to steep or not to steep..

i have purchased only kits that involve steeping so far. (the actual crushed grains) but the more i look online like the cooper kits it says all u need is a can of the cooper malt and dextrose. whats the difference. i would assume that steeping would give u more of a better flavor right? also out of curiosity, alll the kits i see are much cheaper, but would the beer i brew from a can be a lil better than the actual grains...?:fro:

To steep is better, you are going to get flavor and aroma from the grains that you will not get from extract alone. And IMO the beer that you make from just extract will not be as good as the beer made from extract with specialty grains.

Cheers

I agree. Your beer will thank you for at least steeping some grains.

Steeping will give you much better results than extract alone just like using hops is better than going with a prehopped extract.

An analogy to me is this: What tastes better, Hunt's spaghetti sauce that comes out of a can that you heat up, or a sauce made out of canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and fresh seasonings? Both are fine for what they are, but the one you simmer yourself using some fresh ingredients is better. Nothing bad about the first, but the second is improved.

A canned prehopped extract is ok- a canned kit with added dextrose is not very good. If you really want to use it, add DME instead of the dextrose and you'll be happier. Steeping grains with DME and fresh hops makes a really great beer, though, and would be well worth it.

I agree.

I ALWAYS try to steer new brewers AWAY from LME and toward DME. It's a much better product.