Why all grain?

[spearko520]

all grain got me laid in high school. that is why.

 

[HopHeadGrady]

Because you can't be considered a legit brewer unless you go AG and take 6 hrs to brew a 5 gal batch? LOL I am getting into BIAB, but will always crank off some mash extract just cause it saves time.
Brew how you want to brew is all I have to say. If you have an extract recipe that blows your socks off, then all the power to you. I know I have a fav mash extract recipe I will always make.

 

[beerloaf]

all grain got me laid in high school. that is why.

Now that's priceless! I brew all grain because I enjoyed the challange of learning to do it all from scratch by myself. As stated over and over again, it also gives you a lot more control in how your beer will turn out. I like the ability to replicate some of the original recipes with their original ingredients. Do whatever you are comfortable with and what you can afford. AG does become cheaper if you can buy grain in bulk. I brew all grain and grow 7 different kind of hops as well as store and recycle yeast. The combination makes things very cheap. It's like any other hobby. You can get as involved with it as it suits your needs.

beerloaf

 

[CidahMastah]

Not to nit here... but the guy is asking for reasons to go all grain.

I'm still new to brewing, and I'm just doing extract brewing at the moment..but why all grain?
Is it it more fun, challenging, etc? Just looking for a reason to buy all grain equipment, I guess.

However he is not looking for reasons feel "ok" about being an extract brewer. I think the posts that speak from AG brewers who switched have the most meat to help the poster understand why people have gone that route (like beerloaf's most recent post).

As for saving time - if you do a 45 minute specialty grain steep for extract already... you would be only adding about 30 more minutes to your brew day if you batch sparge (more time isn't really a valid argument for the more basic beers). A typical mash is 60 minutes. Batch sparging gets your tun empty twice in less than 15 minutes when I do it for AG batches.


Really I think he is just looking for encouragement

 

[danorocks17]

all grain got me laid in high school. that is why.

thats why i started playing guitar

 

[LandoLincoln]

I'd go back and do an extract batch if:

1) I was really pressed for time on a brew day
2) I didn't mind spending a lot more money for ingredients
3) I didn't mind too much if I didn't have complete control over my wort

I've never met all three of these criteria, so I haven't done an extract batch since going to AG.

 

[photogscott]

all grain got me laid in high school. that is why.

Yeah and in both cases you're prone to infections!!

 

[lumpher]

tastier, and it gets me 4-5 hours on my own. family knows to leave me alone while brewing... nuff said

 

[mccabedoug]

Because there are some beers you CANNOT make with extract. My #1 reason for going AG after 5 years of extract + grains brewing was to make a hazy, straw-colored wit. Try as I might with extract plus grains (up to 6 lb of grains) I could not make a true wit. On my 1st AG batch I made a wit and it came out perfect in terms of light color, haziness, mouth-feel and taste.

I also truly believe that MY AG beers are better than MY extract beers. Interesting story: last year at New Years Eve a buddy had a party and told me that one of the other people he invited made their own beer and would bring a few bottles. I brought a keg. I met his friend and he offered me a beer. I took a drink and immediately knew it was an extract beer. It was thin and lacked body (I'm not saying that all extract beers are thin, just this one was and I knew it). He tried a glass of my beer and asked, "You actually made this beer? Really? Wow." We chatted for a while and he explained that he brews with extract, and has for years.

So, for me, the reasons for me GOING AG were to make a beer I could not make with extract. The reasons for me to STICK with brewing AG are that I am convinced I make a better beer.

 

[brazilianbrewer]

Here, in Brazil, there isnt' really a choice between AG and EB: you have to do it AG...
That is why almost everybody here brews AG beers.
Sometimes I guess it is better not to have two many choices

Greetings

 

[SwampassJ]

I skipped extract because I wanted more options and control. I didn't want to spend extra time steeping when I could just mash for an extra half hour. Downside for me is I have to go to my parents to brew, no room for storage and no propane allowed here.

 

[Skirby41]

I have completed about 10 all grain recipes, of those recipes I have hit my original gravity only four times. I have tried batch sparking running the wort through the grain bed twice and the adding a gallon of water at a higher temperature to rice the last sugars from the grain. I typically miss the OG by about 15 to 20 points fairly significant. What should I do to get better efficiency?

 

[usfmikeb]

Skirby - recommend you starting a new post for that topic, it could be a lot of things and we'll need to ask you a number of questions in order to help you.

Mccabedoug - absolutely agree with you, I know that my AG beers far exceed anything I ever did with extract.

 

[SwampassJ]

I have completed about 10 all grain recipes, of those recipes I have hit my original gravity only four times. I have tried batch sparking running the wort through the grain bed twice and the adding a gallon of water at a higher temperature to rice the last sugars from the grain. I typically miss the OG by about 15 to 20 points fairly significant. What should I do to get better efficiency?

Don't run the wort back through the grains after the hour (or whatever time) of mashing. Run back just enough wort until the flow clears up of grain husks and debris then collect the wort. Then sparge with 170(ish) degree water until you get to your proper boil amount. Please open a new thread, you will get a lot smarter, and more experienced people seeing it.

 

[jakesz28]

I can't beleave I read thru all of that. I've brewed several extract kits. I got 4 fermenting right now. But I'm getting ready to go all grain. You could spend a lot of money going all grain with equipment or try the beer in a bag.
Currently I just bought 2 ten gallon water coolers. I need to order a false bottom and a Sparge arm. But I hope to have more control on the body or mouth feel. I like higher alcohol beers and craft beers get pricey, especially with the $10 four packs.
To me its like my garden fresh salsa or my canned salsa. It takes time but can come out real good. We even season our own sausage. It comes out better then the stuff I get at the store.
Not going to say anything bad about extract brewing because that's were I started and I plan on doing one more before I get every thing else I need for my first all grain.

 

[BrewMU]

Why bake a cake from scratch?

 

[BrewMU]

moot brewer. I did not say anything even close to that. Are you on crack?

100-20=80

 

[mccabedoug]

Currently I just bought 2 ten gallon water coolers. I need to order a false bottom and a Sparge arm. But I hope to have more control on the body or mouth feel. I like higher alcohol beers and craft beers get pricey, especially with the $10 four packs.

Have you considered batch sparging? No need for a sparge arm. Just sayin'.

 

[Griff777]

There is nothing like buying a bag of barley and two weeks later sampling your own creation. And when friend rave after trying it, you get all the credit.

 

[PoppinCaps]

Have you considered batch sparging? No need for a sparge arm. Just sayin'.

I'd second that and add that even if you want to fly sparge, a wide ID silicone tube sitting on the top of the grain bed works very well. I've wasted many an hour trying to get various drip sparge devices to work, and come up with the conclusion that all they do is create worry and rapid temperature drop.

 

[frankstoneline]

I'd second that and add that even if you want to fly sparge, a wide ID silicone tube sitting on the top of the grain bed works very well. I've wasted many an hour trying to get various drip sparge devices to work, and come up with the conclusion that all they do is create worry and rapid temperature drop.

I have a similar conclusion, I use an HPVC manifold type thing that I built for about 10 dollars and keep about an inch of liquid over the grain bed during my recirc/sparge. Seems to have boosted my efficiency and lets me set pump speed and walk away for 30 minutes.

 

[BierMuncher]

I'd second that and add that even if you want to fly sparge, a wide ID silicone tube sitting on the top of the grain bed works very well. I've wasted many an hour trying to get various drip sparge devices to work, and come up with the conclusion that all they do is create worry and rapid temperature drop.

$7.00 for a bucket at Lowe's.

 

[CPFITNESS]

somebody bought me a 1 gallon kit that was all grain. I hadn't brewed before so I didn' tknow there was any other way of doing things. i was instantly hooked. That was 2 weeks before christmas. 10 weeks later and i've got 3 5gallon batches under my belt. I've never done an extract brew, can't imagine i ever will. All grain is not as hard as people make it sound, it's definately a lot of fun.

 

[graissedecanard]

As I write this I'm standing over my second all grain batch. After tasting the Victory Headwater I wanted to make a Citra Pale Ale. I checked out several recipes and picked what characteristics I liked from each. The control isn't there with extract. Now if my pipe line gets low and I don't have the time to do an all grain, I have no problem doing a quick extract. It's still cheaper than going to the store. But if at all possible I'll stick with all grain. Not for the cost, but for the control it gives you over your recipes.

 

[KurtB]

I am switching to AG because I have some extra money and I wanted more shiney things filling up my garage...

Really, money had nothing to do with it, for me it was more of a logical progression.

I started doing Extract about 1.5 years ago. After I got the basic process down (steep grains, boil with extract & hops, ferment, drink) I started thinking about making better beer, which led to better temp control & yeast management. Once I started making better beer, I wanted to move away from kits and into my own recipies.

It was this transition into my own recipies that made me make the jump to AG. I now have much for flexibility into what actually goes into my beer. Along with a number of other skills that I can learn & tweak (water chemestry, mash temps, etc.).

All that said, the batch I brewed 2 weekends ago was an extract kit, and the batch this past weekend was AG. Will I give up making extract kits? Eventually, but maybe not completely. It will be a gradual transition away from extract until my AG beer is at least as good, and consistant, as my extract beer.

 

[cyclonite]

Control, variety. You can do anything with all grain, but not with extract. You'll also find that most recipes are all-grain first, and converted (to best approximation) to extract. Cost is lower also, but I think that is secondary to the control and variety that all-grain brewing brings you.

If you want to try all grain cheaply and easily and have at least a 5 gallon pot, go to home depot and buy a 5 gallon paint strainer bag and try BIAB. Try doing a smaller beer (<= 1.050) if you only have a 5 gallon kettle to see how you like the process. You can then do a partial boil just like you generally do with extract. Plan around 70-75% efficiency.

 

[Schemy]

I started at extract, made some good beers like that. The reason I moved to all grain was to get a full understanding of brewing. Until you develope, crush, mash, boil, and ferment your own recipe; I don't think you can develope a full understanding. I wanted to develop and push myself as a brewing, which wasn't something I thought I could achieve doing extract. Plus it's a lot of fun.

 

[spearko520]

i made the switch because i like to watch my wife turn the compost heap, once it's a few hundred pounds of stinking grain.

 

[tbone0n74]

I have recently switched to all-grain after 2 years of extract brewing. I started with extract because it was cheap, and I wanted to be sure it was something I'd stick with. I have a habit of starting new hobbies and then getting bored and moving on. After 2 years of extract brewing, I was certain this is a hobby I could enjoy for many more years to come. However, the leap to all-grain can be daunting to someone who has never done it before. I did a lot of reading (on this forum) about it, made my MLT and HLT, and took the plunge. I must admit, I wish I had someone locally to walk me through it.. you can read about it all you want, but until you experience it, you have NO IDEA! I can happily say, I wish I had made the leap sooner.

The beer tastes better
You get to spend more time with your hobby
So much more control over your brews
So many more variables
So many more years of tweaking, and fun!

 

[passedpawn]

I have recently switched to all-grain after 2 years of extract brewing. I started with extract because it was cheap, and I wanted to be sure it was something I'd stick with. I have a habit of starting new hobbies and then getting bored and moving on. After 2 years of extract brewing, I was certain this is a hobby I could enjoy for many more years to come. However, the leap to all-grain can be daunting to someone who has never done it before. I did a lot of reading (on this forum) about it, made my MLT and HLT, and took the plunge. I must admit, I wish I had someone locally to walk me through it.. you can read about it all you want, but until you experience it, you have NO IDEA! I can happily say, I wish I had made the leap sooner.

The beer tastes better
You get to spend more time with your hobby
So much more control over your brews
So many more variables
So many more years of tweaking, and fun!

With a teacher, you can learn to do AG in 1 lesson. I showed both my brothers (in Calif) and the now both brew. They had never brewed in any form (not extract, nothing) before I showed up.

In fact, one of them was brewing in keggles, milling his own grain, and kegging withing 6 months. That one is obsessed!

 

[stbnj]

Because of how good it smells when I open the mash tun on brew day.

 

[phenry]

Because my dog likes eating spent grain out of my MLT.

 

[jholen]

Because my dog likes eating spent grain out of my MLT.

+1 my dog loves his spent grain biscuits I cook up in the oven lol..

in fact we just ran out the other day so i need to brew again!

 

[spearko520]

Because my dog likes eating spent grain out of my MLT.

my fat little pooch sneaks off all the time to eat the fresh pile of spent grains in the compost pile, too!!
his favorite beer is the duchesse - must be the poodle in him.

 

[LMGK]

my fat little pooch sneaks off all the time to eat the fresh pile of spent grains in the compost pile, too!!
his favorite beer is the duchesse - must be the poodle in him.

Haha my fat little schnaunzer was eye deep in soil chugging stout spent mash grains I buried in my garden a few weeks back. He's a s. o. B.

 

[Mindhop]

Haha my fat little schnaunzer was eye deep in soil chugging stout spent mash grains I buried in my garden a few weeks back. He's a s. o. B.

Is that why my dog is so over weight?

 

[duckredbeard]

Because there is satisfaction in doing it the hard way and nailing the style. The best part is when a non brewer exclaims "Holy shot, you MADE THIS?!"

 

[Mindhop]

because there is satisfaction in doing it the hard way and nailing the style. The best part is when a non brewer exclaims "holy shot, you made this?!"

+1

 

[Rev2010]

Just a note for you guys mentioning your dogs, some of you may know already but just be aware to make sure your dogs don't get to any hops! Hops can be deadly to dogs.


Rev.

 

[Daynanator]

I just finished my first ever batch. I never considered anything but AG. I like to see the evolution from grain to glass. Next week I start my second batch.