Thanks to MalFet for posting the relevant passage. I apologize to anyone who thinks my ranting is tiresome. I do not agree that it is misguided, however.
When Mr Strong says, "making extract beers isn't really brewing", even read in the context of the greater quote (which I do agree takes the heat off it somewhat), I still fail to see how that's not insulting. He should have used different terms. It's belittling.
In regard to control, a knowledge of what X extract results in Y situation is no different than knowing how any other ingredient responds in the brewing process. For example, I know what Muntons Extra-Light extract is mashed from, what color it gives and what sort of apparent degree of fermentation I can expect from it. I can give you several examples from the past 24 hours here on HBT where an all-grain brewer needed his hand held in order to understand his ingredients. Control? I have more with extract than many all-grain brewers have with their systems.
There's not some magical switch that gets thrown when you mix crushed grain with hot water to a more thick consistency than a steep, some mystical happenstance that means you have more control. Control comes from skill developed through experience and theoretical knowledge, not the form in which your ingredients arrive from the homebrew shop.
That's why I'm ranting - the assumption is faulty. If you get uppity and dismissive over a faulty assumption, you're just plain wrong. QED.
In my opinion, the difference between extract brewing and all grain brewing is similar to the difference between making brownies from a packaged mix versus making them from scratch. When you're done, you have brownies (probably good ones) either way. Using a mix is certainly easier and the very best brownies are probably made from scratch. But either way, you're baking.
I think your metaphor is close. I think the difference between tinned extract kit brewing and all-grain brewing is similar. Making brownies from a packaged mix (just add water!) is exactly the same as diluting the syrup in a tinned beer kit. Making extract-and-steep beers from your own recipe is like using self-rising flour instead of plain flour and baking powder.
For that matter, brewing from any kit is like making a pre-packaged food kit from the grocery. And how many all-grain brewers buy all-grain kits? I suspect there's more than a few.
As you say, either way you're making something yummy!
@GilaMinumBeer: I'm sorry you find what I have to say tiresome. Let me hit you with something: I know
exactly why I have a strong "button-pushed" reaction to folks like JZ and Palmer and Strong. It's not a reaction to them. It's a reaction to how they're lionized by homebrewers. It's that they're viewed by the homebrewing community as Prophets whose words cannot be gainsaid, whose recommendations are taken as holy writ. Yeah, they're successful homebrewers and very knowledgeable blokes. Probably nice guys, too, though I've never met any of them. But they're still blokes, they're still fallible, and they're still
hobbyists. It irritates me when I write something supported by actual degreed brewing scientists and expert professionals and someone on HBT insists that a quip from one of the Prophets on a podcast trumps the peer-reviewed work of an MBAA member (not that they can't be wrong, either, but what are the odds?).
You dig?
Bob
