Progression

[clibit]

I find 10L AG brews are much quicker than 5 gallon brews, for various reasons.

 

[MyQul]

Really ? Why have you never mentioned this before :-)

Kits -> all grain -> extract -> all grain/extract for me.

I did a few extracts after doing AG as I didn't want to miss anything out.

AG gives the best flavours etc. it's only down side is time - 1 hour mash, 1 hour boil plus all the heating up and cooling down. I've made an experimental batch which had a half hour boil which I'm waiting to taste. I'm also going to do a half hour mash, my suspicion is it will only reduce the efficiency which I can compensate for by using more grain. If they both work then that's an hour saved ( big if). The up side of the time part is it is only loosely linked to volume. So if you have the kit you might as well go big :-)

I only do a 40 min mash but then again I do two dunk sparges.

I'm planning a little experiment.

Overnight mash - so you wont have to wait for it.Because overnight mash is so efficient, no sparge. Then a 30 min boil.

 

[clibit]

I've been cutting my mash down to 40-45 mins. I did a 45 min boil last time to as an experimental. Clarity seems good. But cutting the mash time down is fine, a reduced boil time is more disputed.

 

[MyQul]

I've been cutting my mash down to 40-45 mins. I did a 45 min boil last time to as an experimental. Clarity seems good. But cutting the mash time down is fine, a reduced boil time is more disputed.

The brulosophy experiments are interesting as the does shortening experiments on both mash and boil. There a thread on the big American forum where theres a guy arguing for 10 min mashes seeing as most of the conversion is done by then.

 

[clibit]

I've seen that, I've just comprised. Ten minutes won't always produce a decent efficiency, I reckon.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I started with a few 1g all grain kits that I was bought and, even tho I didn't have a clue what I was doing, produced some good beer. I then switched to kits for about 6 months while I tried to master fermentation etc before going back to ag. Kits are great for doing a half decent brew But the results aren't a patch on ag. I can't really comment on extract but the one I've tried (brewed by @dad_of_john) was really good so I'd definitely try one if I'm ever short of time.

thanks for the feedback a cheque erm I mean a beer is in the post!:-D

 

[hichaechoc]

So, if I understand correctly, AG gives a cost saving but requires a bit of capital investment, takes longer, is messier with a bigger clean up and spent grain to dispose of at the end. Additionally the steam/condensation in the kitchen and smell is likely to bring conflict into the marital bliss I currently enjoy. What exactly are the benefits in terms of beer quality?

 

[clibit]

Much better beer. Ready to drink quickly. And brew anything you like. As hoppy as you like. Choose your yeast. Choose your malts and hops.

Not much equipment needed. A pot and a bag.

Save money.

Clean up isn't a big deal.

More satisfaction.

 

[Covrich]

Investment doesn't have to be much and in the long run you will save loads.

You can brew outdoors or if you do brw in the kitchen, just do it when she is out..

It does take longer but as a hobbiest it is something to enjoy, the satisfaction is so much better than a kit, this really is your own creation.

Try to clear up as you go.. granted I do hate washing up pots and stuff. but disposing of spent grain is simple if you're just going to bin it.. stick your grain bag in a carrier bag (may have to double up) then just tip it out and tie a knot...

Or make some hobnobs

 

[MyQul]

I've seen that, I've just comprised. Ten minutes won't always produce a decent efficiency, I reckon.

True. I'm sure there must be other 'stuff' going on in the mash too, not just conversion which won't happen if you only give it ten mins. I've compromised to although with my overnight mash experiments It seems I've gone the other way

 

[Twostage]

I've found that all of my diversions cause marital disruption of some kind. With this one, though, I can say "ok, I'll give it up" and her eyes widen in fear and she says "no, just try to make less mess".

 

[DoctorMick]

Much better beer. Ready to drink quickly. And brew anything you like. As hoppy as you like. Choose your yeast. Choose your malts and hops.

Not much equipment needed. A pot and a bag.

Save money.

Clean up isn't a big deal.

More satisfaction.

And not forgetting the biggest reason, it's bloody good fun. :lol:




I'm failing at the saving money bit, I'll have to brew steady for about 10 years to get my money back I reckon

 

[dad_of_jon]

Much better beer. Ready to drink quickly. And brew anything you like. As hoppy as you like. Choose your yeast. Choose your malts and hops.

Not much equipment needed. A pot and a bag.

Save money.

Clean up isn't a big deal.

More satisfaction.

C'mon now darth :smile:

You can choose your own hops and yeast with extract. Granted you have much bigger variety of malts to choose.

 

[Raize]

The best progression is starting with BIAB from the word go, but most people including myself won't do that as it seems daunting. But it's really quite simple and gives a far better result than any kit. I don't really see any point in progressing to three-vessel as the grain isn't expensive enough to make me want better than 75% efficiency. My next "progressions" are probably going from plastic kegs to cornelius kegs, and going from using a pack of yeast for every brew to washing/re-using yeast.

 

[clibit]

C'mon now darth :smile:

You can choose your own hops and yeast with extract. Granted you have much bigger variety of malts to choose.

I know! And you can make great beer with extract, it's a great method. But AG is generally better, and cheaper, and worth the extra time and effort, for me. But not everybody. We are all different...

 

[baggybill]

So, if I understand correctly, AG gives a cost saving but requires a bit of capital investment, takes longer, is messier with a bigger clean up and spent grain to dispose of at the end. Additionally the steam/condensation in the kitchen and smell is likely to bring conflict into the marital bliss I currently enjoy. What exactly are the benefits in terms of beer quality?

About the same as the difference between a frozen, microwave 'Sunday roast' dinner and the real deal i.e rolling your sleeves up, peeling the potatoes, sticking a roast in the oven and saying, "to hell with steamy windows..."

Another analogy I read was it's like comparing diluting orange with freshly squeezed orange juice. If you're happy with a quick fix of diluting orange, so be it. Robinsons do a great 'contains real fruit' blend... but it ain't in a million years a patch on real fresh orange. :drink:

 

[Covrich]

About the same as the difference between a frozen, microwave 'Sunday roast' dinner and the real deal i.e rolling your sleeves up, peeling the potatoes, sticking a roast in the oven and saying, "to hell with steamy windows..."

Another analogy I read was it's like comparing diluting orange with freshly squeezed orange juice. If you're happy with a quick fix of diluting orange, so be it. Robinsons do a great 'contains real fruit' blend... but it ain't in a million years a patch on real fresh orange. :drink:

Good analogies!!


I will say this about extract, the HBC giveaway which people will be getting soon I noticed those kits are £16.20. for 3kg of DME hops specialty grains and yeast that isn't a bad price at all.. so if you wanted to move onto that stage to get your feet wet with the boiling stage maybe check them out as they seem pretty reasonable to me.

 

[Slid]

About the same as the difference between a frozen, microwave 'Sunday roast' dinner and the real deal i.e rolling your sleeves up, peeling the potatoes, sticking a roast in the oven and saying, "to hell with steamy windows..."

I'm always one for doing a proper Sunday Roast Dinner. Not just potatoes, but parsnip, swede, carrots. Sometimes cauliflower cheese. I just love a Sunday roast dinner, lovingly prepared with a homebrew beer in hand.

Same with the brewing. Today's partial mash took the usual 5 hours from initial clear up to final clear up. For me the "dead" times are the waiting for the wort to boil and the cooling down the 12-13 litres of wort in the sink. Can't do much else at these times. During the mash you can bottle another beer or something. During the cooling period I usually do some ironing.

 

[MyQul]

Slid you can come round my place and do some ironing if your looking for stuff to do during the 'dead time'

 

[rodabod]

..... Hah!