Homebrewers Association | AHA Forum
General Category => General Homebrew Discussion => Topic started by: dnva75 on March 21, 2011, 03:50:58 AM
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So I have been brewing about a year. I like to brew what I like to drink. This mostly includes IPA style ales but I have several Kolsch batches and a batch or 2 of porter under my belt that I also enjoy. Have about 15 batches under my belt and have been slowly working to increase capacity so that I can actually produce what I and my beer loving friends and relatives can consume. Currently can brew about 25 gallons per session and have gone Extract w/ specialty grains to this point. My critics have been very complimentary and they have nothing to prove. I only hand out 1 bottle per person per batch to sample. if you are at my house, it is fair game from the tap.
So, why do I want to tackle All Grain? I get the purest aspect of it but I the time is a concern, have little kids and I have to squeeze in brew days as it is. I'm not finding limitations in the styles I like to produce with extract. Any other reasons? I'm guessing cost, variety, ?.
Anything else, I did a quick look on the board and didn't find anything but I am sure this has been asked before.
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There is cost. But as you say time is a concern. It takes me about 5-6 hours for a batch of all grain and costs about .5 as much at least for fermentables. I think variety and control are the big reasons for me. If I want to do a big beer like a barley wine or RIS it is hard to get enough attenuation with extract. too much unfermentable sugars. It's also fun.
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The cost savings can be a big factor, but that factor is not important to a lot of brewers.
I myself like the considerable savings over extract brewing, since even at the $35-40 I usually have to pay for a sack of grain these days (twice what I was paying only 15 years ago), that 50 or 55 lbs of grain still translates to anywhere from five to ten 5 gallon batches depending on the type of beer. The math is pretty compelling. And you don't even need to spend a fortune on equipment to go all grain.
So for me it's partly about the significant cost savings (especially these days) but in the end, I just enjoy the process.
Devoting 6 hours to a brew is not that big of a deal especially since I can typically do other work if I need to during the mash, the boil, etc.
But the other big draw for me is that I like the much better control I can get over the results as opposed to extracts. My first 15 years of brewing was pretty much all from extracts and I was happy with the results, but the last 25 years have been pretty much exclusively all grain, and despite the simplicity of extract brewing and the vastly improved ingredients available, I really don't think I could ever go back to extracts or even to regularly buying commercially made beer.
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It's like the difference between making bread with a bread machine and making bread by hand using an oven.
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It's like the difference between making bread with a bread machine and making bread by hand using an oven.
Exactly--well, and also using a mix someone else put together versus using your own freshly-milled flour and other ingredients. If you're happy with your process, there's no shame in sticking with extract. But if you're the type to get deeper into what you're doing and explore the process, AG is the next step. Once you build a mash tun, the equipment cost is covered, and it will pay for itself almost immediately, so if you try all-grain and don't find it worth your while, it's not a huge loss. It's a cooler and some hardware, not a yacht or an RV. ;D
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The cost savings are huge, especially if you pace yourself and repitch. I buy base malt and hops in bulk, and do 10 gallon batches. 10 g of APA runs about $25 + fuel with a repitch versus two kits which would cost $70-$80.
As far as time..... It's a matter of setting up an efficient process and getting it down to a science. While my water heats I'm milling grain, as soon as the water is hot in the tun iit goes. During the mash I weigh out hops get the sanitizer and small implements, the yeast and the buckets going. Heat the sparge water so it hits temperature right as the tun drains. Start heating the BK during the sparge, hit boil shortly after the second drain is done. During the boil clean up the grains and anything else that needs putting away.
Yesterday the whole thing took less than four hours cleaned up.
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How are you brewing 25 gallon batches? Or do you brew 5 5 gallon batches per brewday? Even with extract that has to take all day.
I love having absolute control over what goes into my beer. I also love the cost savings I get by buying bulk malt from a brewpub. The 6 hours I spend brewing 10 gallons is my downtime, a chance to relax and do something I truly enjoy.
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Its a hobby for me so I actually like the additional work involved, learning all about the various processes, and procuring the ingredients. Most of my hobbies are chosen as a learning activity, and theres a ton to know about brewing AG. After several years I'm still learning interesting stuff.
And I get beer as a product of my efforts.
I firmly believe that anyone can make some really good extract/specialty grain brews, in fact every once in awhile I'll do it myself. You mentioned kolsch, I think you can improve that style by going AG. Basically you can probably make it lighter than you could with extract. There are other styles where the ingredients available kind of limit your ability to execute a certain style.
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One gets great satisfaction from all grain. The conversion process in the mash has some wonderful goodness to it. Wehnyou hit all the number in the process, you feel great. Less money for the malted grains is good too.
It has been mentioned you can make light beers with a lower SRM. You can also make beers that there are hard to find or no extracts for that style. My example is a German Rauchbier. Weyermann makes a Rauch extract, but I have never seen it, and I like to make Rauchbier.
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i brew small batches and i think all grain is easier. (1-2gallons). i think it would be a hassle and costly to buy a variety of extracts and try to keep it from spoiling. as it is i can keep several grains in tubs in my fridge ready to go. i mash my grains in a bag in the kettle i boil in. when i am done mashing i lift the grain bag up and rinse. so far so good. my brew days take as long as anyone else, but there are several hours of down time that allows me to do all the other things i need to do around the house.
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The time investment might not be as much as you're thinking either. There's the mash itself, which is an hour on average. Plus you have to heat up a little more water to account for grain absorption, and there's one extra piece of equipment to clean. But that extra time should still be under two hours total.
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You have a LOT more control over brewing if you brew all grain, in addition to the amount of savings (which is substantial). For instance, I am brewing a saison today and am able to do a very low mash temp for an extended period which will allow the yeast to dry the beer out substantially. If you are an extract brewer you are entirely dependent on the original brewer of the extract, including whatever minerals he has in his water. So you have essentially given up much of the control over the process.
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For me, it was to see what all the hoopla was about. I brewed maybe a hundred extract kits before I decided to try all grain. It turns out that it's fun. I drilled holes in an old fermentation bucket. It fits into another fermentation bucket. Those two are now my mash tun (I could have used a large mesh bag and accomplished much the same thing). There are classes at most local homebrew stores (LHBS) to show you the basics. The one I went to cost $20 and included pizza and beer for lunch.
As with every hobby, there's always interesting stuff to buy and learn. But, with this one you end up with beer.
Cheers.
(You're welcome to message me about specifics.)
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Thanks for all the feedback. In the reply to the question about the large batches. I currently run a 15 Gallon and 30 Gallon pot and shoot for 24 and 12 Gallons of prefermented beer. I then break into 6 6 gallon fermenters which yields about 5 Gallons of finished product per for a total yield of 30 gallons. I usually do 2 different varieties with an extra light extract as the base.
I was also a little concerned about how to tackle the Mash Tun at this scale. I feel like I am close to maxing our what you can realistically do in a cooler.
Brew day to get through this usually takes me about 4 hours, not including prep and cleanup.
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Go to Sams or Costo and pick up a 50-100 gallon cooler and fit it with a braid ala denny conn style.
See: http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/
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I was also a little concerned about how to tackle the Mash Tun at this scale. I feel like I am close to maxing our what you can realistically do in a cooler.
I recently assassinated a 15 cu chest freezer...... for a moment I thought about hanging on to it and making a big ass mash tun out of it.......
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I was also a little concerned about how to tackle the Mash Tun at this scale. I feel like I am close to maxing our what you can realistically do in a cooler.
I recently assassinated a 15 cu chest freezer...... for a moment I thought about hanging on to it and making a big ass mash tun out of it.......
I recently brewed a batch with my 70 qt cooler with 25lbs of grain and wasn't even half full even with a pretty high water/grain ratio. I imagine I could fairly easily fit 60 lbs of grain at 1.25-1.5 qts/lb ratio in it. that would provide 30 gallons of reasonably strength beer. For a big beer you could go with a 100qt or add extract to bump your gravity up.
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I was also a little concerned about how to tackle the Mash Tun at this scale. I feel like I am close to maxing our what you can realistically do in a cooler.
I recently assassinated a 15 cu chest freezer...... for a moment I thought about hanging on to it and making a big ass mash tun out of it.......
I recently brewed a batch with my 70 qt cooler with 25lbs of grain and wasn't even half full even with a pretty high water/grain ratio. I imagine I could fairly easily fit 60 lbs of grain at 1.25-1.5 qts/lb ratio in it. that would provide 30 gallons of reasonably strength beer. For a big beer you could go with a 100qt or add extract to bump your gravity up.
Or you could use only first runnings...
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I was also a little concerned about how to tackle the Mash Tun at this scale. I feel like I am close to maxing our what you can realistically do in a cooler.
I recently assassinated a 15 cu chest freezer...... for a moment I thought about hanging on to it and making a big ass mash tun out of it.......
I recently brewed a batch with my 70 qt cooler with 25lbs of grain and wasn't even half full even with a pretty high water/grain ratio. I imagine I could fairly easily fit 60 lbs of grain at 1.25-1.5 qts/lb ratio in it. that would provide 30 gallons of reasonably strength beer. For a big beer you could go with a 100qt or add extract to bump your gravity up.
Or you could use only first runnings...
For what? To recirculate?
All grain is great. Takes more time, yeah, but the control over the process is worth it alone. But there are nostalgic things like the smell of the grist at mash-in and just the general process.
You could go up to partial mash for a little more control, but keeping some simplicity from extract brewing in there. But really, all grain isn't difficult, it just takes longer.
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For a big beer you could go with a 100qt or add extract to bump your gravity up.
Or you could use only first runnings...
For what? To recirculate?
For brewing a big beer without having to "bump it up" with extract.
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I was also a little concerned about how to tackle the Mash Tun at this scale. I feel like I am close to maxing our what you can realistically do in a cooler.
I recently assassinated a 15 cu chest freezer...... for a moment I thought about hanging on to it and making a big ass mash tun out of it.......
I recently brewed a batch with my 70 qt cooler with 25lbs of grain and wasn't even half full even with a pretty high water/grain ratio. I imagine I could fairly easily fit 60 lbs of grain at 1.25-1.5 qts/lb ratio in it. that would provide 30 gallons of reasonably strength beer. For a big beer you could go with a 100qt or add extract to bump your gravity up.
I think that's a little bit optimistic.
Can I Mash It (http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml) says that you need 95 qt to fit 60 lbs at 1.25 qt/lb. So, a 100 quart cooler would be okay for 25 gallons of medium gravity wort.
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It's like the difference between making bread with a bread machine and making bread by hand using an oven.
More like the difference between buying frozen dough and baking it or grinding the wheat berries into flour yourself and going from there.
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More like the difference between buying frozen dough and baking it or grinding the wheat berries into flour yourself and going from there.
Or like using off-the-shelf stock to make a soup, or boiling a carcass to produce your own fresh stock, seasoned how you like it :)
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I think a 70 or 100 qt blue cooler mash tun would be fine, and when you want to brew a bigger beer . . . second mash tun. You can probably get two 70 qt blue coleman extreme coolers for less than $100 (currently $43 each (http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Cooler-Blue/dp/B000G64I1A)). If most of your beers are less than OG 1.060 I think a 70 qt cooler would be fine for getting 24 gallons. The second one could then be used to make a higher strength beer in the 12 gallon pot. Or if you wanted 24 gallons of bigger beer, both mash tuns can be run off into one pot. And for really really big beers (over 1.120 probably, standard by Fred's measuring) then you can supplement with sugar or extract.
If you're good you can make really good beer with extract, but for what it's worth, in our recent competition the best extract brewer I know won three 3rd place ribbons.
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So, why do I want to tackle All Grain? I get the purest aspect of it but I the time is a concern, have little kids and I have to squeeze in brew days as it is. I'm not finding limitations in the styles I like to produce with extract. Any other reasons? I'm guessing cost, variety, ?.
Anything else, I did a quick look on the board and didn't find anything but I am sure this has been asked before.
Do it when you want to do it and when you perceive a benefit. After all, brewing is about fun and that's for you to decide.
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I was going to say that it would make you taller and better looking, independently wealthy, your teeth whiter, and you'll be the big man on campus but everyone else has good feed back too.
;D
Paul
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Do it when you want to do it and when you perceive a benefit. After all, brewing is about fun and that's for you to decide.
Truer words were never written.
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Do it when you want to do it and when you perceive a benefit. After all, brewing is about fun and that's for you to decide.
Truer words were never written.
Amen and amen.
One of the deciding factors when I finally took the plunge was that I finally moved into a space where I had an area I could devote spcifically to my brewing. No more scheduling use of the kitchen. LOL. It became a LOT more fun after that. (and I began doing a LOT more brewing, too).
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My beer has tasted better since I went all-grain. I attribute this to more non-fermentables in extract. My extract FG's were always around 1.020 and when I switched to all-grain my FG's are around 1.010. I still have a lot to learn and I that's what I love about this hobby.
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http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Xtreme-150-Quart-Cooler/14574679
Hot Damn...
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http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Xtreme-150-Quart-Cooler/14574679
Hot Damn...
It's blue too!
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http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Xtreme-150-Quart-Cooler/14574679
Hot Damn...
It's blue too!
Oh baby!
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Just to add to all the good reasons posted, an all-grain batch can take 6+ hours, but it doesn't have to.
If you plan ahead you can reduce the length of your brew day by getting your grain bill weighed out and ground the night before and your water ready (takes about 45-60 minutes of prep depending on how many beers you drink during prep). You can chop off 30-45 minutes heating water especially if you get yourself a bucket heater (or in your case maybe mroe than one) and timer. Your water can be ready to go when you roll out of bed and you can mash in immediately. 60 Minute Mash, 30-45 minutes to batch sparge and get the to a boil, 60 minute boil and 15-20 minute cool down with a quality chiller. You can knock out an all grain batch in 3.5 to 4 hours for a 6 gallon batch with clean up, wort oxygenated and pitched once you have your process down.
With the large batches you brew, there are things that may take you longer, but pretty much only adding a minimal amount of time to your process at a huge savings! I brewed a 6 gallon batch of 1.045 American Lager last year for $8.30!
How long does it take you to heat up all that water for a 25 gallon brew day?
Even if you don't decide to go all-grain there are still things you can do to shave time from your brew day.
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Thanks again for all the tips. I posted last night but it appears that a bunch of stuff from then was dropped off for some reason.
I like the idea of going with 2 70 gallon coolers for the large batches. That would give me a lot of flexibility. Never thought about splitting up the mash tun. I also have a 48 quart cooler that I may build a manifold for and give it a shot for my next 12 gallon batch. Was thinking a heffe would be good in June/July:-) That may be a candidate for my first go at all grain.
As to the question of time. My brew days usually run about 5 hours. From breaking out the equipment to cleaning up. I have 2 Blichmann burners and surprisingly, it doesn't take much longer to heat up a 24 gallon batch over a 12. hauling the water is a different story:-)
All the feedback on here has given me a lot of perspective and convinced me that it is at least worth a try. I can always go back.
Thanks
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Tristan - I have been using the bucket heater with the heavy duty timer, and that is one thing that I really like. Get out of bed and you are ready to mash in.
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All the feedback on here has given me a lot of perspective and convinced me that it is at least worth a try. I can always go back.
Thanks
Check out the Cheap'n'Easy system...www.dennybrew.com .
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...Because, it'll put hair on your chest, give you Paul Bunyan muscles & make you a big hit with the ladies.
:D
Seriously, though...I think my beer tastes better, my wife likes 'em more, my friends like them more...
I have a wider range of flavors & characters to create (vast amount of grains to choose from)...
I'm able to just make more intricate choices on flavor, body & the whole experience.
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I did my first two all grain batches recently and I haven't even tasted them yet and I'm itching to do more. The mashing process etc., is addictive, at least for now. If I had more fermenters, I'd have more beer in process and I certainly never felt this way about extracts.
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Answer this:
Why extract brew? Just go buy some already made by a professional brewery and save all kinds of time and trouble.
When you can answer that then you will have your answer to why extract brewers convert over to all grain, little Grasshopper.
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Answer this:
Why extract brew? Just go buy some already made by a professional brewery and save all kinds of time and trouble.
When you can answer that then you will have your answer to why extract brewers convert over to all grain, little Grasshopper.
Do I still have to snatch the pebble from your hand Master?
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Answer this:
Why extract brew? Just go buy some already made by a professional brewery and save all kinds of time and trouble.
When you can answer that then you will have your answer to why extract brewers convert over to all grain, little Grasshopper.
Do I still have to snatch the pebble from your hand Master?
When you can snatch the hop pellet from my hand, my Son, then you will be ready.
Or afford a Barley Crusher, which ever comes first ;D
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It's not Grasshopper, it's Malthopper.
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It's not Grasshopper, it's Malthopper.
Mmmm... Methinks in that case it may be Hophopper.
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Answer this:
Why extract brew? Just go buy some already made by a professional brewery and save all kinds of time and trouble.
Well, Mr. T, I'ma gonna have to disagree. Extract brewing is still doing at least part of it yourself and giving you some control over the procedure, as well as the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself. Of course, AG takes that a step further, but I can recall how proud my friends and I were of the extract beers we made and how well many of them turned out. Maybe some of you "AG only" guys need to go back and make an extract batch again and challenge yourselves to see how well you can do it.
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My next brew will be extract with specialty grains. It's a scottish 70/- that will serve as a starter for the wee heavy that's up after it. It's the first extract beer I'm brewing since I went all grain and I'm actually kind of excited about it.
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A year or so ago I had to develop an extract version of my Waldo Lake amber recipe for NB to make into a kit. It actually turned out really close to the AG version and was totally fun to make.
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Answer this:
Why extract brew? Just go buy some already made by a professional brewery and save all kinds of time and trouble.
Maybe some of you "AG only" guys need to go back and make an extract batch again and challenge yourselves to see how well you can do it.
'Tis not a bad call, Mr. Conn. I might try that for s hits & giggles. I haven't brewed an extract batch for 2 1/2 years or thereabouts.
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I found that if you apply the knowledge you've gained through AG (proper yeast amounts and fermentation temps, subbing some sugar for extract, etc.) you can make extract beers remarkably better than you did when you were a beginner.
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I found that if you apply the knowledge you've gained through AG (proper yeast amounts and fermentation temps, subbing some sugar for extract, etc.) you can make extract beers remarkably better than you did when you were a beginner.
No doubt about it. In addition to the temps and pitching rates, AG makes you learn about specialty grains. When you apply that info with a light DME you can make excellent beer.
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Answer this:
Why extract brew? Just go buy some already made by a professional brewery and save all kinds of time and trouble.
Well, Mr. T, I'ma gonna have to disagree. Extract brewing is still doing at least part of it yourself and giving you some control over the procedure, as well as the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself. Of course, AG takes that a step further, but I can recall how proud my friends and I were of the extract beers we made and how well many of them turned out. Maybe some of you "AG only" guys need to go back and make an extract batch again and challenge yourselves to see how well you can do it.
That's actually the point I was trying to make, albeit poorly done :-[
My answer to "why extract brew" is the control, cost, satisfaction, etc... and everything good everybody else has submitted.
Once that is answered in your mind and all the benefits are rationalized, then the OP has the answer to his question "Why go all grain?" More of the same just up a notch.
"Just go buy some already made by a professional brewery and save all kinds of time and trouble." was just a smarta$$ way of saying think about why you had rather brew than buy.
<slip back under the rock>
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That's actually the point I was trying to make, albeit poorly done :-[
Well, then....
(http://www.brews-bros.com/public/style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif)
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When I went all grain I promised myself not to look down on extract brewing. It's about the people doing it, brewing it and sipping it and having fun. If it was strictly about the beer I would be employing MUCH more serious guerilla tactics. ;D
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When I went all grain I promised myself not to look down on extract brewing. It's about the people doing it, brewing it and sipping it and having fun.
So you're not looking down on extract brewing, just the people doing it? ;D
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When I went all grain I promised myself not to look down on extract brewing.
You can see people extract brewing from 35,000ft up?! Man, I've heard pilots have good eyes, but THAT'S amazing! :D