Liquid Malt Extract vs Dry Malt Extract

The primary difference between liquid and dry malt extract is the amount of water in each. Because the two types of malt are different in water content, a pound of liquid extract and a pound of dry extract differ in sugar content as well. Therefore, liquid and dry extract are not interchangeable in a recipe. However, there is a simple formula to convert between types of extract.

Malt Syrup: If the final product is syrup, the water content is usually around 20%, with the other remaining 80% composed of sugar and unfermentable solids that are important to brewers.

Dried Powder: 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.

Conversion: 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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