Old DME clumped in bag?

[Joel]

Hi there.

I'm about to start my first home brew, and I have some Light Dry Malt Extract that's been sitting in a bag for a few months. It was opened once a few months back. Although it's still sealed, the whole thing has hardened into a big rock. It's very hard to break up and get back into the powdered form.

Is it still usable or should I go back and grab another bag?

Thanks!

 

[STMF]

You could always try to disolve it in a small pot with water on your brew day.

If it works, great, if not, replace it.

 

[flars]

The DME can still be used if you can get it to dissolve. I would put it in a measured volume of warm water, perhaps a gallon, stirring occasionally. Might take a day or two for the DME to not be a rock anymore.

Only try this method if your recipe called for using all of the DME that was in the bag. Weigh the DME before starting the warm bath.

 

[javaking]

A

 

[javaking]

According to brew your own (byo) DME can be stored up to a year (and I've seen people say longer on other threads), as long as it's stored properly at reasonable temperatures and away from sunlight. However, they also say " As long as the DME is dry and sealed from oxygen, you can buy in bulk, and use it for up to about 1 year", so it sounds like once your opened the bag your DME absorbed some moisture and oxygen out of the air and that is why it's hard. I don't know how you stored it after your opened the bag, but maybe you should buy an airtight container to store your DME in the future.

https://byo.com/hops/item/1362-shelf-life-storing-your-ingredients

Since it's only been a few months I wouldn't be too worried about it being spoiled, and as others said as long as you can get it to dissolve you should be okay.

Cheers!

 

[RmikeVT]

DME sucks. I hate using it. Every time I break it out to make a starter I'm think what kind of mess am I going to make with this crap today. The stuff absorbs moisture and turns into a brick.

Honestly, I would just toss into your brew kettle on brew day as is and just use a metal spoon or spatula to do your best to break it up. It is sugar after all, it will quickly soften and then dissolve in the boiling hot water. Just be careful not to let the "brick" of dme sit on the bottom of the kettle with the flame on as you don't want it to scorch.

 

[Peruvian802]

I only cut the top corner of bags of DME for starters, then pour it out for measuring. I then fold it over, pushing out the air, and clip it shut. It then goes into a gallon zip-lock bag, which is sealed. Finally, it goes into my plastic bin with my other specialty malts so it's triple sealed from moisture.

 

[MaxStout]

Heat your kettle until the water is 160-ish, then remove it from heat. Drop in the block of DME and go off to do something else for a while. Return and break it up with a spoon. Stir like crazy to break down the pieces. When you are certain there are no lumps remaining, reapply heat and continue brewing.

DME is hygroscopic, it absorbs moisture from the air. That might be why it turned to a brick.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

DME that's not hardened can form clumps when it hits the steamy water, and a wisk is very helpful at breaking those up.

 

[drgonzo2k2]

A while back when I responded to one of those "I'm selling all my brew gear" Craigslist posts, the guy gave me a box of miscellaneous stuff when I picked everything up. In that was a big bag of DME that was absolutely hard as a rock.

I'm still using it to make yeast starters, and I've never had any problems. Just use a hammer to chip away what you need, put it in the water, and fire up the boil. Give it a good stir with a wire whisk every few minutes, and before long it dissolves just fine.