I’ve been brewing all grain for about 7 years and have really enjoyed the flexibility/creativity it affords. Lately I haven’t had as much time to brew so I decided to buy some DME to replenish my supply of IPA. I am very pleasantly surprised at how good this extract IPA has turned out. I guess having brewed only all grain for so many years I had become something of a snob and thought that extract could not possibly be as good as all grain but honestly I think this is as good as any all grain IPA I have made. I was able to get 80% attenuation by subbing out 10% of the extract with cane sugar. I used US05 yeast and kept the temp at 66F. Boiled full volume for only 20 minutes and used Summit as the bittering charge followed by Cashmere at 10 min and for Dry Hopping. Used DI water and added 1 tsp of Gypsum. Not sure how this will translate to my other favorite styles i.e. Saison, Porter and Bitters but I definitely intend to find out. It’s great to know I can use extract when time is short and I want to get a brew in.
I brew extract/partial mash all the time. Got many of my home club guessing, when it comes to some beers. I never saw the issue with extract even though many people point out different things from time to time. If it tastes good and people drink it, then I see no issues.
I love doing extract for pale, lower-gravity beers with a hop or yeast focus. Makes for a really quick brew day. 3# pils DME and 3# wheat DME has been the fermentables for hoppy blondes (or American wheats, depending on how you look at it), English summer ales, session IPAs, Belgian Singles, and Saisons in my brew house.
I like that DME ratio. I did an all grain Gumball Headish clone a few years ago that was about 50% wheat with Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin. I still have fond memories of that one, need to try it again with DME.
Occasionally I use dme for high gravity brews rather than use 30 lb of grain. Everything has a time and a place.
Wow I was just thinking about brewing an extract batch this morning. I havent brewed in a long time, years I think. I have been to the homebrew shops a few times but nothing ever came of it. Every time I think of dragging out all the equipment I just never get started. I was worried about getting attenuation, subbing out for sugar is a great idea thank you. I am going to do the same thing as soon as I can get to the store. Thanks for the added motivation. Someday after work I will boil some water and oxyclean, toss in the chiller to get it clean and make sure I can chill to pitching temps with my groundwater. I usually have to pump ice water but my pump broke.
That's what I do but I ended up having to order one because the home depot and Lowe's near me didn't have any with a strong enough head pressure to move the water fast enough
My biggest issue with extract is the BIG price difference! For years I'd buy extract in bulk from a local brewery for the cheapest DME option I could find and would average about $20 for 7ish lbs of DME for an OG of around 1.056 in a 5 gallon batch...but I can buy 2 Row in bulk for about $7 for a 5 gallon batch of 1.056. So I can almost buy 3 batches of fermentables for all grain for the cost of 1 extract batch. I won/placed in a handful of comps with extract brews, but I personally think that if you get old extract then you make a subpar beer and have that "extract" quality.
I feel your pain. My pump can't push through my 50' IC. This summer I am going to build a new chiller and upgrade my pump.
Use to be I was exclusively a extract Brewer buying 50 lb sacks at a clip. It has been years since I have used it and all grain is much cheaper. If you like extract then that's great.
I have the malt for three more all grain batches. Then it’s back to extract for me. I just don’t find the mashing process and mess to be fun. It’s worth it to me to pay more if it means enjoying my hobby more. I know that not all will agree.
