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

[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