How do you get your wort?

[Hop]

Started a new poll on the heels of what I thought was a very eye-opening poll about racking to secondary.

This one asks the question: How do you get your wort?

The options I included as answers: All-Grain, Extract Only, Partial Mash, Extract with Specialty Grains, All-Grain (with DME augmentation)

Thanks ahead of time for voting so we can get a good sample size: Mad Alchemist Poll: How do you get your wort?

 

[skyzo]

Extract and specialty grains at the moment, but will finally take it AG this year sometime. I'm making some great beers with extract, but I just can't pass up how much cheaper my beer will become to make. Extract is expensive

 

[sp1365]

All-Grain. Only did one extract w/ grains before making the jump.

 

[weirdboy]

What if I do all of the above? My last batch was a partigyle, so part of it was AG, and for the small beer I added DME to bring the gravity up a bit. I don't even know if that would be considered a partial mash or AG with DME modification. I also do extract batches sometimes. It really depends on what I have on hand, how much time I have, and what I'm in the mood for.

 

[Aaronh2500]

I have only made extract/grain recipes up to this point. I would like to make the switch to AG, but the initial equipment investment looks to be substantial? Am I correct?

 

[dlloyd]

Extract w/ grains at this point, have participated in AG, but don't have the space.

 

[weirdboy]

I have only made extract/grain recipes up to this point. I would like to make the switch to AG, but the initial equipment investment looks to be substantial? Am I correct?

Not really. If you have a big enough pot you can do BIAB for a few bucks in equipment costs, assuming you can get your grain already milled.

 

[Hop]

I have only made extract/grain recipes up to this point. I would like to make the switch to AG, but the initial equipment investment looks to be substantial? Am I correct?

Try a partial mash first. Grab a large bag from somewhere like MoreBeer and all you really need is a few gallon pot (not a new one--you probably have one in your kitchen, or you can use your brew kettle and transfer from that to a bucket, then back to it after cleaning it out). You can mash some grains, then use extract for the bulk of the base fermentables.

Check out this partial mash recipe for Oatmeal Stout and some instructions as to how to do it. It's simple and requires almost no investment.

 

[barleyhole]

I've made the jump from extract with grains (the first 6-7 batches) to partial mash the last two. Actually the last one was practically all-grain as I only used 1 1/4 lbs of DME to bring up the gravity.

I have only made extract/grain recipes up to this point. I would like to make the switch to AG, but the initial equipment investment looks to be substantial? Am I correct?

Upfront investment should not be too bad. I was fortunate to get a Barley Crusher from Santa, but your LHBS can mill for you. I have a 3 gallon pot I mash in following this method from DeathBrewer. (Be sure to customize the method depending on amount of grain, type, size of pot, etc). Of course this limits how big the beer can be unless more extract is added to compensate.

I had heard a lot of people fuss about all-grain, but I wanted to go to the next level. It really has not taken much longer to brew, is no more messy, etc., but takes a bit more care/attention to details.

 

[DBbrewing]

All grain here.

 

[AnthonyD]

My first two batches were extract w/specialty grains. My next (waiting for a fermenter to free up) is a partial mash.