All Grain ?

[Billy Klubb]

going all grain isnt expensive. It only cost me 25 bucks for a 5 gal cooler on sale at home depot, 10 bucks for plumbing fittings and another ten bucks for a stainless braid. Just batch sparge..you dont need a brew stand. A ten gallon kettle is the only expensive thing you need. I buy weyerman pilsener malt for 55$ for a 55# sack at my local homebrew shop. Thats 6 batches worth...all grain set up paid for. I made some very good extract beers but I would never go back. You learn so much about the brewing process doing all grain. There is always a next level of expense when it comes to hobbies, especially this one. Fermentors, o2 systems, ph meters, pumps, freezers, fridges, heaters, thermostats, co2, kegs, chemicals, water salts, perlicks...I guess we all choose where to invest in our system.

cool. you send me the money for all that, including the 10gal pot and and a burner since my stove won't handle it, and I'll get started.

[Luthierzan]

When I started brewing at home I knew I was going AG. I brewed a couple of extracts just so I could have beer while I collected up the equipment for AG. The extrcts are fine but as mentioned there are some things you can not control with extract such as attenuation.

[jomebrew]

I never brewed extract. I started brewing all grain. It cost about $250 over a couple months to get a double burner from home depot and a couple converted kegs. I got a free 48qt igloo cooler. It cost about $100 more for things like thermometers, hydrometer, valves, tubes, funnels and other misc parts. I buy bulk hops from Niko and repitch yeast. A typical all grain costs about $20. I buy grains for 5gal batches from MoreBeer and yeast every 2 or three batches.

I have helped folks make extract brews with steeping grains. Seems about the same work except I have 10 - 15 lbs of grain to spread around my compost heap versus a couple lbs. Hot grains kill weeds! They stink like hellp in a few days though. I usually dump grass clippings on top which mitigates the decomposing grains.

It takes about an hour less to do extract with steeping grains, A little less to clean up.

I really like being able to modify recipes to make beers I like. I can easly adjust amounts or swap grains to see what happens.

I made rootbeer from extract. That was awesome and have had the most happy faces from any "beer" I have made.

[Evan B]

I too started with all grain. 100+ batches later, I feel I started in the right place. I have partaken in a few extract brews with friends at their places, and thought it was a bigger pain in the ass than an all grain brew. All grain really is easy, especially if you have someone around to show you the ropes. If not, there's always John Palmer's book, as well as some helpful videos on youtube.

I also live and brew in a studio apartment. I do full 5 gallon batches, all grain, in this limited space. Boils happen on the patio, the mash tun can be somewhere different every time depending on if I have help or not, and it all breaks down and stores in a closet with my bulk grains and grain mill. If I can pull this off in the most limited space of probably anybody on here, then I can assure you that space issues can be worked out with careful planning.

One more thing, and this isn't to be snarky either... But since I got in to the homebrewing thing back in 2005, I still have not had a single extract brew that I thought was all that great. I keep hearing that you can make extract beers that are every bit as good as all grain, but I still haven't seen it. I can almost always tell a beer is from extract before I'm even told that it is. I'm willing to be proven wrong, I'm just waiting

[thatguy314]

I don't know where everyone gets this idea that fly sparging is hard. I've batch sparged and fly sparged. I hate batch sparging because I have to recirculate all over again. At the end of the day fly sparging is easier and faster for me. Yes, it took me a couple tries to figure out how to set my flow rate properly, but since I've figured it out, it's been a breeze. I don't worry about tannin extraction because I don't worry about getting the highest efficiency. I sparge fast and cut it off when I've reached my appropriate volume and this gives me 75-78% every time. Reirculating / Vorloft is a pain to have to do multiple times.

I think a good fly sparge is like any other brewing process, it's easier and faster to learn to do it right. I got better results immediately with shaking my keg, and it took me a bit to figure out how to do oxygen properly, but learning to do the technique properly made my life easier in the long run.

[andy77]

going all grain isnt expensive. It only cost me 25 bucks for a 5 gal cooler on sale at home depot, 10 bucks for plumbing fittings and another ten bucks for a stainless braid. Just batch sparge..you dont need a brew stand. A ten gallon kettle is the only expensive thing you need. I buy weyerman pilsener malt for 55$ for a 55# sack at my local homebrew shop. Thats 6 batches worth...all grain set up paid for. I made some very good extract beers but I would never go back. You learn so much about the brewing process doing all grain. There is always a next level of expense when it comes to hobbies, especially this one. Fermentors, o2 systems, ph meters, pumps, freezers, fridges, heaters, thermostats, co2, kegs, chemicals, water salts, perlicks...I guess we all choose where to invest in our system.

cool. you send me the money for all that, including the 10gal pot and and a burner since my stove won't handle it, and I'll get started.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... -202038907

Aluminum is your friend.

[Billy Klubb]

going all grain isnt expensive. It only cost me 25 bucks for a 5 gal cooler on sale at home depot, 10 bucks for plumbing fittings and another ten bucks for a stainless braid. Just batch sparge..you dont need a brew stand. A ten gallon kettle is the only expensive thing you need. I buy weyerman pilsener malt for 55$ for a 55# sack at my local homebrew shop. Thats 6 batches worth...all grain set up paid for. I made some very good extract beers but I would never go back. You learn so much about the brewing process doing all grain. There is always a next level of expense when it comes to hobbies, especially this one. Fermentors, o2 systems, ph meters, pumps, freezers, fridges, heaters, thermostats, co2, kegs, chemicals, water salts, perlicks...I guess we all choose where to invest in our system.

cool. you send me the money for all that, including the 10gal pot and and a burner since my stove won't handle it, and I'll get started.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... -202038907

Aluminum is your friend.

cool. you send me the money for all that, including the 10gal pot and and a burner since my stove won't handle it, and I'll get started.


I'm happy with my extract brewing. no one is gonna change my mind but me.

[Old_Skool]

Yeah I'm with Billy Klubb - someone wants to front me some moola I'll look into it. I've got over $200 into current setup which includes about ~$130 for temerature controlled fermentation. Which may explain why my primary fermenting often hits the target FG easily. Someone earlier complained their extracts never got below 18 0r 20.

My brother in-law claims (back in '98) he was taught by some guy to identify the "extract twang" so he stopped brewing because he didn't want to go AG and he thought whats the point. In tasting my partial mashed beers he has yet to find the twang. Now a local brewer for 20yrs (a co-worker of my wifes) said he did pickup a bit of extract flavor on a Southern English Brown Ale --- but on my Brown Porter he said no extract taste and very tasty.

But bottom line is I brew for my own enjoyment of both brewing and enjoying the brew. And watching my friends (both casual ale and fanatical ale drinkers) enjoy a good brew to.

You'll have to pry my sticky extract scrapper from my cold dead hands ......