Quick answers please!(regarding malt or sugar)

[TylerGuy]

Alright i was at the brew store in my area, its a brewers direct and i asked the clerk how much malt to subistute for the brewers sugar. he told me 1 for 1. now im questioning his ability to help me as the malt extracts are 1 pound and not one kg. i havent brewed today yet so if i need to go get more fermentables i can at a later date but... i already brewed an extract kit before with only one of these bags .will one pound be alright or should i wait to get dextrose?

 

[two_one_seven]

List the recipie that would be helpful. Once we can see the big picture it would be easier to make recomendations.

 

[TylerGuy]

arent all extract kits the same, add can, and 1 kg dextrose?

 

[Qhrumphf]

+1 on recipe.

Simply put, LME will require more, corn sugar and DME aren't too far off (depending on the manufacturer) in sugar content. Different sources seem to rate both in the 40-45 ppg range. However, DME and LME will have a dramatically different impact than the sugar will. Depending on the recipe and the desired result, you may be better off with one or the other.

 

[Qhrumphf]

arent all extract kits the same, add can, and 1 kg dextrose?

Absolutely not all the same. Some have different extracts, different amounts. Most have grains to steep before extracts are added. Some require sugars. Some are better without.

Are you working with the pre-hopped kits you just add water with? Because that will really limit the help we can provide.

 

[Yooper]

arent all extract kits the same, add can, and 1 kg dextrose?

No. Some kits are like that- but most quality kits are not.

Cheaper kits, like Cooper's, have prehopped canned extract and ask for dextrose, while quality kits have extract, hops, specialty grains, and often a good yeast strain and require boiling to isomerize the hops.

It makes a huge difference, and the quality isn't even close.

 

[goopyquill]

here is a simple conversion of liquid vs dry vs grain but as stated above we really need a recipe to offer more help
1# grain = 0.75# LME = 0.6# DME
1# DME = 1.25# LME = 1.67# grain
1# LME = 0.8# DME = 1.33# grain

 

[TylerGuy]

i guess i didnt realize it wasent a simple question. the kits i brew are all open can add water and sugar. no steeping grains yet, im too new and too broke. what im looking for is if the kit asks for 1 kg sugar and i have only a 1 pound bag of malt, can i brew or is that only half the sugar required? it seems like i dont have enough sugars but the clerk at the brew store instructed me 1 bag.

 

[TylerGuy]

i see the issue. in my first post i did not specify it was a coopers type kit. the kind that had a can of extract and a yeast pack and you supply the sugar.

 

[chickypad]

The 1 lb of malt extract equals about .78 lb of sugar in terms of alchohol boost. So if you were supposed to add a kilo, you need about 1.4 more lbs. Do you have table sugar? You can add 1.4 lb of that plus the extract.

Edit: just to clarify, on first read I assumed you were talking liquid, if dry would be about equivalent sugar content to same weight of sugar as was mentioned

 

[unionrdr]

Here's an easy conversion chart that'll help; http://www.jaysbrewing.com/2011/11/17/lazy-chart-for-converting-dme-lme-grain/ The formula kg x 2.202 = pounds will give the basic conversion. so 1kg x 2.202 = 2.2lbs...

 

[danb35]

TylerGuy, sounds like what you might have misunderstood is that DME and sugar are (very roughly) interchangeable for equal weight--one pound for one pound. Prepackaged DME comes in a number of different sizes, so there would be no sense in saying it's package-to-package interchangeable.

If you brewed with one pound of DME in place of one kg of sugar, the resulting beer will be lower in alcohol content than was intended. Certainly isn't the end of the world.

 

[TylerGuy]

to all i did not brew and i went and picked up some dextrose to have the correct amount of fermentables. brew night tonite!

 

[rodwha]

Give this a look:

http://morebeer.com/category/10-beers-50-beer.html

 

[woozy]

here is a simple conversion of liquid vs dry vs grain but as stated above we really need a recipe to offer more help
1# grain = 0.75# LME = 0.6# DME
1# DME = 1.25# LME = 1.67# grain
1# LME = 0.8# DME = 1.33# grain

Nice! Add 1# DME = 1# sugar and you've got it. (I think!)

My two cents and my understanding (someone can confirm or counter me if I'm right or wrong): DME and sugar are, by weight, about equal in fermentables and are roughly completely fermentable. (Roughly one pound of sugar/DME will give on gallon of water 46 gravity points.) LME is roughly 80% fermentables and 20% water and you convert by 4/5 to go from LME to DME (1lb LME = .8lb DME = .8lb sugar = enough fermentables to raise 1 gallon of water 37 gravity points) or 5/4 to go from DME to LME (1 lb sugar = 1lb DME = 1.25 lb LME = enough fermentables to raise on gallon of water 46 gravity points).

At least that's my understanding.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Nice! Add 1# DME = 1# sugar and you've got it. (I think!)

My two cents and my understanding (someone can confirm or counter me if I'm right or wrong): DME and sugar are, by weight, about equal in fermentables and are roughly completely fermentable. (Roughly one pound of sugar/DME will give on gallon of water 46 gravity points.) LME is roughly 80% fermentables and 20% water and you convert by 4/5 to go from LME to DME (1lb LME = .8lb DME = .8lb sugar = enough fermentables to raise 1 gallon of water 37 gravity points) or 5/4 to go from DME to LME (1 lb sugar = 1lb DME = 1.25 lb LME = enough fermentables to raise on gallon of water 46 gravity points).

At least that's my understanding.

DME is not completely fermentable. How fermentable it is depends on the way it was made, and is different for every maltster. Some extracts (DME or LME) will ferment more thoroughly than others.

Sugar will ferment 100%.

That difference is why some beers are better with sugars and some aren't.

 

[IL1kebeer]

dme is not completely fermentable. How fermentable it is depends on the way it was made, and is different for every maltster. Some extracts (dme or lme) will ferment more thoroughly than others.

Sugar will ferment 100%.

That difference is why some beers are better with sugars and some aren't.

+1

 

[TylerGuy]

TylerGuy, sounds like what you might have misunderstood is that DME and sugar are (very roughly) interchangeable for equal weight--one pound for one pound. Prepackaged DME comes in a number of different sizes, so there would be no sense in saying it's package-to-package interchangeable.

If you brewed with one pound of DME in place of one kg of sugar, the resulting beer will be lower in alcohol content than was intended. Certainly isn't the end of the world.

this was what i was looking for. thank you!