How long did you extract brew before going to All Grain?

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I decided to start with AG brewing and brewed my first two batches last week. I choose to start with AG because I like having more control over my final product. Just like others have said, I like all the work on a brew day that comes with AG brewing.
 
I would like to try AG, never have done it yet. I guess what bothers me on here is how it seems that if you brew extract, your brewing out of the box. If you buy a pre-made kit, well then sure, you can't really call it your own. But you can still come up with your own recipes and use extract, I've made plenty, I do partials and I use extract because I don't have the equipment or time to do all grain right now. I don't see how using DME or LME instead of mashing 12 pounds of 2 row, would technically classify this as "not my own." If your making tomato sauce, do you grow all of the ingredients or do you buy them from the store? What does it matter. If you enjoy what you are doing, then it's not "wasting time."
 
Only done AG...I didn't even know there was extract and once I learned about it, I thought it took the "fun" out of brewing.
 
iskuse said:
I would like to try AG, never have done it yet. I guess what bothers me on here is how it seems that if you brew extract, your brewing out of the box. If you buy a pre-made kit, well then sure, you can't really call it your own. But you can still come up with your own recipes and use extract, I've made plenty, I do partials and I use extract because I don't have the equipment or time to do all grain right now. I don't see how using DME or LME instead of mashing 12 pounds of 2 row, would technically classify this as "not my own." If your making tomato sauce, do you grow all of the ingredients or do you buy them from the store? What does it matter. If you enjoy what you are doing, then it's not "wasting time."
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Yeah, just like how you can make your own special casserole by buying several different condensed soups and some vegetables and dry pasta.

I grew up making bread from wheat milled on the same counter top. We had a mixer but final kneading and shaping of loaves was by hand.

I like a tuna noodle casserole as much as the next guy but when i make it i think of it as assembly rather than cooking.

I make killer thai curries with canned curry paste, but i present it as "cheater curry" because i know what it takes to make the paste because i've done it a few times.
 
I brewed 3 extract with steeping grain kits last November. Next I brewed 4 BIAB partial mashes, then I got a Barley Crusher and built a mash tun and now, just 6 months after my first attempt at brewing I'm brewing exclusively AG because I think it's more fun, rewarding and the beer (in my experience) tastes better. I'm sure I could make some good beer with extract but that would be like building a shed or a tree house from a pre-made kit that only requires assembly. Takes the fun and most of the sense of accomplishment out of it!
 
Fadeux said:
I assume most people on here do all-grain brewing. I am just curious as to how long you did extract brewing (if at all) before understanding the process enough to do all-grain. I have done two batchs, a hefe, currently in bottle stage, and a lager, still in secondary. Basically I am just reading and following instructions. I am wondering what really gets people to that next step of all-grain.
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I would think most people do extract.

I have been brewing for years doing partial mashes, BIAB and extract. Probably won't ever go full AG simply because I don't have that much more time and my current batches are outstanding! 😄
 
TimpanogosSlim said:
I just went to the nearest restaurant supply and bought the biggest stainless steel spoon they had - cost $9. It's 7 or 8 inches longer than the 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler is deep.
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Won't the SS spoon scratch up the MLT? Then again, I guess it doesn't matter because you're boiling everything afterwards anyway ...
 
Jayhem said:
I'm sure I could make some good beer with extract but that would be like building a shed or a tree house from a pre-made kit that only requires assembly. Takes the fun and most of the sense of accomplishment out of it!
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So your saying you harvest the grain, grow the hops and cultivate the yeast???
 
SmoothSmoke said:
What does extract with specialty grains mean? Is it only a partial extract?
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atom said:
no...it's still all extract. you are just steeping the grains, not mashing them.
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^ This. specialty grains are Crystal/Caramel, Chocolate, Honey etc. (malts). They are used to add flavor and a dynamic to the beer you can't get with just base grain extracts. So specialty grains are usually only about 1/2 - 1.0 lb of grain in a 5 gal batch.
 
My first batch was a PM.

After buying the DME, and then seeing how much cheaper the grain was over DME, I haven't done an extract since.

For me, it was a money thing. All grain is significantly cheaper (per batch) for me. So that's what I do.
 
I think it was about 4 or 5 months. My first batch was extract only, another two with extract and steeping grains, then 3 or 4 partial mashes, then I went for AG. I still do partial mashes on my bigger beers (my capacity maxes at about a 12 lb grain bill, anything higher than that I use extract to make up the difference)
 
2 batches. In the 14 years since I have done exactly one extract batch and that was a belgian pale last year that I made to raise enough yeast to get my quad finished off. It worked by the way.
 
SmoothSmoke said:
So are you saying that all grain is actually more cost effective?
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simple answer: grain is cheaper to buy than extract.

There's really nothing 'cost effective' about brewing, imo.

There's always going to be something else to do, or something else to buy.
 
Extract near me seams to go for about 5 dollars a pound. Grains are definitely cheaper, just costs a little more up front for the equipment, though you can save if you build your own.
 
I bought all the equipment for all grain before I started brewing. First 3 batches were extract and then I went to all grain. I have made extracts in between but for the past year I have only been brewing all grain. For me my beers taste better and I like the process. It is also cheaper since I buy most of my ingredients in bulk now.
 
i just bought my AG setup yesterday, after 1 year of extract can brewing.

Looking forward to get my equipment :D next weekend, ill be doing AG wheat beer !
 
I made 4 Mr Beer exctract batches before making the switch after sitting on one of my buddies AG brew days. Extracts (especially the pre-hopped, no boil Mr Beer kits) just didn't feel like brewing to me and it really isn't any harder, just takes more time.
 
SmoothSmoke said:
Is the taste difference really noticeable from extract to all grain?
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I never noticed a huge difference in taste.

The only difference i noticed is clarity of my beers (same recipe made twice, all grain and partial mash)

The other is color, whether i did late additions or not for beers, most of my extracts will be a bit darker than i want.

If you notice, this has nothing to do with taste or quality of the beer ... it's my picking of nits.
 
The primary difference to me (outside of the color issue mentioned above) is control. With extract you're limited to how the extract was prepared in terms of fermentability. With AG you have much greater control over how high or low your FG will be.
 
I've never done an extract brew, it looked like more work to me, so I jumped in with both feet brewing all grain. Did my first batch on Saturday and it was pretty straightforward. Its fun and addictive.

The hardest part was figuring out what to do with all of the wet grain!
 
Wife got me a Mr. Beer kit for birthday. Did one batch and while waiting for it to ferment, learned as much as I could to get ready for all grain. Next batch was a BIAB saison, which I bottled last night.
 
My first batch ever was a Mr. Beer kit, and my second batch was AG. I was a sponge reading and absorbing everything I could while waiting for my extract batch to finish. The jump to all grain wasn't all that bad since I had not settled into a routine with the extract brewing. I was no more nervous brewing the AG batch as I was with the extract batch.
 
I have no wish to go all grain. For 95% of brewers going all grain adds nothing to your brew. Reason is that they fail to take full advantage of all grain.

Is all grain better? Yes, IF you take full advantage.

I feel most all grain brewers are posers and make a poorer quality of beer but some make OUTSTANDING beer.

WITH THAT SAID. Brewers on this site make better beer because they care and obsess over the details. But again, 95% ( make up numbers here). Do not read this forum.
 
Made a few extract brews back in the 70s. I was able to purchase some basic malt extract at a local grocery store back then. Tried hard to make something like BMC. This was not the extract available today. Kept using less and less extract and more and more sugar with each batch. Finally reached a point where the yeast would not work. I was never able to duplicate the lack of taste. After ~ 30 years gave it another try with all grain. I am very happy with the results. Not trying to duplicate BMC anymore. Appreciating the taste and diversity.

I have a picture of the extract from the 70s in my profile if you are interested (or remember those times).
 
Grinder12000 said:
I have no wish to go all grain. For 95% of brewers going all grain adds nothing to your brew. Reason is that they fail to take full advantage of all grain.

Is all grain better? Yes, IF you take full advantage.

I feel most all grain brewers are posers and make a poorer quality of beer but some make OUTSTANDING beer.

WITH THAT SAID. Brewers on this site make better beer because they care and obsess over the details. But again, 95% ( make up numbers here). Do not read this forum.
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What do you mean by taking full advantage of the Grain?
 
I brewed extract for around 10 years. I have no idea how many batches that was. I made good beer so I never bothered moving on. But I got to a place with more space, I was returning to the hobby after a couple years, I was making a bit more scratch, had a little more time and figured why not have a go.

But I have to say my first few all-grain batches were disappointments, in the product and the time it took. After 4 or so I got my act together though. Got my rhythm down, so to speak.

So moving to all-grain is not an automatic improvement in your product. In fact, it is easier to mess it up. Just do your homework, prepare, and have a plan and you should be alright. If your first experience is not the best, have patieince. You'll get there.
 
I did one extract brew in August last year but didnt ferment with temp control and used the yeast in the can. It fermented too cold as it was the middle of winter and tasted like cat pi$$.

I then switched to All grain BIAB and my first batch was probably one of my best. But I didnt sparge and only had about 8 litres.

Ive since done another 10 brews and have now built a 3V herms system which I did my maiden brew on a few weeks back. A smoked chocolate porter.
 
Grinder12000 said:
I have no wish to go all grain. For 95% of brewers going all grain adds nothing to your brew. Reason is that they fail to take full advantage of all grain.

Is all grain better? Yes, IF you take full advantage.

I feel most all grain brewers are posers and make a poorer quality of beer but some make OUTSTANDING beer.

WITH THAT SAID. Brewers on this site make better beer because they care and obsess over the details. But again, 95% ( make up numbers here). Do not read this forum.
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Why do so many experts (Papazian for example) state that extract brews have an unmistakable tang to them that will always be there?

I brew AG because that's the level of involvement i want to have in the process. Extract kits always seemed like a hollow option to me. Extract brewing still sounds like something i wouldn't be interested in.

Like i said - i grew up grinding the wheat that made my bread. I ate the green beans i got sent out to the garden to pick. Mom taught me how to make spaghetti w/ meat sauce when i was 5 and even though i helped make the sauce and put it in mason jars, the actual making of the meal felt to me like a simplistic task.

When i want low-effort beer i buy it. When i want low-effort side dish i open a box of kraft mac & cheese. But the weird part of how i was raised is that if i wanted a confluence of starch and cheese but found no box in the cupboard, it feels like less of a hassle to make a cheese bechamel sauce from scratch to go with whatever pasta i have than to drive 1 mile to the store.

I can't imagine that i would find extract brewing to be spiritually satisfying. I don't think i would feel the same sense of ownership of the product. I don't even really like following recipes.
 
Grinder12000 said:
I have no wish to go all grain. For 95% of brewers going all grain adds nothing to your brew. Reason is that they fail to take full advantage of all grain.

Is all grain better? Yes, IF you take full advantage.

I feel most all grain brewers are posers and make a poorer quality of beer but some make OUTSTANDING beer.

WITH THAT SAID. Brewers on this site make better beer because they care and obsess over the details. But again, 95% ( make up numbers here). Do not read this forum.
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For me the benefits of all grain are reduced cost per batch, ability to use adjunct grains, control over fermentability, control over water, and control over grain source. Any one of these can make the switch worthwhile and wouldn't be considered taking full advantage. I'm not sure what you mean by poser, but hanging out at the brew shop I see the extract folks picking up brewers best kits or selecting off the recipe board and I see all grain folks putting their own together. The ag guys may not strike gold every time but at least they're doing their own thing. Not saying extract is going to make worse beer, but there are definite advantages to all grain.
 
pohldogg said:
For me the benefits of all grain are reduced cost per batch, ability to use adjunct grains, control over fermentability, control over water, and control over grain source. Any one of these can make the switch worthwhile and wouldn't be considered taking full advantage. I'm not sure what you mean by poser, but hanging out at the brew shop I see the extract folks picking up brewers best kits or selecting off the recipe board and I see all grain folks putting their own together. The ag guys may not strike gold every time but at least they're doing their own thing. Not saying extract is going to make worse beer, but there are definite advantages to all grain.
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Extract brewing, like cooking with condensed soup, makes good sense in terms of time economy and investment in tools.

But my brew day is not about economy.

Really, what's important is that you are brewing the beer you want to brew, though.
 

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