| Malt Extract FAQs |
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What is malt extract? |
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Malt extract is a thick, sugary syrup or dry powder prepared from
malt. Basically it is sweet wort reduced to a syrup or powder
formed by removing most of the water by low vacuum evaporation.
Generally speaking, the more you add the greater the alcohol
content and body of your beer. |
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What are the differences between various
varieties? |
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Manufacturers of extract usually do not disclose the exact
ingredients they use, trade secrets and all. It might be that the
only indication given of the constituents comprising malt extract
can be found on the label of some wheat malt extracts, where they
proclaim a ratio of say, 65% wheat malt and 35% barley malt. The
variables that go into producing malt extract range from variety
of barley used, kilning time and temperature, and how the malted
barley is mashed. The malt extract products generally break down
to 4 main categories. They are; "Extra Light" (generally used for
pilsners or other straw colored beers), "Light", "Gold", or "Pale"
(Three names demarking basically the same thing. Great as a
fermentable base for most pale ales and some lagers, or used in
conjunction with the amber or dark extracts and/or with specialty
grains.), "Amber" (darker and with more residual sweetness than
the "Extra Light" or "Light"), and "Dark" (Can be used for Porters
and Stouts but needs to be infused with portions of chocolate
and/or roasted barley to achieve varying degrees of those flavors,
which are desirable for the style. The reason being that dark malt
extract does not contain appreciable levels of these types of
grain.) |
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What is the difference between the syrup
and dried forms of malt extract and what is the ratio between the
two? |
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Manufacturers use sophisticated equipment to condense malt extract
by carefully evaporating much of the water. The evaporation of
water from malt extract is carried out in a vacuum. The low air
pressure environment created by the vacuum allows the liquid to
boil at a lower temperature. This procedure is economical as well
as being less pernicious to the integrity of the end product. If
the final product is syrup, the water content is usually around 20
percent, with the other remaining 80 percent composed of sugar and
unfermentable solids that are important to brewers.
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 ratio for use between the dry and syrup forms of malt
extract can be approximated as follows: 1 pound of dry malt
extract would roughly equal 1.2 pounds of syrup malt extract.
Likewise, 1 pound of syrup malt extract would roughly equal 0.8
pounds of dry malt extract. |
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