Is all grain supposed to be hard?

[Denny]

LOL at the last sentence, but I think the equipment change and the improvement in homebrew quality were simultaneous and it had nothing to do with the gender of the brewers.

Actually, the increase in quality and availability of ingredients is what has been driving homebrew quality, not the equipment.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

100% of my mistakes still made beer.

This belongs on a brew-club T-shirt.

 

[Halbrust]

Haha - I read the thread title as a question on the density and rigidness of each style of grain at the home brew store.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Just for my own edification and enjoyment... when I made my 1 gallon AG batch from the kit, my stock pot acted as both mash tun and kettle... correct?

 

[jbaysurfer]

Actually, the increase in quality and availability of ingredients is what has been driving homebrew quality, not the equipment.

Not to be pedantic, but it's not argument fodder. I said they were simultaneous, not cause and effect.

But if I wanted to make an argument for equipment, I'd point out temperature control and wort coolers are kind of key to making good beer...and neither were widely available prior to 1978

Edit: You're my hero..and I shouldn't be arguing with you.

 

[PuckX]

Yeah that's the one thing I hate about this hobby is elitist @ssh0l3s. I hate it in any hobby really. I for one would never laugh at anyone, only educate and assist. Some people just like to make themselves feel better by bringing others down. Just avoid those people, and take your money to another LHBS, they don't deserve your patronage.

 

[Genuine]

I basically started with all grain and haven't looked backk. The equipment costs were a bit more but after that, it's all gravy from there. Ingredients are cheaper and the process is simpler, I think.

 

[dnickerson]

If someone in a shop copped an attitude like that, I'd run like hell. Some folks need to cool their jets and lose the attitude.

I think a lot of people (me too?) over-complicate AG brewing because they're people who really like tinkering...endless tinkering. Some people just want to make beer and don't enjoy building gizmos or solving puzzles. Tinkery people are attracted to AG. At the shop I part-time at, many or most of our AG customers are engineers, machinist/fabricator types, and the like. Many or most of our kit and extract customers are people who are more looking for fun and also hand crafted beer, but just don't care to fiddle with things to make 'em work. There's enough room in the world for all of us, and the world needs more homebrew!

I can see why some people just plain don't want to do AG- a bit more equipment (takes more space), full boil instead of partial, more wort to chill before pitching, more temp measurement, more calculations. Some people just don't want the fuss, which is fine. Buy an ingredient kit, throw the pot on the stove, and have an easy and fun time of it. The last time I helped a friend with an extract kit, it was easy and fun hanging out. It's exactly what many people are looking for in a hobby. It really didn't feel like "brewing" though...but that's because I really enjoy taking lots of measurements, scribbling lots of notes, and controlling every aspect of the final product.

It's kind of like bread from a bread machine and a mix or making it from scratch. Choosing proportions of different flours, perfecting kneading and rising, getting the texture just right- compared to "dump it in and turn it on." Both methods make tasty bread.

Nicely put.

 

[PuckX]

AG can be as easy (BIAB) or difficult (fly sparging, decoction, etc...) as you want to make it. There is just no need for some shop to be elitist about it. There is a new shop in my area and after about 5 minutes of spending time in the guy's shop I swore to never go back because I could tell he just had the stupid elitist attitude. Like he knew better than anyone else.

Just not enough time on this planet for me to care about tool's like that let alone give them my money.

I love beer, I make beer, and I love to share my love for beer with others. No attitude necessary.

 

[herc1354]

AG can be as easy (BIAB) or difficult (fly sparging, decoction, etc...) as you want to make it. There is just no need for some shop to be elitist about it. There is a new shop in my area and after about 5 minutes of spending time in the guy's shop I swore to never go back because I could tell he just had the stupid elitist attitude. Like he knew better than anyone else.

Just not enough time on this planet for me to care about tool's like that let alone give them my money.

I love beer, I make beer, and I love to share my love for beer with others. No attitude necessary.

Yep!

 

[Bodesbrew]

I say AG all the way! Once I went to AG, I never went back except for a couple of times using some really old extracts I really enjoy being able to tweak my own recipes and going through all the steps... Crushing grain, mashing in, etc... Now that I keg, it's even better because I can have it on tap!

 

[plumber_bob]

I say AG all the way! Once I went to AG, I never went back except for a couple of times using some really old extracts I really enjoy being able to tweak my own recipes and going through all the steps... Crushing grain, mashing in, etc... Now that I keg, it's even better because I can have it on tap!

I love AG too. Might try extract one day but I don't see it in the near future.
I'm with you on the control of your recipe issue. Nothing better than being able to adjust a recipe to your taste buds.:rockin:

pb

 

[acidrain]

I started AG kind of by accident.
Read up on BIAB, and welded a SS nipple to the bottom of my keggle, bought a strainer bag and some grains and gave it a try.
One day (after a few batches) the bag broke and dumped all the grain into the MT. I had no choice but to open the valve and try to save the wort into a bucket.
To my surprise, the wort flowed easily, and with no grain (after a short clearing).

The next time, instead of BIAB, I got a piece of SS screen, and cut it to fit the bottom of the keggle. It worked great, and I've been refining my set up and doing AG ever since.

The guys at your LHBS were jerks.
Mine are pretty good/friendly, but they are way behind the times... I don't have the heart to tell them (or argue about) all the old-school, outdated facts they always spew.

 

[Clearcut23]

I for one don't miss the "extract taste". I can tell the difference like night and day. A guy I worked with was a brewer as well. We swapped a few bottles. I gave him some distilled stuff and he gave me some partial mash brews and I was blown away. Haven't looked back

 

[stevefarns]

Dude, I waneed to make the jump to all grain for years. Just never got around to it and for years thought I could not afford it. Sad part is, for the diff in cost between two partial and two all grains, the small cost will be paid for.
I just did my first all grain this weekend. So ridiculously easy that I thought I must be missing something. Guess what? Brew is fermenting away in my basement. So easy, I don't know why I waited so long to make the jump. I have been brewing on a crappy electric cooktop for my entire brewing life, a cheap outdoor propane burner did a full boil in less time than I used to be able to do a partial boil in the kitchen. The full day maybe took me 30 more minutes than a partial. I know this because my buddy brewed a partial with me at the same time. It was great. I think I just love an excuse to hang out in the backyard and drink beer. So relaxing and just fun to do it.
I have a real problem though now. My supply chain is full and I want to brew again. Looks like I will be sending some friends home happy with homebrew.

 

[HellFox]

I started brewing about a year ago. Like many on here I started with an extract kit, then pieced together a couple of extract brews myself, then when I got (made happen) the needed extra equipment it was on to AG. And it sounds like a cliche at this point, but "I haven't looked back."

I have to admit when I was gearing up for the switch -- reading through some of the threads on this and other forums did intimidate me a little bit. It instilled a little bit of paranoia in me, but I think that has helped me make better beers. Even from the beginning extract brews, I had things like proper sanitation beat into my head.

Now, I'm beyond the initial paranoia and realize worst case scenario -- I'll have 50-plus beers to enjoy -- that aren't exactly how I expected. Even when it isn't just like I expected I learn something from it, and the next time I'll fix the problem. That is part of the joy about AG brewing though, is being able to create your own unique beer!

 

[mooshimanx]

All-grain seems a lot more difficult than it is due to the sheer number of different things you can and can't do and it can be hard to know what's actually necessary and what isn't when you first start out. I do think a lot of the perception of difficulty has been reduced with the rise in popularity of batch sparging (as well as other "modern sensibilities" i.e. ditching mash-outs). In my opinion of course.

Not that I'm saying you can't make wort just as easily when fly sparging, but the sheer number of instructions you're given in order to batch sparge (e.g. don't worry too much about the termperature, drain as quickly as you can, etc.) are much lower resulting in the process being very easy to wrap your mind around.