About Malt Extracts
There are a world of products available to the homebrewer from which to choose. From our selection of malt extracts, a homebrewer can make any style of beer in the world. You, too, can make better beer by following these rules:
NEVER FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE CAN - Most malt extracts are made in Europe and the manufacturers instructions are written for their European clientele. The measurements are usually metric and frequently the use of sugar (household or corn) is recommended.
USE MALT TO SUPPLEMENT THE ALCOHOL - Malt sugar is maltose, and is 75-85% fermentable. Besides increasing alcohol, it will also increase body and head retention. Malt will increase the cost of your beer by 10-20 cents per bottle, but the cost is warranted. Each pound of malt will increase the alcohol content by approximately .8%.
NEVER USE CANE SUGAR - Cane sugar is sucrose. It is 100% fermentable but will develop a taste that may be characterized as cidery, winey or sour. Beer made with cane sugar will not improve very much with age.
NEVER USE CORN SUGAR EXCEPT FOR PRIMING - Corn sugar is dextrose. It is also 100% fermentable but it, too, will produce the same cidery, winey, sour taste that cane sugar does. However, those characteristics will diminish if the use of corn sugar is limited to 1/5th (20%) the weight of the malt.
ALWAYS BOIL THE WORT FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES - Boiling the wort (unfermented malty liquid) will help to precipitate out any unfermentable solids that can cause the beers to be hazy or cloudy. Boiling also eliminates bacteria.
Other improvements in the overall quality of your beer can be achieved by using: Specialty grains such as carapils, crystal, black patent, roasted barley, etc. (see: SPECIALTY MALTS) improve body, increase head retention, impart malt/grain characteristics and varying degrees of color.
Hops may be added in the last few minutes of the boil to impart their aroma to the bouquet of the beer.
Fining Agents, such as Irish moss, gelatin, and polyclar (see: BEER FININGS) can be used to improve clarity.
We have reduced our selection of malts extracts to a group that have proven to yield excellent results because they have strong sales nationally, a solid distribution network and are consistently fresher due to good expiration dates.
If you would like any other malt extracts, we can special order them in cases of 6 cans. Please call for a quote.
