To go all grain, or not?
 

So I have 10 or so extract only recipes under the belt. Ready for the next step. I have an 8 gallon kettle so I could easily go the biab route, I understand there are reasons to skip it and go right for an all grain with mash tun technique. I need to people to speak up and help me make up my mind!!!! BIAB or go for the gold????

why not try one biab and see if you like the results and the extra commitment in time before you go all in.
I personally just went all grain after 2 extract brews.

I guess the thread title doesn't speak to my question. A more fitting title being.... Which all grain direction should I go?!

You'll get more opinions than there are options on what's best.

I'd recommend you read some threads describing the various options and decide what will work best for you. Don't let the mashing math/technique stop you - it's all very simple. Instead, decide based on what process appeals to you most and equipment you want to purchase.

I mash in a cooler and batch sparge and love it...ridiculously easy, simple, portable, cheap.

I think the best route is a round drink cooler mash tun. Pretty inexpensive and highly effective IMO. I'm sure other people with more experience (and more experience on different equipment) have other views, but a cooler is just plain easy. And if you'd desire a direct fired mash tun in the future (keggles etc) you can still use the cooler as a hot liquor tank.

My setup is a 10 gallon round drink cooler with a "kettle valve" and "kettle screen" available at homebrew shops. It could not be simpler to hold proper mash temps, do infusions if necessary, and batch sparge with decent efficiency. (Stir Stir Stir before draining is the sparging method) A stainless hose barb is nice too since brass can supposedly leach lead.

I also have the round cooler and sometimes wish I would've gone rectangular. Just a tough angle to stir sometimes. But it works like a champ.

I like that idea. That's sort of what I'm thinking at this point. Thanks for the input. I'm thinking some die hards are going to come out of the woodwork to convince me otherwise. We'll see.

Cheers

when we got done with our first AG brew (after doing extract for years), I turned to my wife and said "that's it? sure it was a longer brew day, but really, that's it?" I had made it up in my head that it was a much bigger process than it really was.

You say you're ready for the next step, which leads me to believe that you will then want to pursue the following step, whatever that may be. If you have the money and easy access to purchasing all the equipment you need to mash, sparge, and do full boils right now, go for it. If that's not the case, then go get yourself a large bag for the grains. That should be less than $10. Do some BIAB's while you save up, research, and put things together for your all grain system.

my first batch I did extract, second was biab, third was all grain, grab a biab bag for a couple bucks and try it, then when you get all the equipment for all grain, do all grain