BeerBorg

HME = Hopped Liquid Malt Extract
DME = Dry Malt Extract
NMCWB = Newbie Mad Chemist WannaBe

Hi. My name is Bender and I'm a newbie and a mad chemist wannabe.......(all together now) HI BENDER!

While not everyone agrees on anything in home brewing, I have decided to believe that HME should not be boiled. So what I do is bring my water to a boil, remove from heat, pour in HME, cover and maintain 170° to 180° F for 10 minutes.

My question is how and when do I add DME? Doesn't DME need to be boiled? Confusion....blood pressure rising.....heart rate increasing.....

DME does not need boiled. I boil it (after hot-break) when I am doing a hop-boil. The hops need sump'n to cling to. No hop boil, dump in, mix well to dissolve then press on with pride.

There is no need to keep HME at any temp for any period. Stir it in to the hot water. Pour into LBK.

RickBeer wrote:There is no need to keep HME at any temp for any period. Stir it in to the hot water. Pour into LBK.

I had read that holding the wort at 170° - 180° for ten minutes would insure sterilization. Not Necessary? Does it hurt anything?

FrozenInTime wrote:.... No hop boil, dump in, mix well to dissolve then press on with pride.

Is it normal for the DME to clump and be difficult to break up? That is what mine did but I got it dissolved finally. But still had to lift out some clumps that would not break up. But then it clumped up in the fermenter. I have a BD Conical modified with a spout in the bottom to drain off trub for week two without racking. But it was sealed shut by the solidified trub/DME. Didn't get a drop of trub or anything. When I didn't add DEM the trub drained off nicely. A clever idea that I got from this fine forum. We'll see what the bottom of my conical it looks like tomorrow.

Thanks for assimilating me.

Not sure what you were doing with the DME, (because I'm lazy and didn't read back too far).
But the short of it is: start with cold water (because the steam would clump the DME) and add the DME. It will clump. turn the heat on, and stir with a wisk occasionally. As it heats up, the DME will break down more. Bring it to a boil, and it should all disolve. once all that is done, you can flame out, and then add your LME to the batch.

Yankeedag wrote:It will clump. turn the heat on, and stir with a wisk occasionally. As it heats up, the DME will break down more. Bring it to a boil, and it should all disolve.

Previously I boiled the water, added the HME, and while still hot added the DME. I assume you are saying to do all of that (DME in cold water then heat to boil stir) and then add the HME. Do I have that right?

petts5354 wrote:

Yankeedag wrote:It will clump. turn the heat on, and stir with a wisk occasionally. As it heats up, the DME will break down more. Bring it to a boil, and it should all disolve.

Previously I boiled the water, added the HME, and while still hot added the DME. I assume you are saying to do all of that (DME in cold water then heat to boil stir) and then add the HME. Do I have that right?

Yes, do the DME first, then, you can add your HME/LME's to it. The DME has to be turned back into a LME by adding water and bringing it to a boil. The LME's just need to be thined back down.

Thanks yankeedag. Big help.

No worries petts.. that's why we're here. To help.

petts5354 wrote:I had read that holding the wort at 170° - 180° for ten minutes would insure sterilization. Not Necessary? Does it hurt anything?

Interesting. In theory the HME is already sterile from the canning process, but I can't see how it could hurt anything. I'm also assuming you sterilize the can opener and the top of the can.

I was not under the impression that DME was necessarily sterile.

Bluejaye wrote: Interesting. In theory the HME is already sterile from the canning process, but I can't see how it could hurt anything. I'm also assuming you sterilize the can opener and the top of the can.

I was not under the impression that DME was necessarily sterile.

That was another question I had....is the DME sterile? Because once I used a half lb out of a 1 lb bag and used the other half later. But since I read the advice to let it site at 180° it doesn't matter. And since I have learned in this thread to prep the DME first and since the DME is un-hopped it doesn't hurt anything and would not even if it boiled a little bit before adding the HME. Seems like it's worth the extra 10 minutes.

Yes?

The hard thing about being a NMCWB is that there are so many differing theories for virtually every aspect of brewing. It's the thing that makes it challenging but at the same time it makes it really fun.....that and drinking the brew.

Burp.....

Don't get hung up on things being "sterile". Unless you've run everything through an autoclave and intend to perform surgery with it, your brewing equipment and ingredients don't need to be sterile, just sanitized.

The canning process for LME/HME should be up to the common standards of all canned products, and the DME should be the same; in other words, good enough for you to use. It isn't necessary to bring the DME to a boil, and you're correct in saying you shouldn't boil the HME. Having the water hot helps with dissolving the DME, though, I've found (more on this later). And heating any LME/HME prior to pouring helps thin it and makes it easier to pour. Stirring it into hot water helps keep clumps from forming and mixes it better, IMO.

DME isn't always easy to work with, since it's hydrophilic and sucks up moisture like crazy, causing it to get sticky and clump up. But I've found that pouring a little bit of it at a time over a long time into water that's heating up, and stirring thoroughly with a whisk works pretty well.

FedoraDave wrote:DME isn't always easy to work with, since it's hydrophilic and sucks up moisture like crazy, causing it to get sticky and clump up. But I've found that pouring a little bit of it at a time over a long time into water that's heating up, and stirring thoroughly with a whisk works pretty well.

That's how I do it and have never had any clumping issues.