Just learned SG and OG can be increased by adding DME. Anyone know about how much DME to add per gravity point? Are we talking spoonfuls or cupfuls of DME for a 5 gal batch?
Trial and error works, just thought someone already knows.
1 lb. of DME will get you 9 points in a 5 gal. batch.
What do you think of this process? I had to do once recently, and everything seems to sork out. But it kind of seemed like “cheating.”
My boiloff on my electric range is rather inconsistent, so I have to add DME every now and then to get to the gravity I’m shooting for. It bothered me at first, but all the brews I’ve had to do this for have turned out just fine.
I have decided to make some adjustments to my process, however. I’d much rather overshoot my gravity and add topoff water than undershoot and have to add DME.
I’ve added DME to hit my gravity if I undershoot, mostly due to lower boil off. But I don’t do it often and when I do I don’t think of it as cheating. If the beer turns out well that’s all that matters.
I don’t see any reason why it is cheating. It’s just a tool to use. Some times on higher gravity brews I will add a couple pounds light DME just for convenience sake.
Doing a high gravity beer recipe of mine at a local brewpub, the brewer added a bag of DME to 7 barrels. That is standard procedure for him, as they max out the mash tun for big beers. We also added some sugar and a gallon of molasses to this one, a Baltic Porter. Turned out pretty good!
IME, adding a lb. or 2 of DME to an AG batch is pretty much undetectable.
Great beer tastes great no matter the process. Bad beer tastes bad regardless of process authenticity. Besides, we’ve all chosen to let others do some of the work. Rarely do we grow grains and hops, malt and kiln barley, culture our own yeast, etc. The line is in the middle of a big gradient.
Diluting your gravity also dilutes your IBUs. Noted hophead Mike “Tasty” McDole intentionally undershoots and adds DME to every brew. He buys DME in 50-lb bags.
Good point, although I think you mean concentrating your gravity dilutes your IBU’s. The flip side is that a more dilute wort will lead to higher IBU’s, which may not be desirable in certain styles. For my really hoppy brews, my calculated IBU’s are usually in the 60’s-70’s, so even if I lose 5-10 IBU’s I’m still at the upper limit of the bitterness threshold. Plus, I get to use the topoff water to rinse the hop trub in my kettle for some extra hoppy goodness.
More dilute wort during the boil will lead to better hop utilization and higher IBU’s. But they were talking about adding water to wort post boil to correct gravity. This would certain lead to lower IBU’s because of 1) higher gravity during boil and 2) post boil dilution of alpha-acids.
I was misreading this as having a dilute boil, as opposed to diluting postboil. Thanks for the clarification.
The Android app BrewZor Calculator has a tool for adjusting gravity with DME or LME. Enter your current gravity, desired gravity, and wort volume and it tells you how many ounces of DME or LME to add.
As long as it tastes good!