Better as an extract recipe?

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hoosbrewing

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I recently made the switch to AG, and have been doing some of my favorite recipes as AG instead of extract. So far, they have all been better as AG rather than extract. While SWMBO and I were enjoying one of these (Orfy's mild mannered ale) last night, she asked me if I knew of a recipe that was better as extract. I told her I'd ask the group.

So... Do any of you have a recipe that's better as an extract, or that you prefer to make as an extract?
 
I recently made the switch to AG, and have been doing some of my favorite recipes as AG instead of extract. So far, they have all been better as AG rather than extract. While SWMBO and I were enjoying one of these (Orfy's mild mannered ale) last night, she asked me if I knew of a recipe that was better as extract. I told her I'd ask the group.

So... Do any of you have a recipe that's better as an extract, or that you prefer to make as an extract?

If you're going to directly compare the same recipes, I wouldn't think an extract beer will ever hold up to all grain. With the control you get from AG and the freshness of the ingredients, you'll come out with better beer as long as you have your processes down. But process makes a huge difference for some.
 
I have 3 recipes in my aresenal that no amount of tinkering and conversion from extract w/ grains to all grain has gotten me close to the taste of the original. So when I brew them, I brew them with extract.

Yooper's dead guy clone, my really simple amber ale that tastes dead on like Bell's Amber, and the brown ale in my recipe pulldown, although it doesn't taste "better" as an extract with grains recipe...it tastes to me just as delicious.
 
Despite some people's biases adn beliefs that AG is inherently "superior" to extract. My experience is that it is not the methodology one employs, but the skills of the brewer and the recipe that determines whether a beer is stellar or not.

You might find the discussion in this recent thread interesting https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/why-does-my-friend-want-perfect-extract-recipe-130856/

And in my blog Revvy's Blog; Why can't we all just get along?

You also might find this discussion on the "myth" of extract "twang" interesting as well. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/extract-twang-aging-129926/

In my experience, in brewing, tasting beers, helping brewers both in real life and online, all the supposed "more control" people get with AG is pretty moot if their process as a brewer sucks...There's enough AG brewers on here who have to be told to take a hydro reading or rdwhahb, or take more care in sanitization, or simply slow down, to prove that AG brewing isn't NECESSARILY the height of brewing wisdom, and an automatic gaurentee of perfection.


Extract gets a bum rap by people who have "moved on" and they don't realize that a big percentage of why their beer is better now, isn't because they are working with all grain, it is because they have matured as a brewer, andhave a better process. And if they went back a brewed an extract batch using all the gizmos they now have (like a turkey fryer/kettle, wort chiller, temp control, full volume boils) and all the tips they have picked up, even about brewing with extract...they would be surprised at how good their EXTRACT BATCH would be now....


If you have a great recipe, and you have a dialed in process, and are meticulous in your sanitization, using fresh extract or grain, or both, then you will make a fantastic beer , regardless of whether or not is is extract or all grain.

ANd don't let anyone tell you otherwise....

:mug:
 
Actually the question has no answer as you can never have the same recipe.

Look at it this way.

If a brewer has 80 brewing talent points in partial mash brewing and switches to AG and maintains those 80 points. He will make a better beer in AG.

HOWEVER - what typically happens is a brewer will have 40 PM talent points and think that by switching to AG he will make better beer. But now he only has 25 AG brewing talent points because he is not familier with equipment and so forth.

Brewing talent points are now copyrighted by Grinders Island Brewery - all rights reserved - just send checks in the mail if you wish to use said points theory
 
Didn't mean to offend or start a debate as to which is better. I just noticed that the "same" recipe brewed back to back (~1 week between them), with the same equipment and same process tasted remarkably different. The only difference was how the fermentable sugars were obtained. I was interested to hear whether anyone else saw such a difference.

It was just an observation and a question, not a blanket statement that extract sucks or AG is the end all be all.
 
Didn't mean to offend or start a debate as to which is better. I just noticed that the "same" recipe brewed back to back (~1 week between them), with the same equipment and same process tasted remarkably different. The only difference was how the fermentable sugars were obtained. I was interested to hear whether anyone else saw such a difference.

It was just an observation and a question, not a blanket statement that extract sucks or AG is the end all be all.

You also then need to factor in that one beer is a week younger than the other...that too can be a remarkable difference. Even if you brewed the identical extract batch 1 week apart, then bottled them and tasted them at the same time, they would taste different....1 week more conditioning time is still a big difference.
 
All of my AG brews have tasted better than my Extracts, in MY opinion.

Several friends have commented otherwise.....

I prefer AG. SO maybe that why I think they taste better.

I have gotten much more consistent results with AG.

Dont know why...

Maybe I just like mashing raw ingedients more than opening a can/bag.....???

Still, right now there is an Extract and an AG in my kegs right now.
 
Any extract recipe brewed with fresh ingredients will taste better than any recipe brewed with stale grain.

Fresh, quality ingredients will yield superior beer all things being equal.

The stigma from extract comes from making beer I suspect that uses aged, stale DME or LME. If your kit has dust on it when you buy it, it's probably too old, regardless of the date.

My not-so local HBS blows through ingredients so fast that I personally have never noticed a difference between identical extract and AG brews. Everything is always fresh.
 
Any extract recipe brewed with fresh ingredients will taste better than any recipe brewed with stale grain.

Fresh, quality ingredients will yield superior beer all things being equal.

The stigma from extract comes from making beer I suspect that uses aged, stale DME or LME. If your kit has dust on it when you buy it, it's probably too old, regardless of the date.

My not-so local HBS blows through ingredients so fast that I personally have never noticed a difference between identical extract and AG brews. Everything is always fresh.

+1 to this!!!!!!!
 
Thank you! I go to the Gordon Ramsay school of cooking. Be a prick, but also use fresh, quality ingredients, because that will be the single biggest impact on your results.
 
I am pursuing doing more extract recipes myself. I have a partial mash of Ed Wort's Robust Porter which is by FAR my best beer to date. I think it's perfect and wouldn't even bother trying to go AG with it.

I have made numerous APA's, about 3 or 4 with Cooper's Bitter and 2 or 3 with AG. I haven't seen a huge difference in quality. The AGs are definately more eye appealing, but both tasted fine.

I am sure my AG brewer talent though is like a 2.
 
AG is like driving stick while extract is an automatic. Snobs will swear by AG because it allows a lot more control over what you're doing, but much like the transmission analogy, sometimes extract is easier. After all, have you ever driven stick in a 3 hour long traffic jam? Automatics are far superior in those situations.
 
AG is like driving stick while extract is an automatic. Snobs will swear by AG because it allows a lot more control over what you're doing, but much like the transmission analogy, sometimes extract is easier. After all, have you ever driven stick in a 3 hour long traffic jam? Automatics are far superior in those situations.

Not even a remotely useful analogy. You're just arguing ease of brewing. Craigtube can show you how to brew even easier, right? Doesn't mean it'll come out well.

The question was about making an extract beer that is better than an all grain beer using the same essential recipe. And when it comes down to it, the quality from an experienced all grain brewer will be better than any extract beer you can make. Can an extract beer be good? Of course! Will it ever be better if the brewers are of equal talent? Not likely. Again, it comes down to ingredients, quality, and control. One will be better provided you are a good brewer.
 
Oh, and I drive an automatic because I like driving to be easy. I like my beer to be the best I can make it, so I put a lot of work and effort into making the best recipes and finding ingredients that really make the beer stand out.
 
And when it comes down to it, the quality from an experienced all grain brewer will be better than any extract beer you can make. Can an extract beer be good? Of course! Will it ever be better if the brewers are of equal talent? Not likely. Again, it comes down to ingredients, quality, and control. One will be better provided you are a good brewer.

Eh. I've had fantastic extract beers. I've seen extract and PM beers beat out AG in contests. I don't even like bothering with AG when it comes to wheat beers for example. Easier to just use some fresh extract, especially if I want a basic, plain recipe.

Like I said before. It comes down to ingredients. AG gives you more granular control over the end result of your beer, but fresh extract is a valid option.
 
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