All grain vs. grain/extract

[CTBORN]

Hi all,

Can any of you weigh into this debate?

That is, what's better, all grain or part grain and part extract? And why? It seems like lots of the people that I've spoken with who've been home brewing for a while tend to use only all grain; they seem to scoff at any usage of extracts. Is it because all grains is cheaper, because it's considered "real brewing", is it just my imagination, or something else? I ask because I've only brewed five batches so far (all have been part grain and part extract) and they've all tasted really good. Further, I don't know how to do an all grain yet nor do I understand what advantages there might be in doing so.

Also, for my staple brewers like Dogfish Head or Sierra Nevada or Anchor Steam, are they using all grain or do they use extracts in their brewing?

As always, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pappers_]

Your last question is the easiest - those breweries do not use extract.

All grain is less expensive and more 'from scratch'. But grain and extract can make outstanding beers. For example, the winner our 'club only' stout competition last Friday was a Russian Imperial Stout, made with grains and extract. I do the same thing with big beers - add extract to the boil.

 

[bbrim]

A commercial brewery would not be able to make the same profits using extract as it costs significantly more to use. Extract can make great beers but you are limited in some ways. I recently made a beer with 90% mild ale malt and I just don't think there is mild malt extract out there. Also most extract also has some proportion of specialty grains added and you have no control over those grains whereas an all grain brewer does.
I have the tools to make all grain beers and enjoy the time I spend doing it so I have zero interest in using extract. Some things that will help extract brewers out are: doing full boils because you are less likely to have heavy kettle carmelization and you will utilize your hops better; get some variety of wort chiller as reducing cooling time decreases the chances of an infection; pitch adequate amounts of healthy yeast at the proper temperature; aerate your wort; and do everything you can to avoid contact with O2 and sanitize, sanitize, sanitize... There are other bits of good advice out there, I'm sure someone will chime in with several other suggestions.
BTW I think you just reopened a big debate.

 

[TrubDog]

I only brew AG. I think of it this way. I like to ground my coffee beans and brew my morning coffee. I could use instant coffee, but I prefer fresh ground.

I know that extract is much better than what I am portraying, but I believe that since I switched to AG I definitely enjoy the difference. One thing I have not done is brew side by side batches. This may totally mess up my perception, but I thoroughly enjoy the AG process.

 

[Teromous]

When the world ends, your LHBS will run out of extract.
What will you do in 291 days 1 hour 46 minutes and 20 seconds...
19...
18...
17...
16...
...

 

[veritas524]

Thinking of it as baking a cake... You can make it from scratch or use a box from the grocery store... Both can and do make great beers, but with all grain you gain total control over the beer.

 

[fletchsj]

When the world ends, your LHBS will run out of extract.
What will you do in 291 days 1 hour 46 minutes and 20 seconds...
19...
18...
17...
16...
...

Make LME!!! and have the market cornered!

 

[mvcorliss]

BETTER??? All depends on you. What do you want to do? Make beer you like, reliably with the least possible problems? Then stay with extracts. They do that and can do it well if you do your part. No one should fault you on that choice.
Do you find yourself really getting into the "brewing process"? Then you will probably find going to AG much more satisfying. Lots more opportunity to get technical and to tweek the process and the ingredients with AG.

But both will make great beer if you do your part. I'd much rather have a well made extract beer than a poorly made AG.

 

[Holter]

As a brewer you can have more control over the final product if you use all grain. At the same time, with proper technique there is no reason that you cant make amazing beer with extract.

In my opinion extract brewing is a good way to start brewing and get your fermentation practices better. Once you do that you can switch over to all grain and start to make beers that are 100% controlled by you.

Extract
Fermentation Control
All grain

 

[RM-MN]

Since I have begun making beer with all grain I have made crappier beer....and better beer. It's my fault that I made some crappy beer, I dropped my thermometer and got its calibration off, but it is also my ability to choose exactly what goes into my wort that can make superior beer too.

If you want consistently good beer without a lot of stress, extracts give you that because it is the maltster that has to worry about the process but you pay for his worry and effort in higher prices for the malt extract.

 

[Yooper]

I just met a couple of neighbors here in Texas, and they offered me a beer last week. I knew it was homebrew, but that's all I knew. And it was a very good cream ale. They told me it was a "Speckled Heifer" clone from Northern Brewer.

They invited me over to brew with them yesterday, and I walked up the street. They had just steeped the grains. And it was an extract kit from AHS. They only brew extract, with a full boil.

They make good beer. And I enjoyed their beer very much. They don't plan on going all-grain, as they don't have a desire to do so in their current circumstances.

I think the "better beer" is the one that makes the brewer pleased, whether it's a Mr. Beer or a 1 barrel automated sysstem.

 

[DannyD]

A matter of personal choice......I never even considerd extract when i started, but then again I am one of those people that has used many a pound of flour, to try and get a perfect bread, and many a liter of milke to make good cheese. All grain just opens up a few more doors, like making your own crystal, roasted, and all those types of malt

 

[Alchemy]

I tend to get a tang like taste that i have come to associate with extract.

Went to nyc craft brew fest the other day and while tasting one of the 150 or so beers there i get that recognizable tang from one of them...makes me question if they are using extract or that tang is some other flavor i am mistaking

 

[zeg]

I've only done a couple of extract brews so far, so weight my opinion on this matter as you will, but I think people probably make more out of this "debate" than it warrants. There are pros and cons. AG is unquestionably more flexible, and I'd wager will give the freshest, most professional result when it goes well. There are a lot more ways it can go wrong, though. So for some people, extract will give better beer simply because they don't have the process control needed to take advantage of those benefits.

Some people don't like a complicated process. If feeling like they need to go AG to "really" brew means they don't brew or brew less, well... even a poor extract brew is better than the brew never made.

For me, I have done a couple extract+specialty brews, and I'm going to do a partial mash for the next one. I'm an engineering/from-scratch cooking type, so I imagine that I'll eventually move to mostly AG. But for now I'm just experimenting to see what I can do, and who knows what'll happen?