Long time all grain brewer going back to extract and I'm glad I did.

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I typically get my grains and water ready the night before so I can start my mash as soon as I wake up. It would be nice to have extract kits on hand if I want a shorter, impromptu brew-day.

There have been a couple of topics recently that discuss proper storage of ingredients (including LME). IIRC, storing LME in a hot garage didn't make the "best practices" list .

 

[balrog]

there are some recipes that just seem to come out better as an extract. I'm thinking of the Northern Brewer Caribou Slobber kit particularly.

I am curious, are there other styles than American amber, in your opinion, that come out better as extract?
<not starting a fight, not being snarky, there are no lines to read between, I am honestly, seriously, wondering>

 

[kartracer2]

Within BJCP guidelines, color is a range. For the styles that I brew with DME, I haven't had a problem with getting color in that range.

Maybe "color hard to get right" is due to a "darker than expected" starting color for the extract?

Evaluating the freshness of malt before using it is a well known practice. Similar techniques for evaluating the quality of LME also exist (BYO Dec 2020)

Yeah all of this. ^^^
I don't brew for comps so color isn't top of my worry list but I do take note of it. The issue is some of the sellers don't always date stamp the package of extract. I don't worry about the big guys so much, I'm sure they keep a steady rotation, FIFO and all that. Id hate to guess how much extract goes through the door of the likes of Northern Brewer/Midwest Supplies warehouse every day. Pre-made, boxed kits at the LHBS I would tend to have more concern about. I guess that would depend on the store and their traffic.
Any way, have a great day folks,
Joel B.

 

[_BullDog_]

For big beers I supplement with sugars and extract. Particularly helpful as my system has trouble over 17-18 lbs of grain
DIPA gets sugar
Big Belgium’s get Candi syrup
Imperial stouts use extract

keep thinking of doing another extract beer and may do that soon. Haven’t done one since 2017

 

[Spivey24]

Even though I just dropped a good dime on an all in one system, I think I may try one of these partial mash short boil brews. Maybe a pale ale or something similar. Sounds good for when I want to only brew 5 gallons on a cold day.

 

[JimRausch]

are there other styles than American amber, in your opinion, that come out better as extract?

The Caribou Slobber is the only amber that I have done as an extract, so really can't say if it's a trend with Ambers, or just the one. I did it as an extract kit back years ago and liked it a lot. The next year I did it as AG, and it just seemed to be missing something. So I did it again as extract, and there it was again. Probably just my perception.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

A place where using some extract would be in brewing a very high OG beer, such as a Barleywine or Imperial Stout.
My mash tun was maxed out on these from the total grain bill, which was 30 pounds, so we could only brew 5 gallons at a time.
The Barleywine finished very nice, at 10.5% ABV.

 

[JimRausch]

A place where using some extract would be in brewing a very high OG beer, such as a Barleywine or Imperial Stout.

Very Good Point! I do this as well. It's also always a good idea to have some DME on hand in case your mash efficiency doesn't turn out the way you want it to be, and your projected OG will be low.

 

[usafbeerlover]

Hey,

I know a lot of folks on this end of the forum are new to brewing but I wanted to pop in and tell you to get good at extract brewing before moving on..

In the last year I've taken on a very intense job and would have lost my will to brew if it weren't for the ease of extract brewing on my stove top. On my next order of ingredients, I'll get appx 450 pints around $.90/pint! Plus my brew day is only about 1.5-3 hours!

I am looking forward to being able finish my electric brewery in my basement, but for now I'm getting really great beer at a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of retail.

Nothing wrong with extract brewing

Hey,

I know a lot of folks on this end of the forum are new to brewing but I wanted to pop in and tell you to get good at extract brewing before moving on..

In the last year I've taken on a very intense job and would have lost my will to brew if it weren't for the ease of extract brewing on my stove top. On my next order of ingredients, I'll get appx 450 pints around $.90/pint! Plus my brew day is only about 1.5-3 hours!

I am looking forward to being able finish my electric brewery in my basement, but for now I'm getting really great beer at a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of retail.

Same here. Went back to extract and loving it especially no boils!

 

[Jayjay1976]

Just bought my 2nd extract kit the other day. Easy quick brew day.

 

[Saunassa]

I do the occasional extract brew and always enjoy it. Some of my best brews have been extract recipes. I usually base them around the 15 min cascade pale ale recipe.

My favorite extract kit is a 15 minute pale ale. Using some grains for color and flavor makes all the difference. Mine is a cascade, Amarillo and mosaic. Easy and tasty

 

[Saunassa]

I brewed up an Amber using extract and steeping grains the other day. I work remote so using an induction plate to heat left me able to work. The setup and cleanup was so much quicker then with the Foundry, heck I just set the kettle in the snowbank to chill. No pump, tubing, hoses, mash pipe or immersion chiller to clean either. Will the beer be as good as all grain? Don't know but for the ease on a cold winters day it was worth it.
Oh and the boss asking what was boiling behind me during a Teams video call and saying a batch of beer was priceless.
Time to see what NB has on sale

 

[DosGatosBrewing]

Correct, as our past performance utilized extract. Made the switch to all grain, never looked back.
As stated, there is a place for extract brewing. But we chose to employ other methods.

I normally brew outside, but in January I had a weekend with no adult supervision, and it was really cold outside. I grabbed up an extract kit just to make sure I could still do it after 15 years of all grain brewing. It was a blast! Did a 1 hour partial boil on the stovetop, stunk up the house something awesome. No shame in extract brewing!

 

[bwible]

I am curious, are there other styles than American amber, in your opinion, that come out better as extract?
<not starting a fight, not being snarky, there are no lines to read between, I am honestly, seriously, wondering>

I used to brew an American Brown Ale with a combination of amber and dark DME that took first place in different area competitions for 3 years. I think I agree there are certain styles that can lend themselves better to extract brewing. Texas Brown Ale - yeah. Munich Helles - Helles no!

 

[T Murph]

I have a friend who makes excellent brews from extract. He has been brewing, teaching and winning awards since the 90s. Lol all with extract products. He also owns and operates a homebrew shop and is a renowned author of Homebrewing. He is very knowledgeable of grains, hops, yeast and processes but simply prefers to create his brews with extracts. His assistance helped me develop an all grain award winning recipe that is brewed commercially still today. LME and DME are beer making ingredients, it is up to brewer to make the best beer possible with the ingredients they use. Brew on, perfect your processes and enjoy the journey.

 

[greywolf]

All grain is more about ultimate control of the ingredients than it is in the quality of the brew. I've had many extract brews that are as good as they get. I generally do all grain more as a rite of passage than as an improvement on extract. Aside from a slightly higher cost there needn't be a difference in the quality of the beer.

 

[mashpaddled]

No hate for people who want to brew extract beers or just don't have the space for all grain equipment. Personally I like the brewing process so all grain gives me the maximum opportunity to enjoy brewing.

 

[Saunassa]

I have a friend who makes excellent brews from extract. He has been brewing, teaching and winning awards since the 90s. Lol all with extract products. He also owns and operates a homebrew shop and is a renowned author of Homebrewing. He is very knowledgeable of grains, hops, yeast and processes but simply prefers to create his brews with extracts. His assistance helped me develop an all grain award winning recipe that is brewed commercially still today. LME and DME are beer making ingredients, it is up to brewer to make the best beer possible with the ingredients they use. Brew on, perfect your processes and enjoy the journey.

Following a defined process, fresh ingredients, fresh yeast and temp control I can see him making great beer. What I have learned and do is so different then when I started 4 years ago. Thought that my very first brew, extract pale ale was best thing ever. Same kit a year later was so much better.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

When I switched from extract to BIAB, I noticed an immediate improvement in my beer. I'm definitely glad I switched. But when Northern has their extract sales, I've been tempted to buy a 3-pack of the Dead Ringer IPA for ~$23/kit. I typically get my grains and water ready the night before so I can start my mash as soon as I wake up. It would be nice to have extract kits on hand if I want a shorter, impromptu brew-day.

To follow up on my post from 2 months ago, Northern has their sales @ $25/kit. I'm going to get two Dead Ringer IPAs and an Ace of Spades Black IPA. After a few years of BIAB, I'm interested to see how the extract kits work out.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

If you are not brewing the kits 'immediately', be sure to store the extract properly. And remember to include the 'packaged on' (or 'best by') date in your brew day notes.

 

[kartracer2]

And remember to include the 'packaged on' (or 'best by') date in your brew day notes.

I have not found any dates on Northern/Midwest LME jugs. Maybe I'm blind?
Cheers,
Joel B.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

If there are no dates on the container, there are other techniques (some going back to 2005 podcasts) for evaluating the quality of 'extract' before using it. Or just use it and see how it comes out.

Watch out for kit instructions that use a concentrated boil (1/2 the water and all the DME/LME at the start of the boil). It is said that concentrated boils can lead to darker than expected wort or unexpected flavors.

eta: if using tap water, be sure to treat it for chloride/chloramine and be aware that 'high' concentrations of minerals will have an impact (often negative) on the finished beer.

 

[WesBrew]

18 years ago I happened on a homebrew club & shop having an event in a parking lot. It smelled amazing. A year later I was brewing.
I often had that slight but present off- flavor from the extract. At some point after i started all grain, the thinking was to reduce boil time with the extract to even less than 30 minutes. Is that still the case? Might be fun to do a fast extract beer from time to time.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

reduced boil times with 'extract' link sampler:

• American Pale Ale - 15 Minute Cascade Pale Ale
• Basic Brewing Radio Aug 25, 2005 & Nov 17, 2005 has discussion on shorter boil (and no boil) times
• No-Boil Recipes! New for 2019!
• Basic Brewing Radio "Hop Sampler"
• New England IPA - Blasphemy - No Boil NEIPA
• ...
• ...

 

[JakeBowden]

honestly, i've been sersiously mulling the idea of getting a few pre hopped coopers kits, for when brew day doesn't happen...and maybe even using "beer enhancer".....lol

edit: i've got two likes on that, but seriously. i just spent $40 on 10 gallons of apple juice and 4lbs sugar to make 9% cider...because i'm behind on malting...and if this is the cost of pre hopped malt extract f'it!

https://www.homebrewing.org/Coopers...C7993CA5BduZvEINWgShhT6xE7SCrH2xoC59oQAvD_BwE

I've gone the cider route but for some reason it gives me skull splitting headaches the next day. I don't have that issue with beer or wine. Only cider. My LBHS doesn't carry the canned kits anymore, but in this country, I don't think anyone does. I think they're still popular in Britain, but no where else. I had a friend who brewed an old ale canned kit, supplemented with extra malt (and not sucrose like the instructions say), used a big liquid yeast starter and fermented at controlled temperatures. He entered it in a local BJCP sanctioned competition and took gold in the category. When I'm too busy to set aside a whole day for all grain, I like to sneak in an extract batch now and then. I don't tell my lame non-brewer friends, and they can't tell the difference. I like to support my LHBS, so I get my kits from https://boomchugalug.com/collections/beer-kits