Extract vs All Grain Homebrewing

Intimidated by All Grain brewing? Feel like it’s a legend that’s out of your comfort zone; the unicorn of homebrewing?

Let’s take at a closer look at Extract brewing and All Grain brewing to see which best suits you.

ALL GRAIN BREWING

Basically the same method of brewing used by commercial breweries but on a smaller scale. Differs from extract brewing in that you create your own wort from crushed, malted grains and hot water. All grain brewing offers more creative freedom than extract brewing so you can make a brew specific to your personal tastes or mimic a favourite commercial brew. And so much more fun!

Take a look at our overview of the all grain brewing process.

EXTRACT BREWING

This is a popular gateway into brewing for new brewers. Concentrated malt extract allows you to skip the mashing process, and move directly to the boil and fermentation steps. It’s considerably quicker and requires less equipment than all grain brewing but offers less creative freedom and often less tasty brews.

PROS: ALL GRAIN HOMEBREWING

• More control and room for experimentation
• Way more fun!
• Cheaper (ingredients)
• Brew any style you like
• Cool equipment to get excited about
• Tastes much better (when you get it right*)
• More satisfying to make (when you get it right*)

PROS: EXTRACT HOMEBREWING

• Quicker brew time
• Easier to get right
• Less equipment needed to buy and store
• Good way to get into homebrewing

CONS: ALL GRAIN HOMEBREWING

• Cost & storage of equipment
• Longer brew time
• Easier to screw up*

CONS: EXTRACT HOMEBREWING

• Ingredients more expensive
• Less room for creativity
• Limited types of brews
• Less tasty brews

*All grain brewing is made much easier with an all-in-one brewing kettle like BrewZilla. Take a look at here to see for yourself.

CONCLUSION

As you can see there are many pros and cons for both methods of homebrewing. Personally, we prefer all grain homebrewing for the creativity  it provides. But we think that it’s all a personal preference – there ain’t no right or wrong here so do what works for you. But above all else: have fun!