All Grain or Keg first?

Hello to all,

Got a couple batches under me and like everyone else the obsession has begun.

I was wondering given budget constraints, do I venture into All Grain brewing first or go with the Kegging setup first. I know eventually I will be doing both. Which one has the quickest benefit?

Brian

Depends what you brew. If you make hefeweizen's and lagers it certainly makes more sense to go AG. If you make APA's/IPA's, go ahead and keg!

That would really depend on yourself.. what you are looking for and your priorities.
Going all-grain will save you alot of $ (esp. in the long run), and it doesn't need to cost alot in equipment, especially if you already have a cooler for a MLT.

Kegging is just for convenience, and will cost considerably more.. it's not just the cost for a few kegs, but also lines, taps, shanks, kegerators and so.. It cost alot more than i first anticipated.

So for quick benefit, i would say AG.. There is a little learning-curve with it, but the cost and the pride of being able to say you made beer out of grain is awesome

Kegging is more expensive, but that's how I would go. I've never bottled. Started with mini-kegs and quickly switched to cornies.

I already had a commercial kegorator converted fridge when I started Homebrewing, so it was kind of a no brainer for me. I guess you have to ask yourself if you dont mind taking the time to bottle your brews. Kegs add a level of convenience, but I do find myself bottling some of my batch anyway to save after the keg has gone dry.

I'd say go AG. Kegging doesn't grow any brewing skills, but going AG will IMHO.

NoisufnoC said:

I'd say go AG. Kegging doesn't grow any brewing skills, but going AG will IMHO.

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That is a great perspective on the matter. Although you sure learn some physics from troubleshooting foam issues with kegs!

I vote AG... that is how I did it.

Kegging all the way. And for the record kegging is a skill and will save you lots of time. You could still do BIAB All Grain.

I vote for AG. You will get WAY more pleasure out of brewing AG than you will kegging your beer.

I vote keg setup. Never bottled, and I must say having kegs is easy, conveinent, and just plane sweet. How nice it is to pull a pint....Plus you don't have to pop for the whole thing at once, just use picnic taps to start with.

I vote AG. I simply bought a Wally World Cooler and a few small parts for a Mash-tun to move to all grain. Then, you save money doing all grain to save up for the kegging. Keep a look out on Craigs for a fridge, freezer, or kegerator during all that time for a cheap enough set up.

Kegging is more expensive, hands down. If cost is a factor, I'd go all grain. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have bought my temperature controller before I bothered with either. But I went all grain first, and I think that was a good decision on my part. I love the amount of control I have when making a beer.

AG, way fun and can save you money that you can put towards the keg.

Anyone have a good reference on where to read to learn about doing your first all grain batch? Looking for something straightforward to read and maybe suggest a recipe. No LHBS here so I cannot ask a local expert.

F bottling. I've never done it, but F bottling.

I would go with the Keggs. I Just had to make this same choice this week. I went with kegging because at this point, I don't know if I have the time to devote to all grain brewing. I have read that some first timers take up to 9 hours on their first all grain brew. I know it will not take that long always. I will eventually go all grain. I did buy a propane burner with intentions of going all grain, but decided to go with keggs first.
So for me, the choice came down to time...

carnevoodoo said:

Kegging is more expensive, hands down. If cost is a factor, I'd go all grain. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have bought my temperature controller before I bothered with either. But I went all grain first, and I think that was a good decision on my part. I love the amount of control I have when making a beer.

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+1 I went to temp control first then kegs and then all grain. I can definitely say my beer improved the most by controlling fermentation temperatures.

Having said that AG will easily save you the most money and you could put that towards one of the other options.

msa8967 said:

Anyone have a good reference on where to read to learn about doing your first all grain batch? Looking for something straightforward to read and maybe suggest a recipe. No LHBS here so I cannot ask a local expert.

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this is a good tutorial (who needs to read when you can watch a video?:cross: )

msa8967 said:

Anyone have a good reference on where to read to learn about doing your first all grain batch? Looking for something straightforward to read and maybe suggest a recipe. No LHBS here so I cannot ask a local expert.

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Check out this thread from deathbrewer
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/

I have been debating the same thing over the last couple of months and I think I'm going the keg route. For me it's about convenience. I will save time by not bottling plus I don't have a place where I can set up an outside propane burner. My electric stove would take forever to brew more than 5 gallons. I'll get to AG soon enough.