AG vs Extract Blind Taste Test

[Morrey]

Some time back, I was challenged to a blind taste test in which a brew club member boldly stated he could brew an English Pale Ale with AG and the same beer with extract and I (we) couldn't tell a difference. The stage was set and I made a post here regarding the upcoming challenge where the varying responses went several pages deep. I was asked to post the results:

Both beers were brewed same date, one full boil volume extract and the other BIAB dunk sparged full volume strike water. Single FV and both racked into keg with set and forget carb. Recipes used same yeast strain from starters, identical hop bill and both brews had same OG. Interesting note is the AG version finished at 1.010 and the DME version finished at 1.012.

6 of us sampled both beers in small flight sized glasses with both at 40F. We evaluated aroma, taste and mouthfeel with closed eyes. Head retention, color, clarity and overall appearance was done visually of course.

The only real criteria was to see if we could pick the AG from the extract. Let me say this guy is an awesome brewer. I'd be proud to serve either of his beers, so please let me say that extract beers are quite capable of being awesome.

The long and short is I could tell the extract was a shade darker than the AG. The extract also gave me a slight hint of what I'll call a "boxed cake mix" flavor but only on the backside or finishing flavor as it lingered. This flavor was not readily detectable on the front end.

But...this is interesting. He poured another small flight as we deliberated and tasted. Then we had a late customer come into the LHBS and kinda held up the show as the owner did a grain bill order with milling. In the meantime the short pours got almost to room temp. THEN, the extract showed itself at 70F. The AG had more depth, character and layers at that temp. The extract seemed more one dimensional and lacked comparable depth. But, this only became much more pronounced as the beers warmed, at 40F it was quite different.

In summary, 5 of 6 experienced homebrewers picked the AG at 40F, then the one guy on the fence changed his mind at 70F. I'm not real sure if this was totally fair to sample a beer at that temp, but it played out that way. Yes, the extract was a very very nice beer especially in the hands of a skilled brewer who knows their stuff. I was totally surprised at how close they fared especially at the serving temp of 40F. In my opinion, extract brewers never need to apologize for sticking with their program. This was well too close of a test which proved to me the point he was making. And that point is to all of us AG brewers...."Don't look down your noses at extract", and he proved his point well.

 

[ncbrewer]

Interesting - thanks for posting.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Nice info. I still have no interest in extract beers, but people can brew and drink whatever they want. That's what makes it great to be human.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

You might try doing a triangle taste test. 2 of one, 1 of the other. Try to pick the one that's different.

 

[Morrey]

You might try doing a triangle taste test. 2 of one, 1 of the other. Try to pick the one that's different.

I like your idea. Next time we'll incorporate this.

I personally enjoy the control I have with AG. Even though I am not a cost savings motivated brewer, I suppose AG is somewhat less expensive since extract seems pricey. My last Pilsner was made with harvested yeast slurry and I may have $15 in the 5.5G batch.

 

[Morrey]

Interesting - thanks for posting.

Thanks for your nice comment!

 

[Homercidal]

You might try doing a triangle taste test. 2 of one, 1 of the other. Try to pick the one that's different.

You should also test with glasses that cannot be seen through, to limit the visual from altering the perception.

 

[Morrey]

You should also test with glasses that cannot be seen through, to limit the visual from altering the perception.

For the aroma and taste portion, we required eyes to be closed and scored. Then we scored color, clarity and head quality visually. Good point about non transparent glasses.

 

[Anyhowe]

Good report. In theory extract beer should be no different in quality than all grain. The difference is the ability to create your very own profile by doing your own mashing.

 

[ed007]

I did a couple of blind tests with my extract vs BIAB brews and I could tell the difference every single time. Extract beers are always darker in color, which is OK as I am not picky on colors. There was something off in flavor though that I could not explain until I started doing all-grain batches and compared with extract batches. People describe it as "extract twang" and I did not know what it tastes like until I compared my extract and all-grain brews. This is the reason I went to all-grain with BIAB and never looked back. Even my beer drinking buddies noticed the improvement in beer quality after I switched to AG.

 

[worlddivides]

I did a couple of blind tests with my extract vs BIAB brews and I could tell the difference every single time. Extract beers are always darker in color, which is OK as I am not picky on colors. There was something off in flavor though that I could not explain until I started doing all-grain batches and compared with extract batches. People describe it as "extract twang" and I did not know what it tastes like until I compared my extract and all-grain brews. This is the reason I went to all-grain with BIAB and never looked back. Even my beer drinking buddies noticed the improvement in beer quality after I switched to AG.

I have to imagine this "twang" is a characteristic of either low-quality extract or expired/old extract since I have never tasted it before, but I hear people talk about it all the time. I've never tasted it in commercial beers, homebrewed extract beers, or homebrewed AG beers.

 

[JohnSand]

My club did a test in which several of us brewed the same recipe on different systems. Unfortunately mine did not come out well. But the most experienced brewer in the group did two versions, one extract and one AG. They were slightly different, but the extract was a little better in my opinion.
I scored 37 with an extract+grain batch. Neither of the judges remarked on extract, or even off flavors. I lost style points on carbonation, or the beer would have been judged "excellent". I prefer grain brewing because I enjoy the process and the connection with tradition. But I use extract when I want to save time, and still make great beer.

 

[Anyhowe]

I have to imagine this "twang" is a characteristic of either low-quality extract or expired/old extract since I have never tasted it before, but I hear people talk about it all the time. I've never tasted it in commercial beers, homebrewed extract beers, or homebrewed AG beers.

I remember the twang back when I started brewing in the 80's. It was almost like it was the homebrew taste. I always thought it was a yeast issue as it went away for good with the onset of liquid Wyeast. At this time I also went away from secondary fermentation, scraping the kraeusen etc. Somewhat better temp control also came into play at that time.

Looking back now I would say it is fermentation quality control issue.

 

[worlddivides]

I remember the twang back when I started brewing in the 80's. It was almost like it was the homebrew taste. I always thought it was a yeast issue as it went away for good with the onset of liquid Wyeast. At this time I also went away from secondary fermentation, scraping the kraeusen etc. Somewhat better temp control also came into play at that time.

Looking back now I would say it is fermentation quality control issue.

If that's the case, that would explain why I've never tasted it. After my first beer was fermented too warm (with lots of amyl acetate banana-like flavors, along with phenols), I have done near-obsessive temperature control on every single beer since and have never tasted any more off-flavors (with the exception of my one batch that got infected somehow).

That first beer tasted horrible, but "twang" isn't a flavor I associate with it, but then again, maybe it was overpowered by the banana and cloves flavors.