so, i was about to buy ingredients for my second batch. I spoke with the manager of a local homebrew shop near my house and he told me that beer based on all-grains will be weak, i will not feel the taste and that every time you brew you need to use them both (grains and liquid malt extract), i feel like he tries to make me buy more ingredients with no good reason. what do you think about all grain beers? im planning to use 10 lbs of grains, should i add also liquid malt extract? my recipe: 8 to 10 lbs pils malt, with exact amount depending upon mash efficiency and desired initial gravity 1 to 1.5 oz Hallertaur at beginning of boil. Chico yeast (us - 05, e.g.).
The manager of your local homebrew shop is giving you bad advice. All grain beers will not be "too weak". You just need to use a proper amount of grains to reach your target Original Gravity. The cynic part of me is thinking this person has some liquid malt extract he is looking to get rid of. Brew all grain if that is what you want to do. Cheers!
That dude don't know his ass from a hole in the ground!!,,!,! All grain gives lots of flavor and when one gets the hang of all grain brewing, you can make your beer more ore less malty/flavored from the amount of grain and the type of grain. Find a new store!
Bogus! It's easy, early on, to presume advice is good from a LHBS. Keep in mind they have a vested interest in moving product, perhaps now more than ever with so many businesses in trouble. I'm inclined to suspect the same as @JackHorzempa and there's some LME he wants/needs to move. Get your guidance elsewhere, like you're doing now. Welcome to BA, and the study and practical application homebrewing
Maybe the store owner thought that you would only steep the grains instead of giving them a proper mash? Just trying to be Devil's Advocate here...
Malt extract is an easy way to bump up the abv of an all-grain beer, and it is the way to go if your mash tun isn't large enough for all of your grain, especially if the intended beer is a high abv brew. It sounds like you don't need the extract for what you intend for your finished beer. If you haven't already done so, read HowToBrew.com which is free to read online. The all-grain section should give you good awareness to know when a sales person is giving you a line of bs. Welcome to the BA site and to the Homebrewing forum (and to this great hobby). Hang around here as much as you'd like.
I think all grain beer is excellent and can't think of a good word for your local homebrew shop owner. Just lots of bad ones.
My local homebrew is one of the rare ones that is totally awesome. www.fermentednj.com really helpful doesn’t oversell you
I would recommend shopping at this store like you would shop at Radio Shack. Know what you're looking for before you enter the store and ignore the advice from the salesman/manager who clearly don't know what they're talking about. Since you're a relatively new brewer, maybe he's just trying to make sure you get the flavor/ABV kick that can easily be gotten with the addition of a little extract. Or maybe he's trying to unload some unsold inventory. Either way, it's missing the point of brewing all grain. There's nothing to be gained from using extract unless you're lazy. Even then, unless you're brewing a big beer, a mash with the proper quantity of ingredients is no more effort than skimping on the grain and adding extract.
You really just dated yourself. One of my favorite lines in all of rap is "I come Realistic, like Radio Shack"
I remember back in the day (before online commerce) when Radio Shack was basically the only option when you needed obscure electronics parts (like to build an on-topic temp controller) in a reasonable amount of time (i.e. not mail order "4-6 weeks for delivery"). And if the part you needed wasn't in the designated drawer, you could often find it in nearby "wrong" drawers.
Maybe a more modern analogy is like trying to discuss something needed for your car with the automotive department manager at Walmart. Bottom line, never go to that homebrew store again.
I started ordering from them maybe 3 or 4 months ago. My experience has been great and I will keep giving them my business. Wish I lived closer to get there in person.
Ya guys name is Eric. Super friendly and nice guy. Ships quick and he’s like 8 minutes from my house haha
