The problem with pouches (e.g. Festival Kits)

[Underscore]

I just put on my Festival Pilgrim's Hope last night, which is the first time that I done a kit with pouches of LME rather than tins. It said to rinse out the pouches with warm water but, after squeezing as much as I could into the FV, I wasn't really able to rinse it effectively: the little bit of LME remaining acted as a very effective glue! Does anyone have a secret method of ensuring that they get all the good stuff out of the pouches that they would like to share?

SG was 1.044@28C (including the 500g of dextrose) so there can't have been a lot left but still...

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[timbo41]

Put nearly empty pouch into measuring jug,insert small,cheap funnel into pouch,add hot water. Should expand pouch enough to give a stir,and prevents sticky kak over swmbo kitchen counter

[Underscore]

Top suggestion! Sticky kak is a double whammy too: it's wasted LME that should be in the beer (however little of it), and even the tiniest spot results in the "Not only do you make my kitchen* smell like a brewery..." thing.

Thanks,

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* Yes, she says "the kitchen" but I know that she is thinking "my kitchen"...

[borischarlton]

Put the pouches into hot water before you open them, it softens the extract and makes the whole process so much easier

Rob

[Underscore]

Cheers Rob. Did that (which is probably why I was able to get most of it out). There was just a thin film on the inner surfaces of the pouches (as far as I could tell) left that I would like to have gone in the FV rather than the bin.

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[hopeful_homebrewer]

After squeezing the bulk of the malt out I opened the pouch all the way across the top, held it in a tea towel and poured recently boiled water from the kettle in whilst holding it over the fv. It soon melts in a few seconds...tip the liquor in the fv and Bob's your proverbial!
I can hardly believe I allowed myself to do this after completing a risk assessment in these health and safety conscious times but hey, it's good to live on the edge once in a while

[Monkeybrew]

After squeezing the bulk of the malt out I opened the pouch all the way across the top, held it in a tea towel and poured recently boiled water from the kettle in whilst holding it over the fv. It soon melts in a few seconds...tip the liquor in the fv and Bob's your proverbial!
I can hardly believe I allowed myself to do this after completing a risk assessment in these health and safety conscious times but hey, it's good to live on the edge once in a while

Just out of interest, what score did you give the risk?

[hopeful_homebrewer]

Likelyhood x probability = 5 ...... Run away now and don all appropriate ppe!

Bloody good pint though...it's not clear yet but I can't resist sampling it at regular intervals just to check

[nutmeg31415]

I've found that the easiest way is to refill the pouches with hot water, and I sterilise an extra paddle that I use to gently scrape the sides of the pack until its all disolved. Manage to get all the pouches so far completely clean, so all the extract has gone in to the FV.
Re. it gluing itself together, I found that sliding the two sides in opposite directions started to reopen the top after the initial squeeze to remove all the contents. Then grabbing the two opposite seams and gently pushing them towards the middle seemed to open it

[Underscore]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I have another Festival kit in the stash (Landlord) so, when that one reaches the front of the queue, I'll try putting the suggestions into practice.

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