In Contempt of Extract

[cheezydemon]

I went all grain for one reason, to make the best beer possible. To me you just can't do that with extract. While my two extract batch's were drinkable and good, I would not call them great. Most of my All grains I can call great, and would rather drink them than a commercial beer of the same style. I don't even use DME for starters anymore, I always save some left over wort and freeze it.

Most of even the all extract batches I made were better than anything at the grocery. (as opposed to a liquor barn, party mart etc.)

And 2 batches is hardly expert brewer status, but to compare your first 2 noob batches to what you do now is a little unfair. No matter what the ingredients. The PM's I make now are far superior to me first 2 AG batches.

To each their own, but AG snobbery is caused partly by the fact that you are a noob when you were in the extract phase.(in 90% of cases)

So a comparison of your own batches is a little unfair. If I had done AG from the start, by now my AG batches would be far superior to my first 2 AG batches with no other factor involved but time and experience.

 

[Ryanh1801]

Most of even the all extract batches I made were better than anything at the grocery. (as opposed to a liquor barn, party mart etc.)

And 2 batches is hardly expert brewer status, but to compare your first 2 noob batches to what you do now is a little unfair. No matter what the ingredients. The PM's I make now are far superior to me first 2 AG batches.

To each their own, but AG snobbery is caused partly by the fact that you are a noob when you were in the extract phase.(in 90% of cases)

So a comparison of your own batches is a little unfair. If I had done AG from the start, by now my AG batches would be far superior to my first 2 AG batches with no other factor involved but time and experience.

Not really a good argument, because my first two AG batch's where amazing, in comparison to my Extract batch's. Sorry but I just don't see the argument. Their is not much to mess up in an Extract batch, experiences does not really do that much to an extract batch, as it does to All grain brewing. Im not saying all grain is for everyone, and im not trying to put those down that do extract, but I will never go back to it.

 

[Bobby_M]

I totally agree with you cheezy. I know that I make better beers despite brewing all grain. It's more an issue of not screwing things up as much anymore. I'm still an AG snob though because I still equate extract brewing to making instant iced tea. Sure, you can squeeze a fresh lemon into it, but it still came from powder. I'm pretty sure I can make my "best" extract batch ever if I wanted to.

 

[blacklab]

I totally agree with you cheezy. I know that I make better beers despite brewing all grain. It's more an issue of not screwing things up as much anymore. I'm still an AG snob though because I still equate extract brewing to making instant iced tea. Sure, you can squeeze a fresh lemon into it, but it still came from powder. I'm pretty sure I can make my "best" extract batch ever if I wanted to.

Agree - it always felt sort of like making coffee to me. Plus, my wife was like, "It's not very creative when you just pour all that goop in there".

I then explained to her the steeping grains adding flavor, the goop replacing the base grains, etc., and she actually said, "Why don't you just use the grains alone?".

The next week I dropped some serious cash on AG gear!

 

[Soulive]

Agree - it always felt sort of like making coffee to me. Plus, my wife was like, "It's not very creative when you just pour all that goop in there".

I then explained to her the steeping grains adding flavor, the goop replacing the base grains, etc., and she actually said, "Why don't you just use the grains alone?".

The next week I dropped some serious cash on AG gear!

Its funny you mention your wife because SWMBO said something similar. Before I started brewing I knew the process roughly and I'd talk about how craft brewers don't usually use corn or rice like BMC. So when I first started, SWMBO was like "Do craft brewers use powder and syrup??". Thats when I knew I would go AG eventually...

*disclaimer - brew which ever way you are comfortable brewing*

 

[blacklab]

Nothing like having the lady of the house call you out!

 

[EamusCatuli]

After reading this thread, im 100% going to go at least PM. Actually very excited about it. I think eventually I will go AG, not really because I think it will taste better (which it may), but because it takes more than pooring "goop" in my kettle.

THAT, and my brews have had a nagging tendency to have this generic taste when using extract brewing. Im sick of it. I hope that PM/AG will help, but if it doesnt I have more problems with my beers than i thought.

Anyway, Extract has treated me well, but im sick of the cans, prices, generic tastes, and the process.

 

[blacklab]

After reading this thread, im 100% going to go at least PM.

As I'm sure you've read elsewhere on this forum, make sure you buy a MLT big enough to hold enough grain and water for AG's, if you're going to go PM. Otherwise you'll end up buying two coolers. The 10 gallon rubbermaid is cheap and easy and will work with your PM batches as well as AG if you want to make the jump later(think you will).

 

[rico567]

Anyone else completely despise extract?

<snip>

Basically what I am getting at is extract does suck really bad, I know that there are a lot of brewers that stand up for it, and that is understood...

Anyone else completely despise extract or have a really bad experiance with it? Anyone really hate it for its demonic flavors? anyone that doesnt stand up for it?

In order:

No.

No it doesn't.

No.

No.

I think that about covers it, and no, I'm not deluded by the fact that I brew only extract. I regularly drink a selection of great craft brews, bottle and draft- Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, Avery, Left Hand, yadda-yadda. I believe that there are advantages in AG brewing, a lot of which relate to being able to have a finer degree of control over the finished product. So far, that hasn't bothered me. The other is people who are obsessed with getting a pale, anemic color in their beer, just like a BMC lager.......and, yeah, that doesn't bother me either.

A suggestion: If you want to brew AG and like it, have at it. What you've written doesn't convince me of its superiority, however.

 

[gabeweisz]

One thing I see in the first post is that it's about extract only and all grain - and does not say anything about the range of extract with grains and partial mashing in the middle.

I've found that extract with grains is much better than extract alone, and I haven't been able to tell too much of a difference (except in price and time taken to brew) between good PM (using extra light dme as the only type of extract) and all grain batches that I've made.

 

[Couevas]

Way to resurrect a 10 month old thread :rockin:

 

[Graeme]

I'm not sure why anyone would 'despise' extract, or even despise any method of brewing, seems a little bit elitist or something. I for one haven't even been brewing a year, I am extract brewing right now, with good results, you don't just wake up one day with all the knowledge equipped for All Grain. I want to learn the absolute in's and out's of extract, about my finished product, about what works well with what before even considering the move to All Grain. I'm sure you brew great beer, power to you, but I just can't understand the title or the logic of this thread, we all share the love of beer and brewing, there's no real place for 'despise' in homebrewing as far as I'm concerned, and better still, show a good example for me and the rest of the noobs! peace!