Edme Super Flavex

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Wysh

Wysh

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Hi all,

Sorry, not been on the forum lately. I have got a couple of brews bottled and kegged since the last time I was on, I'll post the results in the appropriate section of the forum later.

I have a question, Google has been inconclusive.

One of the books I bought uses something called Super Flavex in many of the recipes inside.

My research indicates that it is a liquid dark malt extract with caramel.

Is there an, as near as damn it, exact equivalent made nowadays?

Would I be better getting a plain DME and using some caramel (grain?) to add the caramel to it?

Or does standard DME naturally contain caramel anyway?

The book is Brewing Better Beers by Ken Shales btw.
 
Wysh said:
Hi all,

Sorry, not been on the forum lately. I have got a couple of brews bottled and kegged since the last time I was on, I'll post the results in the appropriate section of the forum later.

I have a question, Google has been inconclusive.

One of the books I bought uses something called Super Flavex in many of the recipes inside.

My research indicates that it is a liquid dark malt extract with caramel.

Is there an, as near as damn it, exact equivalent made nowadays?

Would I be better getting a plain DME and using some caramel (grain?) to add the caramel to it?

Or does standard DME naturally contain caramel anyway?

The book is Brewing Better Beers by Ken Shales btw.
Click to expand...

make your own caramel?

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hcb3icsC1OM[/ame]

muntons do dark spraymalt extracts

super flavex sounds american and/or something from the 70's :grin:
 
I recall using EDME Superflavex - but only vaguely, I'm afraid as it was a very long time ago! I do remember that I didn't rate it very highly, preferring to use their DMS (D for diastatic, not dried!) together with adjuncts. That's not much help to you, though!! :-?
Something like Coopers Amber might be a reasonable substitute - but I'm just guessing here since I haven't tried it.
I'd agree with your suggestion to use a light malt extract that suits you, and to add a small amount of steeped grains to increase colour and flavour. A small quantity of crystal malt, and perhaps a more generous helping of Caragold or similar will increase colour, and give a richer flavour. I don't think that dark crystal malt, or any of the roasted grains, will give the type of flavour you're after.

I remember having Ken Shales' book years ago. I must say that my brewing improved when I moved on to books by Dave Line and, especially, Graham Wheeler. I still rate Wheeler's "Home Brewing" very highly.
 
As you said it looks like dark malt extract with added caramel but it seems to be discontinued, you could try contacting Edme and ask them, or just add some caramel to dark malt, or use some lower colour caramel/crystal malts, and it may be possible to boil a small amount of malt extract to caramalise it?

http://www.edme.com/

Edme Limited
Mistley
Manningtree
Essex
CO11 1HG
Tel: +44 (0) 1206 393725
Fax: +44 (0) 1206 396699
Email: [email protected]
 
One of the books I bought uses something called Super Flavex in many of the recipes inside.

My research indicates that it is a liquid dark malt extract with caramel.
The book is Brewing Better Beers by Ken Shales btw.

===========================
I have that book by Shales as well as another by CJJ Berry of the same vintage. The recipes in them are quite dated. I think a dark malt extract would meet your needs, but a more recent recipe book or some available on-line might suit your needs. Even some of D. Line's, which are also dated, might be better.
 
Yeah, understood.
It's just me, once I get a bit better at this lark I wanted to try the originals sticking as close to the recipe as possible and then doing them with a modern twist. And see if there was any notable difference. Just in hops alone we seem to have a far greater variety than the home brew pioneers did.
 
As mentioned, my memories of Superflavex are a little dim by now (most of my other ones seem to be following this trend..... :-( ). However, I'd be surprised if it was just malt extract with caramel added. Old ingredients have a poor name these days - usually for very good reason - but I recall EDME malt syrups as being very good quality. The DMS was particularly useful, since it retained diastatic power & could therefore be used with unmalted adjuncts.

As Cheapbrew suggests, try contacting EDME, they still do malt products and might be happy to help.

Out of interest, I've had a peek at Coopers liquid malts. Their "Amber" extract seems to be made with pale and crystal malts, and the "Dark" incorporates roasted malts. So, at least in terms of the ingredients used, the Amber may be a better substitute - although the proportions may be quite different of course. I definitely recall Superflavex having a "thicker" and more malty flavour than EDME DMS - but not having a caramelised or toasted flavour: if you were making a stout you'd need to add the dark or roasted malts yourself.
I only used it a few times, though, because I preferred the lighter (body, not colour) effect I got from DMS - I've always preferred lighter-bodied bitters, the only style I made in those days. This was the 1980s, though, so my memory may well be at fault! :)
 
I used to use EDME SFX (in the yellow container) and DMS (in the blue container) years ago in the 70s and 80s, and at the time there was not much else out there for home brewers as a straight unhopped LME. If it's an old recipe or book you are using that's probably the reason why they are mentioned. I seem to remember SFX was a bit darker than DMS, but DMS, as others have said, contained diastase whereas SFX didn't, so DMS was useful where some mashing was needed.
A few months back I did a little research to see if DMS was still available but concluded it wasn't, and it was a bit unclear to me whether there was any other diastatic malt syrup available, so I gave up.
However there are plenty of other sources of (non-diastase containing) LME, ranging from Holland and Barretts brand (OK for brewing with in my experience) to LME from brewing suppliers like Muntons and Coopers.

Edit. Just re-read the OP. I had the Ken Shales book and it does date from the 1970s, so that's why SFX/DMS will be mentioned
 
Last edited:
Wysh said:
Just in hops alone we seem to have a far greater variety than the home brew pioneers did.
Click to expand...
Spot on :thumb:.
My recollection from that time was all you could get was loose Goldings and Fuggles in plastic bags, although others may have been luckier. I don't think fresh hops for home brewers had been invented then! Having restarted HBing after a long break it's very good to be able to select from any number of hops now available, the only problem now is that sometimes you are spoiled for choice!
 
One thing to bear in mind is that when they are talking about caramel they probably aren't talking about the sweet sticky stuff, or even cara-malts. Rather the food colouring caramel. I've seen it mentioned in early home brew books as basically a way to add colour to beer.

Personally I would not be looking at recipe books from the 1970s. The range and quality of ingredients available then was extremely poor. There is a reason that homebrewing had a bad rep back then.

I'd look for a good modern book like Greg Hughes - Home Brew Beer, or the new one by Chris Colby - Home Brew Recipe Bible.
 
Wysh, I was just browsing through another old book, "Brewing Lager", 1986 by J. Alexander. He mentions Superflavex and states the colour as 80 L, and says "An extract with a full malt flavour due to the inclusion of crystal malt in its formulation". Maybe a little more help for your quest.
 

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