would you do allgrain or extract if prices were similar?

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bkov

bkov

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if you werent saving much money doing allgrain, would you do extract with steeping grains(or even partial mash) instead?

From north country malt:
50lb sack of DME for $114.35 shipped . so $2.29 a lb

55lb sack of CMC 2 Row Pale Ale Malt for $52.24 shipped. so 95cents a lb

5lbs of dme for 1.045 batch is $11.44 for DME

8.5lbs of 2row for 1.046 batch is $8.07 for 2row

so i guess it would be about a $3.50 saving per batch in main fermentables doing allgrain
 
I don't do all grain because it's cheaper, I do it because I know exactly what is in my wort and can change the flavors as I see fit.
 
i haven't tried AG yet (planning to on next brewday), but you bring up a good question.

to do AG, i'm prepared for a longer, more in depth brew day; not to mention i'm PSYCHED about saving more money/batch.

but if i could dodge buying a 10gal BK and turkey fryer, and if price/batch was insignificant, i'd probably stick to extract.
 
Let's face it, we aren't in this hobby to save money, and AG takes you from a 2-3 hour brew to 6 hours. I went AG last year and would never go back. On top of the range that AG grants you over the extract selection, extract just feels like cheating after doing AG.
 
joety said:
Let's face it, we aren't in this hobby to save money, and AG takes you from a 2-3 hour brew to 6 hours. I went AG last year and would never go back. On top of the range that AG grants you over the extract selection, extract just feels like cheating after doing AG.
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your still brewing beer with extract. the dme is light only, so you would still need to get most of the flavor/color from speciality grains
 
how much cost savings per batch for a 1.200 barleywine or quad? How can you be sure that you get the attenuation you need. Thats why you brew all grain.
 
Its all about control.

Once you factor in all the extra equipment for doing all grain you would need to brew a hell of a lot of beer before seeing any cost savings...

GT
 
I like AG cause it's like painting with a full spectrum. Or Having a full giant box of crayons.

Also in Canada it does tend to be a lot cheaper, but that's just the excuse I give to friends and family who wonder why I spend 8 hours brewing a batch of beer.
 
Cost comparisons aside, my decision to go AG is a bit more 'spiritual', if I can use that word. There is something immensely satisfying (albeit intangible) in being intimately involved with every stage of production from crushing the grain to conducting the mash, taking runnings, calculating efficiencies, etc.

I can say with absolute certainty that I enjoy brewing much more since I've made the move to AG- but that choice was a personal one that satisfied my own personal needs regarding brewing.

Jason
 
For me it the toys I think. If doing extract were more complicated and required more equipment then I might still do it. But the malts are always out there and will always take at least one more step than extract so probably not. On the other hand I don't think I will ever malt my own grains just because of the complexity and lack of quality control on a home brew level. It seems like there is always some sort of new equipment that I need so I should be fine with just doing AG for a while.
 
I do all grain because it is more fun, not more economical.

And I know the argument will come up that one can make perfectly fine beer with extract (and I agree with that), I've brewed the same kits in extract and AG versions and I believe the AG to be better.
 
Baldy_Beer_Brewery said:
I do all grain because it is more fun, not more economical.

And I know the argument will come up that one can make perfectly fine beer with extract (and I agree with that), I've brewed the same kits in extract and AG versions and I believe the AG to be better.
Click to expand...

+1 While it's true that you can brew great beer with extract I have found that since going AG, my brews have been consistently better, and more complex in their taste.

Add to that the fun factor and the way having full control somehow grows you a third testicle.....Ya just can't beat it IMO:mug:
 
All-grain.

For me it's not about 'having beer'...it would be easier and cheaper to go to the store for that. For me it's totally about 'brewing beer'.:)
 
I'd still do AG. I think I may enjoy creating recipes and the actual process of brewing just as much, if not more, than actually drinking the beer (although that's pretty cool too :D).
 
I still use extract from time to time when I want to crank out a batch but I don't have the time for a 6 hour brew session or can't physically handle doing AG (such as when I was injured). The conversion to AG for me was because I enjoy the whole process from end to end. There is a tremendous satisfaction from drinking a commercial quality beer I made myself from only hops, grain and yeast.
 
All grain here.

To me its like baking cookies. I love cookies, so I could either A)buy them from the store, B)buy some pre-packaged dough I just have to bake, or C)get the flour, sugar, etc. and make them for scratch.

You get cookies either way, but B&C will always win out over A in a taste test, and you get SO many more options with C than with B. Plus, there is a sense and depth of pride that comes from making them from scratch, rather than buying the pre-packaged dough.

Besides, it is an awesome feeling knowing that you can still make your cookies even when the store is out of dough-in-a-can. :D
 
For me AG was partially about cost savings. Mostly it was because I wanted to make some styles that are hard to do with extract and steeped grains (oatmeal stouts) and there is more control. Partial mash just seemed like a waste of time/equipment when I have the room to go all-grain.

Plus... I bought a guy out of his setup (just wanted the cornies, got the 10 gal cooler and grain mill in the deal too).
 
More toys, more fun. I'd have to brew like 2,427 more batches to break even since going AG. I brew outdoors on my back deck and it's like being in my own world for a few hours. Music going, good smells, the occasional neighbor dropping by and asking for more information.
 
HAHAH... yeah... anyone that says that cost is the primary reason they are brewing AG is probably not thinking about the big picture...
 
I think we just need to be careful about evangelizing and brow-beating extract brewers (or PM brewers) into AG when we don't always understand their motivations/space considerations/$$ situation when choosing a particular method for brewing.

Let the choice be a personal one, and not rail on too much about how much 'better' AG is than extract + steeping, etc. Brew days are my escape.

Some comments,
Jason
 
I finally went all grain because I'm a control freak, like to brew at the spur of the moment, and live hours away from the closest homebrew shop. Bulk buying grain and stocking up allows me to do what I want, when I want and how I want.

I don't usually pick out the recipe I am going to brew until I need to measure out grain.
 
flyangler18 said:
I think we just need to be careful about evangelizing and brow-beating extract brewers (or PM brewers) into AG when we don't always understand their motivations/space considerations/$$ situation when choosing a particular method for brewing.

Let the choice be a personal one, and not rail on too much about how much 'better' AG is than extract + steeping, etc.

Some comments,
Jason
Click to expand...

True, but when asked directly as to which is your personal preference it can get tiring typing out that "You can make great beer with extract too" schpeel. I did that in my first post on this thread, but I do get tired of typing it every darn time! :cross:
 
whos to say you cannot stockpile DME or LME... all you need is enough for 1-2 brews. That reminds me... I still have 7# of wheat LME somewhere in my place I gotta use up...
 
flyangler18 said:
I think we just need to be careful about evangelizing and brow-beating extract brewers (or PM brewers) into AG when we don't always understand their motivations/space considerations/$$ situation when choosing a particular method for brewing.

Let the choice be a personal one, and not rail on too much about how much 'better' AG is than extract + steeping, etc. Brew days are my escape.

Some comments,
Jason
Click to expand...

I see where you're coming from. There's nothing wrong with brewing with extract, I just enjoy brewing AG more because I feel more involved and I get to be more creative.
 
I just did my first all-grain batch. It really was more fun for me. It's like somebody said, doing extract is just boiling water for an hour. With all-grain, it felt like I was actually busy and doing something the whole time. I was checking temperatures and getting sparge water ready and stiring and shaking the cooler and....you get the idea.

Plus, it felt like I really brewed beer from scratch. Like if the apocalypse happened tomorrow and the world went into survival mode, I'd be one of the only ones with a good beer in my hand.
 
PhlyanPan said:
if the apocalypse happened tomorrow and the world went into survival mode, I'd be one of the only ones with a good beer in my hand.
Click to expand...

ding ding ding!!! We have a winner!! :D

PS I would even like to get into doing my own malting if it were practical for me to do so.
 
I just enjoy brewing AG more because I feel more involved and I get to be more creative.
Click to expand...

I agree completely, and those were my own motivations for brewing AG. It's not that I was dissatisfied with the quality of beers I was doing with extract + steeping grain recipes, I just wanted more. I'm just tired of hearing the 'AG is better' line repeated ad nauseum. There's some de facto snobbery that needn't be projected, but often does. (Not pointing at you, BTW).

I still remember how intimidated I was to brew AG, despite reading voraciously both here and in Palmer. It all clicked when I played 'fly on the wall' during a brew day. The rest, so they say.....

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Brew what you like in the manner you like and stuff everyone else. If that means wacky experimental "Coffee Oatmeal Bacon Grease" stouts, so be it. If that means dumping a couple tins of extract and steeping some grains, so be it.
 
I will always do all-grain. Like most have said already, it's really more about the process. Brewing had become pretty ho-hum for me until I switched to all grain, now I'm constantly trying new things and I'm always excited about it.
 
Brew what you like in the manner you like and stuff everyone else. If that means wacky experimental "Coffee Oatmeal Bacon Grease" stouts, so be it. If that means dumping a couple tins of extract and steeping some grains, so be it.
Click to expand...
It's probably been said before but I'll say it again...sig worthy.
 
My appreciation of the all grain process is such that I wouldn't be a homebrewer anymore if I couldn't brew all grain. I would continue to brew all grain even if it cost twice as much. How's that for evangelizing? It's not. Do what makes you happy.
 
I'd partial mash (which is what I do now, but I try to maximize the amount of grain I use while still doing a partial boil with decent hop utilization). You can't replicate many beer styles very well with extract and steeping grains alone, and the mashing adds a whole lot of control over the final flavor profile.
 
i still do both.

my free time is worth much more to me than the extra 10-20 bucks a batch, so in that sense AG costs more to do. but as mentioned, it gives you more control over the beer and overseeing the process from grain to glass can often be more satisfying.

if you have any interest in brewing big beers that need to finish dry, controlling mash temp is the arguably best (but not only) way to do that.
 
bkov said:
if you werent saving much money doing allgrain, would you do extract with steeping grains(or even partial mash) instead?

From north country malt:
50lb sack of DME for $114.35 shipped . so $2.29 a lb

55lb sack of CMC 2 Row Pale Ale Malt for $52.24 shipped. so 95cents a lb

5lbs of dme for 1.045 batch is $11.44 for DME

8.5lbs of 2row for 1.046 batch is $8.07 for 2row

so i guess it would be about a $3.50 saving per batch in main fermentables doing allgrain
Click to expand...

If you go in on a bulk order, 2-row is < $0.50/lb shipped. :D

Even with that, It'll take the next few decades saving $$ doing all grain to even out what I've spent on my brew stand, keggles, pump, etc. I do AG because I like it - end of story.
 
I started extract, then went to the partial mash after reading Chris Colby's article in BYO, and I must say after the first partial I thought to my self why in the heck don't I go AG, so I did. That being said; I am kind of a mieser and try to get everything at rock bottom prices, so I befriended the head brewer a local brew pub and started scoring Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter for $27.50 a sack. I then started groing my own hops, and so on. I think it may just be a natural progression for anyone that get the brew bug!
 
I don't do all-grain to save money, nor do I make bulk buys. Whether I do AG, PM or extract depends on the recipe I'm making. If it's a clone kit, I almost always go for PM.
 

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