LME VS DME

[elslow]

Hello everyone, first new thread (sorry if its been asked before, or I'm asking in the wrong place!).

Is LME better than DME?

I'm formulating a recipe for my first all extract brew (a foreign extra stout), and I've been playing around with various brew calculators.

Would an all DME with the same OG and approx colour etc taste any different to a LME based recipe? DME seems to be cheaper, easier to work with and store...

 

[wezil]

Hmm, good question! Probably not, although lme might come with hop flavours already in it, which I would have thought might be difficult with dme. Also lme is easier to mix into the wort, stirring in dme makes your arm ache! Especially as it forms lumps at the drop of a hat, and if you don't stir it enough your og will be off. (But as always greater minds than mine will probably give a better answer)! :lol:

 

[alawlor66430]

I e never used LME mainly cos the higher price isn't justified by any obvious benefits (apart from the lumps you speak of lol )

 

[wezil]

Yep, I always use dme for just that reason! The finished article more than compensates for the arm ache :lol:

 

[alawlor66430]

I've found that sometimes no amount of storing gets the lumps gone, I just let it sit for a while with the occasional gentle stir usually while I'm cleaning up my mess, then when I get back to it it's mostly dissolved

 

[ScottM]

Never had any issues with lumps. I take it you guys are mixing the DME into boiling (or nearly boiling) water?

I think both have their positives and negatives. I always use DME as I see it as being more cost effective. I'll happily buy a tin/kit and add DME to bulk it up though, that way the flavour profile for the style is already made up with the hops etc.

Do LME cans come pre-hopped? I always thought they were a blank slate the same as regular DME, other than kits of course. DME can be bought pre-hopped but I've no idea what hops are used for this so I generally use my own :)

 

[alanywiseman.]

Fresh LME is better than DME.

I am going to use DME because I can not vouch for how the LME has been stored and if I buy it in bulk I know I will not be able to store it in optimum conditions. If you can store it in the right conditions and can afford to buy 25kg LME then that is probably your best option I think.

 

[elslow]

Nice one, cheers for the replies.

 

[Sandimas]

Think it depends.....I tend to used DME in most my brews for convenience (and cost), but I have done a back-to-back test with Coopers Stout, and the end product brewed with a can of dark LME was superior to the one brewed with DME.

 

[wezil]

Hi I would have thought the deteriation of 25kg of lme would start the moment it was exposed to air? So the sooner you use it the better, and good storage would be an important but secondary issue? And im still not sure of the rational behind not using old lme? It's vacumn sealed in a tin and usually made in this country, unlike many tinned goods that are exposed to who knows what conditions, and are fine to eat even past their sell buy date. Any one clear this up for me with definitive proof?

 

[JKaranka]

25kg LME here, no obvious deterioration after 4 months. Kept dark and cool.

 

[mattrickl06]

DME is broken up much better in cooled boiled water around 30-40 degrees, if it is too hot it goes clumpy

 

[ScottM]

DME is broken up much better in cooled boiled water around 30-40 degrees, if it is too hot it goes clumpy

Strange. I find exactly the opposite.

 

[rpt]

I think its the steam that causes the clumping. It will dissolve better in hot water.

 

[ScottM]

I think its the steam that causes the clumping. It will dissolve better in hot water.

Yeah I get that if I'm not careful when pouring it in. If it gets moist it clumps on the packaging. Once in it dissolves almost instantly though.

 

[Markus]

In my first 7 brews I've only had DME go clumpy once so far. Would love to able to pinpoint exactly why but I can only giess that it was either the added honey made it more prone to clump or the water hadn't cooled enough, or had cooled too much...

 

[Markus]

Clumps still got eaten by the yeast tho, so no worries apart from the slightly off OG reading maybe.

 

[Pearlfisher]

Fresh LME is better than DME.

quote]

I've only used DME once in my first and only attempt at an extract , it was a disaster and ended up on the rhubarb in the garden.
:sick:
I've made umpteen kits using LME and all have been great . I'm going to have a go at the same extract kit next time but using LME .

 

[alanywiseman.]

I've only used DME once in my first and only attempt at an extract , it was a disaster and ended up on the rhubarb in the garden.
:sick:
I've made umpteen kits using LME and all have been great . I'm going to have a go at the same extract kit next time but using LME .

Why was it such a disaster? I dont know but I wouldnt have thought there woul dhave been that much difference :hmm:

 

[Pearlfisher]

Not sure , it never cleared even after 2 months and finings. It tasted unlike any beer I'd tried before. :sick:
I think I may have boiled with the lid on which probably didn't help.
Also I didn't use a wort chiller or hop filter ,just sieved it into the FV and let it cool overnight.