Author: Marshall Schott

It’s no surprise most homebrewers start by using extract, nearly 80% according to a recent survey, most likely in the form of recipe kits. Making beer with extract is sold as being generally easier and less time consuming than brewing all grain, which I’ve come to question as newer and simpler methods for all grain brewing have become available, such as Brew In A Bag (BIAB). While a seemingly small minority of homebrewers swear they’re able to produce extract beer of similar quality as all grain beer and choose never to transition, results of the aforementioned survey show most homebrewers (85.2%) currently brew using all grain methods with over half (52.5%) believing it produces better beer than extract.

It’s possible someone has snuck me a beer made with extract and I missed it, but in my experience, extract has its own character, which like I’ve said before, isn’t a bad thing. I don’t really understand the attempt to deny the idea that condensing wort into a syrup or powder is bound to change its constitution, and that these changes effect the character it imparts on a finished beer. This doesn’t make it bad, just different and something to consider. While the first extract vs. all grain xBmt occurred prior to our adoption of the triangle test method, it did demonstrate a beer produced with Maris Otter grain was wholly different than one produced with Maris Otter extract. Never one to accept a single point of data as fact, and still looking to an extract beer that tastes like an equivalent all grain example, I thought it only prudent to put this one to the test again, only this time using recipe kits and a new method of data collection.

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between similar beer recipes produced using either all grain or extract recipe kits.

| METHODS |

After I shared the results of the first extract xBmt, as is often the case, I received a barrage of critiques and great recommendations for follow-up xBmts, one of the most popular of which was to compare recipes kits from the same manufacturer, one extract and the other all grain, as they are designed to be very similar to each other. Challenge accepted! I’d recently been contacted by the great folks at Great Fermentations who expressed interest in supporting Brülosophy by providing ingredients for an xBmt. Having never tried the famed Zombie Dust by 3 Floyds Brewing, I chose Great Fermentations’ clone recipe kits, Brain Eater Pale Ale, in both extract and all grain. Since they allow customers to choose their yeast, I went with a strain I’d heard a ton about recently, Wyeast 1318 London Ale III, with plans to harvest some for future use.

I made a couple equal sized starters and pitched a swollen smack pack into each, they had the same manufactured on date, then let them spin for a couple days.

I began preparing the night before brewing by gathering all of the required water and milling the grains from the all grain kit.

Brew day was a bit unusual as I’d not used extract in a long time, and there was a lot of it in addition to some steeping grains.

To ensure I didn’t fuck things up too bad, I decided to focus my attention first on the extract batch, which began with heating some water up and steeping the included grains for the prescribed amount of time.

Following the steep, I removed the grains, let them drain for a few minutes, and began to heat the liquid. I added only the liquid malt extract (LME) just before the boil was reached, reserving the dry malt extract (DME) for the last 10 minutes.

It was during this time I began heating the water for the all grain batch.

The extract batch began boiling just after I finished mashing in on the all grain batch, making it time for the first hop addition. Citra, Citra everywhere!

Things got pretty hectic, but both boils went off without a hitch, after which each was chilled and racked into separate 6 gallon PET carboys.

With my groundwater still a tad on the warm side, I let the worts finish chilling to my 66˚F/19˚C target in the chamber, it took about 4 hours, at which point I pitched the starters. Fermentation activity was visible in both beers just 12 hours later.

I began ramping the temp to 72˚F/22˚C 3 days into fermentation then notice a week later the kräusen on the extract batch had fallen while it persisted on the all grain beer. Interestingly, a hydrometer reading corroborated my Beer Bugs showing the former had yet to reach target FG at this point and the latter had. I let them sit 2 more days before taking a confirmatory hydrometer reading.

No change at all, indicating to me fermentation was complete. I proceeded to crash the beers, hit both with gelatin, then keg them up.

After force carbonating and letting the kegs rest in my keezer for 4 days, the beers were both looking quite delectable, if but slightly different.

The extract beer appeared somewhat clearer and noticeably darker than its all grain counterpart. Was this an indication of other character differences?

| RESULTS |

A total of 20 people participated in this xBmt including BJCP judges, experienced homebrewers, and dedicated craft beer junkies. Each participant was blindly served 2 samples of the extract beer and 1 sample of the all grain beer in different colored opaque cups then instructed to identify the one that was different. In order to achieve statistical significance given the sample size, 11 participants (P<0.05) would have had to correctly identify the extract sample as being unique. In the end, exactly 11 tasters (p=0.020) made the correct selection, indicating the all grain beer was reliably distinguishable from the extract beer by this panel of participants.

The tasters who were correct on the triangle test were subsequently asked to complete a brief evaluation comparing only the different beers while still blind to the variable being investigated. Overall preference was all over the board with 4 tasters preferring the all grain beer, 2 preferring the extract beer, 3 experiencing no difference, and 2 saying they noticed a difference but had no preference. When asked to select the beer they thought was made using grains and no extract, a rather large majority of 8 chose correctly, while only 3 incorrectly chose the extract sample.

My Impressions: I truly believe malt extract has a character all its own, which isn’t a negative thing, just a simple reality due to the extract making process. This opinion was backed up by my experiences on multiple “blind” triangle tests served to me by others– I was correct every single time with a very high degree of confidence. I perceived the extract beer as having a more rich caramel character while the all grain beer was cleaner with a slightly more toasty edge and the hops seemed to come through a bit stronger as well. While I’ve nothing against extract, I handily preferred the all grain beer, though I’ll admit I was quite impressed with how tasty the extract version of this popular beer was. For those hesitant to make the jump to all grain, the extract version of Brain Eater Pale Ale was easily one of the best extract beers I’ve tasted in a long time, I’d highly recommend trying it out if you’re a lover of Citra hops!

| DISCUSSION |

There’s a part of me that wants to (ab)use these results as support for my perspective that extract imparts a particular flavor to beer, a character you don’t get when brewing without it. Unfortunately, some are bound to view such a statement as me saying extract is bad, which isn’t true at all. All I’m trying to say is that extract is different. We’ve all heard/read people say that with good process, an extract beer can be just as good as an all grain beer. Sure, I agree that by following certain procedural rules, a beer made with malt extract can be really good, though I’m not yet convinced it can taste the same as a similarly made all grain beer, a claim supported by the results from this xBmt. Does that mean I think extract is bad? Not a bit.

What has you experience with extract and/or all grain been? Did you start with one method and transition to another? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Support for this xBmt comes from Great Fermentations, a home beer and wine making supply shop based out of Indiana offering a large selection of the finest and freshest ingredients, and all the gear you need to make great beer. Let Great Fermentations help you craft something great!

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