TAF ....... extract dumb -ass Q.

[Prozac]

In our house TAF is an acronym for Thick As F*ck ........

I'm struggling to understand the difference between Extract & AG....... OK AG is where you're making the beer totally from scratch...... but Extract seems to need pretty much all the kit that AG needs.

I've made 10 or so kits and only had to bin one....

I'm prepared to fork out for the H&G 10 gallon Brewery.... (though the single element kit is £138 and the double is £163.... £25 seems steep for a heating element!!!) ..... if it's worth the money.

Can someone please help a dumb fecker understand the differences.

[Garth]

true, there is quite a bit of kit needed for extract which you can use for AG, the only exception really is a mash tun of sorts needed for AG,

basically when you do extract, you are bypassing the mashing stage where you add grains to hot water and leave it for hour - 90 mins, then drawing off the liquid. When extract brewing, this liquid is ready for use in a tin, albeit in a condensed gooey form.

two elements are much better than one, a brewday can stretch from 5 - 6, or 7 hours so getting the water heated up then getting the boil going quicker saves loads of time.

The H&G boiler is a good investment especially if you don't want to fanny on making one yourself. I used one for 30 odd AG and it was great, don't bother with the thermostat model, it's not really needed and just adds £££s onto the bill.

AG makes miles better beer than either kits or extract, it is the closest (often better than pub beer) I always found I got the extract 'twang' with kits and lots of folk have reported this with extract brewing also. You'll also find extract is quite expensive, often more than kits

[Prozac]

Thanks Garth..... how does the cost of AG ingredients stack up against kit/extract? Seems reasonably priced.

The advantage of kits is that I can get one on the go in about 30mins, start to finish.
I usually have one on the go all the time.... Being able to dedicate 6-7 hrs ,possibly every week, to get the brew going may prove irksome and push SWMBO's patience somewhat......

[Garth]

the cost of ingredients (hops and grain) for AG has gone up recently but it is still the cheapest way of homebrewing

extract, in my mind, is the most expensive way, some folk buy extract in bulk and save, but if you get a friendly micro who can supply grain cheap, you're laughing.