Substituting DME for LME, OK or not?

[LarryC]

I have a recipe for a chocolate raspberry stout that I want to brew for the holidays. I called my LHBS to check if they had all the ingredients and they did with one exception - the recipe calls for Dark LME and they don't have any. They do have dark DME and said I can substitute that (they mentioned a ratio but I don't remember it now).

Is there any difference in the final brew when you substitute DME for LME as they have suggested? This is my first time with this recipe and I want it to come out good Here's the recipe for your reference

0.25 lbs. American Chocolate Malt
0.25 lbs. American Black Patent
3.3 lbs. Dark
3 lbs. Dry Amber Extract
0.25 lbs. Molasses
0.25 lbs. Lactose
1.0 oz. Cascade (Pellets, 6.8 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1 oz. Fuggle (Pellets, 4.5 %AA) boiled 5 min.
3 ounces Raspberry Extract (not included in calculations)

 

[Parker36]

No, you can substitute it, but there is a weight ratio (I think its .7/1 or something). I would say that you don't have to use the dark extracts, in fact when I did extract brews, I used all light LME, even for stouts. You get the color and flavor from the specialty grains.

 

[feedbag]

It's a 20 % difference due to the amount of solids in DME vs LME. 3 lbs of DME is equal to about 3.6 lbs of LME.

From howtobrew.com: Malt extract is sold in both liquid (syrup) and powdered forms. The syrups are approximately 20 percent water, so 4 pounds of Dry Malt Extract (DME) is roughly equal to 5 pounds of Liquid Malt Extract (LME). DME is produced by heating the liquid extract and spraying it from an atomizer in a heated chamber. Strong air currents keep the droplets suspended until they dry and settle to the floor. DME is identical to LME except for the additional dehydration and lack of hopping. DME is not hopped because hop compounds would be lost during the final dehydration.

 

[LarryC]

Excellent news! Thanks for the response guys, I want to do business with my LHBS but as a n00b, I want to follow the recipes pretty faithfully until I get the hang of everything. Sounds like Friday is shoppin' day!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Here's a "chart" you can use for reference:

POUNDS OF:
GRAIN = LIQUID = DRY

1.00 = 0.75 = 0.60
1.50 = 1.13 = 0.90
2.00 = 1.50 = 1.20
2.50 = 1.88 = 1.50
3.00 = 2.25 = 1.80
3.50 = 2.63 = 2.10
4.00 = 3.00 = 2.40
4.50 = 3.38 = 2.70
5.00 = 3.75 = 3.00
5.50 = 4.13 = 3.30
6.00 = 4.50 = 3.60
6.50 = 4.88 = 3.90
7.00 = 5.25 = 4.20
7.50 = 5.63 = 4.50
8.00 = 6.00 = 4.80
8.50 = 6.38 = 5.10
9.00 = 6.75 = 5.40
9.50 = 7.13 = 5.70
10.00 = 7.50 = 6.00



DECIMAL TO OUNCES

0.05 = 0.80
0.10 = 1.60
0.15 = 2.40
0.20 = 3.20
0.25 = 4.00
0.30 = 4.80
0.35 = 5.60
0.40 = 6.40
0.45 = 7.20
0.50 = 8.00
0.55 = 8.80
0.60 = 9.60
6.50 = 10.40
0.70 = 11.20
0.75 = 12.00
0.80 = 12.80
0.85 = 13.60
0.90 = 14.40
0.95 = 15.20
1.00 = 16.00

 

[VTBrewer]

I printed that out and have had it on my fridge since homebrewer_99 originally posted it (or i orig saw it) quite some time ago. Good stuff.

 

[LarryC]

Thanks HomeBrewer99, that's really handy!

 

[homebrewer_99]

You're all welcome, but I can't take the credit.

Since originally posting the 1 = .75 = .6 lb chart I found the second chart (decimal to ounces) in Brew Classic European Beers at Home, pg 183.

It really helps you zero in on exact measurements to the oz.

 

[LarryC]

I'm going to tack one more question on this thread. With the recipe above, there was no yeast called out. What would your recommendation be for the proper yeast?

 

[irunxcjm]

If it were me, since you have fruit flavoring, I'd want a pretty neutral yeast. I'd use either Nottingham or US-05.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Any ale yeast will work, but don't add the flavoring until you are ready to bottle.

You want to make sure the beer is good first before wasting it on a bad batch.