What the point in brewing all grain?

Just to start conversation and answer my question...

I've been brewing extract and specialty grain and have been totally satisfied with the results.


Why should I switch to all grain? (Which I plan on doing this weekend.)

What are the benefits? (cheaper? better tasting? etc.)

Yes and yes.

It is cheaper to brew an all grain batch than an extract batch. That is, if you brew for longer than a year. The cost of the equipment outweighs the savings in going all grain until you do about ten batches or so. After that, it's all savings.

To me, the two main points of going all grain is 1. more control over the flavor of your beer, and 2. raising your game and pushing yourself.

With all grain you have more control over your batches. You control more of the nuances of what goes into your beer.

I agree with you. I was very happy with my beer when I was brewing extract kits. As you go all grain, you become so much more satisfied with your beer, and have more of a feeling of accomplishment.

Having control over the mash temps is key for me...lower mash temp = more fermentable wort and vice versa.

I agree johnnyo I have brewed 6 all grain batches after I said whats the point more work for the same beer right? wrong it does cost some to get into it but if you build your own stuff its not so bad. it is cheaper to buy the grain than extractand its alot of fun I think. I said I will do both all grain and extract but to tell you the truth I dont tink I will brew an extract brew again

What's the point of brewing at all?

blakester9999 said:

Why should I switch to all grain? (Which I plan on doing this weekend.)

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You tell us, why are you switching to AG?

There's your reason.

Depends if you enjoy tinkering or not.

I really enjoy building a recipe, honestly that's almost as enjoyable as drinking the beer. Like when I made a second oatmeal stout and nearly doubled the roasted barley and upped the mash temp a few degrees. Wow, so much more flavor.

Although there are some things in life where I really want just the finished product, and don't care about how it got there. Brewing definitely isn't one, but I could totally understand if it was for someone.

brewing all grain gives you the advantage of making more styles that extract with grains lacks, I brew partial mash in a manner just like all grain (i should just go all grain) but for now my mash tun size doesnt allow...

I like what Bobby M said..."whats the point of brewing at all?"
its more the fun that brewing brings, rather than just the final outcome

brewing beer rocks...do all grain for the ultamate control of your beer, but extract with steeping grains will still make killer beer.

Bobby_M said:

What's the point of brewing at all?

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+1

I can buy all kinds of delicious local, domestic and foreign beers at the store...

This is a hobby and it really depends on what you want to put into it or and take out of it.

There are alot of things to consider such as but not limited to; time, space, desire, equipment, creativity, local product availability, etc.

That being said, it's your decision and there isn't a wrong answer.

The main thing is that you enjoy how your brewing and are satisfied with the end result.

Good luck with your decision.

Bull

For me, probably the biggest reason is the ability to use grains that you can't use effectively in an extract beer. Oats, Munich, Biscuit, Marris Otter, etc.

Second would be control. With the extracts, more often than not you don't know what's in them, and even if you do, you're stuck with that. All grain gives you full control.

Third, of course, is cost. When you can buy base grains at ~$0.55/lb, the savings add up quickly.

Scimmia said:

Third, of course, is cost. When you can buy base grains at ~$0.55/lb, the savings add up quickly.

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You must live down the street from a barley farm. Grains are much cheaper to buy (and a lot more work) but it's not this cheap. Most home brew shops that will sell you 10 LBS at a time are closer to $1.20 /lb.

55 cents is pretty cheap, but $45 is a pretty average cost for a 55lb bag of base grain. That $0.80/lb. Not bad. Buying in bulk, both grain and hops, is where you really save the cash (on ingredients). Going all grain opens you up to a whole new world of rigs and gadgets that you "need". Please note the significance of the quotes. Nobody needs more than a pot and a cooler and a bucket, but we all seem to get sucked in to the toys.

spriolo said:

You must live down the street from a barley farm. Grains are much cheaper to buy (and a lot more work) but it's not this cheap. Most home brew shops that will sell you 10 LBS at a time are closer to $1.20 /lb.

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MidCountry Malt Supply on the south side of Chicago, right off of I-80. Last time I picked up a few sacks, a sack of CMC Pale 2 row was ~$30.

spriolo said:

You must live down the street from a barley farm. Grains are much cheaper to buy (and a lot more work) but it's not this cheap. Most home brew shops that will sell you 10 LBS at a time are closer to $1.20 /lb.

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I pay $0.55/lb. You just need to get bulk orders.

blakester9999 said:

Just to start conversation and answer my question...

I've been brewing extract and specialty grain and have been totally satisfied with the results.


Why should I switch to all grain? (Which I plan on doing this weekend.)

What are the benefits? (cheaper? better tasting? etc.)

Click to expand...

If you are going all grain this weekend, it is kind of late to be asking these questions, don't you think?

I agree with Cpt_Kirks. I think it takes more planning to brew with all grain. Everyone here has posted something to consider (equipment, recipe / ingredients, etc..)

Bobby_M said:

What's the point of brewing at all?

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+1

The answer(s) to the OP is the same as the answer to Bobby's question.

This very common thread will devolve into an extract vs. AG debate; it always does. But the best answer (IMO) is that we like the DIY aspect of brewing, and AG is more DIY than extract: other valid reasons are subordinate to this one.

spriolo said:

You must live down the street from a barley farm. Grains are much cheaper to buy (and a lot more work) but it's not this cheap. Most home brew shops that will sell you 10 LBS at a time are closer to $1.20 /lb.

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Domestic base malts can be readily had for ~$.75 cents a pound "by the sack". I suppose if you get in on a group buy it could be cheaper still.

IrregularPulse said:

55 cents is pretty cheap, but $45 is a pretty average cost for a 55lb bag of base grain. That $0.80/lb. Not bad. Buying in bulk, both grain and hops, is where you really save the cash (on ingredients). Going all grain opens you up to a whole new world of rigs and gadgets that you "need". Please note the significance of the quotes. Nobody needs more than a pot and a cooler and a bucket, but we all seem to get sucked in to the toys.

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You mean I didn't need that huge pump and triclovers and conicals?

Based on my calcs and by using bulk base malts, going all-grain is about 1/3rd the cost for malt as with extract & specialty grains. Pretty significant indeed. I did one extract 10G batch and then accelerated my all-grain plans as I saw at that volume what the difference in cost and control was.

blakester9999 said:

Just to start conversation and answer my question...

I've been brewing extract and specialty grain and have been totally satisfied with the results.


Why should I switch to all grain? (Which I plan on doing this weekend.)

What are the benefits? (cheaper? better tasting? etc.)

Click to expand...

Take a look at my presentation from NHC this year....

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/4803/Moving_to_Mashing-Denny_Conn.pdf

Bobby_M said:

What's the point of brewing at all?

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Thanks a lot, now I'm filled with questions and doubt!!!

It's cheaper.
It gives you more control over the final flavor, texture, and color of your beer
It's more "fun"
It's more challenging

It's not a LOT more $ to get started (although you can spend as much as you want)
It's not a LOT more difficult (in fact, it's hardly more work, just a bit more time per batch)

But extract is easier, quicker, and CAN produce quality results if done right.

cost alone is enough for me to do AG over extract.

At my LHBS, a 2.75# bag of DME is $15. That's equivalent to 4# of 2-row, which I can buy (from the same store) for about $4.

A typical batch of beer for me contains about 9# of 2-row. It'll cost me $33.75 in DME or $9 in grain to make the base wort for a typical beer that I brew.

$25 in savings for a batch of beer.

Before someone quotes the "Yeah, but you have to buy all of that equipment and it's expensive!" thing.

I brew about 25 batches a year, so my annual savings is 25 batches x $25 = $525.

That $525 is WAY more than enough to pay for an AG system. You will recoup the cost of the equipment pretty fast.

Homercidal said:

But extract is easier, quicker, and ....

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I'm getting fast enough with the AG that I don't think I could beat it by much if I was doing extract. My last AG batch took about 3 hours.

I have used this analogy before. Brewing is like making sauce or soup. You can open a can, add water and you have cooked soup....or you can make your own stock and add ingredients to make a soup from scratch. I always enjoy my scratch made soup a little better, as I added all of the ingredients I like in the amounts I like to get what I like. Both methods are making soup.

My beer is crafted for me, and having the control of ingredients and process is very important to match the beer to my minds eye (and tongue).

Also....store bought craft beer: at least $1.50 per bottle at store ($4-5 per pint at bar prices). Extract brewing: approximately 60-120 cents per bottle depending on OG/IBU. All grain brewing 40-75 cents a bottle depending on OG/IBU and efficiency....this includes grains, yeasts, hops, fuel, caps, corn sugar, you name it (except labor).

Being able to say that: "I made that"....Priceless.

I added a monster mill and a march pump this year and went from efficiencies in the 50's to those in the 80's....I make starters and often repitch yeasts into successive batches, saving even more....I buy my grains in 50 or 55lb bags paying about $0.90 per pound on average......and now this year, growing my own hops from some free rhizomes I got from friends.....I am looking at the lightest beers dropping into the $0.25 per beer range....whoohoo!

Good beer at an extreme discount....and if I want, I can someday afford the Sabco brew magic....(if I don't build it myself)....If I am saving $500-2000 per year on beer.

Hypothetical questions aside, I don't even care about batch cost. If brewing all grain was proven to be twice the price of extract, I'd still do it because beer is not 100% of the end goal. The process and trying to understand everything going on at the physical and chemical levels is awesome to me. If I had the space I'd probably grow and malt my own barley too.

I brew AG now basically because it makes me feel like a badass.

WC87 said:

I brew AG now basically because it makes me feel like a badass.

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LOL...

I had a new family move into the house next door to me about a month ago. I introduced myself to the dad of the family who (I think) is maybe a couple years younger than me.

He was drinking a local micro and I made a comment on it and told him that I was a homebrewer. He went on to tell me that he had done a little homebrewing before with extract, but always felt like the experience wasn't fulfilling. I told him that I brewed with grain and he asked if he could come over sometime while I was brewing to see how the process went.

Unfortunately for him, he moved in right about the same time that I finished building and started using my HERMS system. He saw the rig in the garage and I probably just scared him away.

I brew all grain for the same reason I like growing my own vegetables, using fresh rolled pasta and slow cooked sauce in my lasagna, or taking time to parboil potatoes (don't grow them...yet!!) so I can grill them just right. It's the joy of crafting something that drives me to put in the extra time. I like having more control over the outcome, and I enjoy the all-grain "rabbit hole" of knowledge/learning.