Kit vs Extract beer vs BIAB vs All Grain

[JRTurner1234]

Hi,

Using a subjective tastiness scale of 1 to 10:

In terms of tastiness, if a premium quality kit (e.g. St Peters) is a 1, and all grain (done well )is a 10, what number swould you give extract brewing and BIAB?

Cheers,
JRT

 

[clibit]

Extract is up for debate, but BIAB actually is all grain. So 10.

 

[simon12]

I have done around 15 all grain batches and 2 extract, in this limited experience I don't think there was anything worse about the extract but there is less room for experimentation as there is not the variety there is with grain, though there is more time for it as all grain takes all day while extract can be done in an evening.

 

[clibit]

I think AG beers taste better than extract beers. Usually. But I've had some very good extract beers, nonetheless.

 

[Covrich]

If AG/BIAB is your 9-10 out of 10

I would put extract 7-8. I have limited experience with extract brews.

I think Extract can make a good beer, but like said I think you are a little more limited it certainly is much more expensive and I think having fresh extract is important.

To expand on the extract a lot of the recipes are steeping in speciality grains. Which If I am honest if you're going to do that why not throw in some base malt and do a mini mash.. (and so it begins(

I found Extracts I have done to be a nice clean light beer, cleaner than kits I have done.. I found AG and partial mash AG to take that a little further BUT that is my limited Extract comparison.

 

[GHW]

Having started with kits and within 6 months progressed through kits to extract to (basic) AG, I'd say that the kits are way behind, with my extracts being almost as good as the AG (though I'm not claiming either are world beaters!). Agree though that the AG advantage is flexibility on styles.

I'll still do extract brews as they are reasonably quick and easy in comparison to AG brew days.

 

[Hops_and_Dreams]

Having started with kits and within 6 months progressed through kits to extract to (basic) AG, I'd say that the kits are way behind, with my extracts being almost as good as the AG (though I'm not claiming either are world beaters!). Agree though that the AG advantage is flexibility on styles.

I'll still do extract brews as they are reasonably quick and easy in comparison to AG brew days.

I'd agree with kits being far behind extract and partial mash. I've not done AG, so can't comment.

I actually quite like the hour break of the mash, doesn't seem like non stop brewing then. Must get out of the habit of bottling and brewing on the same day though, pretty much wipes out a whole day.

 

[Cwrw666]

kits are very variable in my experience. 1 can kits especially - I've made some that would be acceptable from a pub and some that definitely wouldn't be. There again I've had plenty of beer from pubs that aren't in any way acceptable too.
Going back to the OP - if a premium 2 can kit would score a 1, what exactly would Worthington Creamflow score. Are negative numbers allowed?:lol:

 

[Covrich]

I'll still do extract brews as they are reasonably quick and easy in comparison to AG brew days.

I thought about that myself, but given the cost difference between 5KG of grain and what .. 3KG of DME it does make you think.. Okay that does sound tight and for the odd brew I guess it doesn't really matter.

My last extract was basically 3kg of dme which was about £15 and steeped some crystal .. Now If I was honest and I was doing that now (baring in mind I don't have a full scale boiler yet) I would expand the steep to a mini mash with MO and boil with that hald the DME at the end.. It only adds 30 or so minutes to the brew day..

 

[GHW]

Going back to the OP - if a premium 2 can kit would score a 1, what exactly would Worthington Creamflow score. Are negative numbers allowed?:lol:

Ha! Worthy's used to be a good pint before they invented that thing. Stuff from those devices always tastes like metal. Remember mcCaffreys?

 

[Joeyriles]

I think there's a case to be made for premium kits being as good as their auxiliary ingredients--DME instead of sugar for example.

Since going over to the dark side I have found that all my beers are fuller in flavour and body and don't leave that slightly syrupy aftertaste that some kits can do. Festival kits are probably my favourite but even they don't quite match up to the flavour of mashed grain and 'fresh' hops. I would say that kit beer done well makes decent, drinkable beer but all grain (be it BIAB or three tier) gives the most moreish results. This is just my opinion based on the gulf in difference of quality between the four AG beers done so far in comparison to the many kits I have also done in the past year. Brewferm excepted.

 

[Tony1951]

I've been having a lot of fun since Christmas making beer from Cooper's kits, pimping them up with dry hopping and I've now made three AG simple brews on a small, two gallon scale on the stove top. There is no doubt that the first are easy and the second much more authentic in the sense that the beer is really your own and you didn't buy in half or more of the process. Comparing them is a bit like comparing a curry made at home using a jar of sauce and a curry made after grinding all the spices and deciding exactly how much of which should go in.

To be honest, I would never rate my Cooper's brews as low as '1', or anything like it. The better of them have been in general at least as good as pub beer and better. They are easy and quick. I can have the whole business done in about twenty minutes if the FV and gear were already sterilised when I started, which they always are because when not in use, my FV and gear are sitting in steriliser solution. People who are busy working and bringing up families might not have the time to do AG and can still enjoy a few pints of decent beer. I can only speak about Cooper's kits - they are the first I have done in almost forty years since my younger experiments (when all the beer was dire and barely drinkable). I thought the modern kits I got from them were an eye opener about what could be done in comparison to what passed as beer kits in the '70s and '80s.

I am looking forward to some great AG beer when it is ready. I hope it will be good and I've really enjoyed making it.

 

[brydo]

i would agree with most of comments here. having started with kits given as a gift (like most i would guess) i felt the results were ok but limited. they were coopers and young various lager kits which were decent but not great, say a 5 or 6 out of ten but definately better than most commercial beers. the real fun came when i moved to biab small batches and you can really experiment with your ingredients and have a good selection of beers kicking about. in terms of quality the biab i have done have been vastly superior to the kits, with more flavour and a cleaner mouth feel. i did a sort of blind taste test for a couple of mates and the biab brews were favoured over the kit beers even though the kit beers had been conditioning for 3 to 4 months and the biab only a month. havent tasted an extract brew yet but i have one fermenting away as tesco had a sale on so i thought it would be worth a shot just to see

 

[Ben-Harrison]

I think AG beers taste better than extract beers. Usually. But I've had some very good extract beers, nonetheless.

What would you class a the top 5 extract beers in your experience please as im interested to find out.

Thanks
Ben

 

[clibit]

What would you class a the top 5 extract beers in your experience please as im interested to find out.

Thanks
Ben

I don't have an answer sorry. I don't make extract beers, I make AG and partial mash, and I wouldn't be able to name the best 5 of those either. I think extract beers are best when they are highly flavoured, probably, with either hops, or roasted grains. Or both, perhaps.

 

[buzzharvey22]

Biab ftw imo

 

[Twostage]

I can't give a full answer - yet. I started with kit and jumped straight to AG and have very recently looped back round to experimenting with a few extract brews. The first one is carbonating. Currently I'd score AG over kit. It would be interesting to do another kit now I know what I'm doing (I like to think). I'm sure I'd want to enhance it somehow though.