Tell The Truth

[bonj]

I agree with some of the comments above. AG is about the ability to control all aspects of the brewing process. You're not limited by which hops the extract companies decide to use. And when you taste it, you'll realise why so many of us make the decision to never go back to tins. I originally wanted to go AG for the romance of it. The idea of doing something from scratch appeals to me. It makes me proud to have produced a beer the way they have been doing for centuries (alright, maybe they didn't have March pumps ). The taste wasn't the originator of the desire for me, but is certainly the motivation for me now.

Don't get me wrong, you can certainly make some fine beers from tins if you put enough care and attention into it. Frogman makes some great kit based beers.

I agree with SAH about the knowledge part. You don't go to the effort of AG, only to ferment with no temperature control at 30degrees. AG makes you more serious about the process, and the quest to make great beer. You can get just as serious, and produce mighty fine results with tins too, but it doesn't have the romance and the inherent sense of pride that AG does.

 

[Screwtop]

You asked a question.

Is it really that good? Is it like turning to the dark side? Turning your back on the goop? Is it really better than commercial beer??

And asked for The Truth!!!


YES!

 

[Huhness]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

 

[tangent]

Nothing wrong with a Kronenburg when you compare it to a James Boags. You'll notice most brewers here don't rate delicate lagers too highly here, they're more into malt/hops bombs like Little Creatures Pale Ale. IMO a delicate lager is a lot harder to get right than a malt/hop bomb, and I haven't tasted too many home brewed lagers either.

Brew what you want, not what the can dictates, that's also a benefit of AG.

I like the beef jerky back into steak analogy :beer:

 

[Huhness]

Huhness
Sorry to hear that Kronenbourg is a favourite of yours. It is probably OK for a lager, but...
You want some interesting beers to try? Get yer wallet ready...
As far as Aussie beers go
- Little Creatures Pale Ale
- Anything by Murray's Craft Brewing Co (nirvana Pale, Sassy Blonde, Grand Cru at 8.5% and Icon - IIPA at 7.5%)
- The Little Brewing co makes some decent beers, their Wicked Elf series
- Get yerself to Potters in the Hunter Valley and talk to Keith. They make some great beer, and Keith will be able to talk you (or show you) through the whole process. Sorry to dob you in, Keith!
- Matilda Bay make some great beers.
- Grand Ridge can be a bit hit and miss, but is usually good.
There are many other great aussie beers, get into a Dan Murphy's (there is one at Tuggerah) and have a look around.

As far as O/S beers go, the list is longer than your arm. Ones to really look out for include

Chimay (red, white or blue 0 all good)
Duvel
Rochefort 8 or 10
delirium tremens
Emersons from NZ
Monteiths from NZ
Weihenstephan Weizen (tastes of banana and cloves, like all good German wheat beers)
Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock
Schneider Wiesse
Fransizkaner Dunkel Weizen
Pilsner Urquell (the original pilsner)
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
Orval (aquired taste - semi sour beer)
Hoegaarden (belgian witbier)

Literally hundreds of other good ones. Head to a good bottle shop, there are some in newcastle if you are ever up that way, and start tasting anything ya havent seen before.
Hope that helps
Trent

BTW Trent thanks for this list i'll have to keep an eye out for some of these and give them a try!

 

[Darren]

Hey Hughness,

If you are going to buy additional extract, hops, and a new yeast and a can you might as well buy some malted barley and mash it yourself. You could almost buy a whole bag of malted barley for the cost of a can and the extract. A whole bag would make 120 or so litres

After all, cans, extract, yeast and hops are the most expensive ingredients in beer. Its not surprising that you can make a good beer using a kit as a base but why would you. Mashing is a simple process and certainly not elitist. In the end it will save you lots of money and generally make better beer.

cheers

Darren

 

[sah]

Hey Hughness,

If you are going to buy additional extract, hops, and a new yeast and a can you might as well buy some malted barley and mash it yourself. You could almost buy a whole bag of malted barley for the cost of a can and the extract. A whole bag would make 120 or so litres

After all, cans, extract, yeast and hops are the most expensive ingredients in beer. Its not surprising that you can make a good beer using a kit as a base but why would you. Mashing is a simple process and certainly not elitist. In the end it will save you lots of money and generally make better beer.

True true, although if you factor in your extra labour this will close the costs some. Then again, if you are doing a full boil with extract it's stretching the time out too.

Scott

 

[mje1980]

I like making stuff from scratch, i like cooking, the fresher the food the better. I like brewing, same deal, and i even made myself a few surfboards. I find it very satisfying to make something from raw ingredients, and it turns out great!. Funny that i hate doing work around the house with a passion!, definately not a handy man man, much to my wife's dismay!!, but anything that brings pleasure, food, beer, boards, im into haha.

A few months ago, when my 2nd born was a few months old and taking up a lot of my time, i tried a Malt shovel brewery 2 row lager, hadn't brewed kits in at least 3 years. I used the yeast provided, and fermented it in a temp controlled fridge. Was the sh&ttest beer ever, thiner than water, and sharper than vinegar. Even though it takes time for ag beer, it is soooo worth it. Flavour is important in beer, thats why i brew all grain.

 

[tangent]

Yes, that's a good point too - extract beer tastes like shit. Tell me your extract beer tastes better than a commercial beer and I'll show you someone with tastebuds in his arse.

 

[blackbock]

Huhness once you go AG you will probably never want to ferment another can of goo. It's as simple as that. You may fall back on the cans a few times, but only out of necessity (like when you have no time to mash)

But as others have said there is more to it than the ingredients. Just because you brew with grains does not mean you will automatically make better beer - you need to research your techniques and recipes and probably will make a few duds along the way before you settle on a house beer. I know I have made a fair few ordinary beers...

In my quest for better beer I have tasted hundreds of famous commercial beers, and now there are probably only a dozen or so that I would buy again - after a while you will get to know what to look for to suit your palate. And then you can try to make something along the same lines yourself. It's the fun part.

 

[Jim_Levet]

Yes, that's a good point too - extract beer tastes like shit. Tell me your extract beer tastes better than a commercial beer and I'll show you someone with tastebuds in his arse.

Well said. This topic asked for the truth and thats what it got! Tangent you stand out as a man of the truth.
James

 

[bonj]

Tell me your extract beer tastes better than a commercial beer and I'll show you someone with tastebuds in his arse.

I'm not trying to stir the pot or anything, and I am well and truly on the AG trolly, but I made plenty of K&Ks that tasted better than VB.

Now if you're talking about decent commercial beer, then I'd totally agree with you.

 

[warra48]

I'm not convinced you can make great beers with kits. I have done a few brews with cans of unhopped malt, specialty grains, and my choice of hops, liquid yeast, and temperature controlled fermentation, and they have been very drinkable.
However, I still feel my AG brews have that something extra. It's the quality of the malt and hop aroma and flavour.

And I enjoy the process. If I didn't I wouldn't have spent 9 hours brewing a Mrzen with a decoction schedule. It's still lagering, but the aroma of it is mind blowing, and the hydro samples are very promising.

To draw another analogy, can you honestly say that soup poured from a can, and heated in the microwave, is as good as the soup you make with your own stock, vegetables, beans, meats, pasta etc? Of course not.

 

[Huhness]

Yes, that's a good point too - extract beer tastes like shit. Tell me your extract beer tastes better than a commercial beer and I'll show you someone with tastebuds in his arse.

hahahahaha :lol: although i agree with Bonj! I've tasted many K&K HB better than VB!!

 

[stoutdrinker]

Hey Tangent, you really cut me up.

If you want an honest, straight up answer just ask him! He never gives any namby pamby answers thats for sure and he's got one of the sharpest wits on AHB!

Keep em coming.

Stout.

 

[haysie]

he's got one of the sharpest wits on AHB!

Keep em coming.

Stout.

Woo hoo, B)
Hughness, your own experience will tell the difference, im not gotta even try answer your question after all the above, some great advice and some , but i posted too ask, " let us know the results first hand" next month, next year, let us know and good luck.
Haysie

 

[pb unleaded]

two words:

nuclear f#@&*%' weapons

 

[tangent]

I made plenty of K&Ks that tasted better than VB.

everyone, meet Bonj

 

[bonj]

everyone, meet Bonj

:lol:

Come on tangent. You can't seriously tell me that you think VB tastes better than the best K&K you've tasted. If so:

Everyone, meet Tangent

 

[Brownie]

Ya know I have a friend and a brother who love their red wine, to the point where their advice is sought after by others for a choice of wine....the friend has done some wine judging not full on though... but both are F@#king annoying twats when someone opens a red.

So me being me...someone who loves a piss take and shooting pretentious behaviour...swapped the contents of a bottle of some apparent reasonable wine, with a much lesser quality but still OK bottle of Red...can't recall the names now of the Wines.

Well I am sure that everyone can see where this is going......Yup they couldn't pick the difference, obviously if I swapped the contents for a real cheapo young wine they would have twigged. But I challenge most people to actually pick the difference, of something that is of reasonable quality

Especially if you smoke, eat lots of fatty and salty foods, your taste buds are screwed, so those who do and think they can taste many subtle flavours are kiddin themselves

Also please don't get me wrong here, I suspect that All Grain Brewing does make a better beer (assuming the brewer has a clue about what they are doing), I just hate pretentious behaviour....if that offends someone then oh well get a life.

These are my thoughts, take them as you will.

Hugs and Kisses
Brownie.