Why All Grain?

[flano]

I do it so my mates think I am smarter than them.

 

[anthonygoldring]

That's kind of like having your first wank and then asking 'why bother with women' ?

Good one!

 

[QldKev]

That's kind of like having your first wank and then asking 'why bother with women' ?

Then who would cook my dinner

 

[mckenry]

Simple Really. I moved to all grain for the chicks.

K&K groupies


All Grain Groupies


Your choice.

note - please dont take offence :huh:

 

[The Village Idiot]

For much the same reason that you learn to cook from scratch when you could just reheat frozen dinners bought in a box.

Couldnt have said it better.....

 

[The Village Idiot]

I started on kits for the same reason as a lot of ppl i guess: cheap beer!

After a few of the Coopers kits I started steeping grains and dry hopping. Then I got sick of bottling, seriously that is the shittest thing to have to do, all the cleaning, fiddly crap etc. so I went out and bought a kegging setup, butchered the beer fridge and was pretty happy at that point until I started wanting to do beers other than ales.

This is I think where AG started to make its case pretty compelling. I remember doing a couple pilsners with extract (by this stage I had moved on from straight out K&k). I did everything by the book eg wyeast urquell, fermenting in the right range, secondary fermentation, conditioned for a few weeks etc.

It still had *that* flavour.

So I hit up my local Asian grocery store and got a cheapy 80L pot for about $50. Got some nylon and made a bag. Got a 4 ring burner from the camping store.

My first BIAB was an ale, missed most temps, spilled a heap of stuff and burnt myself a fair bit.

Bloody beautiful beer though! It was my worst AG but was still better than any of my extract/kit ales.

After a couple more brews I tried out the pilsner. From memory it was about 95% Bo pils and 5% wheat. Fermented at the right temp, secondary and conditioned etc.

It did not have *that* taste!!!

That was it for me, completely sold. Bought an esky, made a hlt out of an old fermenter and a kettle element and never looked back.

Since going AG ive spent more on this hobby than I originally intended to but then again my intentions are now different than they were. Now I'm more concerned about perfecting my regular brews, experimenting with other ingredients (fruit is awesome) and basically having a great time.

I'm brewing small 20l batches (ie 1 keg) so that I can brew more often and I've got my brew day down to 3hrs with my new rig.

So I guess that's why AG is the shit. Not knocking kits or extract but AG removes the limitations.

I reckon that sums up quite a few of us..... especially the spent to much bit....lol

 

[mikec]

I've only just started with AG but for me it was the freedom to make almost any beer. With K&K you are limited to the types available on the HBS shelf (plus some minor additions).
Now I can go "I like this or that" and look up a recipe to make it. Then, if it so pleases me, I can tweak it a bit to suit my taste.
ALSO, you can make any size batch, not just 23 litres or whatever is written on the can.

 

[Diggles]

Better tasting beer, and the flexibility to do more.
Plus the feel of doing it more as a fully natural additive free beer.

The other big thing in improving brewing i reckon, is going to kegging.
That really changes home brew to craft beer if you are a patient brewer.

All ready got the keg system and the fermenting fridge with temperature control, so looking at the next step. BIAB as a test the water first without the expense, then jocks off and dive bomb in if all goes to plan! Thanks for the encouragement.

Diggles

 

[warra48]

I'm retired, and self funded, so I need to look after my pennies. Most of the time, I don't have a lot of interest in throwing my dollars at commercial breweries.

Brewing fills about one day a month for me, and I get to drink the results. A brew day is a day spent in the brewery doing something I love doing, and out from under Mrs warra's feet to give her some space.

Every sip gives me a warm glow"How economical it is to produce quality beer?"
Every sip gives me a warm glow "How good is it to brew to the style I want to drink?"
Every sip gives me a warm glow "I designed the recipe myself".
Every sip gives me a warm glow "I brewed that beer myself!".
Every sip gives me a warm glow "I love this beer!"

Doesn't get better than that, and a kit will never give me that warm glow.

 

[brewtas]

Every sip gives me a warm glow "I designed the recipe myself".
Every sip gives me a warm glow "I brewed that beer myself!".

Lots of the reasons people have mentioned are true for me too but I think these are the ones that really drive me. It's such a satisfying thing to do. I love the process of creating a beer from scratch: being inspired, working out a recipe, fussing and changing things over and over again, brewing it and then tasting the result. It's creative and fun and at the end you get beer. Not a bad hobby at all.

 

[ekul]

Then who would cook my dinner

Ever heard of this book? Natural Harvest

 

[QldKev]

Ever heard of this book? Natural Harvest

:icon_vomit:

 

[Diggles]

Ever heard of this book? Natural Harvest

No, but it worries me how you found it in the first place??!!

 

[matho]

why All grain?

because its fun

cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Simple Really. I moved to all grain for the chicks.

K&K groupies
View attachment 54211

All Grain Groupies
View attachment 54212

Your choice.

note - please dont take offence :huh:

So you've never been with a fat woman.

Chinese proverb: thin women for looking at, fat women for lying on

Yup I know

B)

 

[glenwal]

Ever heard of this book? Natural Harvest

Whilst brewing all grain does mean you can add what you like to your beer - just remember to tell people before you bring it to the next case swap.

 

[Diggles]

Simple Really. I moved to all grain for the chicks.

K&K groupies
View attachment 54211

All Grain Groupies
View attachment 54212

Your choice.

note - please dont take offence :huh:

No offence, but I'm not sure if I'd have enough flour to go round the big girls!!

 

[kario]

No offence, but I'm not sure if I'd have enough flour to go round the big girls!!

But flour is cheaper than cocaine.

 

[felten]

Cmon, KFC? Who would try and clone that? That's just stupid talk. Everyone know's you can't clone the Colonel.

http://meemoskitchen.blogspot.com.au/2007/...nal-recipe.html

It works pretty well ;P


ed: except I wouldn't advise to deep fry it.

 

[freezkat]

Better tasting beer, and the flexibility to do more.
Plus the feel of doing it more as a fully natural additive free beer.

The other big thing in improving brewing i reckon, is going to kegging.
That really changes home brew to craft beer if you are a patient brewer.

I love kegging. It almost makes bottling a six pack of leftovers, fun. I don't see the patient quality with kegging...I like tap beer..I don't like bottling.

Beer on tap seems to legitimize your beer. No special headless tilt to avoid sediment in the bottle ending up in the glass.

The kegerator is like the perfect wife. She's just waiting at your beckon call with something wet and satisfying...24/7...even on Sunday...even when her mother is visiting and you can have it any style you wish. Once you pay for it...it gets cheaper to live with.

And you can keg extract brew too...there is no law against it.