Extract vs. All Grain in competitions

[stevedasleeve]

It was/is a stupid question. How is any judge able to distinguish one brewing process from another? One hot-rod super tech brewery is judged against a plastic pail and aluminum stock pot and who wins? The best beer not the process or the equipment of even the know how.

I'd be willing to bet a fair amount that the poster for this topic is either under 25 or a troll or an idiot. Not that these are synonymous but they do implicate a certain marketing gullibility.

No offense man but what a dumb post!

YMMV and WTF,
Steve da sleeve

 

[Bobby_M]

The question was a matter of credit or weight being given to the "how" in addition to the "what" that is currently judged. My argument was that it is a slippery slope of complexity. In the current state, a beer that is fermented from a prehopped extract COULD place higher than the same basic beer that was completely crafted from all grain brewing. Frankly, if you can beat my beer with prehopped kits, more power to you. You'll need to sprinkle some crack in it for that to happen ;-)

On the other hand, if you need extra credit to win just because your process is harder, it's a sad state of affairs. You should be able to justify the added difficulty by how much better the end result is. If not, why make it harder?

 

[AnOldUR]

It was/is a stupid question. How is any judge able to distinguish one brewing process from another? . . .I'd be willing to bet a fair amount that the poster for this topic is either under 25 or a troll or an idiot . . . No offense man but what a dumb post!

The OP’s question, "Why do they still combine extract and all grain beers in competitions?" isn’t stupid. It's pretty obvious that a judge wouldn't even know if you entered a commercial beer as your own. These are amateur competitions run for the entertainment of the contestants. We enter under the honor system. Sure there will be cheats, but they’re only cheating themselves.

As the hobby grows, dividing the competition into categories by brewing method may very well become a reality. Your name calling and post content is not only out of place, but it shows your own ignorance.







Edit:
Bobby. I don't think anyone is asking for extra credit for using a harder method, but there’s nothing wrong with the idea of a level playing field. Both methods can make great beer, but they are different. Judging them separately and moving the top beers to a BOS is not all that far fetched.

 

[Homercidal]

The point of the OP's discussion seems to be whether or not AG and Extract should be judged together in a competition. His assertion is that AG is inherently more difficult, therefore someone who brews using extract has an advantage over someone who mashes.

I disagree. My main point of contention is that I don't think it's difficult to brew AG. The mash process is not hard at all. Yes it requires another piece or two of equipment. Lots of beginner AG brewers don't really understand the process very well, but they can follow a recipe just fine. As long as you hit the volume and temperature in the mash tun, you will be fine. Yes it really is as easy as heating up the proper amount of water to the proper temp and mixing with some crushed grains.

Most AG brewers use software to dial in their recipe, and the actual mash step is not hard. There is still plenty of brewing steps following the creation of wort that can get screwed up, or can play a role just as important as the wort creation.

Either type of brewer can still ferment 10 degrees too high and ruin what might have been an award winning beer.

 

[gtpro]

Well with that added level of difficulty comes an added level of freedom to create different and more complex styles, so if you're good at all grain, it should yield an advantage.

 

[BioBeing]

Wonder if they could sell a refridgerated bucket of boiled and chilled wort with the yeast already in it.
Bring it home. Warm it up. Wait for beer. Hey, I'm a brewer.

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[passedpawn]

Never heard of Festa Brew?


[/LIST]

Now that's a horse of a different color. I didn't know that existed.

Is that brewing?

 

[SteveM]

Bobby. I don't think anyone is asking for extra credit for using a harder method, but there’s nothing wrong with the idea of a level playing field. Both methods can make great beer, but they are different. Judging them separately and moving the top beers to a BOS is not all that far fetched.

I think this is a reference to a tongue in cheek comment I made several pages back (and to which I referred again a few pages later) suggesting the use of "degree of difficulty" multipliers. No one should have taken it seriously. :rockin:

 

[homebrewer_99]

GROUP HUG!!!! :rockin: