LME or SME

[ukphiltr7]

I have recently moved from Australia to the Midlands. Over there, lots were using the tins of Liquid Malt Extract (LME), however on goint to my local brew shop it seems that Spray Malt Extract (SME) is all the rage. In fact the shop I went to did not have any tins of LME at all. This is a shame as I have only seen them for a tenner on the online shops.

So my question is, is SME ok to use as a substute to LME? I have only used coopers brew enhancer once before, on my initial kit and then the liquid ME. I did bread thatthe SME does have something to help with the beer head retention, sothat willbe a good thing.

I hope to start brewing soon so any advice woe ls be most hopeful in my first new brew in the UK.

 

[dad_of_jon]

SME (or DME) is fine the only difference is there no water in it so 1kg of SME gives you more alcohol than 1kg of LME
i.e you could think of LME as a diluted version of SME

 

[ukphiltr7]

So if anything the dry one is better than the wet one?

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
Brew enhancer is not spray malt, altough spray malt may be a major constituent of brew enhancer.

 

[ukphiltr7]

I never said it was, as I know brew enhancer is two (sometimes more) ingredients, just said that I had used it in the past. Thanks for the confirmation though

 

[Sandimas]

So if anything the dry one is better than the wet one?

Yes.

A few of us on here regularly use extract and sometimes the liquid can give that homebrew "twang", not sure of the reason maybe age related? Never had it with the dried stuff. Also, the dried stuff can be picked up much cheaper, picked up a load from The Homebrew Company when it was on offer for £4.99/kg. Cheapest I've found elsewhere is Malt Miller at £5.90/kg.

 

[ukphiltr7]

Cool, think I will try it on the next brew and,see howbeit goes. Do not want the homebrew twang thing showing up. The next brew may be a winter warmer beer from Goerdie.

 

[Bigcol49]

I did read that the SME does have something to help with the beer head retention,

Hi!
I assumed that you were confusing spray malt with beer enhancer.

 

[MrRook]

So if anything the dry one is better than the wet one?

Yes. It's easier to measure and it lasts longer in storage. Wet also has a tendency to sink to the bottom of the kettle leading to scorched extract if you're not careful.

 

[terrym]

I work on 750g LME = 650g DME.
And I agree about the dreaded 'twang' which I had when I used cheap LME in extract brews, although I found you don't get this with the more expensive stuff. However the better LME works out more expensive than DME, at least when you buy online like I do, so bottom line is I buy DME. The only exception to this being H&B LME which I use for brewing and buy when on offer.

 

[terrym]

Yes. It's easier to measure and it lasts longer in storage. Wet also has a tendency to sink to the bottom of the kettle leading to scorched extract if you're not careful.

It will scorch if you keep heating it whilst you are trying to blend it in. I find the solution is to remove the kettle from the heat, then add the LME and mix it in properly so there is none at the bottom, and then return to the heat.

 

[ukphiltr7]

The way I was going to do it is heat the beer kit and LME in hot water, then put both into the FV. Then I will get to the temp needed and hope for the best. So burning of LME will not happen.

 

[terrym]

What you usually do with LME based beer kits is to pour the can or sachet contents into the FV and then add some very hot water. then stir it up until it's mixed properly. Then add any sugars or more LME until they too have mixed in, adding more very hot water as required to get a thick homogenous liquid. Then you dilute with cold water. Sometimes you may need to add a little hot water at the end to get the correct pitching temperature. However if you are using DME I find its best to add this to very hot water at the outset, before I add LME, since it dissolves better that way.
Failing that, read the kit instructions.

 

[ukphiltr7]

For a normal 1.5kg tin kit are we talking 1kg or SME?

 

[dad_of_jon]

try this...

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Malt-Extract-Calculator.html

 

[ukphiltr7]

I have just put a brew down, the Geordie Winter Warmer, using 1 kilo of Brew Enhancer. When I do the next one I think I will use DME and brewing sugar option.