choice. The liquid version is the bomb as well.

Forrest

 

[sipNswirl]

This has been a really informative thread, thanks for everyones input. I'm starting to experiment with recipes now that I have a few under my belt, and am interested in this "late addition" of the extract. Can anyone point me to a thread that this is explained in more detail?

Also, I picked up some DME recently just to try it out but I don't want to go adding it without knowing how to convert the volume of LME to DME...ie: 1lbs LME is equal to???

 

[DeathBrewer]

i've made several red ales, AG, PM and extract. None of them have come out as red as I would like. My most recent is a nice copper color...i think that's about as close as i'm going to get. tastes fantastic, at least.

i haven't used carared. mostly i use munich and a small amount of dark crystal or roasted malts.

i'm thinking i might try hibiscus to make a crazy red ale. it would be the first time i've used any type of adjunct besides flakes, malts or coriander. See Jamaica.

 

[Revvy]

i'm thinking i might try hibiscus to make a crazy red ale. it would be the first time i've used any type of adjunct besides flakes, malts or coriander. See Jamaica.

That sounds interesting. I'd like to know what recipe you come up with and how it turns out.

 

[Revvy]

Also, I picked up some DME recently just to try it out but I don't want to go adding it without knowing how to convert the volume of LME to DME...ie: 1lbs LME is equal to???

LME to DME * 0.89
DME to LME * 1.10

 

[Kai]

Yeah, my brew store has a big, translucent barrel of LME that they serve out of. It's always pretty dark to begin with, so you add in the caramelisation and everything ends up brown. Not to mention that it just doesn't taste good.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

Yeah, my brew store has a big, translucent barrel of LME that they serve out of. It's always pretty dark to begin with, so you add in the caramelisation and everything ends up brown. Not to mention that it just doesn't taste good.

It's kept in clear containers!? My LHBS has it in those cool 80# plastic containers and pushes it out with CO2 instead of gravity. I only use their Alexander's pale LME and I can make some pretty light beers. I do late additions to so that might help.

 

[Redweasel]

Tried LME once. Beer turned out ok but havent used it since. I've had nice luck using DME with the late exctract method.

 

[SteveM]

It seems like there are big differences between LME stored and sold in bulk versus the individual cans (or, in the case of Breiss, heavy sealed plastic containers).