Debate my buddy and I had. Is extract brewing REALLY making homebrew?

[MrEcted1]

My buddy and I, who also brews (AG) got into a friendly debate. On one side (mine) I was saying that of coarse extract brewing was really making homebrew. I said it takes out the step of mashing the grains, but you still have good control over the finished product. You still add specialty grains (if desired), you still add hops, you still follow much of the same procedures, except you don't have to mash the grains.

On his side he was saying that extract brewing was not really making your own beer because mashing grains is a significant step in brewing and offers even more control. He said extract brewing was the "just add water" method of homebrew. He also mentioned that since I don't know how to do AG right now, if someone just handed me a bunch of grains and hops then I wouldn't know how to use them to make beer, which is true - right now anyways.

I of coarse stand firm on my belief, but I was just curious as to what you guys think.

- peace!

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Well, that's like saying cause you don't mill your own flour you don't really bake bread.

 

[kornkob]

While there is some added steps and control in mashing your own, extract brew still encompasses the core elements of making beer: proper tempurature control and good ingredient handling.

Consider this: I've tasted beer made by 4 differnet guys using the exact same extract kit on the same day and their were noticible differneces in flavor. Also, I've made the same Honey Brown Ale many times and have only recently been able to manage the process so that I get consistent results. It's easy to make good tasting beer--- it's harder to make it exactly the same each time.


Saying a 'real' brewer has to mash his own grains is like saying a chef isn't a 'real' chef unless she manufactures all her own ingredients. My sister has never made cheese but the things she can whip up in a kitchen with it.... tell you what--- I never miss a dinner at her place.

 

[Ize]

To my mind, you're brewing, whether using extract or all grain. You boil your ingredients, you add all the necessary items, you put in yeast, you let it ferment, you bottle or keg, it's carbonated, it's beer.

You've brewed.


My .02 anyway.


Ize

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Oh, man........this old can of worms is open again. I brew AG and you are just as much of a homebrewer as me. Tell your "friend" that I said to go piss up a rope.

 

[2nd Street Brewery]

Tell your "friend" that I said to go piss up a rope.

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

[EdWort]

Well, that's like saying cause you don't mill your own flour you don't really bake bread.

Great analogy!

 

[disaffected]

Ah, the old "is photography really art" thread. Geez, you get a variation of this same debate on just about every forum!

 

[Walker]

Tell your friend that real homebrewers are not elitists.

-walker

 

[Ize]

Tell your friend that real homebrewers are not elitists.

-walker

:rockin: :rockin: :rockin:


Ize

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Tell your friend that real homebrewers are not elitists.

AND they don't use bleach.

 

[MrEcted1]

Oh, man........this old can of worms is open again. I brew AG and you are just as much of a homebrewer as me. Tell your "friend" that I said to go piss up a rope.

Sorry didn't realize there was an existing can of worms.

 

[MrEcted1]

AND they don't use bleach.

Ah, now THIS is a can of worms LOL

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Sorry didn't realize there was an existing can of worms.

I think it may be the biggest one in brewing. We're all civilized enough around here to know the right answer...

 

[RichBrewer]

If you are enjoying yourself and the end product is beer and it is good then you are a home brewer.
The whole point is to make home brewing an enjoyable hobby. Brew your beer the way you like and RDWHAHB

 

[olllllo]

Don't ever offer one of your non-beers

 

[Walker]

Sorry didn't realize there was an existing can of worms.

These are the cans:

(1) aluminum vs. stainless steel
(2) bleach as a sanitizer
(3) AG vs. extract
(4) glass vs. plastic

There are probably more.

 

[RichBrewer]

These are the cans:

(1) aluminum vs. stainless steel
(2) bleach as a sanitizer
(3) AG vs. extract
(4) glass vs. plastic

There are probably more.

(5) Dry vs. Liquid yeast

 

[Walker]

(5) Dry vs. Liquid yeast

I thought of that one but I don't really recall any heated debates about it, so I didn't add it.

-walker

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I think it may be the biggest one in brewing. We're all civilized enough around here to know the right answer...

which is "Right way, Wrong way and MY way!"

 

[Rdracera1]

If you made it, waited / watched while it fermented, bottled / kegged it, it smells like beer and tastes like beer. My friend your brewing beer thusly your a brewer.

 

[Jaybird]

I think we need a "can of worms" thread
ask your friend if he started with AG and if he coincerded himself.....nah nevermind!!! HEll yes extract brewing is really homebrewing hell for that matter pouring coffee in a pot is homebrewing is it the best way to accomplist the end result well thats for you to descover... can you make sound beer with this method ??HELL ya we have all done it some of us are just a little more "BEER GEEKED OUT" than others and choose a diferent method. you brew it you like it what does it matter. SO... does he make good beer though and does he share with you?????
JM.02
JJ

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

real homebrewers grow their own grains and kiln thier own malt, and don't forget harvest then propogate wild yeasts!

Seriously, a punch to the head might get him to shut up.

 

[Ize]

Seriously, a punch to the head might get him to shut up.

Every time someone does something stupid to me in traffic, I tell SWMBO I'm going to drag them out of their car and punch them right in the forehead. She cracks up...

I drink so I digress....

Seriously tho, it's silly. (Unlike the Pirate/Ninja thread) You're making BEER. It doesn't matter what ingredients you use, or what techniques you use to get to the end product, you have created BEER, and last time I checked the only way to do that is to BREW. You're boiling ingredients to extract the flavors from them to create something tasty. It doesn't matter if those ingredients are still partly shelled or in a dry powder or liquid form. You're still brewing, and so you're still a Homebrewer.

Unless you do it someplace else, then you're a Transientbrewer.

Ize

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I brew outside by the side of the house on the gravel part of the driveway. Am I a driveway brewer or what?
Soon to be getting an 11' by 20' portable instant garage. Then I'll be a Gargage brewer! yay!

 

[Ize]

I brew outside by the side of the house on the gravel part of the driveway. Am I a driveway brewer or what?
Soon to be getting an 11' by 20' portable instant garage. Then I'll be a Gargage brewer! yay!

LOL dammit, U know that makes you a "Manufactured" Home Brewer.


Ize

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

I'm professional. My beer is brewed in a manufactury.

 

[sonvolt]

Tell your friend that real homebrewers are not elitists.

-walker

Welll . . . . some are!. Let's admit it.

Extract brewing is brewing.

 

[Catfish]

What about the hopped extract brewing? Or the just add warm water brewing? Would that still be homebrew?

 

[Truble]

All I know is that I have a bunch of stuff that I bring home, none of which is beer. I follow a recipe that I have come up with myself, and then care for the product through cooling, fermentation, clearing, bottling, and aging. I think that is brewing.

your man there needs a little dope slap.