This step in the brewing process almost seems nonrelevant. Can letting your malt extract can sit in warm water really make a difference? We break it down in this episode of BrewTalk with Mr. Beer.

This is a step in the process that I think can get overlooked. For the longest time when I was first brewing I did not do this, it just seemed like a waste of time.

Can letting your HME and LME soak in warm water really help? I thought no but was soon proven wrong.

There are a few reasons why you want to do this.

The first being that it helps the malt extract mix easier in your pot, so you’re not having to go all crazy stirring to mix it up. If you have ever just dumped in the whole can and then go and try and mix it up, it can be quite difficult to do that.

The second reason, which I think is more important is that it helps you get all of the malts out of the cans easier.

The more malt that you get into your brew you’re going to have the better chance of hitting the OGs as well as making sure you are getting the full flavor of the beer.

If you are leaving some malt extract behind in your can or in the pouches of LME then you're leaving some ABV and some flavor in there as well.

That is the main reason why you should be putting your HMEs and LMEs in hot water before you start brewing. It was the main reason that I started to do that.

Cheers,

Robert