Extract, All-Malt... or Both?

11/7/2011

5 Comments

 
During my recent, forced time off due to "winter" storm Albert, I found myself yearning to brew. Since Nick and I haven't been able to get together to do a proper brew, I decided to dust off the old Mr. Beer kit and throw together one of my nearly "expired" batches. I decided to make a brew that I've made before, their "Octoberfest" marzen-styled amber lager. For those who don't know, Mr. Beer is an all-extract "fake and bake" type of kit that yields a paltry 2-gallons of beer. I don't want to knock it too hard at all, since Mr. Beer provided my first brewing experience. What I want to know is, what's your take on the legitimacy of extract kits like Mr. Beer, all-malt deals like professional brewers and avid homebrewers utilize, or combo packs such as the ones Nick and I have used from Maltose Express in Monroe (shameless plug). Check this video of brewing legend Garret Oliver using (and even COMPLIMENTING) the Mr. Beer brewing process:
So, now that you've seen this testimonial, what's the opinion of the Collective and others alike? Do you vehemently deny that anyone should participate in all-extract brewing? Should I chuck my other Mr. Beer kits and coordinate a real brew date ASAP? Extract, all-malt ......... both? Bueller?  |Gambrinus|
5 Comments
Durge
11/7/2011 10:18:15 am

I don't know that I would chuck the other kits you have, after all, even Garret thinks it's better than his first home brew! But once you've tried your hand at something closer to "real" brewing, even the more common extract kits just offer more of a brewing experience and offer the potential of probably much more legitimate, maybe even outstanding beer results. Having only skimmed the surface of brewing experience so far, I'm no expert, but Brass Hat has yielded several very good beers so far, beers that I would rate pretty highly if I'd purchased them from some reputable craft brewer. Although Mr. Beer looks quite a bit easier than standard extract brewing, I don't think I see the motivation for doing such a simple process where there is so little invested. Sure it's quick and easy so for someone that literally doesn't have any time for more traditional methods, it's a way to say, "I brewed this"! But what's the point? If you haven't put more of yourself into it then it just seems like a gimmick to say I made this beer. I suppose the same can be said for the extract kits but it does involve quite a bit more personal effort and as such you sort of can put your own "stamp" on it. You can mess around with the prescribed ingredients and instructions in more ways I think, as well. And of course, there's always the next step to all grain brewing and then just doing away with kits all together and really doing it like Garret himself. So throwing Mr. Beer out the window seems harsh, but I would devote a day to doing every one of them, just to get them out of the way for more personalized methods. That's just me and I'm not exactly, "Mr. Beer", though I have a few ill informed friends that call me that none the less.

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rubby
11/15/2011 01:07:49 am

For "starters" (oh! see what i did there?) the Mr. Beer fermenter is great for making yeast starters if you ever decide to step up your brewing operation. I agree with Durge, although the Mr. Beer kits do indeed make drinkable beer, it's sort of the brewing equivalent of microwave popcorn. I think that all-extract brewing is a neat, novel example to demonstrate to someone how beer is made and how they can do it themselves...but having a friend over to watch/help you brew accomplishes the same thing and probably yields better beer. Mr. Beer kits are easy and somewhat of a novelty, but by simply following the instruction, the average user is learning nothing about brewing. You obviously graduated from Mr. Beer, but i bet there are millions of others who have used it, thought that this was literally how all beer was brewed, and said no thanks..

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rubby
11/25/2011 07:16:50 pm

I just want to chime in again, don't want my previous post to seem condescending, which is not my intention at all. I think it depends on the brewer's goals: wanna make perfectly drinkable beer? Then all-extract stuff like mr. beer will do the trick...but wanna LEARN how to make beer and how to configure 4 simple ingredients (malt in all-grain or extract form, hops, water, yeast)into infinite combinations? Then mr. beer is totally keeping secrets from it's users.

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Laser link
9/26/2012 02:27:37 am

Nice one info, thanks

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Luda link
9/27/2012 10:36:35 pm

THX for info

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