"dried malt extract"

The recipe i'm looking at is an ipa, first time brew, the recipe calls for "light or amber dried malt extract".

Does this mean that i can buy the prescribed weight from the recipe of light or amber malted barley? I would appreciate an interpretation, thanx.

IF the recipe specifies malt extract, you would have to convert from that, which is totally fermentable, to a weight in grain given a specified efficiency for the mash. That is, you can't just swap grain in and expect 3 pounds of grain to do what 3 pounds of extract would do.

If this is your first go, just stick with the dry malt extract. It comes in bags. Weigh it, pour it in, boil it up. Real simple.

You are looking at an extract recipe. Use the lightest extract you can find (it'll be dark enough) and follow the recipe.

To use grain, you have to mash it to convert starches to sugars, etc. That's grain brewing. Extract brewing skips that step because the extract comes from grain that has been already mashed for you.

Cheers

thanks sasquatch, just for the heck of it, where would i find a conversion chart to convert extract to whole grain equivalents?

You aren't thinking about it the right way. It's not about converting grain to extract. There are dozens of types of grain you can use and all of them contribute something different. You need to read up on all-grain brewing and mashing if you're interested in using grain. The blend of different grains you use and how you mash it will determine the gravity of your wort.

You really can't just grind an amount of grain and substitute it for extract. There is no fermentable sugar in malted grain until it is mashed.

Janx is right. You can't just say "Oh, this recipe asks for x pounds of malt extract, so I need 6.5 pounds of Pale Malt, 1 pound crystal, .5 pound vienna, and do a triple decoction mash"

Each malt adds a different amount of fermentables, and a different amount depending how you cook it up. If you cook it badly, 20 pounds of malted barley won't give you the fermentables you'd get from 1 can of extract.

Do your extract for now, brew some beer, then head for the grain once you get er figured.

Thanks for the guidance, i'll take it one step at a time.

Joe, adding a little bit of grain to an otherwise extract based recipe can really make awesome beer. Just steep at 150 F for 45 minutes.