Hey folks!
I had ordered two 1 Gal kits of the Bourbon Barrel Porter, and brewed one of them last night. I had read the directions ahead of time, and I followed them properly. But I noticed one tiny detail that I overlooked. The directions “recommend” using half of the Wheat DME… Okay, I did that… But WHY?
Why not use the whole 1 pound? What would that have affected, had I just dumped the whole bag in?
Again, I followed the directions, and I’m not particularly worried about it - Just curious as to what the difference would have been, and if anyone has tried it. Mind you, I’m a complete novice, as this is the 2nd time I’ve ever brewed! 
Thanks!
-Pete
Your end result would be a sweeter and higher ABV version of the same beer. If you increase the amount of ferementables the yeast will have more sugars to convert to alcohol but since DME isn’t 100% fermentable you would also be left with more residual sweetness. It may be too much for the style and add undesired flavors to your beer.
Crap. It did? I gotta go back and read the instructions…I did not see that 
[quote=“PDevlin75”]Hey folks!
I had ordered two 1 Gal kits of the Bourbon Barrel Porter, and brewed one of them last night. I had read the directions ahead of time, and I followed them properly. But I noticed one tiny detail that I overlooked. The directions “recommend” using half of the Wheat DME… Okay, I did that… But WHY?
Why not use the whole 1 pound? What would that have affected, had I just dumped the whole bag in?
Again, I followed the directions, and I’m not particularly worried about it - Just curious as to what the difference would have been, and if anyone has tried it. Mind you, I’m a complete novice, as this is the 2nd time I’ve ever brewed!
Thanks!
-Pete[/quote]
Actually…thinking back, I could have sworn my kit had bags with different amounts of the two DME. But I no longer have the bags to check. I definitely put the full contents in there though…whatever that means!
Thanks, mattnaik! I had a hunch that it might add to the ABV, but I didn’t know that it would sweeten the flavor of the beer. Good thing I didn’t just add it all in anyway.
Yeah bureau, I almost missed it. I wound up re-reading the directions, and double checking the labels to make sure. What with this only being my 2nd brew, it was a nice, early reminder to make sure I really read through the directions before I start!
But now I have a half of a pound of DME sitting in my freezer, waiting to be used for a yeast starter! So it’s certainly not going to waste.
-Pete
