Liter Degrees Per Kilogram (l°/kg) is a unit of measurement used by maltsters and brewers to express the amount of soluble extract a malt is capable of delivering. This figure is expressed by determining how many liters of wort at a given strength can be obtained from a kilogram of malt. This figure is important because it enables the brewer to calculate the amount of malt (and adjuncts) needed to brew a given quantity of beer at the required alcoholic strength. The wort strength is expressed in specific gravity degrees where its weight is compared directly with that of pure water. For example, a wort may have a specific gravity of 1.032. Because 1 l of pure water weighs 1 kg, 1 l of this wort weighs 1.032 kg. A typical malt may have a yield of 300 l°/kg. In this case, 1 kg of this malt yields 10 l of wort at a specific gravity of 1.030 or 5 l of wort at 1.060. This relationship can also be used to quickly measure brewery efficiency. If you brewed a batch of wort using 100 kg of malt and obtained 500 l of wort at a specific gravity of 1.056, the malt yield is 500 × 56/100 = 280 l°/kg. This figure can be compared with the hot water extract figure quoted by the maltster to determine the brewery efficiency. The extract potential of nonmalt sources of fermentable extract (adjunct) can also be measured and expressed in liter degrees per kilogram. For example, compared with malt at 300 l°/kg, corn (maize) grits deliver 340 l°/kg and rice flakes 360 l°/kg.