The All Grain Versus Extract Debate - Part 1

I can tell, this is going to be a debatable issue for the Greenville Beer Brothers. There is certainly a drive to move towards the All Grain methods, which allow better control over the ingredients, and by extension the final product. It might be nice to have an open dialogue, so that we are all on the same page, and moving towards our ultimate goal: A homebrew that would make Baby Jesus tear up with joy.

I'd like to present the case that we should ease into the All Grain territory. This is an awkward case for me, in some ways, since I tend to want to crank things to '11' right off the bat. Still, I feel some prudence is required, as we cut our homebrewing teeth.

There are four main reasons I think we should engage the All Grain process incrementally. Those reasons relate to equipment, time, refining our process, and learning flavor components.

Equipment
We are ramping up our equipment, slowly but surely, but the All Grain brewing process puts strains on what we currently have at our disposal. We have done a good job of increasing our overall fermentation capacity (we could primary four batches, plus a half batch, right now). Our issue is getting a 5 gallon batch in the pot. Adding a large (30+ quart) pot is going to be critical, and is something we have on tap, just to push our half batch Hibernation clone through the process. But we do not really know, more than anectodally, about how well we're going to be able to do the Mash/Sparge boil in a bag method, on the stove.

What I feel our push should be, in terms of equipment, is a cooler system that will let us take the Mash/Sparge off the stove. I think this is the real impetus between us and going All Grain in a big way. I will admit, I could be wrong about this, and we will put this whole theory to a hard test tonight, assuming we are still brewing the Hibernation half batch.

Time
All Grain takes more time. It does. There's additional processes that have to be followed, which bring with it even more processes (cleaning, prepping, learning, etc). Extract brewing is nice, because an entire batch can be in the carboy in 2-3 hours, once we get things down to a science. I think there will be moments, even after we have a nice three tiered burner system, a 15 gallon stainless steel fermenter, and a 5 tap converted fridge, that we will still brew extract recipes. I don't think we should lose sight of the mantra 'It's not the technique, it's the beer'. Good beer, no matter how we make it, is the ultimate goal. There may be times we will have to strike a balance between time and process, and end up going extract.

Refining Our Process
We have two batches done. Only one of those is in bottles. We are still Noobs, in a big way. We have yet to face a hard challenge to our process, that either results in us having to rescue the batch in some way, or that ruins the batch. We, being the ultimate geniuses that we are, are probably already better than some more seasoned brewers, but repetition of the basic processes is going to net us our greatest incremental gains in skill. Maneuvering as a team, as well, is a key component of what we're doing here. Trading out roles, so that each of us is gaining experience in each of the aspects of the batch. This is why I'm such a fan of our robust appetite for brewing, that has resulted in probably 4 batches in the carboy within 2 weeks time. That's borderline insane, and we're lucky we can still get laid, having put our women through this. It shouldn't be overlooked that we can get loads of experience, right now, through extract brewing. The All Grain process is going to take us away from the basic principles, as we ramp up that skillset. We need to have confidence that there are no gaps in our basic process.

Learning Flavor Components
This one could be the most important. We've barely tasted the fruit of the process. We have read about what Cascade hops do, and we've sampled many commercial brews that have them as a main component, but can we say, with any real conviction, what a Cascade hop tastes like in our process? Ramping up to All Grain will bring us more control over the ingredients, but right now we are still lacking in a fundamental understanding of what those ingredients are supposed to be, in the first place. There is so much to know, so much to learn, so much to do, it's easy to start taking three steps at a time. A good chef knows his ingredients inside and out, and the same would go with a good brewer. We've got to get to this level.

This wasn't an effort to reel us in, as much as it is to begin the discussion of how we will transition to All Grain (we certainly will, in a big way, at some point). There are some serious Pros that will outweigh all the Cons, over time. Our best beers will likely come from All Grain, and will have personality that only that process can impart. We'll get there.