# Adding Malt Extract?



## gtberg (Nov 13, 2014)

Some of the recipes call for adding about a cup of "light dry malt" to the must. I'm trying one of these recipes, and can't figure out why the malt is added to it and what it does. I've not been able to find any information on that in my research. Who knows about this?


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## sour_grapes (Nov 13, 2014)

I am no help, but I gotta ask -- What kind of beverage are you making?


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## WVMountaineerJack (Nov 13, 2014)

You should probably be using extra light dried malt extract, it adds a lot of body and a little bit of fermentables. You want to boost the body and thickness of things like dessert style or fake ports. It also works in something that is generally light in body such as a strawberry. The ELDME adds very little flavor, using a darker extract starts to add flavor and can make your wine start to taste like beer. Our next ELDME is going to be in a cider, really want to see what it can do in apple cider. WVMJ


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## BernardSmith (Nov 13, 2014)

WVMountaineerJack said:


> You should probably be using extra light dried malt extract, it adds a lot of body and a little bit of fermentables. You want to boost the body and thickness of things like dessert style or fake ports. It also works in something that is generally light in body such as a strawberry. The ELDME adds very little flavor, using a darker extract starts to add flavor and can make your wine start to taste like beer. Our next ELDME is going to be in a cider, really want to see what it can do in apple cider. WVMJ



I sometimes make an apple ale (which is about 1 gallon of wort with one or two gallons of cider) - and it can be quite delicious. At the moment I have in a primary 3.3 pounds of liquid malt extract (LME) - Marris Otter and two gallons of cider. I boiled the hops (Cascade) in a gallon of water (no LME) and dissolved the LME in the boiling water and then added this to the apple juice. Should ferment to about 7.5% ABV.


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## Buehler91 (Nov 13, 2014)

is this about beer or wine?


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## BernardSmith (Nov 13, 2014)

a chimera made of both wine (cider) AND beer


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## oregondabbler (Nov 13, 2014)

Great question! I've been thinking the same thing. Would it make a wine or a malt beverage? I don't care about nomenclature, I only care if it would be any good to drink.

Jack Keller has a recipe for blueberry port that calls for dry malt extract: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe3.asp. Maybe this will be my first entry in the wine of the month club.

A cursory scan from a google search came back with a warning that dry malt extract contains protein which will cause protein haze and can lead to foaming or a head on the wine. Also there will be a distinctive taste introduced with the extract. None of these are showstoppers for me. I just want it to be good.

Liquid malt extracts can leave an aftertaste described as "liquid extract tang" . I don't like that. When I made beer, I quickly gave up on liquid malt extracts and went to all grain brewing. I never tasted tang when I used dry malt extract to boost the s.g. of my wort.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Nov 13, 2014)

Thats one reason I mentioned ELDME, leaves very little taste in the amounts used but does leave lots of body. A strawberry at 10lb or more berry/gal with ELDME and a little bit of oak (and maybe just a handful of dried elderberries for color and tannins) makes a very luscious drink. WVMJ


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## gtberg (Nov 14, 2014)

I'm making a peach wine with a little bit of blueberry for color. It comes out looking like a nice rose and it tastes very smooth. I could serve this to you, and you'd never know it was a peach wine. Very mellow in flavor. I'm guessing the malt adds some body and mellowness to the taste.


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## WVMountaineerJack (Nov 14, 2014)

Did you add malt to this? Looks like you need a lot more peaches if you cant taste them at least in their fermented form. WVMJ



gtberg said:


> I'm making a peach wine with a little bit of blueberry for color. It comes out looking like a nice rose and it tastes very smooth. I could serve this to you, and you'd never know it was a peach wine. Very mellow in flavor. I'm guessing the malt adds some body and mellowness to the taste.


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## gtberg (Nov 14, 2014)

Yes, I did add malt. I'm still in primary fermentation currently. It's my first attempt at wine, and I took the recipe of a friend of mine after tasting his wine. All the science aside, the proof is in the taste of the finished wine, and after tasting his wine, I'm a believer. Maybe my next batch, I'll try making it without the malt and see the difference in the finished wine. At this point, I'm overwhelmed with too much information from everything I've read. But that was one thing I couldn't find any information about was what the purpose of adding malt to wine does.


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## maurtis (Nov 14, 2014)

I wonder how some DME in a Dragon Blood would work out? Some easy extra body might be nice.

How much are you guys using in your peach and strawberry wines? Say, for a 6 gallon batch, would I just go with one lb of ELDME? I happen to have a 1lb bag in my brew closet waiting for a place to go!


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## olusteebus (Nov 14, 2014)

I happen to have 2 bags of dme. I may try that with SP sometime.


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