Storage of LME

[perryni]

I have just bought 15kg of LME and will be doing my first brew with this weekend. After this brew I wont be brewing for some weeks so was wondering what is the best way to store it, and also how long will an opened pale of extract last before 'spoiling'

Cheers
Nick

[greenxpaddy]

In theory it is not a high spoilage item. In practice though after you open and close it a few times the water content will increase slowly. The lme is hydroscopic. Mould may then start to appear very slowly over months.

If you have any CO2 squirt that in after you have finished to create a blanket over the surface and it should help prevent oxidation and mould growth.

[perryni]

thanks for the tip, I will give that a go

[jimp2003]

In theory it is not a high spoilage item. In practice though after you open and close it a few times the water content will increase slowly. The lme is hydroscopic. Mould may then start to appear very slowly over months.

If you have any CO2 squirt that in after you have finished to create a blanket over the surface and it should help prevent oxidation and mould growth.

I thought it was the DME that was hydroscopic and the LME already had enough liquid content for that not to happen?

The squirt of CO2 would apply for both dry and liquid malt extract I guess - probably more so for LME as is a ready environment for mould growth etc from the get go...

[greenxpaddy]

High sugar solutions still attract water. Caramel of a similar water content is still hygroscopic

[jimp2003]

I need to bear that in mind in future then - Cheers!

[lovelldr]

How would one use an s30 canister to create a blanket of co2 in the Jerry can? Or can one not do that?