Substite LME for grains in AG recipe?

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LostDakota

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Hey guys,
This is my second post at HBT so you could say I'm a little green. I have just moved my second batch to the secondary and am looking for my next round. I found McTarnamins recipe for Banana Bread Holiday Ale and want to try it. The problem is that I only have the capacity to make extract brews. (no MLT or the rest of the equipt.) Could I substitute extract for the "8lbs. American 2-row"? Also, AHB is out of stock of Mt. Hood, could I substitute Tetnager?
Thanks in advance for your help, and sorry if this is already answered somewhere else on the forum. (Your information is vast and plentiful)
-Drew
 
Yes, you can turn it into an extract recipe by subbing extract (i'd go with dry) for the grain.
but you don't need a full 8lbs of extract. there are calculators out there that'll help you...i think its roughly .75lbs of Dry extract for every 1lb of grain used...so what, 6lbs of DME then?

I'm not a hop expert, but comparing the alpha acid levels and descriptions, I'd say Tettnager is a decent replacement for Mt. Hood hops.
 
Thanks for your help! I just thought of another question. Which extract should i use that would be comparable to American 2-row?
-Drew
 
D@mn you guys are fast! This is quickly becoming my favorite site. Thanks again for all of your help.
-Drew
 
according to my calculator, 8 lbs of 2 row should contribute .033 to the FG of a 6.5 gallon boil, you would want to add the equivalent of Dry Malt Extract (DME). The contribution of the DME varies based on brand, but back of the envelope calculations put it between 5 and 6 pounds. So I would Just buy two three pound sacks and throw them in, that way you don't have any sitting around and can easily replicate the recipe.
 
LostDakota said:
Thanks for your help! I just thought of another question. Which extract should i use that would be comparable to American 2-row?
-Drew

It seems that as a rule-just go with the lightest DME possible. Even for darker beers, you can extract the right color/taste from steeping specialty grains-so there's no need to use darker extract. You can always make it darker, but you can't make it lighter...this holds especially true if you ever buy bulk DME to be used in several batches.
 
I agree with others to use very light LME. I partial-mash (for now) and I always use extra pale LME. No reason to use amber LME...
 
Cheers to the lightest-possible-dme rule. Especially because you can caramelize some of the DME in a smaller pot to make it a little darker, if you need to.
 
bradsul said:
Where's HB_99 when you need him? :D
Well, I didn't leave for Korea yet. I reworked/added 274 PowerPoint slides over the weekend (and I ain't done yet...need electrical and hydraulic schematics to finish it up)...

Use this conversion: 1 lb grain = .75 lb LME = .6 lb DME.

Use the lightest DME possible and research "late addition" techiniques to produce the lightest colored beer you can brew...;)

I buy bulk (55# boxes) and only purchase wheat and Extra light DME (XLDME). If I want to add color/flavor I'll use grain (roasted barley, chocolate, black patent, etc.) for color/flavor. ;)
 
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