Experienced homebrewers can be a bit snobbish about all-grain brewing. It’s true that building a beer from the malt up gives you finer control, but it’s wrong to assume that extract brewing produces inferior beers. Ignore the attitude. Quite a few brewers never make the leap to all-grain, and they still produce some great beers. How do they do it? The same way we all do: they learn the ingredients and hone their process. Here are some tips to move you forward along the path to better beer.
Stir It Up
The first tip is pretty obvious: remember to stir the wort as you add the malt extract to avoid scorching it on the bottom of the pot. Extract is denser than water, so it naturally sinks. Combine that with a high energy propane burner and it doesn’t take long to caramelize and then burn to a sticky, ashy mess. I’ve seen beginners so focused on getting all of the extract into the pot, that they don’t notice a problem until they’re scraping up the scorched mass at the end.
Adding the malt extract as you stir can be a bit of a juggling act, but the key is not to rush. Get the water moving first, then add a portion of the extract and resume stirring. It also helps if you you take the time to warm up your liquid malt extract. At room temperature, it’s thick and viscous. Give the cans or buckets 20 minutes in a warm water bath(150-160°F/65.5-71°C is good), and the extract will be thinner, easier to pour, and quicker to dissolve.