For me, it really comes down to what you’d like to accomplish with your brewing. Do you want to clone your favorite store bought? Extract probably won’t let you do that. Do you want to have fast brew days that results in beer you can drink in several styles? Extract may be your target.
I am not entering competitions or even trying to mimic particular styles. I know what I like and what my wife likes, so I stay pretty narrow. At the end of the day, I want a quality beer which I can brew quickly and have flexibility to try something new if I get adventurous. Fermentation temperature control is probably the biggest improvement I’ve made to my process.
I BIAB and probably break a lot of “rules”. I’m using a 21 1/2 quart kettle and a 5gal paint strainer bag. I can mash 10lbs of grain on the stove top using a sous vide cooker for mash temp control. Sometimes I dilute the batch in the fermenter to come up to volume, sometime I do 2 half batches for big beers. Brew days range from 3-6 hours. The point (as above) is do what works for you and give you a beer that meets your goals. My system is low cost, and makes a good beer that I enjoy and my friends enjoy.
I am not entering competitions or even trying to mimic particular styles. I know what I like and what my wife likes, so I stay pretty narrow. At the end of the day, I want a quality beer which I can brew quickly and have flexibility to try something new if I get adventurous. Fermentation temperature control is probably the biggest improvement I’ve made to my process.
I BIAB and probably break a lot of “rules”. I’m using a 21 1/2 quart kettle and a 5gal paint strainer bag. I can mash 10lbs of grain on the stove top using a sous vide cooker for mash temp control. Sometimes I dilute the batch in the fermenter to come up to volume, sometime I do 2 half batches for big beers. Brew days range from 3-6 hours. The point (as above) is do what works for you and give you a beer that meets your goals. My system is low cost, and makes a good beer that I enjoy and my friends enjoy.