[Joe Sr.]

And all I did was ask about "all grain" as possibly being a changing point in his brewing carrier. Sorry, but it seems we are on the same page.

Maybe it's more about how you asked.

FWIW, I've been brewing for around 20 years and do not brew all-grain.

For most of the time, I've not been particularly interested in taking "that last big step."

I have my process down, I know my equipment and I'm making and enjoying great beer.

I have an old cooler I can convert, and have thought about it, but frankly making the change would require an effort and adjustment (change of process, dialing in efficiency, etc.) that I'm not willing to make right now. 

I've got enough other things to do and I want my brew day to be as smooth and reliable as possible.  Right now, I'd rather spend my free time building a smoker.

After 500 batches, I'm sure this guy knows what he's doing and has it dialed in.

[bo]

And all I did was ask about "all grain" as possibly being a changing point in his brewing carrier. Sorry, but it seems we are on the same page.

Maybe it's more about how you asked.

FWIW, I've been brewing for around 20 years and do not brew all-grain.

For most of the time, I've not been particularly interested in taking "that last big step."

I have my process down, I know my equipment and I'm making and enjoying great beer.

I have an old cooler I can convert, and have thought about it, but frankly making the change would require an effort and adjustment (change of process, dialing in efficiency, etc.) that I'm not willing to make right now. 

I've got enough other things to do and I want my brew day to be as smooth and reliable as possible.  Right now, I'd rather spend my free time building a smoker.

After 500 batches, I'm sure this guy knows what he's doing and has it dialed in.

In this case, I think it's more about who did the asking.

[morticaixavier]

And all I did was ask about "all grain" as possibly being a changing point in his brewing carrier. Sorry, but it seems we are on the same page.

Maybe it's more about how you asked.

FWIW, I've been brewing for around 20 years and do not brew all-grain.

For most of the time, I've not been particularly interested in taking "that last big step."

I have my process down, I know my equipment and I'm making and enjoying great beer.

I have an old cooler I can convert, and have thought about it, but frankly making the change would require an effort and adjustment (change of process, dialing in efficiency, etc.) that I'm not willing to make right now. 

I've got enough other things to do and I want my brew day to be as smooth and reliable as possible.  Right now, I'd rather spend my free time building a smoker.

After 500 batches, I'm sure this guy knows what he's doing and has it dialed in.

In this case, I think it's more about who did the asking.

Bo, go back and take a look at your original comment. it was just a little confrontational perhaps.

It is possible that you did not intend it to be critical but it sort of came across that way. I often have to check myself when on the internet to make sure that what I am saying doesn't read differently than it would sound.

[bo]

And all I did was ask about "all grain" as possibly being a changing point in his brewing carrier. Sorry, but it seems we are on the same page.

Maybe it's more about how you asked.

FWIW, I've been brewing for around 20 years and do not brew all-grain.

For most of the time, I've not been particularly interested in taking "that last big step."

I have my process down, I know my equipment and I'm making and enjoying great beer.

I have an old cooler I can convert, and have thought about it, but frankly making the change would require an effort and adjustment (change of process, dialing in efficiency, etc.) that I'm not willing to make right now. 

I've got enough other things to do and I want my brew day to be as smooth and reliable as possible.  Right now, I'd rather spend my free time building a smoker.

After 500 batches, I'm sure this guy knows what he's doing and has it dialed in.

In this case, I think it's more about who did the asking.

Bo, go back and take a look at your original comment. it was just a little confrontational perhaps.

It is possible that you did not intend it to be critical but it sort of came across that way. I often have to check myself when on the internet to make sure that what I am saying doesn't read differently than it would sound.

The first thing I did was comment on how impressive it was. I just don't see how me commenting on it being all extract and someone else trying to encourage them to go all grain is that much different. I'll bet there are very few brewers that have that many batches under their belt and aren't at the all grain level. It was a reasonable comment and it wasn't said in a harsh manner, at least not as harsh as the resulting comment.

Congrats on the 500 mark. I'm done.

[beersk]

It is possible that you did not intend it to be critical but it sort of came across that way. I often have to check myself when on the internet to make sure that what I am saying doesn't read differently than it would sound.

I have to do this too, speaking from personal experience of losing sight of that and saying things I wouldn't say in person.

I think it's cool that he's stayed with extract all these years.  He must get his extract fresh and have the process down to a 'T' to brew great beer.  No doubt that after that many years of brewing his beer is very good.

[MDixon]

Dave likes a quick turn around and often drinks them a bit too early. AFAIK he never makes the same batch twice and only 5 or so gallon batches. Sometimes awesome, sometimes not my cup-of-tea, but always interesting.

If you want to see his recipe for number 500 it is here:
http://mashbang.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/batch-500/

[weithman5]

have you malted your own grain yet? what about growing it? there is no last big step. it just keeps going. up and I don't know where it's going to stop!!!!

not grown or malted yet but i did just make my first munich and brewed with it (my new dark beer)

[morticaixavier]

have you malted your own grain yet? what about growing it? there is no last big step. it just keeps going. up and I don't know where it's going to stop!!!!

not grown or malted yet but i did just make my first munich and brewed with it (my new dark beer)

nice, how long did you kiln for the munich? I assume you started with plain old 2 row? or pils?

[thirsty]

All grain is great, but I gotta admit I really like the speed factor of extract sometimes. Some days its just easier to have a two hour brew session.

[punatic]

No, not me.

We have a local homebrewer who only makes extract batches and brewed his 500th batch on February 28, 2012. Someone checked some old notes and found he discussed batch 295 back on October 14, 1998. So 205 batches in 13 years 4 months. Using rough math that comes out to 160 months or a batch every 3 weeks.

That's impressive!

That is impressive!  Someone who knows what he likes and is happy doing it.  I admire people who find that place. 


It's just too bad the bridge dweller could not resist the compulsion to critisize your friend's acomplishment.

[beersk]

It's just too bad the bridge dweller could not resist the compulsion to critisize your friend's acomplishment.

The bridge dweller...haha.  Let's not name-call, now...

But I agree, it is neat to hear about people who find that place and are happy with it.  I've often thought about going back and doing some extract batches, just for kicks. 

[gmwren]

All grain is great, but I gotta admit I really like the speed factor of extract sometimes. Some days its just easier to have a two hour brew session.

I just did my first extract in 15 years and can honestly say that either my techniques are better and/or the malt quality has improved since then. Side by side tastings of my house IPA give just a little edge to the all grain but I kind of enjoyed the two hour brew session.

[nateo]

I really love wheat beers, but I hate brewing with wheat. Milling it is a PITA, and stuck sparges are a PITA. I'm thinking about going back to extract for my wheats just so I don't have to deal with it. Before I switched to AG, though, I made some great wheats with wheat LME.

[weithman5]

nice, how long did you kiln for the munich? I assume you started with plain old 2 row? or pils?

it was plain old breiss 2-row.  i used the table out of homebrewer's garden.  i will look and make sure what i did when i get home but i think it was 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  i used my rival roaster.  stunk up the garage ( i liked it wife not so much) the rival roaster was a failed attempt at using as an electric kettle but it worked great for this.  let grain mature post roast for about 3 weeks in paper bag.  i made bread out of the spent grain and was pretty good.

[morticaixavier]

nice, how long did you kiln for the munich? I assume you started with plain old 2 row? or pils?

it was plain old breiss 2-row.  i used the table out of homebrewer's garden.  i will look and make sure what i did when i get home but i think it was 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  i used my rival roaster.  stunk up the garage ( i liked it wife not so much) the rival roaster was a failed attempt at using as an electric kettle but it worked great for this.  let grain mature post roast for about 3 weeks in paper bag.  i made bread out of the spent grain and was pretty good.

cool. I have that book. Guess it's time to dig it out again. I forgot it had time/temp tables.