Are there any small breweries that use extracts instead of all grain?

revvy said:

Why do you think Malt extract exists to begin with????You think there's enough of a homebrewing market to justify so many different extract manufactures? Maybe a little history of extract from BYO will give you an idea...

There's one thing for sure about malt extract - it's great stuff! History doesn't record the name of the 19th century brewmaster who first had the idea of concentrating and storing unfermented beer wort so the beer could be brewed at a later time, but he had a good idea. By changing malted barley into malt extract, a brewery could avoid problems with insects and mold and still store grain long past the harvest season. Also, concentrated malt extract was easier to ship to breweries located far from barley-growing areas.

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You might find this article from Brewing techniques inciteful...Great Commercial Beer from Malt Extract

Also this article from a Maltser who evidenlty sells to commercial breweries (as does LD Carlson and Premier Malt Company, so obviously if extract makers have commercial divisions SOME BREWERIES most be buying it, eh?

MALT EXTRACT: PRIDE and PREJUDICE

In a MR Wizard article in BYO he mentions that several GABF winners have been extract brewhouses.

Here's a small list of some commercial breweries who use extract that I gleaned from Probrewer.com and other forums where this got asked, including here.

Pacific Coast Brewing out of Oakland, CA.
The Granite City chain of brewpubs
Buffalo Brewpub in Williamsville is an Extract System.
Heinzelmannchen in Sylva, NC,
GG Brewers in suburban Philly
Put-In-Bay Brewing Company
Buffalo Brewpub
Mohegan Cafe and Brewery

Strangford Lough Brewing Company export extract and finishing hops to contract breweries to turn into beer.

A small Co Down brewery is targeting the US market and creating jobs despite the recession.

Killyleagh-based Strangford Lough Brewing Company plans to start malting northern barley and exporting a concentrated malt extract to licensees in the US to produce the finished beer for the American market.

The company is seeking to establish a chain of around 40 licensees across the US and said it was well on the way to doing so.

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There's a discussion in Rate beer that implies that Lagunitus might use BOTH hop and malt extract in their brews....I don't know for sure but they seem to have discussed it.

EDME, evidently sells extract to both commercial and microbrew trade/

Extracts

Edme's line of malt extract were designed with three scales of brewing in mind: commercial brewing, microbrewing, and home brewing. All are derived from UK-grown two-row barley or wheat processed at Edme's facilities in Mistley, England.

Commercial Brewery At the large-scale commercial level, Edme offers a series of products that can be used to adjust the color and character of a beer. Clarimalt range, malt syrup and dry malt extract: A very dark malt extract used to add roast malt flavors and color to any beer style pre- or post-fermentation. Available in 25-kg bags (dry weight) and in a syrup form in 13.5-kg and 25-kg bags.

Diastatic and nondiastatic malt syrups: These products range from very light to very dark and can be used for a variety of beer styles. The diastatic syrups range in diastatic power from 40 to 300 (degrees IOB). Specific details are supplied upon application. Available in 25-kg pails and 295-kg drums. The diastatic syrup is also available in 1-tonne (2200 U.S. lb) containers.

Tradimalt range, malt syrup: Used to enhance red notes in dark ales, ambers, etc. Available in 25-kg pails and 295-kg drums.

Microbrewery For the microbrewery sector, Edme supplies a separate series of products. The following extracts can be used as the complete wort or as individual adjuncts. All are available in 25-kg pails, 295-kg drums, or 1-tonne containers.

Ale: For ales and bitters. Unhopped.

Dark Ale: This extract has a high crystal malt content. Unhopped.

Light Ale: Used specifically for light beers and lagers. Unhopped.

Light Lager: Contains a glucose blend. Unhopped.

Pilsner: For lagers and Pilseners. Unhopped.

Stout: For stouts and porters. Unhopped.

Wheat: For wheat beers. Contains 40% barley and 60% wheat. Unhopped.

Home Brewery Edme's range of malt syrup beer kits for home brewers, Microbrewery Series, are derived from UK-grown two-row barley and/or wheat.

Amber: Used for bitters and ales. Unhopped. Available in 3.3-lb cans.

Classic Pilsner: Used for Pilsener or lager beers. Hopped. Available in 4-lb cans.

Dark: Used for ale, porter, stout, and Bock beer styles. Unhopped. Available in 3.3-lb cans.

English IPA: Used for India pale ale. Hopped. Available in 4-lb cans.

Extra Stout: Used for Irish extra stout. Hopped. Available in 4-lb cans.

Light: Used primarily for light beers. Unhopped. Available in 3.3-lb cans.

Maris Otter Light: An unhopped light malt syrup extracted exclusively from floor-malted Maris Otter premium two-row barley. Available in 3.3-lb cans and larger sizes.

Original Draught: Used for draught lagers. Hopped. Available in 4-lb cans.

Red Ale: Used for red ales. Contains a glucose blend and hops. Available in 4-lb cans.

Wheat Beer: Used for Weizen beer and Hefeweizen. Comprises 60% barley and 40% wheat. Available in 4-lb cans.

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If there were no commercial breweries using extract, why would all these companies have commercial divisions.

Another thing folks don't seem to consider- they quote economics, how expensive extract is...It's expensive for homebrewers, but just how expensive is it for a commercial microbrewry or brewpub, paying wholesale and getting it delivered in tanker trucks or drums? It may be more costo effective for some smaller breweries, they don't need extra space to handle the mashing of grains, all they need are kettles and fermenters.

Oh and several sources including this one state that Chimay used (or uses) some malt extract.

These are the same as those listed on the label of one of the Brewery's three main beers, Chimay Triple (former White). The other two main beers, Chimay Red (Rouge) and Chimay Blue (Bleue), additionally have malt extract declared as an ingredient. For further information on Chimay Dorée, see below. Well, this was the ingredients disclosure for 2004 and earlier bottlings, but, amazingly, for the 2005 ones, the following are declared for Chimay Red and Blue: water, malted barley, wheat, sugar, hops and yeast....

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And this one...

Malt extract, a material generally only used by beginners to home brewing, was introduced in 1994, according to Chimay, but only at a level of 0.1%. It is used in Chimay Red and Blue, but not the Triple (White), to compensate for variations in colour between each brew. Note that once a feed hopper is installed which will allow the segregation of Caramalt, the malt responsible for the colour of Chimay Red and Blue, malt extract will no longer be used in the brews and will thus not appear on the labels. On the visit, I asked Chimay why they do not correct the wheat starch error on the labels. They stated that they were afraid that people would assume that they had changed the recipe again, so they were reluctant to do this.

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(It is interesting to see how many folks will say "back in the day" chimay tasted better than it does now, and are really talking about the '90's, when it contained malt extract?)

Oh and so does Guinness...

The second and most surprising point is the following

“Today at St. James’s Gate, Roast Malt Extract (RMX) and Mature High Gravity extract (MHG) are used in the brewing of Foreign Export Stout, draught Guinness, and Guinness Export Stout … What is common to all Guinness stout brewed in any location is the inclusion of dark RMX … and MHG”

–stated plainly by a retired Guinness employee

Translated that means that they no longer mash grain at the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin. They take the extract that is created for use worldwide and use that to brew.

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Someone on an Irish homebrewing thread mentioned Guinness and malt extract as well.

Postby Guyzer » Mon Aug 24, 2009 2:33 pm
Excellent that's me sorted to brew my first stout then. Also i'll be adding my secret stolen ingredient: Roast Malt Extract from St.james Gate (I am a technician in the brewery)hehehe.

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abarker8541 said:

I hope not!!! What are they gonna do, have 50 people stand over a boil kettle with gallon jugs of extract?? Yea that sounds like its extremely efficient!!! Its definately gonna get messy if you spill extract. And its not really more work, just more time consuming.

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abarker8541 said:

To the op, are you talking about extract to boost abv, or beer made solely with extract??

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Revvy said:

A lot of breweries, big and small use extracts...extracts are just what all grain brewers do, just done by a malting house. It's not some evil entity....And it's naive to think that a commercial brewer or a micro brewer WOULDN'T use extracts...

Here's an answer I have posted many times on here with a list of quite a few commercial breweries that use or have used extract at one time or another.

One of my favorite Pico Breweries/wineries/coffeshop/cigar lounge in a rivertown an hour outside of Detroit, makes decent beer in small batches using Extract as well because this is their entire brewing/winemaking space.

And this is their main seating area for the brewery/winery part of the place (the coffee house part is in the front and a cigar lounge is in the middle of the building)

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abarker8541 said:

I hope not!!! What are they gonna do, have 50 people stand over a boil kettle with gallon jugs of extract?? Yea that sounds like its extremely efficient!!! Its definately gonna get messy if you spill extract. And its not really more work, just more time consuming.

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abarker8541 said:

I hope not!!! What are they gonna do, have 50 people stand over a boil kettle with gallon jugs of extract?? Yea that sounds like its extremely efficient!!! Its definately gonna get messy if you spill extract. And its not really more work, just more time consuming.

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EDME Malt Co. said:

For the microbrewery sector, Edme supplies a separate series of products. The following extracts can be used as the complete wort or as individual adjuncts. All are available in 25-kg pails, 295-kg drums, or 1-tonne containers.

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Revvy said:

*sigh*

Even those 1 gallon jugs sold at homebrewshops or in kits usually come to the company selling it (like your local homebrewshops) in drums.

In fact many homebrewshops, actually sell the empty drums the extract came in to homebrewer as wine makes to use as large fermenters.

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