Extract included in All grain brew

[mrtickel]

Just wondering has anyone ever added a can of any extract into an all grain brew.
If yes did it make your beer better or worse??
I was thinking of trying it just to see what difference it would make by adding it into a brew

[Eoin]

Well I've done partial mashes with extract.... Does that count?

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[mrtickel]

yes i suppose it would because iv done partial mashes without the extract

[Eoin]

I did it after kits and it was a serious improvement to my beer. But I'd not usually add extract to an all grain brew.

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[Will_D]

For most of us with small willies*  , I mean mash tuns, when we brewed the cask RIS we had to use extract to up the gravity!

*As I have a very large and expensive Canon camera lens I am constantly told things like "Big Lens small dick"

Just as well I don't drive a Ferrari!

[sub82]

We've also used a can of extract to up the gravity of a beer.

It worked quite well but I think next time we'll use DME - I've since read that DME can be a more consistent product.

[DEMPSEY]

Is DME as fully fermentable as Household sugar

[Eoin]

Is DME as fully fermentable as Household sugar

Not quite I think about 80%

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[sub82]

Interesting! I thought it was better as it couldn't have sugar added?

[LordEoin]

beersmith:
DME to OG 1.050 - says estimated FG 1.014
LME to OG 1.050 - says estmated FG 1.013
Sugar to OG 1.050 - says estimated FG 0.989

If you're just trying to boost ABV, some sugar is fine. But remember that you'll thin the beer out too. I use a maximum of 300g(lighter beers) to 500g (darker thicker beers)
LME will boost the ABV and add to the body, but you'll also get some residual sweetness and darkness (not great for lagers and light pale ales)
Light DME is pretty foolproof.

It's all about balance

[mr hoppy]

DME has about the same PPG as sugar (45ppg or 375 per kilo litre), but as has been said above DME isn't fully fermentable.

It's quite useful for hitting your target gravity. When I started getting serious about mash efficiency I used extra pale DME a few times to make sure I hit target gravity. Like WillD said it's also useful if you're making a big beer, are pushing your mashtun capacity, and need a little extra to get it over the line.

LME goes off quicker than DME, and can get quite soapy. Also, with DME it's quick and easy to measure the exact amount you need to hit your target.

[mrtickel]

Yea i was going to add LME to an irish red ale to give it more body and ABV and to see how it would taste after. I just was'nt sure if it would of been a good/bad idea and runin a good beer.
Thanks for the help 

[Damien M]

I added DME to up the OG of a batch last year and it added an "improved" maltyness to it to boot. Now I know due the the residual unfermentables!

Learning Learning Learning!! Isn't the NHC great!!