How long an Extract Brewer?

[hout17]

I've been brewing for about 8 years. Love the extract kits. In fact I have a brew in the fermenter right now (NB Fresh Squished IPA Kit). I've got a cheap all grain setup built (Batch Sparge setup inspired by Denny Conn I like his style and approach) but the extract kits are so easy and good that I haven't moved to all grain yet. Even when I do venture in to the all grain world I'm sure I'll still brew extracts every now and again.

Also I would recommend the kits from Austin Homebrew Supply. They have a tasty oatmeal stout kit I brew quite a bit and most of their recipe kits are stellar.

 

[Fabricio]

 

[Velnerj]

I put this up here not to brag but to encourage people to step out. For some reason I hear extract brewers speak of all grain like it's some sort of rocket science.

Basically the only difference is the mash. If you're able to ferment wort well you've mastered 90% of the craft.

I get that there's an extra time commitment to all grain but as others have already mentioned even that can be minimized.

I went straight to all grain for a lot of reasons, price being a big factor. I also really enjoy cooking and will almost exclusively cook things from scratch. Living in Europe means there's no box of mac and cheese readily available. If you're craving it, making it from scratch is the only way you're going to get it. I discovered the made from scratch recipes faaaar superseded the ready-made box option. So I went with the same philosophy to my brewing.

I understand my situation in Europe is very different than those in USA. But if you're dedicated its the next logical step (if you're looking to take a step). I also understand that many are happy staying extract brewers and that's fine too. But if you're thinking about all grain... What's the hang up?

 

[KaptainKarl]

Been extract brewing for not quite ten years. I’ve never felt the need to go to all grain, but I’m not a perfectionist trying to dial in an ideal brew. I’m a guy who likes making stuff and extract’s been making plenty good stuff for me.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

What's the hang up?

Too many memes that don't promote (or encourage) deeper discussion? Too much "old information" being recycled?

There was a time when ...

• ... brewing "all-grain" required making a mash tun.
• ... "water chemistry" (seemed to) require a water analysis from a lab.
• ... (apparently) malt extracts and dry yeast were of poor quality.
• ... the "end goal" of home brewing was 5 gallon all-grain kegged beer.

Since then ...

• ... BIAB
• ... simplified "water chemistry" using distilled / RO water
• ... quality of DME/LME & dry yeast has improved
• ... dry yeast (has recently) become "just another ingredient"
• ... it has become acceptable to talk about brewing small batch sizes, bottling, etc.

There may be a time when ...

• ... we view DME/LME as "just another ingredient".
• ... rather than using a "next level" model, we view home brewing as just a big bag of techniques and ingredients.

 

[Saunassa]

Been extract brewing for not quite ten years. I’ve never felt the need to go to all grain, but I’m not a perfectionist trying to dial in an ideal brew. I’m a guy who likes making stuff and extract’s been making plenty good stuff for me.

It's a hobby and if you like the beer that's all that matters.

 

[okiepc]

Almost 8 years into extract brewing & planning on staying with extracts. Extracts are fast, fun & you can shoot for what you like with a little change here and there. I enjoy it!

 

[RevDroz]

How long have you been brewing beer using only extract kits? I was wondering how many here are content to brew only with extract kits and not taken the step to go "all grain"?

I've been brewing extracts for a while and have yet to make a batch that was undrinkable. In fact, a vast majority have been great beers and I'm happy to stay where I am but I still look at taking that next step, it's a fun hobby!

I brew with extract kits and like the ease of them. One day I will venture into AGB once I perfect my everyday extract brew.

 

[NGD]

Going on 4 years now. Occasionally a partial mash, often steep but my favorite brews lately have been straight extract, 20 min boil session brews. Usually a SMaSH of some type.
Quick, easy and tasty.

 

[mlanoue]

I started brewing extract kits back in 1997. Usually extract with stepping grains, but sometimes pre-hopped kits. I wanted to save money so I bought a turkey fryer and tried all-grain with a really primitive BIAB method back around 2006 or something like that. The problem for me was that it took all day. Boiling and cooling and cleaning. The thing is, I just didn't drink fast enough or know enough people to give beer to that I ever really had to brew enough to get the process down and do it quickly. So, I kind of lost interest and just did a few kits now and then. Last month I decided to get back into it with one-gallon kits. So I bought a Mr Beer fermenter and am just going to stick to really small scale extract stuff I can do fairly quickly.

 

[dwhite60]

Over the past year I've had occasion to buy some ldme. Quality seems to have improved quite a bit over twenty some years of grain brewing.

 

[bwible]

If you want you can make an extra strong wort and then dilute with boiled and cooled water. This will make a normal strength beer with a much smaller pot.

Many of us started out this way, as a large quality SS brewpot is one of the most expensive brewing items. You can do concentrated wort boils, but you also have to take into account a couple of things:

1. Your beer color is going to be darker with a concentrated boil, even after adding back the water, and there’s nothing you can do about it. So do not plan to make any light colored beers with this method. You will probably end up with something red.

2. Your hop utilization is dramatically affected. Hop utilization decreases with a concentrated boil, so you will need to use more hops than normal.

3. It brings out the bad flavors in malt extract more.

You can get away with concentrated boils, but its not ideal. Buy the big pot as soon as you can afford it. That should be your first major purchase after you get your brewing kit with the fermenters, hydrometer, bottle capper, racking cane, etc. Or just go ahead and buy the big pot first.

 

[NGD]

A partial extract boil and adding the rest at flameout negates most of those issues. Just be sure to stir well before and after adding volume.

 

[D.B.Moody]

It's a hobby and if you like the beer that's all that matters.

I agree. I've been at it since 1994. 271 brews and no compulsion to change now.

 

[CJ-3]

6 years brewing

Started with extract batches and moved on to all grain because I believed at the time it was the next step in progression.

Ya, no.

Still brew both ways. All grain spring -fall as it's enjoyable to do outside and can also be more social having people hang out in the garage (this was before COVID safe distance policies)

Extract batches in my kitchen during the winter when I don't want to brew outside. A friend I brew with and I are going to attempt to brew the same extract batch via a ZOOM meeting in the next few weeks because why not?

 

[Sundy]

I started brewing around 1990, we made our own recipes and I think one batch was less than stellar in the first couple of years. I changed jobs didn't brew for several years. Dipped my toe back in, stopped brewing for a while. Then in 2003 met my first and only wife and with a settled lifestyle started brewing again. Then around 2008-2010 I went in with a couple of buddies and bought a used all grain rig. Way too much work and too many places to fail. I am retired now, waiting on my Digiboil to be delivered. Once I get in my new "last place I will ever buy" I plan on buying Briess 50 LBs bag of DME($145) and brewing my ass off. Oh, actually it's always been partial mash, not just extract.

 

[flseadog]

How long have you been brewing beer using only extract kits? I was wondering how many here are content to brew only with extract kits and not taken the step to go "all grain"?

I've been brewing extracts for a while and have yet to make a batch that was undrinkable. In fact, a vast majority have been great beers and I'm happy to stay where I am but I still look at taking that next step, it's a fun hobby!

How long have you been brewing beer using only extract kits? I was wondering how many here are content to brew only with extract kits and not taken the step to go "all grain"?

I've been brewing extracts for a while and have yet to make a batch that was undrinkable. In fact, a vast majority have been great beers and I'm happy to stay where I am but I still look at taking that next step, it's a fun hobby!

I have been brewing 5 gallon extract for 3 years with good results. I moved from stove top to a gigawort electric brew kettle and am considering doing some BIAB batches.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

I've been doing the extract song and dance party for about a year(been helping with brewing nearly ten years). Extract brewing is a fairly expedient way to have some fun and make some beer, especially if life/situation doesn't allow AG, or if you just want to keep it simple. I enjoy this, I make good beer with extract kits and making my own extract recipes and shooting from the hip. I will eventually transition to all grain, but I want to perfect my processes and procedures before I convert my 10 gallon HD drink cooler.

 

[GoodTruble]

Glad to hear it! In that case, I guess it's worth a shot. I've even considered having two pots going at once: one for steeping or mashing, and another that's got the boil rolling with hops and some extract.

That's interesting....I'm wondering if I could simply boil the hops in a small side pot directly (no bag or filter) and then strain into the main pot. Basically making a side hop extract while grains steep simultaneously instead of sequentially.

 

[bwible]

Too many memes that don't promote (or encourage) deeper discussion? Too much "old information" being recycled?

There was a time when ...

• ... brewing "all-grain" required making a mash tun.
• ... "water chemistry" (seemed to) require a water analysis from a lab.
• ... (apparently) malt extracts and dry yeast were of poor quality.
• ... the "end goal" of home brewing was 5 gallon all-grain kegged beer.

Since then ...

• ... BIAB
• ... simplified "water chemistry" using distilled / RO water
• ... quality of DME/LME & dry yeast has improved
• ... dry yeast (has recently) become "just another ingredient"
• ... it has become acceptable to talk about brewing small batch sizes, bottling, etc.

There may be a time when ...

• ... we view DME/LME as "just another ingredient".
• ... rather than using a "next level" model, we view home brewing as just a big bag of techniques and ingredients.

- I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss having your water tested. Water chemistry is not “simplified” by buying all your brewing water and lugging it home or spending big money on an RO system for your home. A water chemistry report with essential numbers for brewing costs about $40 and takes a couple weeks max. From there its much easier to use your own tap water and make a couple adjustments. Unless your water is so awful for brewing to where it can’t be adjusted. But then if that’s really the case, you are using it for everything else in your life so you have a choice to make. If you live in Flint, MI then it’s time to move.

- Extract brewing is a way for many who never go to all grain. Nothing wrong with extract brewing. It sure makes for an easier brew day. But the quality of LME overall still sucks. If you’re going to brew with extract, use DME. As a bonus it’s easier to measure and use partial containers.

- Small batches is the way to go for many of us and I don’t see it being looked down on. There are many good discusions on here from many who are doing it and are exploring better equipment and better ways to do it. BYO has an article on small batch brewing in the current issue. I brew 3 gallons and I don’t care. It’s what works for me. If 1 gallon batches or 20 gallon batches work for others, that’s great.

I really get tired of the “new generation” looking down on “old information” and acting like they know everything. The Germans have been brewing since the middle ages and still use traditional techniques. You want to tell them what they are doing wrong and how much their lagers suck??

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I'm wondering if I could simply boil the hops in a small side pot directly (no bag or filter) and then strain into the main pot. Basically making a side hop extract while grains steep simultaneously instead of sequentially.

That approach seems reasonable. There are claims on the number of IBUs (100 is often stated) that one can get in a volume of water. So maybe steep the grains in the side pot & boil the hops in the main kettle?

 

[Sundy]

1. I add water to the Digiboil 3 gallons turn it on set to 155 F
2. Place steeping grain bag in the Digiboil
3. I add water to the brew kettle on the propane burner
4. I add DME to the brew kettle and stir till there are no lumps
5. The Digiboil should be to temp start timer
6. Start heating DME water
7. Stir and keep an eye on the kettle
8. 20 minutes I remove the grain bag from Digiboil
9. Set Digiboil to 213 F
10. The kettle should be boiling
11. Add kettle to Digiboil
12. When Digiboil reaches temp start adding hops
13. ETC.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

@bwible, in my post from a year ago, my closing comment was

There may be a time when ...

• ...
• ... rather than using a "next level" model, we view home brewing as just a big bag of techniques and ingredients.

and that comment is best viewed as in response to the meme that I replied to.

It's a year since that discussion occurred; and the forums have generally moved forward from there:

• There is more discussion from people who brew a mix of "all-grain" and DME/LME. Some of them gave 'extract' brewing a fresh look and like what they see.
• There is more discussion from people who brew 2.5 gal batches (perhaps the 'official' small batch size) as well as those who brew 1 and 2 gal batches.
• There is more discussion from people who are taking a fresh look at DME (and LME) and are reporting good results.
• There is more discussion from people who are looking at water at each step in the brewing process (quality water, mash adjustments, flavor adjustments, ...)
• (can I mention that kit instructions from a couple suppliers have improved in the last year?)

There is brewing information that is timeless (e.g. German brewers) and brewing information that is simply 'outdated' (e.g. portions of howtobrew.com).

Hopefully, over the next year, as a forum we can

• (continue to) bring the timeless information forward and
• stop recycling the 'outdated' information.

 

[SanJuanWorm]

I’m still surprised at the ‘stink eye’ I get when I mention that I need to do a partial mash when buying supplies.
I’m going to use LME and maybe DME forever! It is easier to gage and measure, easy to transport and the extracts have come a long way, and even offer organic options.
Sure it’s the olde ‘romantic’ ideal of crafting an elexir from the grains of the Earth....but when it comes to it, we are (as humans) still a bit lazy, and Extracts solve that problem... (bow, take my soapbox with my shoes! )

 

[TheCache]

I've been doing extract/steeping grains brewing for a little over year and a half (a happy newb), somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 batches. Nearly all of the batches have used DME and specialty grains, but there have been some with LME and/or no grain additions. So far there has been not been one I have not enjoyed drinking.

What I like about extract/steeping is that I have been able to try a variety of yeasts, DME/LME types, specialty grain flavorings, and hop (or other) additions all on a very consistent wort base. Now that I have some experience, I am starting to experiment with my favorites to get the sense of what a little more of this or that specialty grain or a different yeast or hops can do to move the flavors in one direction or another.

And because my process is consistent and short, about 3 hours from start to finish with cleanup, I can also experiment with the processes themselves and study the results. Things like early/late extract additions, timing of other additions, nutrients, fining agents, steeping temps/time, etc all get observed and tweaked. Not to mention after boil processes like, cooling methods, fermentation temperature control, dry hop (or other) additions, and even the place for a secondary. And I've not even begun to consider pre-hopped or canned worts or partial mash brews, but I know there out there.

Based on what I see, with all of these options and things to explore, I don't imagine moving to an all grain set-up for another several years at least, and even then I am sure extract/steep will remain a big part of my brewing world. All grain brewing to me does not seem like another step, but rather another room in my favorite pub. I'm sure I'll enjoy exploring that room too, but I'm enjoying my present pint enough to not feel rushed to move.

I'm still exploring @BrewnWKopperKat 's "big bag of techniques and ingredients" from my place at the bar.