Cost between all grain brewing and extract brewing

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junior1

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Hi guys I'm thinking of buying the grainfather but was wondering what the price variation is between all grain brewing and extract brewing
 
Using this equipiment (�£101.50 including an all grain ingredient kit) I've just brewed a rye best bitter with northdown and belma hops and a liquid yeast that has come out at less than 41p per 500ml...and that includes the cost of priming sugar and crown caps.

This cost will be reduced as I recycle the yeast and the cost of future brews will be less as I use only the cheaper malt I got in bulk from the Maltmiller; the rye best bitter used some pale malt from my local home brew shop which bumped the cost up a little.

So my two penneth is that all grain is good value and can be very good value, also the Grainfather isn't an economic choice (which of course doesn't mean that it's not a good choice).

Anyway whatever you decide on, enjoy the brewing, enjoy the beer and remember it's all cheaper than the pub...and most of it is better.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

p.s. I haven't stopped going to the pub...just a bit less often.
 
I've done AG beers for as little as 13p per bottle for ingredients. Recycled yeast, simple grain bill and cheap hops. 25p a bottle is about the norm for me

The only reason to choose extract over AG is time. AG is better beer, and significantly cheaper.
 
well the simple answer is the cost between grain and extract. all other variables (yeast, hops) will be the same.

so if 5KG of grain equals 3KG of DME in terms of fermentables - Well 3KG of DME on brewUK is around £20. 5KG of Maris Otter from same place is around £8. But if you are willing to buy a sack of £25k of pale/MO, shopping around you can bring that down to around a fiver for 5Kg. so it works out much cheaper per brew.
 
You can get tins of LME for a fiver from some online sellers. So two tins for £10. Add hops and yeast and a pretty cheap extract beer is possible. You can steep grains to vary the malt profile, but there is less scope for variety than with all grain.
 
My AG brews are working out at about 34p per pint. The malt is pretty cheap at about £23 for 25Kg and that gives me 5 to 6 brews. hops can add up to quite a bit but i often make brown ale which uses very little hops. I re-use yeast so get at least 2 brews per packet.
Most importantly however is that extract brews do not taste like AG brews. But there again, neither do most commercial brews...
 
Yes I agree, it's not about money for me, all grain beer is better than extract beer in my experience, and I don't want second best, so it's worth the time and effort.
 
I think LME is more susceptible to twangs (probably aging thing)

DME is easier for most things because you can add as much as you like and then lock the bag up..

I think someone said you can grab two tins of LME for a tenner now, not sure how great that stuff is though, might be just fine.. I personally absolutley enjoy grain more.. cheaper and to me is just that last bit better.. Don't get me wrong extract will make a good beer...

I actually found and this may sound silly but making starters using DME the smell of malt extract just seems to have a less artificialness about it.. I know its not but it doesn't even smell the same as Grain being boiled to me.
 
Over and above any cost savings, personally I've never been totally satisfied with any kit or extract brews I've made. All of my AG attempts so far have been far superior to my extract attempts, so the real value for me is in the quality of the final product and the process of AG brewing.
 
Why are you buying the GF? Are you buying that anyway and then looking at the relative costs of ingredients or looking at the GF as a cost saving measurement too?

As others have said AG is the cheapest option ingredient wise. Its why I started AG brewing. I didn't bother with extract because there was no cost saving
 
Many thanks to my question I think the grainfather is now a no go but definitely all grain brewing for me just need to buy some more equipment for this. Any ideas on what equipment I may need to purchase
 

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