Does all grain brewing lead to fresher beer

[richfei]

On my first extract but with a view to going all grain down the road
I quite enjoy this hobby. Not too expensive, it's my own effort and a nice end result
I see a lot of people eventually migrate to all grain and the flexibility it provides
I'm not too interested in doing more than 5 gallon brews, kegging or competitions and not too bothered about color but I do like the thought of a lower per bottle cost. Other than that, is the end result of significantly higher quality i.e a night and day difference. I heard it's a fresher brew but I'm not sure I see that compared to extract brewing since DME at my local HBS has a very high turnover. Is it proven under blind testing, to be better ?

 

[wickman6]

I remember my first all grain effort clearly. I could literally taste the grain. I feel like it is fresher tasting, but that could just be me. I started with extract as well. I know some brewers make exceptional beer with extract, Mayne I'm not one of them. My first extracts were good to me, but I will never forget that first taste of all grain....

 

[scubasteve03]

I feel like i have better results with an all grain batch than i do an extract batch; quicker and more vigorous fermentation and an overall better flavor. I prefer all grain over extract because i can manipulate the process in many ways to change the overall outcome of my beer. Also it is cheaper, even more so if you buy in bulk.

I still do extract from time to time just to keep my pipeline going, especially if i dont have a lot of time to brew.

 

[allthingsgiant]

Fresher, I don't think so. But it allows you to better control the flavors coming from your base grains (usually 2-row). There are a variety of 2-rows out there, so experiment away.

And if you never make it to all grain, know that many awards are still won using extract.

 

[Spintab]

There is a twangy off flavor that I am almost certain comes from extract. On the other hand, I moved to all grain at the same time I got a chest freezer to properly regulate fermentation temps and about when I started making starters. It's hard to conclude where it came from but it's gone now. I like to think it was the extract.

For me, moving to all grain was a flexibility thing. I can put whatever I want in my mash and adjust how hot it gets mashed. I just feel like it's the right way to do it. It also doubled the duration of my brew day AKA my zen time (wife, two kids).

 

[JonM]

You can make great beer either way - you just have a few more options when using all grain. For example, some malts like Vienna or Optic aren't available in extract, and with all grain you can adjust the mash temp down to make a super dry lawnmower beer, or up to make a super malty wee heavy. But like i said before. you can make great beers with extract too.

 

[Clonefan94]

I started brewing extract and just recently switched to all grain. I think the big thing I've noticed between the two, is mouth feel. Even a low gravity all grain I did just has that little extra bit of body that seems to now be missing from the 2 extract brews I still have on tap. It's almost like the extracts now have a watery feel to them. It's hard to describe and could easily be in my imagination.

On the freshness note though, I would somewhat agree with that as well. It's not easy to get ultra fresh extracts. Even if a place has good turnaround, it's never going to be as fresh as the wort you make that day to ferment that night. Especially dealing with heat transitions, sun light, store lights, I'm sure in the end, it is a detectable difference. Especially if you get an old LME. I've made some decent extract beers, but I have one especially that the off taste it has, I can only attribute to old extract.

I will still make extract brews for sure, there are a couple of Northern brewer kits especially that I really enjoy. In the end though, if you are looking for the Freshest product from start to finish, All-Grain would certainly be the best for that.

 

[jmf143]

"Fresher" in that liquid malt extract seems to have a short shelf life and stales quickly and does leave a noticable (to me) "extract twang". My all grain brews are much, much better than what I brewed when using extract.

 

[moorerm04]

I just recently switched to AG from PM which is a combo if both. I have made great beers both ways and average beers just the same. The major benefit to AG is the flexibility that you do not get with extract.

 

[Toga]

Brewing via AG will absolutely make for a fresher tasting end product.

Malt extract is condensed wort that is then canned, or packaged in a drum, or sprayed N dried. It IS a highly processed product that once processed is nowhere near as fresh as it is when freshly extracted from the grain. Any who debate this are the same ones that will tell you green beans fresh off the plant taste as fresh as canned green beans.

I noticed a huge increase in the taste and consistent quality when I made the switch. Never again was the extract "twang" that many refer to present in my brews. It is the same type of quality increase I notice when I make spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes vs when I use canned tomato sauce for the base. It is not a barely noticeable increase in quality. It is a huge increase in quality.

That said there is nothing wrong with using extract. If the extract is fresh and was properly cared for and you follow a very sanitary process you will make excellent tasting beer. I recommend everyone who wants to give brewing a whirl to start with a basic extract kit to learn the process. One of the best batches I ever brewed was via an extract kit from my LHBS. I have very fond memories of that batch.

 

[unionrdr]

I've made some good brews from extract. I've learned that it's more of a process thing than bad extract. The twang is a process thing,for the most part. A good process will yeid good beer,regardless of the brewing style. Or bad beer just as easily.
When I moved to partial mash brewing,I had & still have trouble maintasining mash temps,but average 155F. That has yeilded good beers. I'm not sure how to describe the difference between extract & pm. Fresher? I don't think that's quite the right term. They're def crisper by comparison. There's def a good balance betwen malt & hops there for sure. So far as taste & aroma are concerned. It's hard to describe accurately with any certainty. An improvement none the less.