For hobbyists who have neither the time nor desire to conduct a mash, malt extracts deliver malty soul to beer. For partial-mashers, extract supplements the small standard mash with vital malt sugars. And all-grain brewers benefit from a dose of malt extract when efficiency fails to deliver all of the expected gravity points.
Liquid malt extract (LME) is the most popular variety for extract-based recipes because it’s readily available, reasonably priced, and easy to work with. Liquid extract production begins with a mash, just as with all-grain brewing. Maltsters mash a blend of grains to produce a specific style of wort: Pilsner malt for Pils extract, a mix of pale and crystal malts for pale extract, a melange of Munich and 2-row for Munich syrups, and so on. Each malt blend is usually proprietary to the manufacturer.
Once conversion is complete, the malster lauters, boils, and whirlpools the wort as usual, and then gently concentrates it by evaporating off much of the water. This evaporative process is usually conducted in a vacuum, under which conditions only mild heat is needed to reach a boil, thus preserving the malt’s delicate flavor and aroma. The end product is about 20 percent water and 80 percent sugars, proteins, and other solids.