Go all-grain!!!

[reeberom]

I had a boss and good friend, his name was Eric. We were both IT guys, working alot of hours. We started talking about beer/brewing and spent many nights at work looking at brewing websites, etc. One night we both were talking about beer and he said "just do it, buy a beer kit." So, I did. A few weeks later he died and things sucked... Helping his wife out a few months later she asked if I want his homebrew stuff. I said why not.. Getting back to the kit I bought.... I barely had time with my wife and daughter let alone brew. I eventually quit the job and went back to college. Finally I opened the kit I bought. It was some deluxe starter kit from some company most of us know. I had 3 or so extract recipe kits that I thought would be awesome, one a moose drool clone, one a chinook IPA, one a pumpkin ale. I brewed them and had my beginners issues, like cold crashing directly after bottling and wondering why this beer isn't carbed... Things like that. The beer I brew was sub-par. In fact I was thoroughly disappointed. I didn't even care about brewing afterwards. I then went to a homebrew store and bought a few hops and grains, etc. Figuring I would at least try all grain once I said what the hell. I did it, and have actually brewed about 60 gallons so far.The extract never did it for me, I made crappy beer. Going all grain I have found (for me) this is the way to go, go big or go home. Although still learning, and not trying to stroke my ego, I brew the best beer I have ever had, all grain.

 

[MikePote]

I know there is much debate over weather or not there is such a thing as an extract "twang" but every single one of my extract brews (7 or so) had a distinct off flavor that NONE of my all grain brews (10 or so) have. I was really starting to get discouraged brewing before I went all grain and am SOOOOOOOOO happy I did.

 

[reeberom]

Was just a thought, I see alot of stuff on extract. Was just too boring for me. Seems like mashing in is where the excitement is. Weird probably, but I also like to cook from scratch.

 

[kh54s10]

I brew mostly all grain after doing 4 extracts then 4 partial mash brews. This winter I did a few extracts because I didn't want to brew outside. With care you can do extracts that are equal to all grain. I prefer the all grain because extract can be a PITA. It also puts a lot of humidity into the house.

 

[CraigKing]

Partial & mini-mashes are the way to go.

 

[kaconga]

Homebrewing us what you make of it for some that road leads to all grain and for others it heads down another path altogether. Good on ya for finding what makes you happy in brewing

 

[reeberom]

That's what's so great about it, I guess what I'm trying to say is the try I made didn't work out so well. But when I really applied myself, as I did in the military, almost too disciplined about it, I made some pretty awesome brew. Most thanks given to the recipes I find on HBT. I also kind of see it in a way of say whose burger is better? McD's or your own..... Just a thought.

 

[jfk69]

I started a year and a half ago with extracts. My first batches were kind of "meh", but I worked on the process. I learned to do late extract additions and that helped a bunch. I figured out my water sucked so I changed that. By the time I did my last extract brew, they were getting pretty damn good. I went all grain in February, and I'll be doing my sixth batch tomorrow. I must say the all grain beers are better, but not "woah, holy s*#t" better than my last extract batches. I think it's a matter of perfecting whatever system you use. They will all make great beer, its the attention to detail and process refinement that allows your beers to get better.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Was just a thought, I see alot of stuff on extract. Was just too boring for me. Seems like mashing in is where the excitement is. Weird probably, but I also like to cook from scratch.

This is really important.

There are some people that buy the pasta or salad kits, throw it together and volia "pasta" or "salad"

Unfortunately most of the time its bland, typical and sometimes even old.

Harvesting and cultivating your own foods, prepping and correct cook time from scratch is always the better option.

Extract is great for people with hectic schedules who still want to brew but if you want a quality product that you will actually enjoy brewing, AG is the way for you.

Cheers buddy, my condolences go out to your old boss and his family.