For those of us just starting to dip our toes into the world of homebrewing it can be a little intimidating. Especially for those of us who have stepped up from that box store “Mr. Beer” kit into something a little more complex.
Ready to start brewing but don’t have the gear yet? We got you covered with our favorite homebrew kits.
Having all the right gear still doesn’t make it easy. Luckily for us there are shortcuts. Like extracts.
So, what exactly are malt extracts?
Simple really. Instead of going through the whole process of milling, malting and steeping our barley (which takes significantly more time and pricier equipment) someone else did it for us.
Malt extracts are the easiest way to get a batch brewing. Once we get comfortable churning out good beer with extracts then we move on to all grain brewing. But that adventure is for another day.
Where do malt extracts come from?
Malt extracts are made using milled, malted and mashed grain and turning it into a sugary liquid wort. The wort is then filtered and sent on to evaporators.
This is where it starts to get a little different from the normal brewing process. Once in the evaporators the water content is reduced to around 20% creating a super thick concentrated syrup. This becomes liquid malt extract or LME as found in homebrew shops or online.
In some cases homebrewers can use dry malt extracts or DME. For these extracts the amount of water is reduced even further to just a few percent. These DMEs are also highly hygroscopic which means they are thirsty.
They go for any moisture they can find to try to return to liquid state, even moisture from the air. Be extra careful when adding DMEs to the boil as the steam from the kettle can cause them to clump as the moisture is sucked up. And no one wants clumpy beer. Gross.
Modern evaporation processes, such as doing it in a vacuum, reduce the amount of heat required. Often times heat will continue to darken the wort as more of the grain is leached into the liquid. With less heat used, homebrewers are able to take advantage of lighter malt extracts and make lighter beers.
So what’s the catch? Why doesn’t everyone swear by using malt extracts?
Just because they are easier to use and convenient as all get out the use of extracts take away some of the creativity that brewers have with all grain brewing. Also more seasoned homebrewers think it’s the easy way and prefer the more fun way of grinding and malting their own grains. For us extracts work just fine for now.
How are malt extracts used?
Added at the beginning of the brew process the extracts go through a boil stage. Certain recipes call for add ins and hops to be boiled with the malt extracts. These are all tossed into kettle together to create the wort, which is then
cooled down quickly and sent happily on to the fermentor.
What to look for in quality extracts
The first consideration for any ingredients should be freshness.
Don’t forget brewing is cooking, plain and simple, and using the best fresh ingredients is synonymous with good beer. This is what we need to keep in mind when purchasing extracts. When were they made? What kind of grains were used? What is the shelf life?
The fresher the malt extracts the better your beers will be. Older extracts can come off burnt tasting or worse, ruin an entire batch!
Hopped and unhopped malt extracts
Extracts are available as either hopped and unhopped. Hopped extracts typically are boiled with hops before the evaporation occurs. This imparts a bit of bitterness to the extract and these kits don’t require additional hops to be added. Unfortunately this also takes away the control the brewer has over the bitterness and hop profile.
Unhopped malt extracts are devoid of any hop flavor or bitterness. Some recipes will call for hops to be added. This is an opportunity to use fresh hops or pellet hops. Again, the fresher the better!
Extracts can come alone, like above, or as part of a kit that includes hops for both bittering and aromas, spices and other add ins. Some recipes may even toss in additional grains for steeping.