Most Use All-Grain Method?

[BrownLine]

Just getting started and on my 3rd batch of extract brewing now. However, is it much more common among experienced home-brewers and even major craft brewers to brew via an All-Grain method as opposed to an extract? Really just trying to feel out what the consensus is and why and if it really translates into a much better brew.

Thanks for the help as always guys.

 

[FensterBos]

Too be honest, it is probably split three ways: extract, partial, and all-grain. A lot of the more experience home brewers like all-grain brewing because we have more control as to how the beer comes out. However, extract has a lot of advantages such as ease of use, less equipment, and brewing time is much quicker (brewing, not fermenting).
Most breweries use the all-grain method since it is cheaper and they can make a more unique brew that way. But there is one or two breweries that use the extract method; but it is very uncommon.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I believe that vast majority of casual homebrewers probably brew with extracts. Virtually all commercial brewers and many more experienced/passionate homebrewers use all-grain.

It doesn't necessarily translate into better beer per se, but it gives the brewer much more control over what the final product will taste like, plus it cuts the ingredient costs by a significant amount. Some beer styles are very difficult or impossible to brew using extracts.

Generally, I would suggest brewing extract until your process produces consistently good beers. Once you can do that, and you feel like expanding your brewing horizon, all-grain brewing is the way to go.

 

[FensterBos]

It really comes down to how much you want to grow as a home brewer. I am the type of person that like to really dive into a hobby and expand my skills. I definitely recommend going into partial and all-grain brewing if you are looking for more of a challenge; but if you are happy with where you are at then still to extract.

 

[Bensiff]

The driving reasons for AG is cost and control over the end product. The benefit to using extract is that it saves a considerable amount of time, makes it easier to brew in places like a kitchen, and it takes a lot of the unpredictability out of the process.

The cost issue may not be so much of an issue to the homebrewer and a homebrewer can turn out excellent extract brews; but, then again consider that I just brewed 10 gallons of Berliner Weisse for around $18. Beside the cost issue, extract has some draw backs such as it tends to be less fermentable than AG produced wort and you have very little control over the product. With AG you can do a lot of things during the mash such as decoction, multi-step mashes, and temperature control that can impact the wort in numerous ways that you can't get from extract. However, the complexities of mashing correctly are as complicated as fermenting correctly so going AG requires a considerable knowledge base increase along with the equipment increase.

 

[cimirie]

Just getting started and on my 3rd batch of extract brewing now. However, is it much more common among experienced home-brewers and even major craft brewers to brew via an All-Grain method as opposed to an extract? Really just trying to feel out what the consensus is and why and if it really translates into a much better brew.

Thanks for the help as always guys.

On this site I would imagine it breaks down something like this

Strict Extract: 10%
Partial Mash: 40%
All grain: 50%

Very few brewers stay strictly extract for very long. Not enough variety and control. A great place to begin, however!

If people have to $ to spend (on equipment) and really love the science/process of brewing, they almost always end up with all-grain. It does require a longer time commitment and the slightly extra initial investment, so not everybody WANTS to go all grain. You can make fantastic, award-winning beers using a partial mash, so all grain is by no means necessary to be a "true" brewer. Most choose to go there, though.

As was stated before, very few commercial breweries use extract. It is far too expensive and not as reliably consistent as malt.

As to the complexity of all grain... I read all of the posts and recommendations about how complicated it was going to all grain. I took the leap anyways, and was surprised by how overstated the "complexity" and "difficulties" were. You could spend 5 lifetimes perfecting every aspect of brewing. You will not be great the first time out. BUT, if you can make tea, you have all the knowledge you need to successfully make beer using nothing but water, malt, yeast and hops. It's the perfecting your process part that can require knowledge and complexity.

 

[JohnTheBrewist]

There was a similar thread recently about once you start all grain do you ever go back to extract. And, surprisingly for me, there was a seemingly large number of all grain brewers who also brew extract.

Those of us who brew all grain, probably began AG simply as a way of advancing in the hobby (and to save some money on ingredients). You can make excellent beer with extract or PM, that will win competitions, so the difference in taste isn't like "Wow, I never knew what I was missing." But the extra control you have with AG will really help you to develop a beer that is exactly the taste you want to achieve.

I don't know what the percentages might be, but I would guess that the majority who stay with the hobby for any amount of time will eventually become AG brewers.

 

[Golddiggie]

I started with extract (as most home brewers do) then made a single partial mash batch before jumping over to all grain... It feels like I'm making much better brews with all grain. Of course, I'm also formulating my own recipes, not using kits. Having the level of ingredient control all grain gives you, IMO, makes for much better brews. You know EXACTLY what's inside the batch. You no longer need to guess/wonder about what else has been included in the extract (that you might not want)...

For the question of why breweries use the all grain method... I think it has a lot to do with cost per batch. With all grain, you save a lot over extract. The same batch that would cost me about $16 for 5 gallons as all grain would run me over $55 if brewed as an extract batch. So the cost is about 3x more for the same brew when you go with extract, compared with all grain. Even if you get DME in bulk, the cost will still be higher with extract batches.

Personally, I have no issue with spending the extra time to mash my grains, considering the brew I get from it. Spending the 60-90 minutes for mashing isn't wasted, when you're brewing and bottling on the same day. If you have a propane burner you're shaving time to get up to temp, and boil, during the process.

You can get into all grain brewing for either a few dollars (grain bags for the BIAB method) a little more (converting a cooler into a mash tun, aluminum kettle, propane burner) or a lot more (full on Blichmann setup), or any combination... IMO, once you have the processes nailed, you can decide if/when you want to migrate to either partial mash, or all grain brewing. There's plenty of information on these boards for different ways to do it...

 

[BrownLine]

Wow, outstanding responses everyone. Sounds like Cost and Control are the two big upsides....thanks for all the help.

 

[erikpete18]

Like with a lot of things, I think you'll find a wide range in techniques. Starting at all extract, extract+steep, mini-mash (~1-2lbs), partial mash (~2-6lbs), AG, AG with extract addition for large beers, etc, etc. Each has their own benefits and drawbacks, but if you're anything like a lot of people, you'll slowly find yourself working your way up the ladder .

On a side note, if you are interested in moving into more grains/less extract, check out Deathbrewer's pictorials. He's got one on "easy stove-top partial mashing" and one on "easy stove-top all grain". If you are already doing steeping grains with your extract, buy a paint strainer bag (~$5) and a few lbs of base malts and voila, you're now doing partial mashes. Its a good way to get irretrievably sucked into this hobby .

 

[CortexBomb]

FWIW I got out of pure extract brewing in extremely short order, but I've stayed on partial mash because of the space of my home. I'm not nervous about my ability to do all-grain, and the time thing wouldn't be significant either, rather, it's a function of not having space for the extra equipment and not having a brewing space.

The basic reason to do PM, to me, was the ability to use any grain that I wanted to, albeit not with the 100% control that all grain would offer. Doing basic stove top PM is almost no extra effort and only requires a second stainless pot and a steeping bag that is large enough for the grains that you're mashing. In trade for that, you can use several pounds of extract less than you would otherwise, saving a good $11 per batch in the process and having more control over the brew as an additional benefit.