Rhoobarb

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What if my Grandma made her chocolate cake out of a Duncan Hines box mix?

Seriously, that's a good analogy. I did extract w/ steeped grains and partial mash brews for years. I got to the point where I made some damn good beers that had no 'extract taste'. I thought for a time that I would probably never want or need to make the switch to AG. By the time I decided to give AG a try, I wondered how much of a real difference I would be able to discern. I was excited about making the jump, but a bit wary of the claims. I decided to accept the possibility that I might not notice a difference.

Well, I now think of by years of brewing as two separate eras - BAG and AAG - before all grain and after all grain. Everything posted here is true. If you enjoy brewing extracts beers, you'll enjoy AG even more. It presents more challenges and more time is involved, but it is more fun for me and more of an 'event'! And control is a real plus. I can now brew varieties of beers spot-on that I could only approximate in the BAG years. Since going AG, I feel I have a lot more recipe options open to me.

Willsellout

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My first AG went great and I realy loved the whole aspect but the beer turned out, thus far, not all that impressive. This is due to the fact that I did the whole sparging thing wrong though so don't let that sway your move to AG. It's still young though so we will see how it turns out in a few weeks.


Dan

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On Tap: Hobgoblin, Coffee Stout
Bottled: Arrogant Bastard clone, Summit IPA, Apfelwein

Dude

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As everyone has said, it will be a world of difference. All of my extract beers kind of tasted the same, and bird hit on it perfectly about being fresher. You can actually taste the freshness.

I honestly like my beer better than most commercial beers, including craft beers. I mean, I run into a few commercial beers that are insane....but I'd take a glass of my LWPA over 95% of anything I can buy.

If oyu like your beer now--just wait. Don't get discouraged though--it takes some practice and some experimentation.

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www.IronOrrBrewery.com

boo boo

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I agree. It do take some time to dial in your system.
And even if Grandma used Duncan Hines, she made it better than
I ever could.

Ag fantasy? the reality of it is that it is fresher and you decide how your beer is made. Not some malt extract manufacturer.

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BierMuncher

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Ragu may be a decent spaghetti sauce and people will clean their plates.

But puree you're own home-grown tomatoes and add herbs from your garden and it's a meal they'll remember for a long time.

Plus you get to have fancy equipment and measuring devices like this...

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BierMuncher Tried & Trues:
Tits-Up IIPA (3-Time Medalist), Black Pearl Porter, Kona Pale Ale, Outer Limits IPA, Centennial Blonde (4.0%), Nierra Sevada (SNPA), SWMBO Slayer Belgian Blonde,

joshpooh

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Love the analogy about Grandma's chocolate cake. There couldn't be a more accurate analogy when talking about AG VS extract brewing.

Brewpastor

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Man, that is one sweet pot!

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Before I learned to brew I was poor, sober and lonely. Now I am just poor.

Willsellout

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Dude, you have the greatest gadgets


Dan

__________________
Disgrunt-Aled Brewery
Primary One-empty
Primary Two-Empty
Secondary One-Empty
Secondary Two-Empty

On Tap: Hobgoblin, Coffee Stout
Bottled: Arrogant Bastard clone, Summit IPA, Apfelwein

McCall St. Brewer

Recipes 

I've often thought while making extract beer that it was a little bit like making instant coffee. But really, the orange juice from concentrate analogy is much better. My first two AG batches are still waiting to be bottled, so I don't know how they'll turn out, but I know that they certainly looked and smelled like beer when I made them.

Meanwhile I'm drinking the extract batches I have in stock. I have noticed, too, that after awhile they have all started to taste the same.*

I hope AG changes this.

*I will say this, though-- my very best ever extract batch came about the first time I used a turkey fryer to do a full boil and chilled with a wort chiller. The results were quite a bit better than all of my previous efforts that were done on my kitchen stove.

Willsellout

Recipes 

Absolutely agree..my Plywood IPA is the best batch I've made to date.


Dan

__________________
Disgrunt-Aled Brewery
Primary One-empty
Primary Two-Empty
Secondary One-Empty
Secondary Two-Empty

On Tap: Hobgoblin, Coffee Stout
Bottled: Arrogant Bastard clone, Summit IPA, Apfelwein