Going back to extract (for a bit)

I have homebrewed with Briess Golden Light in the past and I was always pleased with the results. IMO, Briess Golden Light is a good choice as well.

Cheers@

 

It works well, and I always have some on hand, as well as muntons DME (dry marris otter). While it's not DME, the northern brewer marris otter and golden light extracts are also excellent (they supposedly have a rye extract too.

As a new dad, brew days can be stressful and take a lot of time. While I like BIAB, it's still nowhere near as fast as full boil extract batches. I've even done a couple 20 minute boil IPAs that have turned out quite well.

 

My extract brews were just fine. I would have no trouble going back if I suddenly had less time to brew. I never figured out what they meant by "extract twang" assumedly because whatever that is, my beers didn't have it.

 

When I was working 80 hour weeks I started doing extract, partial boil, MASSIVE late hop additions and then pitched over ice. I was doing 15-25 minute boils so flame on to yeast pitch in about an hour. Some of the beers turned out pretty damn well. Not a good technique for nuance, but when you haven't brewed in AGES you get creative. I felt a lot less creative when I saw Alton Brown use a similar technique on Good Eats: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-brew-recipe.html

Robust Porter, Carmel Milk Stout, 90IBU Amber... all turned out well enough my homebrew club made me give a talk about 'em.

 

I've had fine results with an extract sour -- 60% Pilsner LME, 40% Wheat DME.

 

Any beer where you want to control the exact grain bill and/or fermentability of the wort and/or mineral profile.

Not to start a extract vs all grain war, but while you can certainly make good beers with extract, don't let anyone tell you that extract has the same flexibility/control for any style as all grain. That said, if you're happy with the results you get with extract, knock yourself out!

 

And it doesn't have to be an either-or. I brewed extract when I started because, well honestly because I bought a kit and that's how it said to do it. All grain came in for control, cost and not a little peer pressure. Extract comes back into the mix when I just can't make the time for an all-grain day. I've even been known to grab a packaged morebeer extract kit in a pinch!

 

I had a no-boil kit beer at the LHBS (they try to keep something on tap there, usually one of their kit beers). I was quite impressed, actualy. It was quite tasty and I wouldn't have known it was no-boil if they hadn't told me. I don't know anything about these kits but if you were trying to sell them, this example of such a kit would be a fine selling point. What's even more impressive is that the guy told me he had made a kit that was about to expire.

I never made many kits (two total, ever), but I've got one stout kit that's about to be bottled (AG). I see no reason why it won't be a fine beer.

 

That's true, as long as the loss of control (on the extract batches) is outweighed by the time/work savings in the brewer's opinion. Perhaps I would think differently if I was severely time constrained, but I personally can't imagine doing extract batches when I'm trying to make the best beer that I can.

 

I'll sometimes do an extract batch when I get the urge to brew in the dead of winter (the pipeline is in danger of drying up and the patio is covered in a strange, fluffy, white, powdery substance). The kids moved out long ago, so that's not an issue. I don't want to feel rushed on brew day. If I can't allocate a 6 hour block of time, I don't brew.

I usually limit myself to simple styles when using extract. Something that doesn't rely on a complex malt bill. An APA or Cream Ale, for example. FWIW, I settled on Briess Golden Light as my go-to base extract. I build on that with steeping grains and/or other types of extracts - wheat, Munich, etc. There's a much better selection of extracts to choose from today. I may try something a bit more exotic one of these winters.

The extract beers I'm brewing today are better than those I brewed years ago before I made the switch to all-grain. I'm assuming my technique (no doubt, consistency) is primarily responsible for that, but I can't help but think the quality of the extract has also improved.

I can't see myself abandoning all-grain unless some compelling reason comes up - young kids in the house is an excellent example - in which case, it's nice to have options. I'm of the opinion that the quality of the beer does not necessarily suffer. But I get a lot of satisfaction out of the mashing process. I feel much closer to the end product. You can make an excellent cake from a boxed cake mix, but your proud smile is just a little wider when you make it from scratch.

 

I have found that golden light is darker and has more body than pilsen light. I usually use golden light for any ale darker than an ipa.

I brew ipas with both types of extract. My base recipe consists of 1/4 LB of 20L steeped in 1/2 gallon of water for a 5.25 gallon batch. 7lbs of DME and 1/2 LB corn sugar.


When using pilsen light- I get a yellow or gold color. Ends up crisp, a little dryer and lets the hops really stand out. More of a pale ale flavor.

When using golden light- I get almost an orange color. More body, a little sweeter and a more balanced beer.

I personally like the results I get with both.

 

I need another mr beer keg so I can go back to doing small extract batches between my all grain batches. donate your mr beer keg here! I still need to continue my experiments with different extracts......

 

I would just like to re-enforce what @mikehartigan posted: there are certain beer styles that IMO can be extract brewed of equal quality to all grain batches. He made mention of Cream Ale and APA but there are a number of other beer styles where extract brewing can produce very, very high quality beers (I listed them in a prior post).

Mike stated: “I'm of the opinion that the quality of the beer does not necessarily suffer” and I agree 100% with that sentiment with the understanding that it is style dependent.

I have already posted previously in this thread that IMO there are some styles which benefit from all gran brewing. I mentioned as an example Kolsch beer; I think brewing an all grain Kolsch using German Pilsner malt produces a superior beer as compared to an extract brewed Kolsch beer.

At the recent NHC, Briess provided two Pilsner beers with one being brewed all grain with Briess Pilsner Malt and the other being brewed with Briess Pilsner Malt Extract. I did a side-by-side tasting of those two beers and they were very, very similar; I dare say that they were the same.

Cheers!

 

I agree it's possible to make excellent extract beers. However, they are not as tweakable if you want a specific result. To borrow your example, suppose both of those virtually identical beers (let's say they were Bohemian Pilsners) had a lingering bitterness (not quite to style), due to sulfates in the water used by the manufacturer when they made the extract, and due to sulfates in the water used to mash the all grain version. The all grain version could be improved by changing the water profile (eliminating sulfates). But with the extract version, this would not be an option. (You can add, but you can't remove). IMO, anything that limits flexibility and control also limits the greatness that can be achieved.

 

All I can say is, I've only done BIAB twice now. I've homebrewed for a year on extract before that, and the two BIAB batches are the best I've ever made.
Also they are the only Berliner's I've made so that could have something to do with it.

 

I feel your pain. It's hard to dedicate the time to brewing when you have kids.

Yada yada, I actually have two sets of equipment. One's my all grain rig, and the other is a buddy's extract setup. I typically brew a grain-forward/minimally hopped ale with mine and a hoppy pale/IPA/Double IPA type with his. The grain bill isn't the star in those styles. So I have no qualms with going extract. I mean for the extract brews, it's essentially a bunch of LME, some wheat extract, and a couple pounds of crystal to steep and then the hops shine.

My other beers, however, have been tweaked for years, and deserve the all grain process.

So yeah, I brew extract all the time. But I also brew all grain all the time. There's no shame in extract. Just know that some styles are better suited for extract than others.

 

I personally have not experienced any water related issues in any of the extract beers that I have brewed. It seems to me that the malt extract vendors know how to properly address the mashing/sparging water when they produce their malt extracts.

It is indeed true that when performing all grain brewing you have the ‘opportunity’ to ‘tweak’ the mashing/sparging water when brewing an all grain beer. For example, if a homebrewer wanted to accentuate dryness in a Northern German style Pilsner they could adjust their sulfate to chloride ratio to something like 2:1 to create a dry/crisp Pilsner.

Having stated the above water adjustment as an example, I would suggest that the difference between brewing a Pilsner with a sulfate to chloride ratio of 1:1 vs. 2:1 is a matter of personal preference and not a difference in resulting beer quality.

There is no denying that by brewing all grain (including the ability to adjust the brewing water profile) provides additional flexibility but I personally do not necessarily equate that to a difference of beer quality. It is just a difference of preference.

Perhaps it is time to mention my old saying of: brew the beers you like and brew them the way you like.

Cheers!