Liquid vs. Dry Malt Extract

[DuffmanAK]

I did my normal routine of searching (and even waded through the first few pages of posts). If I overlooked the answer already, I apologize.

Anywho, I have a can of liquid malt extract here and a recipe that calls for dry malt extract. Can the liquid be subbed in for the same amount of DME, or should I go pick up some DME and use that instead?

Thanks!

 

[marubozo]

You can use LME and DME interchangably, but a pound of DME is not quite the same as a pound of LME. 1 pound of LME equals about 0.8 pounds of DME. So if you're using LME as a substitute for DME you're going to want to use about 20% more to get the same amount of fermentables.

Also, keep in mind that LME quality can go downhill if it's somewhat old and not stored properly, so if you've had the LME sitting around for a while and at room temp, it might be worthwhile to just go pick up some dry extract as the recipe calls for.

 

[DuffmanAK]

So do you think that canned liquid malt wouldn't be good? I have this can and not real sure how old it is.

 

[ChshreCat]

I always avoid canned LME and go for bulk instead. It's much fresher and that can make a big difference. You can go ahead and use the can you have if you want, but it might not be as good as nice fresh LME. You have no idea how long that can sat before it got to you either.

 

[marubozo]

It's still good enough to still make beer, but even if you know when you bought it there's no telling how long it sat on a store shelf even before you got it, so there's a good chance it won't make the best tasting beer.

Just my personal preference, but if I'm going to go through the trouble of making my own beer I make sure I'm using the freshest ingredients I can get my hands on.

 

[DuffmanAK]

Both very good points. I don't typically use liquid extract, more of a dry extract guy. I think I may just ditch the liquid and pickup some dme at my local homebrew shop.