Tips for DME

[thesmashhit]

Howdy Brewers!

Any tips for working with DME? I've seen in places that caramelizjng it is possible, so at what point are you adding it to the boil? I'm steeping more and more grains with every brew, and should I add it to my steeped wort prior to ramping up the temp to boil?

Any advice is good here.

Cheers,

J.

 

[stewy]

Hi mate. I used to brew solely with DME. Firstly, with good processes, sanitation, fermentation etc, you can make fantastic beer with DME... Far superior than pre-hopped goo.

First question is, do you do full boil or partial boil & top up with H2O?

I used to do partial boil, late addition with top up.
Basically, depending on how much specialty grain you steep, add enough DME to your boil to get the OG to 1040 (software will tell you). Do your boil & hop additions with this wort for optimum utilisation. When you reach the end of boil you can then chuck all of the remaining DME in at flameout & mix it in (using a whisk helps minimise clumping). Chill, add to fermenter, add top up water, oxygenate wort & pitch yeast.

Also, I have even done no chill in the kettle (finished the boil/hop additions) covered with sanitised cling film & lid, come back next morning when it's cooled, added to fermenter, poured in top up water & then added all the DME & whisked the life out of it with a sanitised whisk. Done that many times & has worked perfectly. Risk of infection without boiling DME is minuscule & I've never had an issue.

 

[thesmashhit]

I usually add all my DME in at the start of the boil, have never done a late addition. Is it just to maximize usage and not boil of any DME?

 

[stewy]

If doing partial boils then yes, DME added late to increase hop utilisation. Not essential though as you can add it all at the start & just add approx 20% more hops.
If full boil you can dump it all in at start & won't affect hop utilisation much

 

[thesmashhit]

Awesome. I might try splitting up the DME for the next batch. Any period too late to add it?

 

[yankinoz]

Kettle darkening? A little, maybe a lot if you boil long at high gravity.

I do a lot of partials and mostly mashes and add DME at 15 - 20 minutes. DMS and hor break precursors are generally reduced in the manufacturing process. I skim boiling wort and find that I skim only a small fraction as much following a DME addition as I do after I start boiling wort from grain, a sign that proteins have been reduced.

For the hell of it I returned to all-extract brewing using Briess LME and DME, boiled for 30 minutes using high-alpha hops and only 100 g of DME, then added the rest of the extract at 15 minutes. Better than the extract brews I used to make.

 

[stewy]

That's pretty much what I did when I was doing extract. Briess DME, added late. Makes great beer.

 

[thesmashhit]

I'll give it a crack guys, thanks

 

[stewy]

I'll give it a crack guys, thanks

If you like pale ales I recommend trying Centenarillo Ale (can find on this site)

Don't have to brew it exact, I added some caramunich & changed the hop additions slightly, but basic DME+Light crystal/caramunich+those hops makes a delicious beer. Ferment with US05 at 18-20 & leave in fermenter for 3 weeks, bottle & enjoy after 3-4 weeks