Odd man out? 5-6 gal boils with extract

I was talking to the clerk in another LHBS today and he was surprised to hear I was doing full-boils with extract. This seems to be the going reaction of those I meet. I've only got one brew under my belt and even though the first LHBS owner was a little taken aback by my plan, he still took the time to recalculate my recipe and ingredients to convert from partial to full boil. I now have BeerSmith to do my own recipe conversion calculations. I pretty much had all the necessary equip or got it cheap, or built it myself. Am I that odd regarding my brewing?

Well, maybe in the "world of homebrewers", that might be unusual. I mean, may of them still do "kit & a kilo" kits.

But here at HBT, you're definitely in the norm, I'd say!

I was doing full boil extract brew for a while before I starting doing all grain, so I don't think it is all too weird.

I have only done 2 partial boils prior to doing full boil extracts, and I have never done a partial boil since

i did full boils when i did extract and when i made the jump to ag it really didnt seem like i was adding that much time to the brew day. also got better hop utilization so i was able to save some hops from each recipe which in the long run made things more cost effective.

like others have said you are in the norm. Welcome to the addiction, congrats on your second brew. Make sure you keep a tight watch on your wallet as you will find this hobby makes you pull it out more often

I've done full boils since about batch #3 or #4. That was 8 years ago and I've only been a full-time all-grain brewer for about 2 years so for roughly 6 years I did full boil extract beers. I wouldn't think it's odd.

Thanks. I'm a little disillusioned at the knowledge of my LHBS. I can understand if they don't do this, or recommend their own tried-n-true methods. But I would think they would be a little more knowledgeable about other techniques.

I've never done a partial boil...

rgray58 said:

Thanks. I'm a little disillusioned at the knowledge of my LHBS. I can understand if they don't do this, or recommend their own tried-n-true methods. But I would think they would be a little more knowledgeable about other techniques.

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I wouldn't be disillusioned. LHBSes tend to sort of in-breed with their knowledge. A lot of their customers know how to brew from Papazian and from advice they got at the shop and that's it. Most LHBS owners and employees want to give you advice they know from personal experience will work so that makes them a little more adverse to alternative methods than they probably should be. Remember, their livelihoods depend on most of their customers being able to make an at least drinkable beer and that experience being pleasant enough that they'll want to do it often. We tend to be more experimental here because it's not as much of a risk if we're wrong.

Well, actually full boils are the preferred method of doing extract with grains, it's just that not many who start out with it, have the capability to do full on boils. And when they do they usually leap to doing All Grain. But there are plenty of extract brewers on here that do it.

And as to LHBS information; Remember to a lot of LHBS'er or employees, it is only a job..not an obsession...so they are not always as necessarily passionate, or zealous learning new things, or trying new techniques, like we are....Some even though they have been in the business forever, may never had progressed in the hobby beyond extract kits...some may rarely brew at all.

So often it is not surprising that we know more or are at least in touch with more info that someone who does it for a living....

This is an ever evolving hobby...Places like this is where you find the most state of the art information/wisdom about brewing, because of the sheer number of us trying new things, hearing new things, and even breaking new ground and contributing to the body of info on the hobby...Look at some of that inventions that came out of here, and then ended up later in BYO articles by our members...

It is podcasts and forums like this where you will find a lot more state of the art, or current views, and even scientific information...I mean if Jamil, John Palmer or Papazian even farts on a podcast, one of us beergeeks are going to start a thread on it within 10 minutes.

So if you are dealing with ab old school LHBS owner/employee...don't back down, and don't let him get to you...

We have threads like this all the time https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/bad-advice-i-got-lbhs-thread-141546/#post1608689

But I caution folks to just blanketly say they get bad advice from their LHBS, when in reality often they simply are getting oldschool advice. Like the long primary/no-secondary ideas. That for us here has been pretty much the cultural shift in brewing, but it is only now catching up in the larger brewing community after BYO, Basic Brewing, Jamil AND John Palmer weighed in on it, but MANY old school types, on here and in homerbewshops are still operating under the 20-30 year old yeast fear that people like papazian wrote from, the "Autolysis" bogeyman, get the beer of the yeast asap philosophy, so for many folks it's like running into a brick wall.

Remember- It is HUMAN nature to scorn that which we don't understand... It even happens on here sometimes, when someone attempt to break new ground, or suggest something different from common wisdom (we still get people who scorn the idea of long primaries, and still believe in autolysis)...but it really is not the norm here.

But not necessarily "out there" in the world of Home brew shops.

In fact if you have one like that, Don't even tell him what you are doing buy your stuff, give him your money, and whistle your way out the door..knowing that what you might be attempting is probably light years ahead of HIS knowlege base.....

And more than likely your beer will end up better than his!!!

rgray58 said:

Thanks. I'm a little disillusioned at the knowledge of my LHBS. I can understand if they don't do this, or recommend their own tried-n-true methods. But I would think they would be a little more knowledgeable about other techniques.

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Most people can't handle boiling 6G on a stove, which is where most homebrewers start.

Once you drive the dissolved O2 off the full volume by boiling, aeration becomes important to get the yeast going at a good clip.

So I think it comes down to simplicity: start new brewers off with partial boils, using gear that they have accessible, and don't worry about stuck ferments or stalled starts. It sort of goes hand in hand with the LHBS mission to attract new brewers.

So, it's normal for them and for most beginners to get exposed to brewing in this manner...but clearly, many people are not content to rest on their laurels.

That you are sort of asking 'what's next?' that makes you just like the rest of us weirdos.

Hey, at least the LHBS didn't sell you a Mr Beer and tell you that you expand with it as needed...

Plus, you must remember that Full Boil = Less Hops = Less profit for the LHBS.

(Though that may not be the reason up front. When they find out though, LOOK OUT!!!)

Okay. Feel better. Thanks for all the input. I enjoyed putting my equipment through its paces for my first brew and planning a second when I get a free weekend. Just have to pick something different this time around. (First was a Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale clone).

I do full boils to justify the nice 10 gallon boilermaker I requested for my birthday.

I started, actually when my friend got me started brewing, we would brew in 3 gallon pots on his stove in his basement. When I got to the point that I wanted to brew my own at my house on my schedule (spring 2010), I bought my own gear and I found that it didn't cost much more to buy equipment capable of full-wort boils compared to the 3 gallon on the stove method (which is perfectly viable, by the way). So, I got me a 9 gallon kettle w/weldless ball valve kit, a propane burner, a CFC, and let er rip!