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I am making a number of assumptions in what I am about to query. Please feel free to point out my ignorance whenever it shows!

The question is:

Is there a fundamental difference in the final product between the use of dried or liquid malts?

My understanding of this is that dried malts are simply dehydrated liquid malts (ignorance might be showing here). If this is the case then there would be no difference. The only way liquid malts can be 'better' is if they have a significantly different chemical composition.

I don't at all mind if someone points out that I am wrong as the only thing that matters is better beer!

Each brand of malt will be different. Normally this is due to the difference in the mashing temperature at which the malt extract was converted from starch to sugars. This will result in difference balances of fermentable to unfermentable sugars. Another influence is the country of origin and year of the original barley used to make it.

As for whether there's a fundamental difference between liquid and dry malts, not really. The only thing that might be worth taking into account is the additional processing that goes into the dried variety.

I think I have read in Palmer's before, it mentioned dried malt has a longer shelf life so it is likely to be fresher.

I use dried malt over liquid just because liquid come in 1.5 L tin where I bought dried malt in 5kg bag and I can use any quantity that suit my recipe.

My local has fresh Liquid on tap from barrels. Either 1kg or 500g amounts.

i recall that you need to use about 20% more liquid than dry due to dry being more concentrated.

nt wrote:I think I have read in Palmer's before, it mentioned dried malt has a longer shelf life so it is likely to be fresher.

I use dried malt over liquid just because liquid come in 1.5 L tin where I bought dried malt in 5kg bag and I can use any quantity that suit my recipe.

You can get liquid malt in a 28kg 'tin' so you can then add any amount you want! Much cheaper if you plan of doing extract brewing, i think its about $80. But then you need a spare cube and a honey gate.......

As for the difference, one has water, the other doesnt, i'll let you figure out which so one has been processed more than the other.

i was fiddling around with the brewcraft calc and it seems that for every 0.6 kg of liquid malt, there is 100g of water.

That being said, if that is the only diff, why do some recipe's call for a tin of liquid malt as aposed to the equivilant of LDME?

Yep, thats about right. Most recipes would sub 1kg of dried for 1.2kg of liquid malt.

I find liquid easier to use, comes down to personal preference.

From the above responses there doesn't seem to be a difference in quality between dry & liquid? I'm organising my first extract and i'm leaning towards ordering dry malt, only because it comes in 5kg bags compared to liquid which comes in 1.5kg tins.

Is there anyone who has used both and noticed a difference in their finished product?

drsmurto wrote:

nt wrote: You can get liquid malt in a 28kg 'tin' so you can then add any amount you want! Much cheaper if you plan of doing extract brewing, i think its about $80. But then you need a spare cube and a honey gate.......

Where would one buy one of these 28kg tins?

that 28kg liquid malt is 110 bucks... but cant you get 25kg of dry malt too?

that would be just a cheap, and you'd be getting about the same malt for your money...

Noodles wrote:From the above responses there doesn't seem to be a difference in quality between dry & liquid? I'm organising my first extract and i'm leaning towards ordering dry malt, only because it comes in 5kg bags compared to liquid which comes in 1.5kg tins.

Is there anyone who has used both and noticed a difference in their finished product?

Noodles,
can you email me? email is in profile..

...

chris. wrote:

noodles wrote:From the above responses there doesn't seem to be a difference in quality between dry & liquid?

nt wrote:I think I have read in Palmer's before, it mentioned dried malt has a longer shelf life so it is likely to be fresher.

Sorry chris, I should have clarified. From the above responses there didn't seem to a difference in quality of results between dry and liquid.

leiothrix wrote:

drsmurto wrote:

nt wrote: You can get liquid malt in a 28kg 'tin' so you can then add any amount you want! Much cheaper if you plan of doing extract brewing, i think its about $80. But then you need a spare cube and a honey gate.......

Where would one buy one of these 28kg tins?

In Adelaide they sell them at the Jovial Monk. It costs $89.

One thing I've noticed in my non-scientific observations....

I've had that "stale" taste with brews that contained dry malt, not yet with those that only contained liquid malt....

Also, though perhaps this is just a function of living in the "sticks" - there are more variations of liquid malt available (both brands & type) than there is with liquid, which gets you that teeny bit closer to AG brewing when using liquid extract VS dry


Just my personal opinion

Ash wrote:One thing I've noticed in my non-scientific observations....

I've had that "stale" taste with brews that contained dry malt, not yet with those that only contained liquid malt....

Also, though perhaps this is just a function of living in the "sticks" - there are more variations of liquid malt available (both brands & type) than there is with liquid, which gets you that teeny bit closer to AG brewing when using liquid extract VS dry


Just my personal opinion

Sif Townsville is the sticks...