Beer Forum

Not trying to be snarky here or rile folks up - but I'm curious how many folks are happy with Extract Brewing - and how many are just passing thru on their way to All Grain.

My theory on hobbies is that everyone finds the level they are happy at or desired involvement. For me, I was making really good beers doing extract and steeping. I'm now doing some stove-top mini-mashing and thats about it - the beers are a little better (still learning) --- but I have absolutely no desire to do the All Grain thing. None - zippo - zilch. I'm not even sure I want to move to full boils - but I may.

I've had some beer drinking friends "help out" during a brew session - and I really enjoy the whole process. I find that most of them reach "glaze over" as they see all the parts of the brewing process. Thats how I feel if I start to look at all grain .... glaze-over = my brain is full please just give me a beer

I thought the same thing, and then I listened to the Denny Conn Sunday Session show. Batch sparging is so easy it's retarded. I'm not exaggerating when I say I find it easier than dicking around with steeping grains and monitoring the temp of a pot on the stove, and adding liquid extract late in the boil and having it stop the damn boil and all that shit.

Just throw some fuckin grain in a cooler with water about 10 degrees hotter than the mash is supposed to be and shut the lid for an hour. Drain that shit and boil it. Yeah you can obsess over the little things, but you don't have to. So, in summary: grain + hot water + 1 hour = fucking win

I started with extract because that's the way it was done ( this is before I heard the Mufasa show where he said you can go to all grain rightv out of the gate ). I prefer All grain because I feel like I have a little more control, it's cheaper from a recipe standpoint, and less messy.

I doubt I'll ever go to Fly sparging since I like the batch sparge method so much. And the house always smells great when I do my mash!!

HoozierDaddy wrote:I thought the same thing, and then I listened to the Denny Conn Sunday Session show. Just throw some fuckin grain in a cooler with water about 10 degrees hotter than the mash is supposed to be and shut the lid for an hour.....

+1
I also got bored with extracts. I did a few mini mash kits from More Beer via their instructions.
I realized if I could mash 5 lbs for a mini mash, mashing 12-14 lbs is no big deal.
One thing I really liked about going all grain was better attenuation.
In mini mashes, I would do starters, yeast nutrients and aerated my wort, but still the best I could get was about 1.019 or so.
First all grain went to 1.012.

I brewed extract for a decade before I tried all grain. After my first all grain batch, though, I haven't done another extract beer. I just enjoy the process more. And, since I can now buy grain and hops in bulk, it dramatically cuts down on the recipe cost.

I just moved to all-grain and I can't say I'm going back but I didn't have a problem with extract. To anyone who says you can't make certain styles, that's bullshit. I've heard so many times you can't make a Wit extract. I brewed two extract wits and the lesser of the two scored a 38 in competition.

If you like the quality of your beer and it is something you enjoying making and drinking, keep at it.

I moved to all grain because I wanted to do more. I just didn't feel like I was doing enough. I've doubled my brewing since I went all grain though because I enjoy the process that much more. It seems daunting at first but it is super easy.

It depends on what you want out of it. You get out of it what you put into it. You can make damn close to the same flavor to what I can all-grain. You cannot really add the mouthfeel and residual sweetness AG'ers can create. There's some beers which REALLY favor doing them AG and some extract. If you want a decoction rauchbier well that simply isn't gonna happen with extract lol. Really big beers 1.090+ (IMHO) are easier to do with extract or supplement your mash with extract. Dealing with stirring, dough balls, and hitting mash temps is a pain when your water:grist ratios are wacky (this is my personal experience and may not be the same of others).

Another pro for AG is mash and sparge water are pretty much heat up to X degrees and dump. In contrast with extract steeping, keeping the temp the same was a pain in the ass for me. I did probably 10-12 extract batches before I went AG and don't regret it. I haven't done any extract batches since, but never count it out when I build a recipe.

An example of my conflict is a belgian tripel. I am REALLY kicking around whether or not I want to do it as extract (probably not because I want to have suuuuper high attenuation meaning mashing in the high 140's) and to my experience, extract for whatever reason, doesn't typically attenuate as high as I would want for this style.

HoozierDaddy wrote: So, in summary: grain + hot water + 1 hour = fucking win

haha, +1.