Guest Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Hi guys. I've viewed many recipes in my time as a home brewer, & many of those that I've brewed involve the use of Dry Malt Powder(s). The intriguing thing to me is the difference from recipe to recipe about how & when the DMP is added into the brew mix. Some say to mix a certain amount of it with 'X' litres of water & bring to the boil. Others say simply turf it into your Fermenter with a bit of hot water, give a bit of swirl & Bob's your Uncle! Others say to mix it in with your other fermentables at any ol' temperature. There's probably other ways I've seen written, but can't think of atm. Ohh & then you've got recipes like PB2's Nelson's Light, that say to cook half, & mix the other half in your FV! Why is it requesting I cook the DMP in some recipes, & not in others? Does cooking DMP's create a slightly different taste or consistency from simply adding them to hot water in the fermenter? Is it beneficial to cook DMP as a base for hop cooks? If so, why? Why? why? why?...so many why's! Personally I find it a real P.I.T.A cooking dry malt powder, due to the time it takes, but if I knew for sure that by doing it every time I brewed, it would improve the quality of my beer, I would do it every time, without hesitation. I just want to know WHY I am doing it. I'll be very interested to read comments, as this is something that has intrigued me for a long time. Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 The only reason you would "cook" it is to achieve a certain gravity for a hop boil. The gravity of the wort will affect the extraction from the hops ie. the higher the gravity the lower the extraction/utilisation. Technically water at 1.000 will give you the best utilisation but may give a harsher bitterness. It is generally thought that a gravity between 1030 and 1040 will give you that balance between high utilisation and a smoother bitterness. Check out the table in the link below. How to Brew - Hop Utilisation Table Otherwise just add the rest of the DME to the FV. If you have any concerns about the sanitation of the malt then you should boil it for 15 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Thanks for reply Hairy. How to Brew - Hop Utilisation Table Wow!... Anyone in need of an instant headache? [pinched] In my own mind, once I reached the point where I began to compare John Palmer's notes with the principals of slow release fertiliser, I realised, it's probably best I stop reading & just heave the DMP in my FV like I've always done! [lol] [sideways] [lol] Beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DylanI Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Hey Beerlust I would guess that hop utilisation definitely fits into the 'I don't really need to know' category for you. Definitely just put your dry malt extract straight into the fermenter. What that table that Hairy posted means in English is, the bitterness you get from boiling your hops depends on the gravity (or malt concentration) of your boil. If you ended up getting the ianh spreadsheet, it assumes a gravity of 1040 for your boils. The spreadsheet tells you how much dry malt extract to add to get to 1040. If your boil has a lower gravity, you actually get slightly higher bitterness. I really dig the science behind it all, but you certainly don't need to get into that side of things to make great beer. -Dylan PS, please correct me if I'm wrong anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 +1 for both above replies. Only worthy thing you need to remember is a ratio of 10% DME to water = approx 1040 wort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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