Just Curious.....Extract brews....

[Mike at Bay]

Just curious if you long time brewers ever do an extract brew to shorten your brew day. I have three grain BIAB brews in the fermentor and thinking I need another........extract would be a short cut. . I live on an island in Florida so both grain and extract require me to order online.

 

[Semper Sitientum]

I started off doing some extracts but never went back after I switched to all grain. Nothing wrong with it. You’ll make good beer. Just not my thing anymore.

 

[J A]

The way I fill kegs in a hurry is to do split batches and sometimes that involves one mash and several various additions of DME or LME to bulk up the volumes. Last year at this time I pulled off a single brew day that filled 4 kegs and there were several pounds of extract involved. If I'm just doing a 10 to split into 2 5-gallon fermentations, it's easy to do one all-grain mash and steep some dark malts or do a hopstand, as well as using different yeasts to differentiate styles made with the same basic wort. When I need more than my mash tun will provide, I have no problem splitting and topping up with some extract to get what I need.
I don't generally bother too much with extract, though. The difference in grain and extract prices is pretty substantial.

 

[Zambi]

I have not used extract ever.
But @Craigerrr does and I am sure he will pipe in

 

[NorthCoastBrewer]

Just curious if you long time brewers ever do an extract brew to shorten your brew day.

Yes. 2.5 gal batches. Steep while heating the water to 155F then add all the DME. 30 min full volume gentle boil. no-chill. pitch yeast the next day.

BBR's 'Hop Sampler' process and MoreBeer's "Flash Brewing" kits require even less time.

eta: 2.5 gal batches, full volume boil.

 

[Mike at Bay]

Thanks all. I have a lot to learn about all this but I look forward to it.

 

[Brew Cat]

Just curious if you long time brewers ever do an extract brew to shorten your brew day. I have three grain BIAB brews in the fermentor and thinking I need another........extract would be a short cut. . I live on an island in Florida so both grain and extract require me to order online.

absolutely nothing wrong with doing extract
I personally think its backwards what people do starting as an extract brewer before going to all grain
you will learn more from learning about all grain brewing then going to use extract for your base and using specialty grain
the limiting factor doing extract is $$ but for small scale not much of a problem

 

[Minbari]

Never done extract at all. Only time i use it is for starters

I know allot of people have success with it, but for me, I want to know what went in it. If it turns out wrong , you don't know why

You have zero control over the process with extract. Did the min wage brewer have a bad day, doesn't care, who knows.

 

[Brew Cat]

Never done extract at all. Only time i use it is for starters

I know allot of people have success with it, but for me, I want to know what went in it. If it turns out wrong , you don't know why

You have zero control over the process with extract. Did the min wage brewer have a bad day, doesn't care, who knows.

that's nonsense extract quality is pretty repeatable probably more repeatable than a home brew mash especially for the casual brewer
I don't do extract because I like playing with my mash process especially for certain beers and the cost (I brew a lot)

with all the specialty grains out there you can make great beer doing extract when you actually understand the process
Most extract beers are brewed by novices that end up giving the process a bad name
prove me wrong but I'd bet any knowledgeable, experienced brewer could brew a very good extract

 

[Sandy Feet]

I think we will agree to disagree on that one.

 

[Brew Cat]

agreed
https://byo.com/mr-wizard/extract-vs-all-grain-brewing/

 

[dmtaylor]

I've done a couple of extract beers here & there. With fresh extract and a good recipe, good beer can certainly be made. That being said... I'd rather brew all-grain most of the time. The worst all-grain beers are about as good as an average extract beer. The best extract beers meanwhile can be... nearly as good as its all-grain equivalent.

 

[Mike at Bay]

Thanks all. I think the novice in me will allow my taste buds to go either way. . I hope as time goes on I will get more discriminating. I have three all grains in fermentors so in a couple of weeks I will let you know.

 

[Craigerrr]

I used extract for a while for partial mash brewing, but have gone back to all grain. Short answer I have never done a flat out extract brew.

 

[NorthCoastBrewer]

Just curious if you long time brewers ever do an extract brew to shorten your brew day.

Since most here don't do 'extract' brews, what if we focus on shorter brew days when brewing 'all-grain'? Let's find out.

For those of you that only brew 'all-grain', what do you do when you need a shorter brew day?

 

[west1m]

Since most here don't do 'extract' brews, what if we focus on shorter brew days when brewing 'all-grain'? Let's find out.

For those of you that only brew 'all-grain', what do you do when you need a shorter brew day?

Go get a case of Hamms.

 

[Minbari]

Since most here don't do 'extract' brews, what if we focus on shorter brew days when brewing 'all-grain'? Let's find out.

For those of you that only brew 'all-grain', what do you do when you need a shorter brew day?

Put it off to next week.

 

[Sandy Feet]

A simple Brew in a Bag is about as short as it gets. It isn't that much longer than extract brewing with steeping grains. If you don't have time, you put it off.
Just like getting to know a nice lady, if you want to bad enough, you will find time.

 

[NorthCoastBrewer]

Put it off to next week.

If you don't have time, you put it off.

Thanks.

 

[J A]

Never done extract at all. Only time i use it is for starters

I know allot of people have success with it, but for me, I want to know what went in it. If it turns out wrong , you don't know why

You have zero control over the process with extract. Did the min wage brewer have a bad day, doesn't care, who knows.

Plenty of reasons to prefer grain over extract but control over the process heavily favors the extract rather than the other way around. The guess-work is taken out of it and extracts seem to be made to pretty exacting standards. They certainly are consistent in terms of gravity - mix X amount of water with Y amount of extract and a very predictable Z specific gravity will be the result. Efficiency is 100 per cent every time. Fermentability can suffer with darker extracts but the same happens with all-grain wort with high percentages of dark cara or crystal malts.
You're certainly entitled to your negative opinion of extract brewing, but I don't think there's any data to back up the notion that a minimum wage worker having a "bad day" might cause a manufacturer to ship out a load of defective product.
In fact putting your faith in the consistency of your all-grain process may be just as fraught - If you've ever bought grain by the pound, you have no control over and probably no knowledge of how or for how long it was stored. You may not even be certain of exactly which brand it is, depending on the source.