Extract vs all-grain

[Pezman1]

Read through this thread and was happy to see that everyone agrees on a general principal. A Brewer's skill is what makes a good beer.

I also shoot, hunt and collect vintage military arms. I am always amused at the people who think a super expensive gun, scope, or accessory wil instantly make them a better shooter.

I am an extract brewer and love it, but as mentioned, all grain gives you options and control you just don't have with extract. Maybe some day.....

Pez.

 

[Crito]

I have to order online for extract. I went all grain because I want to make my own style and flavors.

My local store has extract, but it has a weird after taste...

Northern brewer has A+++ extract. I love their stuff.

 

[Dan]

Not my norm but read the first post and skipped to the last page so don't know what has been said. If beer is good, God is great, and people are crazy like the country song goes. The same about beer.. Extract is good, All Grain is great...people are still crazy either way.

Absolutely nothing wrong with extract though. All grain is a lot of fun, not hard and you can tweak the recipes a bit. It's a little more hands on than extract but IMHO does not necessarily distinguish a good from a bad beer. The results are really up to the brewer I believe.

 

[unionrdr]

I love that song. Reminds me af an old timer I used to work with at Ford. He had picks of himself playin the spoons at the Grand Ol' Opery. He and I were a lot like the two in the video. God is great,beer is good...& people are still crazy.
Brew in whatever way makes it fun/interesting to you. Congrats,you're there!

 

[alepale101]

I too can make crappy beer and great beer. All my LME beers have been crappy and my all -grain beers have been great when compared to the LME efforts. That said, I do not doubt the success that some have achieved with extracts. I suspect also that some crappy beer is considered great by its proud brewer. I have noticed also that some beer pub offerings have a slight bit of extract twang.

 

[Crito]

I am a newbie at this compared to most people here on this board.

That said

Even what we consider "crappy" beer, the average person would say its good beer. Its like music, if you cannot play a instrument. Most bands sound great. If you know how to play well, then your opinion of the same music groups will be different.

Just FYI. Either way, its all good.

Just remember all grain doubles the amount of time to brew. So you have to consider that.

On the other hand. if you like going beyond the simple recipes and experiment.. then all grain or partial is awesome.

Also, Northern brewer has the best extracts that I have ever ran across. Maybe someone can tell you of others too. You do not have to buy kits, you can by it by the quart. they have different types. You can combine more then one to change the flavor too. Plus different yeast will result in different taste.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I'm Really new at this like a week in and I've brewed my first 2 batches and they're fermenting. I just was thinking and figured I'd ask the guys who have been doing this a while... Which produces better beer all-grain or extract? Also is brewing from extract considered the "newbie" thing to do? Just wondering just a thought and I figured u guys could answer these questions...

Both can produce excellent beer. Both have won awards.

In my opinion, extract brewing is like brewing with training wheels on.

I've yet to see someone on HBT say, "I wish I had never gone to all-grain brewing!" or "I wish I had switched to extract brewing sooner!"

Lots and lots of brewers have said, "Man, I wish I had switched to all-grain brewing sooner!"

There's something really cool about taking a pile of grains, grinding them up yourself, and then turning that into beer.

 

[logdrum]

Both can produce excellent beer. Both have won awards.

In my opinion, extract brewing is like brewing with training wheels on.

I've yet to see someone on HBT say, "I wish I had never gone to all-grain brewing!" or "I wish I had switched to extract brewing sooner!"

Lots and lots of brewers have said, "Man, I wish I had switched to all-grain brewing sooner!"

There's something really cool about taking a pile of grains, grinding them up yourself, and then turning that into beer.[/QUOTE]

That sums it up for me.

-d

 

[LouBrew13]

I like doing both. I've made some great extract beers that naysayers said they'd actually purchase at a store. Ag takes more time/equipment but it's a hobby why not spend as much time as possible doing it if you enjoy it? If I built model planes, I'd rather go from scratch instead of a box and glue. It's the pride I guess...being able to say I made all of it.

 

[nymtber]

I prefer extract, because brewing is only ONE of my hobbies. Even an extract brew day can take 3 hours, which is a lot of time to lose when you have a girlfriend that wants to do something else (she does help, though). To add ANOTHER 1.5 hours to that with all-grain might not go over so well!

I do want to at least move to partial mash some day, as I think doing that and DME will acheive the quality of beer that I will need for kegging.

I have noticed that any beers I have made with steeped grains comes out a bit better than all extract beers.

I say to each their own. You can make great beer with extract. Of course if you are a good brewer, you can make just as good and probably even better beer with all-grain. All-grain is just not feasible for all of us!

 

[Kmcogar]

I made some great extract recipes but found that I like all grain brewing better. It's just simply more fun for me.