Using Light Dry Malt

[uniiqueuser]

Hi y'all, I have a question about LDM.

The helpful guys at Grain & Grape did print out a recipe but it has been misplaced.

Question is, if I am using LDM do I delete 1 gram of dextrose for every gram of LDM because this replaces the fermentable dextrose? Will this give me roughly the same alcohol content?

I think the recipe went something like this (23 litre brew):

1 can Coopers Pale Ale
50 gm Cascade hops
8 gm POR (yes I like a bit of bitterness)
500 gm LDM
500 gm dextrose
Safale US 05 yeast

The can of goo was a clearance job at Coles from when they dropped their homebrew products (pricks!)

I did read somewhere that LDM is not completely fermentable and I don't want to end up with a 'light' beer. Of course I don't want to chuck in a whole kg of dex to be on the safe side because I don't want to end up too spastic either....

No doubt I could find the answer if I hunted around but a time constraint (or laziness?) prevails. Of course people here are more than happy to share their opinions, so really I am providing them an outlet!

May I add that every brew I have created since I started using hops, dex and better yeasts has been 10,000% better than the K&Ks I was doing for years. I have added a small amount of POR to every brew as well as Hallertau, Cascade etc. which causes some people to screw up their faces and not ask for another one (drinkers of commercial Blonde and Draught etc) but that leaves more for me...

Thanks for any help that may be forthcoming.

 

[fasty73]

Some beers require both. Like Coopers Mexican needs 1 kilo of brew sugar and 500grams of LDM.

 

[Tony]

replacing 500g of dex with 500g of LME will give you basicly the same alc..... but the beer will be better. Dex adds nothing to the beer but alcahol...... when i was making kits i used to use the kit with a 50/50 mix of dex and LME and it always made a great beer.

I say... dont aim for alcahol content...... aim for flavour.

Now...... all these hops? how and when are you using them in the process of getting the beer in the fermenter. The kit comes pre bittered and if you boil them too long it will over bitter the beer.

If i was you, and you seem confident with hops now........ id get un hopped liquid extract, and bitter your beer yourself with fresh hops instead of the isohop extract that goes in kits.......... its soooooo much better.

Just ask for recipes oif beer styles you want to brew if your keen.

 

[uniiqueuser]

Alcohol content- if it's around the usual 5% I'm more than happy. It's been more than 20 years since I made 'get pissed fast lager' with alcohol content approaching 15%, but I was barely an adult back then.

If using two types of hops I will boil them in seperate pots fo 90 minutes, strain the dregs and add the juice to the fermenter.

The guy at Grain & Grape did recommend adding the hops in three stages, but I have been boiling the lot in one hit. Even though I have gone against his advice (and probably a lot of other people as well) I just love the taste. Perhaps I am a masochist after all?

I did use Cooper's maltodextrin in one brew and it did improve the flavour. Am I right in assuming the 50/50 LME and dextrose will do the same thing?

Thanks for your interest.

 

[[email protected]]

Alcohol content- if it's around the usual 5% I'm more than happy. It's been more than 20 years since I made 'get pissed fast lager' with alcohol content approaching 15%, but I was barely an adult back then.

If using two types of hops I will boil them in seperate pots fo 90 minutes, strain the dregs and add the juice to the fermenter.

The guy at Grain & Grape did recommend adding the hops in three stages, but I have been boiling the lot in one hit. Even though I have gone against his advice (and probably a lot of other people as well) I just love the taste. Perhaps I am a masochist after all?

I did use Cooper's maltodextrin in one brew and it did improve the flavour. Am I right in assuming the 50/50 LME and dextrose will do the same thing?

Thanks for your interest.

The maltodextrin will give more body and mouth feel - also a creamier head. I never thought in my experience that it enhanced the flavour profile or the alcohol. This is different than what the LME/Dextrose will do.
The LME / dextrose are your main fermentables - they contain the sugars that will ferment into alcohol. The LME will of course effect the colour and flavour as well.
I have found that it is interesting to taste the wort as you take sg readings every couple of days - take note of the sweetness of the wort over the cycle and how it starts off sweet, but then gradually turns bitter over time.

The reason the guy at grain and grape suggested different timings of hop additions is that they do different things. Hops boiled for long time = bitterness, medium time = flavour, short time = aroma.

I stress this is my experience, others may have more to add.

I am keen to know how your brew tastes - I love Lager too and have yet to try POR hops in one.

Cheers


Swampy

 

[uniiqueuser]

Swampy

The POR in lager does make for a bitter taste but I like it. One might use a cliche - like an angel pissed on my tongue!

The first couple of brews used fresh hops which I found growing on our new block. I suspect they are POR but I can't be sure. Believe it or not they produce a more bitter beer, gram for gram, than POR pellets.

One way to find out- make a batch! Perhaps with a Coopers Lager can, the majority of the hops (eg Hallertau) will be your main hops and then try a bittering hop with a ratio of about 10 to 1. I've gone for 90 minute boils but you can adjust this to suit your tastes.

The aroma, flavour and bitterness was the reason for adding the hops in three stages as explained by Grain & Grape. I just chucked it all in and boiled the lot for 90 minutes because I 'spose I'm a bit of a bludger . Still tastes good but.

 

[Tony]

LDFH

Either you have been given bum advice or taken advice the wrong way.

The kits come pre bittered and boiling that much hops for 90 min will only make them way way over bittered. POR doesnt have a bitter taste........... its a high alpha acid hop and will add a lot of bitterness in small amounts. Cascade is usually used as a late addition hop and not boiled for long. You want the flavour and aroma from the hops...... not the bitterness if your using a pre bittered kit.

Id sugest you go back to G&G and ask if what your doing is what they recomend because if it is..... mate...... id shop elsware. G&G have a good name so id say you have got stories mixed up along the line somewhere.

with hops...... generally boiling any longer that 45 min will extract bitterness only..... most of the hop character is burnt off in the boil.
10 to 20 min boiling time will give you flavour
0 min to 10 min boiling time will give you aroma.

Id say the cascade was ment to be steeped and dry hopped for a nice hoppy aroma..... not boiled for 90 min.

 

[Yowster]

The way I read it the OP is going against what Grain and Grape said (which was adding the hops in 3 stages) and boiling all the hops in one go.

By doing what you are doing at the moment LDFH, you will get the result Tony is talking about - overbittered, but if this is to your liking, well its your beer and make it your way.