What is malt extract and which one is better, dry or liquid?” This question is pretty common when deciding which one to use. Well, I don’t have an answer about which one is “better”, Alas!. It is so because rather than being better, it is more about preference. I will try to shed some light on these two for you and hopefully at the end you’ll be able to figure out which one works best for your situation.
First Thing First, What Is Malt Extract?
Malt Extract is produced from malted barley which is a whole grain with natural enzymes.The malted barley is ground and is precisely mixed with water and controlled heat which allows the natural enzymes in the grain to convert the starches into fermentable sugars in the mash. This technique is called as “mashing”
Malt Extract Suppliers then filter the mash to remove the insoluble fiber, and whirlpools to further clarify. The result is a sweet liquid wort. The wort is evaporated to 80% solids under heat and vacuum, producing a concentrated, stable, sweet, and flavorful Malt Extract.
If the final product is in syrup form, the water content is usually around 20 percent, with the remaining 80 percent composed of sugar and unfermentable solids that are important to brewing.
Liquid malt extract has its upsides; one is that it is generally cheaper when compared. At the end you are not going to cut your recipe price in half but it is a way to shave some rupees off your brew day. Other pros of liquid malt extract is that it is available in different varieties. And ofcourse, It smells amazing. So amazing that you would want to smell it again and again and be in a heavenly mood all day.
Looking at the biggest downsides to liquid malt extract is it sinks to the bottom. Now the reason for it being a disadvantage is, unless you have an extra set of hands normally you have a pretty high chance of burning the malt extract. To get every single drop out of your container, you'll need to either dip the container into the boiling wort and pour the run off out, or ladle in boiling wort and pour again. Problem solved. It's not difficult as it sounds, but just be careful not to burn yourself. Pours slowly.
Another disadvantage is that at some point, no matter how careful you are, sometimes you spill this stuff. Even it is not too difficult to clean it off a stove but it will make your floor feel like Velcro if left to dry. So, it is better to clean it as soon as possible.
About Dry Malt Extract
If the final product is a dried powder, the malt extract has undergone a complete evaporation process by way of “spray drying”, thus removing virtually all of the water.
The biggest upside to the malt extract powder in India is that, when you add the dry malt extract it ends up floating to the top so the chances of burning are very less. Other than this it stays fresh for a longer period than the liquid malt extract. Also, it is easy to store, easy to transfer into separate containers and easy to clean up any spills too.
There is a problem though, when you add the dry malt extract you end up having to stir it like crazy. It is also a bit more expensive as compared to liquid malt.
Wrap Up Time
I hope now you can look at DME and LME in a dozen different ways . But in the end it’s really all about preference; which one you prefer to work with. I personally use both, I think that they both have their own place in the homebrewing world. If you have different or interesting insights into the extract world or have any query, please do let us know.
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