Going back to extract??

[LLBrewer]

That's right, I'm doing it and I'm not ashamed. After years of AG brews I'm finding that I really like the convenience of partial mash/extract.
Pros:

• Less equipment to clean. I do a mash in a bag with ~7 lbs of base malt and specialty grains so no need to fuss with a mash tun.
• Due to the concentrated wort time to boil is faster
• Easier to chill. I do a pot immersion in ice bath then top off with ice cold spring water to hit my final numbers. Its much faster than an immersion chiller in 6.5 gallons of boiling wort. And no chiller to clean. No water lines to run.
• I can brew in my kitchen. This is probably the biggest pro for me. I don't have to isolate myself from my family all day when I'm brewing and the weather is never a problem. win-win.

Cons:

• Cost. This is somewhat offset by getting several gravity points from mashing grain but DME is stupid expensive. It adds about $10 to each 1.050-ish 5 gallon batch.
• Concentrated wort hurts hop utilization so making a very hop-forward beer could be difficult.
• A little less control of final color (very minor problem AFAIC)

 

[jalc6927]

There is no shame in extract brewing, unless one of the beer snobs says so

Do what you enjoy and stand proud

 

[MHBT]

I brew both extract and AG..it is nice just to brew in the kitchen..when i brew extract its usually small batches just to fill up bottles i have lying around and 99% of my AG 5 gallon batches get kegged..cheers

 

[brewcat]

• I can brew in my kitchen. This is probably the biggest pro for me. I don't have to isolate myself from my family all day when I'm brewing and the weather is never a problem. win-win.

Part of my fun in brewing is avoiding family. Also why I do early morning brews.

 

[ncbrewer]

I started brewing all-grain a few years ago. I developed a ruptured disc and had to give it up. Now I brew with extract only - not even steeping grains. I miss the mash, but it's way better than being a cripple. Do what works for you.

 

[LLBrewer]

Part of my fun in brewing is avoiding family. Also why I do early morning brews.

Unfortunately with little ones it's tough for me. Not that my wife would ever complain but I feel better not disappearing for a whole day - on the weekend - 2 to 3 times per month.

 

[Yalc]

I just brewed my first extract In years. An IPA to try out Cashmere hops. A very enjoyable brew day, we’ll see how it turns out. Did a full boil for what it’s worth.

 

[Calder]

I've never taken the step to move outside and do full boil. I have most of the equipment (big pots, burner, immersion chiller, etc), but if I were to ever do it, my wife would never let me brew inside again.

I mash 8 to 9 lbs of grain in a cooler (in a bag in a cooler) in the kitchen, sparge and boil 4 gallons on the stove. I get about 85% efficiency from the mash. I make 6 gallon batches and add DME to the pot at flame out to get the remaining sugars, usually only a couple of pounds for most beers. I get extract for $2/lb, so the cost is not too much more than grain.

 

[DeadYetiBrew]

After being gone from brewing for around 8 or 9 years, I came back to extract brewing. It's super convenient and saves on my back health. I just got a burner last weekend and did a full boil extract in a Keggle and next day my knees and back were shot. Extract does have it's benefits, i miss the control AG served but the convenience is worth the price offset... i'm moving back towards AG, just need to build my MLT or buy an electric BIAB system...

and get lighter kettles...

 

[Summerland]

Why not do a BIAB instead of using extract? I have recently been doing that for the same reasons you listed, but doing BIAB takes away the cost con you listed. Is it a problem with pot size?

 

[AzOr]

I’m an AG Brewer but some styles and recipes come very close with extracts imo. I’ve done Orfy’s mild as an extract and I think it comes very close to ag. So much so, that I wouldn’t hesitate to make again.

 

[JohnSand]

I brew BIAB or partial mash depending on the time, weather and batch size.
I get extract relatively cheap by buying kits on sale. Then I break up the ingredients for my own recipes.

 

[Jayjay1976]

The only time I've ever used DME is to make starters, but damn it's a fun and easy way to brew up a lil' sample batch. All the fun of brewing without all the prep and planning of a 5g AG batch. Weeknight brewing is fun!

 

[bpgreen]

One thing you can do to improve your hop utilization is late extract addition. I usually do stove top partial mashes (depending on the definition, they may be mini mashes). I Use the wort from the mash for the hop boil, and add the extract at the very end. I've read that extract doesn't technically need to be boiled, but you can always add it near the end and boil for a few minutes if you want. If you use BeerSmith, it has an option for late extract additions to adjust the hop utilization.

 

[LLBrewer]

I've never taken the step to move outside and do full boil. I have most of the equipment (big pots, burner, immersion chiller, etc), but if I were to ever do it, my wife would never let me brew inside again.

I mash 8 to 9 lbs of grain in a cooler (in a bag in a cooler) in the kitchen, sparge and boil 4 gallons on the stove. I get about 85% efficiency from the mash. I make 6 gallon batches and add DME to the pot at flame out to get the remaining sugars, usually only a couple of pounds for most beers. I get extract for $2/lb, so the cost is not too much more than grain.

Where do you get $2/lb for dme? That's a great price!

 

[LLBrewer]

Why not do a BIAB instead of using extract? I have recently been doing that for the same reasons you listed, but doing BIAB takes away the cost con you listed. Is it a problem with pot size?

I do BIAB, about 7 lbs per batch, and then DME to hit my target gravity. I could probably mash a little more but my efficiency starts to drop off (and my stove starts to really struggle boiling more than 3.5 gallons).

 

[LLBrewer]

One thing you can do to improve your hop utilization is late extract addition. I usually do stove top partial mashes (depending on the definition, they may be mini mashes). I Use the wort from the mash for the hop boil, and add the extract at the very end. I've read that extract doesn't technically need to be boiled, but you can always add it near the end and boil for a few minutes if you want. If you use BeerSmith, it has an option for late extract additions to adjust the hop utilization.

Thanks bpgreen! Definitely doing this for the next brew.

 

[MaxStout]

Nothing wrong with extract brewing--you can still make excellent beer. And I'll bet if you invited friends over for beers and didn't tell them, they'd never notice the difference.

Kits are fine--if they are fresh. Some brew stores don't rotate their stock of kits very fast. If you have doubts, work up your own recipes and buy fresh ingredients. I don't know if there's much cost savings by buying extract, steeping grains, etc. vs. kits, but knowing it's fresh would make it worthwhile.

 

[myndflyte]

Extract has it's benefits. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to plan an all grain brew day, spend the time outside, and there is just something that's fun about the whole all grain process. But then there are times when you just want something done quick. I just kegged a 15 min boil saison (see my sig for the recipe link) and it has turned out great and if you have everything in order, you can probably be done brewing it in under and hour.