Stick with extract for fun and beer

[VillageBrew]

OK. You guys have thrown me for a loop on this on. Doesn't go against everything taught that the wort must be brought down in temp as quickly as possible to eliminate off flavors? Then why spend all the money on chillers? I realize that it is a convienence to get it all done in one day, but I like the idea of splitting up the process in half over two days. Many a late night / early morning I have spent cursing the temp Gods trying to get down to pitching range! Are there any beers that are better to do this with and ones that I should stay clear of?

 

[BOBTHEukBREWER]

Someone is concerned about cutting the cost of safale yeast. Use half a packet and make a starter 4 hours before estimated pitch time and/or make another brew on day 3 and transfer the yeast top from brew 1 straight into brew 2. It works for me.

 

[Bradinator]

OK. You guys have thrown me for a loop on this on. Doesn't go against everything taught that the wort must be brought down in temp as quickly as possible to eliminate off flavors? Then why spend all the money on chillers? I realize that it is a convienence to get it all done in one day, but I like the idea of splitting up the process in half over two days. Many a late night / early morning I have spent cursing the temp Gods trying to get down to pitching range! Are there any beers that are better to do this with and ones that I should stay clear of?

Wheat ales, stouts and any dark or naturally cloudy ales would seem the most appropriate. I have seen some people that no chill and have fantastically clear beers, though none of mine have turned out that way. I am not so worried about the appearance of my beer, just the flavour and so far each have turned out great. I have done two pale ales, one Belgian strong and two blonde ales. I have one more blonde fermenting away now. No off flavours at all, but I tend to due boils over 60 minutes to kill any possible DMS flavours.

I have read a couple other brewers that had a lot of trouble no chilling IPA's. Their experiences were that even with the modified hop schedule the beer ended up extremely bitter, so much so that it ruined the beer. I have not tried an IPA yet myself so I cannot confirm this.

 

[CrookedTail]

Wheat ales, stouts and any dark or naturally cloudy ales would seem the most appropriate. I have seen some people that no chill and have fantastically clear beers, though none of mine have turned out that way. I am not so worried about the appearance of my beer, just the flavour and so far each have turned out great. I have done two pale ales, one Belgian strong and two blonde ales. I have one more blonde fermenting away now. No off flavours at all, but I tend to due boils over 60 minutes to kill any possible DMS flavours.

I have read a couple other brewers that had a lot of trouble no chilling IPA's. Their experiences were that even with the modified hop schedule the beer ended up extremely bitter, so much so that it ruined the beer. I have not tried an IPA yet myself so I cannot confirm this.

The beer probably got infected, which is the biggest risk you take by not chilling your beer quickly. That was a lesson I learned when I first started brewing. I let a batch cool slowly overnight. The beer was extremely bitter. And not the type of bitterness you get from hops. It was really awful tasting.

Honestly I wouldn't recommend doing this. In my experiences my beers improved dramatically (in flavor and appearance) once I started rapidly chilling the wort right after flameout.

 

[Bradinator]

The beer probably got infected, which is the biggest risk you take by not chilling your beer quickly. That was a lesson I learned when I first started brewing. I let a batch cool slowly overnight. The beer was extremely bitter. And not the type of bitterness you get from hops. It was really awful tasting.

Honestly I wouldn't recommend doing this. In my experiences my beers improved dramatically (in flavor and appearance) once I started rapidly chilling the wort right after flameout.

I really don't want high jack this thread and turn it into a no chill vs. chill debate, there are enough of those already on this forum. No chill is very common place in Australian brewing, so its not like there is only a handful of crazy no chill rebels out there. I plan to continue to to no chill my beers (which outside of cloudiness turn out fine, if not fantastic tasting) until the day I feel that its is actually impacting my beers flavour or I find I get an infection from it (so far the number is 0).

I cannot say for sure if those others had infections, but from what I read that was not the case. Also what type of infection only creates additional bitterness? (Not arguing there is no bacteria that does this, but I am not sure which one it is). Feel free to PM me if you want to take this offline.

 

[CrookedTail]

I really don't want high jack this thread and turn it into a no chill vs. chill debate, there are enough of those already on this forum. No chill is very common place in Australian brewing, so its not like there is only a handful of crazy no chill rebels out there. I plan to continue to to no chill my beers (which outside of cloudiness turn out fine, if not fantastic tasting) until the day I feel that its is actually impacting my beers flavour or I find I get an infection from it (so far the number is 0).

I cannot say for sure if those others had infections, but from what I read that was not the case. Also what type of infection only creates additional bitterness? (Not arguing there is no bacteria that does this, but I am not sure which one it is). Feel free to PM me if you want to take this offline.

Astringency caused by a bacterial infection would cause extreme bitterness in a beer.

Don't take what I posted the wrong way. I wasn't trying to knock your process. I'd never do that. I'm an extract w/grains/partial mash brewer, and I hate when people try to put down extract brewing.

If the no-chill method works for you then by all means stick with it.

 

[Bradinator]

Astringency caused by a bacterial infection would cause extreme bitterness in a beer.

Don't take what I posted the wrong way. I wasn't trying to knock your process. I'd never do that. I'm an extract w/grains/partial mash brewer, and I hate when people try to put down extract brewing.

If the no-chill method works for you then by all means stick with it.

No problem I did not think you were knocking my process. I am not ragging on extract at all, as I know from past experience great beers can be made from it. Like I said, so many great ways to make great beer, all based on peoples preferences and situation.

Cheers!

 

[TallyPatriot]

I haven't spent that much on AG equipment, just have to look for deals and improvise. I just did a Rye Saison brew day from start to finish in about 4 hours. No stress just watching the pots boil. I did a few extract beers and they were approaching $40-50 per batch with the price of extract from my LHBS. Now its closer to $20-30 especially now that I am reusing yeast.

Whatever you do I'm sure there are 1,000 different ways to do it and no wrong way as long as you like the beer.

 

[unionrdr]

I like extract brewing so far,steeping grains are ok. Just so many styles/countries exporting DME/LME nowadays,many different flavor combinations can be had in every possible color. So many yeasts & hops to alter those flavors. It's easy to see how much fun can be had once a little knowledge & experience are built up. I need to get to the LHBS to get a couple more things I need to reproduce a rendition of the Burton Australian Ale. That one's gunna be malt heavy,& still deciding on 3-5 different yeast's characteristics. Hope he carries Burton salts.
Anyway,it'll be all extract for those of us that wanna see how far extract brews can go. This is the fun part of brew imagineering.