To add spray malt or not?

[Rusty Shackleford]

Hi all, first time poster. I'm brewing a NEIPA using a basic brew kit from Get Er Brewed. There's no mention of using spray malt in the instruction but every basic kit I've used so far has recommended it. Should I go ahead and use it anyway?

Thanks.

 

[Dutto]

Welcome to The Forum!

It won't do any harm to use Spray Malt instead of sugar.

Check out the following Thread ...

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/spray-malt-instead-of-sugar.17451/

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Welcome to The Forum!

It won't do any harm to use Spray Malt instead of sugar.

Check out the following Thread ...

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/spray-malt-instead-of-sugar.17451/

Thanks. Is the purpose of spray malt at the bottling stage to add carbonation/fizz?

 

[Sandimas]

Looks like the Get Er Brewed kit is a 2-can kit, so you don't need anything else to brew it
https://www.geterbrewed.com/neipa-beer-kit/

The other kits you mention may have been 1-can kits, which need extra spraymalt or sugar to make 23L of beer.

You can use spraymalt to prime bottles, but I wouldn't - it's real messy stuff. Just use sugar.

 

[GerritT]

Thanks. Is the purpose of spray malt at the bottling stage to add carbonation/fizz?

Yup, an extra sugar to create CO2 in the bottle. It's fancy and probably a tiny bit better than plain sugar, but a lot of brewers use plain sugar. That DME is sticky and messy and gets everywhere.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Looks like the Get Er Brewed kit is a 2-can kit, so you don't need anything else to brew it
https://www.geterbrewed.com/neipa-beer-kit/

The other kits you mention may have been 1-can kits, which need extra spraymalt or sugar to make 23L of beer.

You can use spraymalt to prime bottles, but I wouldn't - it's real messy stuff. Just use sugar.

Ah, okay. Yeah, I've used it before and it's really messy, plus the residue sticks to the bottle.

Sorry, what do you mean by prime exactly? And would it still be 'fizzy' without the use of spray malt? Proper newbie here.

 

[Sandimas]

No they won't be fizzy if you just bottle the beer. You need a little bit of sugar or spaymalt in each bottle to allow the beer to generate some more CO2 to give you some fizz in the bottles.

 

[Dutto]

Just a few phrases and words that might help:

• Malted Barley = The cereal barley that has been conditioned so that it produces sugar.
• Malt Extract (ME) = The liquid extracted from the malted barley.
  • LME = Liquid Malt Extract
  • DME = Dried Malt Extract (aka Spray Dried Malt due to the way it is made).
• Mashing = The method of heating in water the malted barley in order to extract the sugars.
• Wort = The liquid produced by Mashing which is to be fermented.
• Fermentation = The process of turning the sugars in the wort into alcohol by using yeast.
• Yeast = A friendly bacteria that is used to produce alcohol from the wort.
  • Dried Yeast = Yeast dried, sold in sachets and either sprinkled on top of the wort or rehydrated.
  • Liquid Yeast = Yeast sold in a liquid that is usually poured into the wort.
  • Yeast Starter = Yeast that has been fed so that the original yeast increases in volume.
• Pitching = The process of pouring or sprinkling the yeast into or on to the wort.
• Trub = The dead yeast and debris at the bottom of a brew after fermentation.
• Krausen = The layer of scum and debris that forms of top of the brew during fermentation.
• Hydrometer = A measuring device that allows the brewer to determine the gravity of his brew.
• OG = The Original Gravity. (i.e. the Specific Gravity of the wort before the yeast is pitched.)
• FG = The Final Gravity. (i.e. the Specific Gravity of the brew after fermentation is completed.)
• ABV = Alcohol by Volume. (i.e. the % of alcohol present in the brew.)
• Carbonation = Putting the CO2 (fizz) into the brew after fermentation is completed.
  • Natural carbonation = An addition of sugar to a bottle or keg is allowed to ferment and produce CO2.
  • Forced carbonation = The use of CO2 gas at high pressure to force CO2 into a brew; usually in a keg.
• Conditioning = The time allowed for a brew to rest and mature before drinking. This may be up to a year.
• 2+2+2 = A system of brewing which allows two weeks for each following stage before trying the brew:
  • Fermentation.
  • Carbonation.
  • Conditioning.

I'm sure that I have missed more than a few of the words or phrases that you will need but these are the basics.

Enjoy!

PS

I have simplified many of the explanations. If you need a more complicated explanation for any aspect of brewing then please ask!

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Just a few phrases and words that might help:

• Malted Barley = The cereal barley that has been conditioned so that it produces sugar.
• Malt Extract (ME) = The liquid extracted from the malted barley.
  • LME = Liquid Malt Extract
  • DME = Dried Malt Extract (aka Spray Dried Malt due to the way it is made).
• Mashing = The method of heating in water the malted barley in order to extract the sugars.
• Wort = The liquid produced by Mashing which is to be fermented.
• Fermentation = The process of turning the sugars in the wort into alcohol by using yeast.
• Yeast = A friendly bacteria that is used to produce alcohol from the wort.
  • Dried Yeast = Yeast dried, sold in sachets and either sprinkled on top of the wort or rehydrated.
  • Liquid Yeast = Yeast sold in a liquid that is usually poured into the wort.
  • Yeast Starter = Yeast that has been fed so that the original yeast increases in volume.
• Pitching = The process of pouring or sprinkling the yeast into or on to the wort.
• Trub = The dead yeast and debris at the bottom of a brew after fermentation.
• Krausen = The layer of scum and debris that forms of top of the brew during fermentation.
• Hydrometer = A measuring device that allows the brewer to determine the gravity of his brew.
• OG = The Original Gravity. (i.e. the Specific Gravity of the wort before the yeast is pitched.)
• FG = The Final Gravity. (i.e. the Specific Gravity of the brew after fermentation is completed.)
• ABV = Alcohol by Volume. (i.e. the % of alcohol present in the brew.)
• Carbonation = Putting the CO2 (fizz) into the brew after fermentation is completed.
  • Natural carbonation = An addition of sugar to a bottle or keg is allowed to ferment and produce CO2.
  • Forced carbonation = The use of CO2 gas at high pressure to force CO2 into a brew; usually in a keg.
• Conditioning = The time allowed for a brew to rest and mature before drinking. This may be up to a year.
• 2+2+2 = A system of brewing which allows two weeks for each following stage before trying the brew:
  • Fermentation.
  • Carbonation.
  • Conditioning.

I'm sure that I have missed more than a few of the words or phrases that you will need but these are the basics.

Enjoy!

PS

I have simplified many of the explanations. If you need a more complicated explanation for any aspect of brewing then please ask!

Wow, thanks. I'm actually gonna print that and hang it on my kitchen door

 

[Keats]

Just to add to Dutto's excellent guide as you ask about priming, carbonation = priming. Brewer's Friend has a priming calculator to show how much sugar is needed to carbonate.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/

This is for batch priming. I don't know how you have primed before, but batch priming is when you siphon your beer into another bucket containing the relevant amount of sugar dissolved in water before bottling. The other way of priming is to add the sugar or carbonation drops to each bottle before filling with beer.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

Thanks for all the replies. So, as there isn't much difference between sugar and spray malt, I gather there isn't much difference between light and medium spray malt?

 

[Dutto]

Thanks for all the replies. So, as there isn't much difference between sugar and spray malt, I gather there isn't much difference between light and medium spray malt?

Unfortunately, yes there it! It's all dextrose (i.e. a fermentable sugar) but they are different colours in order to suit different brews. As a rough guide:

• Light = Lagers
• Medium = Beers
• Dark = Stouts

They will all carbonate a brew okay and can all be used in a brew as an adjunct.

The taste and colour difference won't be noticeable when carbonating but if Brewing Sugar or Spray Malt goes somewhere that it shouldn't it goes "sticky" and makes a right mess; so I use it for Batch Priming only.

 

[Pope]

Yeast = A friendly bacteria that is used to produce alcohol from the wort.

At the risk of sounding a bit pedantic, yeast isn't a bacteria. It is in fact a fungi.

 

[Covrich]

Unfortunately, yes there it! It's all dextrose (i.e. a fermentable sugar) but they are different colours in order to suit different brews. As a rough guide:

Risk of sounding pedantic part 2

Spray malt is not dextrose, dextrose is corn sugar.. Spray malt is dehydrated malt extract.

 

[Dutto]

At the risk of sounding a bit pedantic, yeast isn't a bacteria. It is in fact a fungi.

True, and refer the readers to this Thread ...

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-bacteria-virus-and-fungi

 

[Dutto]

Risk of sounding pedantic part 2

Spray malt is not dextrose, dextrose is corn sugar.. Spray malt is dehydrated malt extract.

True, and refer the readers to this Thread ...

http://www.thehopandgrain.com.au/guide-sugars/

 

[Dutto]

And so that none of us ever make a mistake in the future I refer everyone to ...

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/brewing-and-brewing-terminology.78598/

 

[user 44889]

Just a few phrases and words that might help:

• Malted Barley = The cereal barley that has been conditioned so that it produces sugar.
• Malt Extract (ME) = The liquid extracted from the malted barley.
  • LME = Liquid Malt Extract
  • DME = Dried Malt Extract (aka Spray Dried Malt due to the way it is made).
• Mashing = The method of heating in water the malted barley in order to extract the sugars.
• Wort = The liquid produced by Mashing which is to be fermented.
• Fermentation = The process of turning the sugars in the wort into alcohol by using yeast.
• Yeast = A friendly bacteria that is used to produce alcohol from the wort.
  • Dried Yeast = Yeast dried, sold in sachets and either sprinkled on top of the wort or rehydrated.
  • Liquid Yeast = Yeast sold in a liquid that is usually poured into the wort.
  • Yeast Starter = Yeast that has been fed so that the original yeast increases in volume.
• Pitching = The process of pouring or sprinkling the yeast into or on to the wort.
• Trub = The dead yeast and debris at the bottom of a brew after fermentation.
• Krausen = The layer of scum and debris that forms of top of the brew during fermentation.
• Hydrometer = A measuring device that allows the brewer to determine the gravity of his brew.
• OG = The Original Gravity. (i.e. the Specific Gravity of the wort before the yeast is pitched.)
• FG = The Final Gravity. (i.e. the Specific Gravity of the brew after fermentation is completed.)
• ABV = Alcohol by Volume. (i.e. the % of alcohol present in the brew.)
• Carbonation = Putting the CO2 (fizz) into the brew after fermentation is completed.
  • Natural carbonation = An addition of sugar to a bottle or keg is allowed to ferment and produce CO2.
  • Forced carbonation = The use of CO2 gas at high pressure to force CO2 into a brew; usually in a keg.
• Conditioning = The time allowed for a brew to rest and mature before drinking. This may be up to a year.
• 2+2+2 = A system of brewing which allows two weeks for each following stage before trying the brew:
  • Fermentation.
  • Carbonation.
  • Conditioning.

I'm sure that I have missed more than a few of the words or phrases that you will need but these are the basics.

Enjoy!

PS

I have simplified many of the explanations. If you need a more complicated explanation for any aspect of brewing then please ask!

Thanks for that Dutto, was getting a bit confused with all the different abbreviations.
I will be doing my first ever Beer kit in July, done loads of Wine and Cider but never a Beer before. Got a Mexican style Lager kit plus 1kg bag Muntons Beer Enhancer. So from what i gather the Enhancer is 50% DME and 50% Dextrose. Will i need to add any normal sugar as its only about 70% fermentable.
Any other tips greatly appreciated
Thanks again.

 

[Dutto]

….. Got a Mexican style Lager kit plus 1kg bag Muntons Beer Enhancer. So from what i gather the Enhancer is 50% DME and 50% Dextrose. Will i need to add any normal sugar as its only about 70% fermentable.
…..

Er … as far as I’m aware, Dextrose is 100% fermentable and I’ve also treated DME as if it is!

IF the kit requests a kilo of sugar, then replacing it with 1kg of Beer Enhancer (or DME) will suffice!

BTW:
1. I very seldom put in the full amount of adjunct requested in a kit; mainly because I drink a lot and very seldom wish to produce a “falling down juice”.
2. The Wilco Cerveza kit is my “go to” kit for experimentation. With only 250g of Light DME and a litre of Tesco Rosé Grapefruit Juice I made a beautiful summer lager; and with a shot of Chilli Vodka it made a “Winter Warmer” as well.

Enjoy!
:hat:

 

[dad_of_jon]

I use dme & dwe in my beer all the time apart from bottling stage. At bottling I make a solution from wilcos brewing sugar and water and inject the required amount of mm's into the bottle. This lets me easily inject a bit less for the second half of the batch so they they don't overcarbonate 6+ months down the line.

While it sounds like a faff, its actually quicker than having to clean a bottling bucket and a fermenter. more importantly the kitchen is returned to Mrs DOJ sooner. (Not that she OWNS it, I cook as much as she does, but SWMBO ) I keep my fv with a tap in a clean builders trug in case of leaks. No more autosyphon needed as well. However, even thought the tap isn't directly at the bottom it does pull in a little more yeast for the first bottle or two by bottling directly from the fv.