Possible experiment

[Neonsilver]

This summer I will have many open fermentors because I won't be brewing then, it's just easier for me to deal with temperatures when it's cold. I'm thinking about making several 1 gallon batches with just DME as LME seems to vary much more because of age. I started thinking about this because most pilsners are mashed at a lower temperature to ferment out drier. This made me think that the companies making DME possibly do the same thing for their extract. So here's the experiment.

Take a pound of DME from a few different types and manufacturers and boil for 15 minutes in a gallon of water. Cool to 70 or 75 depending on the temp in the house and pitch one full pack of nottingham (cheap). I'd obviously take a gravity reading before the yeast was pitched and at a few other intervals like 2 days and 1 week. I'd have to mark a line on my tube for the gravities to make sure I pull out the correct amount each time.

Any places in this I can fix or make better? I would also like suggestions on which types you would like to see tested. I'll also be sticking with the lighter extracts as the darker ones have a lot of unknowns.

 

[rayg]

I started thinking about this because most pilsners are mashed at a lower temperature to ferment out drier.

Afaik, lower temps slow down fermentation and result in less attenuation
(less dry), not more. The final gravities of true pilsners are quite high
relative to many English ales. American pilsners are dry because of
the use of large amounts of highly fermentable corn and rice extract.

Ray

 

[RedGlass]

I guess I'm not clear on what you are trying to test? Just to understand the taste/fermentation differences between different DMEs? Or is there some theory you are trying to prove/disprove?

 

[Neonsilver]

I guess I'm not clear on what you are trying to test? Just to understand the taste/fermentation differences between different DMEs? Or is there some theory you are trying to prove/disprove?

All in all there is a wall most extract brewers tend to have a problem getting under and that is 1.020. So if we find out that pilsner is more fermentable (or less) than golden light or some other light type then maybe we can start getting under a little easier.

rayg- I was talking lower mash temps , not lower fermenting temps. Lower mash temps take longer to extract all of the sugars but they also create mostly fermentable sugars whereas a higher mash temp creates more unfermentables.

 

[mr_bell]

All in all there is a wall most extract brewers tend to have a problem getting under and that is 1.020.

I haven't had this issue, and I only do extract w/ specialty grains. Is this common? I have an Irish red bottled about 6 weeks now, my SG = 1.048 and FG =1.012. I tend to primary only for 3-4 weeks and then bottle.

I would think that if you're not getting the attenuation you want, it's a fermentation temp control issue or a yeast issue, perhaps under-pitching?

 

[jessup]

All in all there is a wall most extract brewers tend to have a problem getting under and that is 1.020. I was talking lower mash temps , not lower fermenting temps.......Lower mash temps take longer to extract all of the sugars but they also create mostly fermentable sugars whereas a higher mash temp creates more unfermentables.

i agree you might have problems elsewhere if you can't get below 1.020. i do all partial mash recipes and get below 1.020 on even some of the 1.100+ batches.

i would be interested in this experiment, though! i agree LME & DME have issues w/ underattenuation, but you would have to use a control yeast since there's way too much variability depending on yeast strain.

 

[SumnerH]

All in all there is a wall most extract brewers tend to have a problem getting under and that is 1.020.

FWIW, I had no problems getting under 1.020 when I did extracts; I tend to use only Breiss Pilsen DME, layering specialty stuff on top for darker beers. Nowadays I stick with the same Breiss DME for my partial mashes, so I'm always building up from a well-known base.

I believe that Munton's is supposed to be at least as fermentable as Breiss, too.

Laaglander is very non-fermentable, but I think that's well known.

 

[williamsmith]

Take a pound of DME from a few different types and manufacturers and boil for 15 minutes in a gallon of water. Cool to 70 or 75 depending on the temp in the house and pitch one full pack of nottingham (cheap). I'd obviously take a gravity reading before the yeast was pitched and at a few other intervals like 2 days and 1 week. I'd have to mark a line on my tube for the gravities to make sure I pull out the correct amount each time.

 

[Neonsilver]

FWIW, I had no problems getting under 1.020 when I did extracts; I tend to use only Breiss Pilsen DME, layering specialty stuff on top for darker beers. Nowadays I stick with the same Breiss DME for my partial mashes, so I'm always building up from a well-known base.

I believe that Munton's is supposed to be at least as fermentable as Breiss, too.

Laaglander is very non-fermentable, but I think that's well known.

This post illustrates my point very well. I always use Breiss pilsen and I never have the issue of too high of FG either. That's what got me to thinking that it might be an issue with some other type of DME that I don't use right now. So what I'm trying to accomplish is possibly finding DME that isn't as fermentable to solve some of these issues.

 

[Neonsilver]

i agree you might have problems elsewhere if you can't get below 1.020. i do all partial mash recipes and get below 1.020 on even some of the 1.100+ batches.

FWIW, my barleywine of 1.125 just hit 1.025 so I'm really not having any issues with underattenuation right now. I just hear of things like this happening all of the time and thought I might be able to figure this one out.

 

[mr_bell]

Will be interested in seeing the final results.