How long an Extract Brewer?

[logdrum]

One batch extract, then moved to a cooler mash tun, currently mashing w/ a RIMS set up & fermenting in a Spike CF-10. Just under 10 years. If you'd have asked me when I first started "how soon till you get a conical fermenter?" I would have told you "never!"

 

[Brews and Blues]

As a new brewer, this thread makes me happy. I just bottled my first batch - Brewer's Best American Cream Ale Kit. I had a lot of fun doing it. Now I am reading books and reading this forum daily. But, I am not sure when I will want to switch to all grain, if ever. I still have a week to wait with bottle conditioning, but I think this batch was a success. The high success rate of these kits will keep me loving the hobby until i decide to get more advanced.
I have been looking at the Northern Brewer Kits for my next batch. Any opinions about those? They seem to get great reviews.

 

[bleme]

As a new brewer, this thread makes me happy. I just bottled my first batch - Brewer's Best American Cream Ale Kit. I had a lot of fun doing it. Now I am reading books and reading this forum daily. But, I am not sure when I will want to switch to all grain, if ever. I still have a week to wait with bottle conditioning, but I think this batch was a success. The high success rate of these kits will keep me loving the hobby until i decide to get more advanced.
I have been looking at the Northern Brewer Kits for my next batch. Any opinions about those? They seem to get great reviews.

I've brewed a ton of the Northern Brewer kits, both extract and all-grain, and they have all been great! I usually grab them on sale though, because their regular pricing has gotten crazy.

 

[cubalz]

When I started WAY back in the day, I made extract kits for about the first 6 years. I then went from mini-mash to all grain in the same year. The reason I moved to all grain was that I wanted complete control over the process. I still continue to have some excellent extract beers made at friends' houses

 

[Brews and Blues]

I've brewed a ton of the Northern Brewer kits, both extract and all-grain, and they have all been great! I usually grab them on sale though, because their regular pricing has gotten crazy.

Yeah, I've noticed their newest releases tend to be pricey, but some are priced really well from their website actually. Thanks, I will go with them next brew!

 

[kh54s10]

I have been looking at the Northern Brewer Kits for my next batch. Any opinions about those? They seem to get great reviews.

All but one of my 4 or 5 kits were from NB. But that was in 2011. I have done a lot of their kits by going on the website and looking up the recipe and brew instructions then sourcing the ingredients on my own, usually in bulk to save a lot of money. I also use their recipes as a start on creating my own version by changing up the ingredients a little - usually with good success.

 

[Brews and Blues]

All but one of my 4 or 5 kits were from NB. But that was in 2011. I have done a lot of their kits by going on the website and looking up the recipe and brew instructions then sourcing the ingredients on my own, usually in bulk to save a lot of money. I also use their recipes as a start on creating my own version by changing up the ingredients a little - usually with good success.

Nice! I think that is definitely the route I will go. A lot of the instructions have the beer fermenting for 4 weeks before bottling. That seems like a long time compared to the Brewer's Best kits I have done...

 

[bracconiere]

E=mc2

the more energy you dump into brewing the closer you get to "free"

 

[kh54s10]

Nice! I think that is definitely the route I will go. A lot of the instructions have the beer fermenting for 4 weeks before bottling. That seems like a long time compared to the Brewer's Best kits I have done...

4 weeks is a combination of a holdover from commercial brewing where they would ferment for 2 weeks and secondary for 2 weeks, and erring on the side of caution of bottling before the fermentation is finished (bottle bombs).

The kit makers want to make sure things go smoothly for the new brewer. If you bottle to early and get bottle bombs or just bad tasting beer you are less likely to buy more kits.

Some feel there is a need to go that long to allow the yeast to fully do everything that they do then let the flavors meld. This idea is getting less popular. Now, many will turn around a beer as soon as gravity readings tell you it is finished fermenting. I go at least 14 days to make sure it is done, figuring that a quick ferment would be done in 5 days and a longer one up to 10 days, barring any stalled fermentations. Procrastination in packaging usually makes it longer than 14 days.

 

[Brews and Blues]

4 weeks is a combination of a holdover from commercial brewing where they would ferment for 2 weeks and secondary for 2 weeks, and erring on the side of caution of bottling before the fermentation is finished (bottle bombs).

The kit makers want to make sure things go smoothly for the new brewer. If you bottle to early and get bottle bombs or just bad tasting beer you are less likely to buy more kits.

Some feel there is a need to go that long to allow the yeast to fully do everything that they do then let the flavors meld. This idea is getting less popular. Now, many will turn around a beer as soon as gravity readings tell you it is finished fermenting. I go at least 14 days to make sure it is done, figuring that a quick ferment would be done in 5 days and a longer one up to 10 days, barring any stalled fermentations. Procrastination in packaging usually makes it longer than 14 days.

Ah that makes sense. The absolute hardest part of this hobby is waiting. But I think it will get better if I have multiple beers going. Once I have some to drink, some conditioning in bottles, and some in the fermenter, I think the waiting will be a little easier.

 

[A1sportsdad]

I started brewing extract a bit over 2 years ago. Have wanted to do it for years. My son knew I was interested and got me the John Palmer Bible. I started to read it then set it aside. The kids got me a 1 gallon stout kit for Fathers Day a couple years later, so I started reading again and read it cover to cover then attempted the 1 gallon all grain kit. Let’s just say I was over my head but learned a lot. I decided maybe starting out extract made a lot more sense.

So 2 years ago I started brewing extract kits. Have loved it. Probably done a dozen or so 5 gallon batches over that period. All turned out well, but I still keep learning and improving.

So I have been slowly gearing up to start doing BIAB. Hoping to actual pull the plug and try it this summer. We will see how it goes, but either way I’m having a ball with it.

Cheers [emoji482]

 

[kh54s10]

So I have been slowly gearing up to start doing BIAB. Hoping to actual pull the plug and try it this summer. We will see how it goes, but either way I’m having a ball with it.

Cheers [emoji482]

What are you waiting for? If you can cook a recipe you can brew all grain beer.

 

[A1sportsdad]

What are you waiting for? If you can cook a recipe you can brew all grain beer.

I still need to get a few things first. I got a larger pot to handle the full volume brew and now the grain bill as well. I got a grain mill so I can mill my own grain to get it correct for a BIAB brew. Need to hook up a pulley in the garage to lift out the grain bag. Still need a few other items, but not much. I will still wait until spring or summer for my first attempt. Not about to try this for the first time in a freezing garage. I'll save that for once I have done it and I'm comfortable with it. Soon enough.

 

[kh54s10]

I still need to get a few things first. I got a larger pot to handle the full volume brew and now the grain bill as well. I got a grain mill so I can mill my own grain to get it correct for a BIAB brew. Need to hook up a pulley in the garage to lift out the grain bag. Still need a few other items, but not much. I will still wait until spring or summer for my first attempt. Not about to try this for the first time in a freezing garage. I'll save that for once I have done it and I'm comfortable with it. Soon enough.

On a 45 degree day your propane burner could easily take the temperature in the garage into the 70s... If you don't have all the doors wide open. But make sure you have enough ventilation. While the mash is going, just go back into the house.

 

[beekeeperman]

Started extract brewing 6 yrs ago. Probably made 100+ gallons , never made a batch I didn't like. All ales.

 

[soccerdad]

There is no shame in extract brewing and if the beer is good then life is good. All grain brewing is also fun and can be very rewarding. But frustrating at times
My only caution in going all grain is this...when you brew kits with extract you have two or three boxes on hand that exactly match what you need on brew day. With all grain brewing you have 200 or more pounds of base malt on hand, another 100 pounds of specialty malt and crystal malts, 5 to 10 pounds of hops in the freezer. You may not have such a stockpile on day one, but it will occur to you in short order that you want Pilsner and Munich and Vienna in addition to 2row, and you might as sell get cascade by the pound and on and on. It's not for efficiency apartment dwellers.

 

[PapaDon]

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!

One year for me. I brew for the beer not the "experience", the quicker I can finish the brew the better. I do add 7 extra ferment days to every batch, I find that the beer is much clearer when I do.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Extract brewed 3-4 batches a year (bottled) for about 18 years. 6.5 years ago switched to all-grain and never looked back.
Nothing against extract if you're making beer you like, but all grain gives so much more control.

 

[Riley Henderson]

I have been brewing extract kits for about a year and a half now, for the longest time I used dextrose only and have recently started spending the little extra to switch to DME. I want to switch to all grain when I eventually get my own place and have more room to work on it. IMO I think the biggest difference between kits and all grain is the ability to have more control over flavor profiles, IBU's which is the main reason I will want to change down the road.

Cheers and happy drinking!

 

[adrichi]

I got my first homebrew starter kit back around 2000 and have been an extract brewer since. I was in college so I didnt have extra money to buy, or room to store, upgrades or accessories. As a young adult, i would brew up to a couple times a year, depending on the hectic schedule of life/kids/work/ect. I had heard of all grain brewing in the books, but because i brewed so infrequently, and only had the basic gear, i rarely have it much though. And the electric stove/lack of fryer.
A couple years ago, i gave up my one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer job, so i had more time to spend on my hobbies. Now I was brewing more, but all grain required more eqpt that i didnt have, and was hesitant to buy. I kept brewing, but needed upgrades. Slowly started upgrading. Now for my extract brewing, i have a dark star burner, wort chiller, extra buckets, extra carboys.
But still an extract brewer, and i am still happy with the results.

 

[kh54s10]

I have been brewing extract kits for about a year and a half now, for the longest time I used dextrose only and have recently started spending the little extra to switch to DME. I want to switch to all grain when I eventually get my own place and have more room to work on it. IMO I think the biggest difference between kits and all grain is the ability to have more control over flavor profiles, IBU's which is the main reason I will want to change down the road.

Cheers and happy drinking!

I got my first homebrew starter kit back around 2000 and have been an extract brewer since. I was in college so I didnt have extra money to buy, or room to store, upgrades or accessories. As a young adult, i would brew up to a couple times a year, depending on the hectic schedule of life/kids/work/ect. I had heard of all grain brewing in the books, but because i brewed so infrequently, and only had the basic gear, i rarely have it much though. And the electric stove/lack of fryer.
A couple years ago, i gave up my one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer job, so i had more time to spend on my hobbies. Now I was brewing more, but all grain required more eqpt that i didnt have, and was hesitant to buy. I kept brewing, but needed upgrades. Slowly started upgrading. Now for my extract brewing, i have a dark star burner, wort chiller, extra buckets, extra carboys.
But still an extract brewer, and i am still happy with the results.

You do realize that you can brew all grain with the equipment you have now don't you?? All you need is to get a bag to hold the grain. If you are using a 5 gallon pot you can use a paint strainer bag that you can get almost anywhere they sell paint.....

 

[DaNewf]

I started brewing with Coopers kits back in 2012. Added steeping grain and DME to the kits. Then started doing mini mashes using Coopers kits as a base. Realized mini mashing was nearly as time consuming (and more expensive) than all grain so I made the switch. A couple of years ago life got hectic so I stopped brewing breifly. Now I'm back to Coopers kits, DME, steeping grains and dry hopping.

I'm getting the itch for all grain again so maybe this spring after the snow goes I'll dig out my gear and make a batch of Centennial Blonde Ale or Common Room ESB.

 

[kh54s10]

I did a couple of kits when I first started (Northern Brewer kits). I quickly realized that I could save up to half the price of a kit by buying all the ingredients separately. Northern Brewer lists the ingredients online in their kit instructions. I also make my own recipes in Beersmith and have for over 9 years.

 

[Joshua Hughes]

I’m really new to this; as in my first brew is bottled and waiting on me. I bought a kit for brewing 5 gallon extract brews. What extra equipment do I need to go all grain? I lack storage space to buy in bulk unless we are talking enough for 2-3 brews. My pot is too small for a 5 gallon all grain brew

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I’ve been brewing all grain for several years now. A while back I brewed a SHaME beer with DME. I’ve never used LME so I can’t say anything about it. The SHaME beer turned out great. Easily as good as my all grain beers. I think the big difference between AG an extract is that extract being a commercial product is controlled to a much higher standard than a homebrewers mash and therefore is much more consistent than homebrewed AG batches. I think that AG brewers believe all grain taste better and so due to this bias, their experience is that it does taste better. Which I actually think is valid. I brew all grain because it makes me feel like a cool kid and I’m not trolling or joking when I say that. One benefit of an all DME batch is a reduction in trub. Extract is just another way to brew not a better or worse way to brew.

 

[Joshua Hughes]

SHaME is Single hop and malt extract?

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

Yes. Really tongue in cheek name. It was a delicious beer.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I’m really new to this; as in my first brew is bottled and waiting on me. I bought a kit for brewing 5 gallon extract brews. What extra equipment do I need to go all grain? I lack storage space to buy in bulk unless we are talking enough for 2-3 brews. My pot is too small for a 5 gallon all grain brew

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.

 

[Immocles]

I’m really new to this; as in my first brew is bottled and waiting on me. I bought a kit for brewing 5 gallon extract brews. What extra equipment do I need to go all grain? I lack storage space to buy in bulk unless we are talking enough for 2-3 brews. My pot is too small for a 5 gallon all grain brew

What kind of pot do you currently have? If you have a 5 gallon kettle, you can do stovetop all grain biab for 2.5-3gallon batches. I had just your garden variety basic starter kit from NB that I hammered out extract brews with. The only additional equipment I *needed* to buy was a bag. I quickly bought myself a mill as well, since I was not satisfied with the crush I was getting when purchasing milled grains.

 

[Joshua Hughes]

I probably have the same pot, northern brewer starter kit for me too. Guess use an app of some sort to adjust the numbers so I know what to add?

 

[Immocles]

I use beersmith3 for recipe building and water quantities. It takes a few to get your profile dialed in, but once you have that, its been very reliable for me. My first few all grain brews were scaled down from recipes I found on the site and some really basic pale ales until I got the hang of things.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Home brewing is the greatest hobby in the world. I think that every brewer should brew their beer any way that he/she wants. If brewing extract kits makes you happy, cool. All grain, that's cool too. I started with Mr. beer. Then i switched to Northern brewer extract kits. (Which i stuck with for a few years.) I recently started creating my own recipes using extract. I do plan on trying all grain for the first time, some time in the future. However, i am happy brewing extract recipes for the time being.

 

[coonmanx]

I'm kind of stuck in between at the moment and that is because I live in an apartment and have an electric stove. That may change very soon as a friend and I may go in together on a Mash N' Boil electric system. He sounds like he wants to go for it and he has brewed with me before.

I am a partial mash guy as I am actually mashing 3 lbs. of grain (often Maris Otter) at the beginning of my brew process. I use a 90 minute mash and then a fairly large mesh sieve covered with a nylon bag to rinse the grains. I sparge by using a coffee cup to pour the sparge water onto a spoon where it makes a nice shower onto the bed of grains in the sieve. Very low tech and who knows how efficient I am with the process but the beers come out great and I would put them up against any all grain recipe.

My specialty grains like crystal malt don't get added in until later when the previously mashed wort is already in the brew kettle, I have added some more water and the temp gets back up to about 150. At that point I have those grains in a nylon bag and I tie that bag to a large spoon so that it dangles into the liquid and the grains steep for about 40 minutes or so. This method takes longer to do but the results do speak for themselves.

Back when I started out I used to only mash about a pound of grain (2-row). It is fairly easy, kind of like cooking oatmeal. LOL. You just need to make sure that your mash temperature stays at the right place while you are doing it. For me that usually means keeping the pan on the burner at the lowest setting and constanly checking the temperature with a thermometer and stirring. It can vary slightly but keep it at around 154 or so and you will be fine. Just saying this because you can start getting into mashing without going all the way to all grain. And it is a good way to learn before making the leap.

 

[coonmanx]

Home brewing is the greatest hobby in the world. I think that every brewer should brew their beer any way that he/she wants. If brewing extract kits makes you happy, cool. All grain, that's cool too. I started with Mr. beer. Then i switched to Northern brewer extract kits. (Which i stuck with for a few years.) I recently started creating my own recipes using extract. I do plan on trying all grain for the first time, some time in the future. However, i am happy brewing extract recipes for the time being.

You might consider doing an extract batch like normal but then also mashing say a pound of 2-row and sparging it through a small strainer. I did batches like this for a long time and it is a good way to "get your feet wet" with mashing and start to understand the process. Also testing for conversion by taking a small drop of the liquid on a plate and adding a drop of iodine will help you understand when conversion has occurred. The liquid also becomes sweet. Just a good way to learn what is going on and the process. I am still stuck between all grain and extract brewing because now I do a partial mash of about 3 lbs. of usually Maris Otter malt.

Mashing is usually done for about an hour because conversion will usually have taken place by then but I go for 90 minutes to get maximum flavor out of those grains. Mashing one pound of grain probably won't do a whole lot for the beer but you can learn a lot by doing so and it definitely won't hurt. Just be prepared to add some extra time to the process.

 

[Fabricio]

I've been extracting brewing since 2003, I have my brew pot set up so it's electric and doubt I will ever go to all grain. I'm extremely comfortable with the process and quality of home brew I can make.

 

[Hoakster]

Started brewing in 2008, shifted to all-grain in 2015, switched back to mostly extract in 2018. So I’m back to brewing extract for efficiency and quantity. With the equipment I have, Igloo mash tun and hot liquor tank, 8 gallon kettle, + several 4 gallon kettles, etc, I felt limited to a 5 gallon all-grain batch that took me 6+ hours (sometimes 7) from breaking out the first piece of equipment to cleaning, drying and putting away the last. Alternatively, I can brew two 5-gallon batches of extract simultaneously in about 3.5 to 4 hours from start to finish (double burner camp stove). Twice the beer, half the time, I pace them about 20 min apart so one boil ends 20 min before the other. I use the igloos to treat water on Friday night for brewing two batches on Saturday. I still do a 5-gallon all grain batch every now and then and enjoy it… but you can’t beat the time efficiency for brewing quantities of extract. more beer in pipeline also makes me more willing to share rather than hoard for only myself.

 

[MadLuke]

I have been brewing about 6 years, maybe? And I am still on the extract-partial mash side. Would I prefer to go full-grain? Kinda...sometimes.
Started brewing when on PhD scholarship - enough to get along, not enough to buy a grain father. Moved about 10 times, so portability was also kind of important, and the fermenting bucked it actually a good container as long as you don't mind your trainers smelling like Amarillo for next few weeks. But to be honest, even with partial mash (pale extracts, all the rest from grains), I got some pretty impressive stouts and porters. Plus few special 4 l testing batches (e.g. my 60% sherry smoked malt barley wine). And now with a 1 year old to look after, well... might stick to half-day extract brewings for a while.

But yeah, at some point, full grain is the way, I totally get it. Can see the benefits...At some point.

 

[RevA]

I did two kits before I switched to all grain BIAB. But since then when the beer is low and I don't have time I will brew an extract kit. The beer is still good, I just prefer styles that I can't get kits in.

 

[PetteriSeppanen]

I have been at it for nine years and most of the batches have been from adequate to good.

 

[bracconiere]

I think that AG brewers believe all grain taste better and so due to this bias, their experience is that it does taste better.

not for me, lol....using extract just kinda seems like cheating to me

@Joshua Hughes , this is my all-grain rig....

all in all cost me about 400-600 bucks back in 2002 or so....been brewing 10- gallon batches on it once a week since 2005....