CBW Munich DME Rock Solid Brick

[Jorge Caballero]

I received today my American IPA kit from Palmer Brewing Solutions, and was surprised about the CBW Munich DME bag. It is rock solid, i've never seen something like that and couldn't find anything about it online. I found the spec sheet of the product here http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CBWMunichDME.pdf and the product for sale here https://www.homebrewing.org/Briess-Munich-Dry-Malt-Extract-1-Lb_p_7206.html and it says nothing about it's solid form. I was expecting this to be powder form or liquid (in LME scenarios).

Is this something to worry about? Will it create off flavors? Should I hammer it down to powder? How to proceed?

See attached photos of said bag.

 

[RM-MN]

DME is very hygroscopic and will pick up moisture from the air and turn solid. It's still good, but it will take some time to dissolve it.

 

[MaaZeus]

There was probably a leak in the bag and it has sucked moisture from the air and it formed a brick. Heat some water to a boil, take it off the heat and try to dissolve the brick in it.

 

[Jorge Caballero]

There was probably a leak in the bag and it has sucked moisture from the air and it formed a brick. Heat some water to a boil, take it off the heat and try to dissolve the brick in it.

Thanks, will try it out this weekend and report back.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks, will try it out this weekend and report back.

If you intend to brew on Saturday you might want to start dissolving the DME on Friday evening. Heat up the water and put the DME into it, put a lid on and ignore it until morning.

 

[Miraculix]

If you intend to brew on Saturday you might want to start dissolving the DME on Friday evening. Heat up the water and put the DME into it, put a lid on and ignore it until morning.

You might get some lactic action within this time ....

 

[RM-MN]

You might get some lactic action within this time ....

Not likely at all. First you need to have the bacteria available which the hot water should take care of (if over 150F) and then by putting a lid on it you really restrict the entrance of any more as it doesn't crawl under lids very easily.

Some of us do overnight mashes without getting any bacterial activity that can be detected. It really takes some time for the bacteria to grow a big enough colony to affect the taste.

 

[Miraculix]

Not likely at all. First you need to have the bacteria available which the hot water should take care of (if over 150F) and then by putting a lid on it you really restrict the entrance of any more as it doesn't crawl under lids very easily.

Some of us do overnight mashes without getting any bacterial activity that can be detected. It really takes some time for the bacteria to grow a big enough colony to affect the taste.

I did over night mashes and those soured. Those guys can be really quick as soon as the temperature drops. If you can keep the temperature up all night, no problem in sight. Otherwise potential souring is definitely a thing to keep in mind.

 

[IslandLizard]

If you intend to brew on Saturday you might want to start dissolving the DME on Friday evening. Heat up the water and put the DME into it, put a lid on and ignore it until morning.

I would definitely bring it up to a boil with the brick in it, before letting it sit and dissolve overnight.

But there are better ways.

Should I hammer it down to powder?

I had some older bags of DME that had turned hard (used for starters). I put another bag around the factory bag and used a hammer to break them up into smaller 1/2" to 1 1/2" pieces, not dust. It took about 10-15 minutes of slow simmering to dissolve them. They turned into some sort taffy during the process.

It's doubtful a broken up brick taking much longer in a 5 gallon kettle with simmering wort/water.

 

[IslandLizard]

I did over night mashes and those soured.

That's alarming! After 8-12 hours already?

 

[Miraculix]

That's alarming! After 8-12 hours already?

About 12h, yes. But it was not isolated at all. If the temperature is at least held above lactos thriving temperature, there wouldn't be a problem.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

That DME is a bit old, the date code is 2/28/2017. I assume there is a small pinhole in the bag and humidity got in. I'm a bit surprised that Palmer is selling extract that old.

Edit: According to Briess, 24 months is the "best by" date, so this is only a little over a month over the recommendation.

 

[Lefou]

Rock hard DME? It's just solidified sugar. Break it up, boil it, but don't let it sit for too long.
I've had LME long-forgotten and unmarked buried waaaayyy back in my refrigerator and wanted to pitch it. It must've been in the refrigerator for well-nigh two years.
When the wife found out I was going to pitch that old wheat LME she told me no.
I asked why.
She convinced me that the sugar content was so high and the water content was so low that the LME was still good. I didn't argue, it gets me in trouble. The LME didn't get used for brewing because she immediately took it for cooking instead, using it for a pork coating that turned out quite nicely.

 

[IslandLizard]

That DME is a bit old, the date code is 2/28/2017. I assume there is a small pinhole in the bag and humidity got in. I'm a bit surprised that Palmer is selling extract that old.

Edit: According to Briess, 24 months is the "best by" date, so this is only a little over a month over the recommendation.

Where did you buy this?
Complaining can get you a free replacement, so you may get 2 kits for one price. They never have you send them back.

Technically there's nothing wrong with 'out of date' DME, even a little moisture turning it into a brick shouldn't affect it. For LME, however, age and storage is detrimental. The starter wort I made from bricked DME tasted fine, not stale, eating a small chunk tasted like the real, fresh stuff.

John Palmer doesn't sell these kits. Someone must have cut him a deal to use his name when he published his 4th edition of How to Brew a few years ago. There were no 'Palmer' kits before, AFAIK. Just sad his name got attached to mediocre quality kits though, he's a super nice guy, holds an engineering degree, knows brewing processes, and can communicate those in layman's terms through a clear and appealing style of writing, second to none.

Those Palmer kits went on sale everywhere a few months ago, I guess they were reaching their expiration date.

Now hops not being stored refrigerated (or better, frozen) for 2 years in a shop or warehouse, could be an issue. Unless the kits are made up on demand, upon ordering, and include properly stored hops and yeast.

 

[IslandLizard]

About 12h, yes. But it was not isolated at all. If the temperature is at least held above lactos thriving temperature, there wouldn't be a problem.

I guess enough of them survive the 150F+ mash temps and start to thrive when it slowly drops to their favorite 125-110F range.

Now DME should not contain Lactobacillus, or any other microorganisms unless it was exposed to grain dust or so when packaging.

 

[MaxStout]

If their stock rotation is FIFO, you just got an old one. Could be a kit they stocked too many of. Perhaps they just wanted to get rid of old stock and you got hit with one.

Put the DME in a big ziploc and crush it with a rolling pin. Even if you just get it down to small chunks it will dissolve. Just add it to the hot water a little at a time and stir like crazy so it doesn't clump together.

 

[Miraculix]

I guess enough of them survive the 150F+ mash temps and start to thrive when it slowly drops to their favorite 125-110F range.

Now DME should not contain Lactobacillus, or any other microorganisms unless it was exposed to grain dust or so when packaging.

Yes, it really depends. I suspect that in my case my Bag actually contained the lactos and once it cooled down, they multiplied like crazy. But lactos are literally everywhere, it is impossible to get rid of all of them without having real lab conditions.