Here are some tips for handling malt extract. Malt extract comes in cans, pouches(as a liquid) and packets(as a dry powder) and each has its difficulties. In the case of liquid the usual practice with a can is to warm the can, open and pour into hot water and dissolve before adding to cold water etc. But what if you only want to use ,say100gm for a starter or tweek the OG? It gets messy to spoon out unless you chill the can first and put on scales set at zero tare so that spooning out the correct amount becomes managable. ie. not running off your spoon on the bench etc etc..

This where dry malt comes into its own for ease of use. What could be easier than sitting the packet or container on scales and spooning out the correct amount. Unless air has got in and you have a solid brick to deal with instead. It will take quite a few whacks with blunt instruments to chip off the required amount. Not to mention cleaning up stray sticky chips. Which brings another point, how to dissolve the powder. Dropping into hot water is a bad idea for the powder as you get a big sticky lump floating in the pot which takes ages to melt. Better to put into cold water and dissolve the powder first before heating. It takes similar times but a lot easier on the patience.

But wait, what about pouches? Designed to inflict burns on the thrifty user who wants every last drop of his expensive wort. A pair of gloves and a set of tongs will save you some hurt. Leave bag in hot water for a while until nice and squishy. Lift out with tongs slice and empty contents into water, poke some extra holes in bag and swirl around in water to get out the last of the extract. Squeeze the last of it out by (gloved) hand.

Alternatively,and more tidily, give the UNOPENED pouch a minute or so in the microwave , massage contents, cut and empty into hot water, then get two chopsticks and with a little helper put these on either side of the bag, hold tight and pull down the bag so that the extract is squeezed out. Pure genius…