Although you CAN make it with just DME, it might be a bit one dimensional. None the less, it WILL be beer. Perhaps just not as complex as you might like.
You might want to check out my link to Brewing 1A. It will fill you in on the steps that the poorly run brew shop left behind.
http://knewshound.blogspot.com/2007/11/homebrewing-1a.html
Use the DME exactly as I use the LME in the article.
Give it a shot, all you have to lose is 25 bucks for a kit. I suspect however that you will produce a pretty tasty brew :)
Cheers,
knewshound
I’ve made beer from kits using LME. I guess I wasn’t clear - how much DME to how much water? The bags come in all different sizes and several different kinds, even a giant pail which I’m sure I could turn into another fermenter. Do I boil the water first and then add the DME, or mix together and then boil?
What I’m thinking about is trying to do some different hops and yeast tests, and if I used just plain DME, that would eliminate one variable entirely. I’m thinking about a five-gallon batch divided into 5 one-gallon jugs. My local homebrewing club meets at a time and place that just doesn’t work for me, so I have to get all my information on line.