sheldon

Recipes 

northernlad

Recipes 

Once they are in the BK, they are the same thing. I have had beers drinkable after one week in the bottle, but I quickly learned why it is best to condition properly.

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Primary: LL Cool Brown, ESB Real
Secondary:
Bottled: Munich/Hallertau SMaSH, Amber, Genesis IPA, American Porter X, One Down Brown, B3 80/-, Mirror Pond Pale Ale Clone, Citmo Pale Ale (SMaSH), JP IPA, Oatmeal Stout, EdWort's Notty Apfelwein, Edwort's Apfelwein
Past Brews: African Amber Clone, B3 Irish Red, Fighting Salmon Black Ale, B3 Blonde, North Coast Blue Star Wheat, Black Butte Porter Clone, Coopers IPA (First Batch!)

Frank99

Recipes 

Interesting. Most people start off w/extract and move up to AG. I just started AG after brewing w/extract for a while. Extract brewing is a lot less time consuming that's for sure. My conditioning time for extracts was about 3-4 weeks.

whatisitgoodfor

Recipes 

The benefits of AG versus extract are control of the character and fermentability of the wort and the cost of your brew.

Extracts are generally speaking less fermentable than the wort you make from grain, although if you want you can change your mash temperature to create a wort that will be as thick and chewy as you want.

Whether you get your wort out of an icky icky can or from fresh wonderful malted barley isn't going to change how long it takes to bottle condition your beer significantly as long as the normal processes for brewing are followed.

KevinW

Recipes 

Beer is what you like. If you just want "beer" with minimal effort than extract is the way to go! My first batch was a partial and that was fine but I jumped into extract and my stout I did today cost me about $24.00. Had I done the same batch using extract, I probably would have spent about $35 to $40!

For all the extra effort in all-grain the payoff is definitely cost savings. Of course with AG you also have a virtually infinite combination of styles and tastes possible, kind of limited only to your imagination and budget!

When it all comes down to it, just keep brewing!!!

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-dilectio mairia-

sheldon

Recipes 

Thanks for the advice. I enjoy brewing all grain, and definitely plan to experiment a bit. I didn't know that extract was more expensive, but am glad to know I was saving some money, money that I have been using for more equipment!

manticle

Recipes 

Absolutely no difference in conditioning time etc (provided you ferment and condition the same way). Things like cold conditioning make a beer seem drinkable sooner (although it's longer before it hits the bottle or keg so there's a balance) but ingredients don't really.

Very simply with all grain you have more control over your end result. You do also have more potential things that can go wrong but when it works, it works well.

I went from kits to kits and bits- extract - extract plus specialty - partial mash - full mash and my beers improved with each step. Not every beer I make is a winner but I'd never consider going back to extract brewing. Not to denigrate extract brewers - some great beers can be made that aren't all grain but my preference is to control all the processes and work out how to make the next one better (malting and roasting excluded at this point).

More important than ingredients as a beginner though is process and cold side/fermentation/conditioning process is at least as important mashing/mixing processes.

wyzazz

Recipes 

I do AG, PM, and Extract brews. It just depends on the amount of time I have to brew, all 3 make good beer IMHO. You do have way more control over your beer if you do AG or PM though.

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"Prohibition makes you want to cry into your beer, and denies you the beer to cry into." --Don Marquis, 1878-1937, American journalist