DME V's LME

[Spud395]

On my journey to all-grain, my next stop off is some extract brews.

Liquid or dry??
I take it Dry is more concentrated, but to what extent?
Is there a place where one is more suited than the other or can they be interchanged willy nilly.

If you have anymore random facts about malt extract you can also throw them at me!

[OldSpeckledBadger]

The big advantage of DME is that it stores better. LME is about 20% water.

[Spud395]

Cool and appart from that they are inter changable, right?
Just allow 20% more LME.

[CrownCap]

The 'perceived' wisdom is that fresh LME gives better quality results than DME. However, it is less stable, and less fresh LME is thought to be the source of the "homebrew taste" often referred to. DME is a much more stable product and does not generally suffer from that problem.

So, if you can be assured that your LME is fresh, then you will be on to a winner. Otherwise, DME may be the way to go.

Personally, I go for pale LME from a supplier that I know has a reasonable turnover to ensure its as fresh as possible. Any extra needed to reach the desired gravity comes from DME.

[bigdave]

What is the ratio of LME to DME? for example if a recipe calls for 1kg LME is it as straight forward as 1kg DME = 1kg LME or would it be 1kg minus 20% to allow for the above mentioned LME water content?

[Brotherton Lad]

Yes, use 20% less DME.

[JontyR]

Quick question, are DME and spray malt the same thing?

[sparky Paul]

Spraymalt is commonly referred to as DME, or dried malt extract.

Personally, I prefer the term Spraymalt, as 'DME' can be confused with Diastatic Malt Extract, which is a very different thing. Also, dried malt extract can be spray or band dried - the stuff available for homebrewing is spray dried, or Spraymalt.