I've done what I claim as 2 "AG" brews. The second is AG by any definition - the only sugar that wasn't extracted from a mash was the dex used to prime the bottles. The first though... Well, I say it was AG, and to my heart it is an AG, but technically, I padded it out with some LDME.
So, where is the line drawn? I don't think anyone is going to be overly purist and argue that dex for bottle priming is the cheats way out (prove me wrong though!), but how much in the way of adjuncts pushes something from AG to partial?
Some hypotheticals:
1. Poor efficiency.
So you thought you could hit 75%, but you came out with 65%. So you add some LDME to get you up to a reasonable OG. AG/Partial?
2. Insufficient equipment (1)
You're doing a regular strength brew, but can only hit 14 litres cause your pot is too small. You add a kilo or so of LDME to pad it out to a respectable batch size. AG/Partial?
3. Insufficient equipment (2)
You want to do a "big" beer, but only really are able to efficiently mash a "normal" beers worth of grain. So you mash it a little lower, then add a 20 points to the OG through use of LDME. AG/Partial?
4. Belgian (1)
Is candi sugar use still AG? Am I being silly now? AG/Partial?
5. Belgian (2)
You think that candi sugar is for suckers and use raw/brown/regular cane sugar. Blasphemy! AG/Partial?
NOTE: The hypotheticals are just there to get discussion going.
OTHER NOTE: LDME = LDME, DDME, DME, LME, etc, etc, etc... Any unhopped "extract"
What are peoples thoughts? Is there room for LDME in AG brewing? Where is the line drawn?
I look forward to the replies...
FWIW, a wise man once said to me that if you don't tell people there is LDME in it, then it's an AG batch. I've chosen to live by that for most circumstances...
So, where is the line drawn? I don't think anyone is going to be overly purist and argue that dex for bottle priming is the cheats way out (prove me wrong though!), but how much in the way of adjuncts pushes something from AG to partial?
Some hypotheticals:
1. Poor efficiency.
So you thought you could hit 75%, but you came out with 65%. So you add some LDME to get you up to a reasonable OG. AG/Partial?
2. Insufficient equipment (1)
You're doing a regular strength brew, but can only hit 14 litres cause your pot is too small. You add a kilo or so of LDME to pad it out to a respectable batch size. AG/Partial?
3. Insufficient equipment (2)
You want to do a "big" beer, but only really are able to efficiently mash a "normal" beers worth of grain. So you mash it a little lower, then add a 20 points to the OG through use of LDME. AG/Partial?
4. Belgian (1)
Is candi sugar use still AG? Am I being silly now? AG/Partial?
5. Belgian (2)
You think that candi sugar is for suckers and use raw/brown/regular cane sugar. Blasphemy! AG/Partial?
NOTE: The hypotheticals are just there to get discussion going.
OTHER NOTE: LDME = LDME, DDME, DME, LME, etc, etc, etc... Any unhopped "extract"
What are peoples thoughts? Is there room for LDME in AG brewing? Where is the line drawn?
I look forward to the replies...
FWIW, a wise man once said to me that if you don't tell people there is LDME in it, then it's an AG batch. I've chosen to live by that for most circumstances...