RIS Recipe

There is an extract version of avery's the czar floatingaround out there in the ether. I'd google it for you, but where's the fun in that?

 

Good call. You'll need to get some brews and equipment under your belt before you go all grain..

Just so your not confused, all grain means just that. All grain and no extract. The recipes you were asking for hVe extract and no mashing so it's extract versus partial mash.

 

Second on a smaller brew, no dark malt extract or molasses, something like this is probably a better starting point;

Great call. Good luck and enjoy the brew.

 

Good idea, I agree with the others that suggest starting slow.

Some people may have had success jumping right to all grain, but I'm slowing working my way there - acquiring experience and equipment along the way. My progression has been:

1) All Extract kit
2) Partial Boil Extract kit with steeping grains (boiling 3 gallons on the stove then topping up)
3) Partial Boil Extract batches with steeping grains (but designing recipes using Beersmith software, based on input from books/research)
4) Full Boil Extract batches with steeping grains (boiling the full 5+ gallons on outdoor propane burner, using an immersion chiller)

I've also moved from bottling to kegging. Next will be the jump to all grain.

 

I started at your #2 but only did that for two or three batches before I stepped it up to partial boil, partial mash +extract which I've been doing for years but as soon as I can upgrade to full boils (bigger pot, wort chiller, burner that can handle stuff), I will also be upgrading to all grain. I'll probably start off with some BIABs like my partial mashes until I can scrap together a mash tun.

 

probably the right decision.

I just started brewing in November. Did two extract w / specialty grain brews, both turned out well. After taking what seemed like forever to carbonate (ESB, 2 oz priming sugar, 4.5 weeks), I used an entire 5 oz bag of priming sugar in my second batch (english brown ale, 5 oz, 1.5 weeks to carbonate). That was a mistake. I learned from that...patience is key, and "prime to style".

Just completed my first all-grain batch, but I'm not solidly in the "all-grain" only camp. There are several award-winning extract recipes out there that i'd love to try!

 

Thats a good progression. I started with an extract and steeping grain recipe. Did that 3 times and said to hell with it and bought all grain stuff and built my mash tuns, HTL, and bought a much bigger kettle. Moved to kegging before my 1st AG beer was ready. Bottling sucked, and would have made me quit brewing.

However, I will say, if you have the tenacity for brewing, and find it to be something you enjoy and think you are good at, then your mode of progression is probably the most sound.

It also needs to be said, that there is nothing wrong with extract. If you expect the loss of "control", and are doing a simple style, then I think it can work just damn fine. My days of 5-7 hours to brew are limited with twin infants. I'm thinking about brewing up a simple wheat beer with some C hops for the spring, and it just might be extract, as it wouldn't take me long to do so. I have O2, and temp controlled freezer, and the know how for pitch rates, so past that... you can make damn good beer with an extract.

 

+1 to this.

I have a totally pimped out 10 gallon all grain system. Pumps, 100' immersion chiller, 60 qt. mash tun 55,000 btu burners......the works but I still brew extract a few times a year. Especially in the dead of winter when I really don't feel like brewing outside and it is still awesome beer that rivals anything you can buy in a store.

 

Extract batches are pretty expensive though.

 

Buy hops in bulk, harvest and re-use yeast, etc. There are ways to cut costs.

Also, Taddy Porter is $12 for a 4 pack where I'm from, but I can brew a spot on extract clone for about $1 per pint.

Brewing extract is cheaper than buying commercial beer and let's face it.....none of us are going to go without good beer so the money is getting spent either way.

 

Those are ways to cut costs on everything but the extract. Still gotta buy extract. That's the expensive part. Doing all grain basically splits the cost in half compared to extract I think.

 

True, but the point is that cost shouldn't be a deterrent to brewing because no matter what, it's cheaper than buying commercial beer.

 

If you've got a yard with sun, growing your own hops has minimal start up costs and minimal maintenance effort. My 2nd year harvest was pretty good, this coming year I should hit the full yield with my 4 plants.

 

True, thats why I stick with "easy", and it's also generally "cheap".

You can't really dry out an extract brew, or what little I've done I can't get to my liking. But a brown ale, or a porter, an amber even, a wheat beer, all easy and work great.

Extract beers that are big, like stouts and barleywines and such.. yeah, you'll drop close to $100 for everything all in if you don't buy bulk.

If you like big beers, move to AG.

There's an article in the latest BYO about doing short extract batches when you don't have time and desire to get a long brew day in.