Thinking about going into AG

Just a quick(ish) question...

I currently do extract brewing, but want to try my hand at AG, so i looked around and decided to do 2.5 gallon batches. I also learned that to get everything proper 1-1.25qts of water/lbs of grain should be used for striking and .5 gal of water/lbs of grain should be used for sparging.

My question is... I only have a 5 gal pot for brewing, using those calculations, does that mean i'm limited to recipes of 6 lbs of grains? or can I use the same calculations with bigger grain bills and just add the sparge to the wort to bring it up to 2.5 gallons?

Thanks in advance.

Are you planning on doing BIAB or using a mash tun?

I think 1.25 qts/lb should be the minimum. I've gone as high as 1.5 qts/lb and the beer comes out the same. The sparge volume depends on how much grain you are using. Because grain absorbs water, total water in (strike and sparge) doesn't equal total water out. The more grain is in your recipe, the more water it will absorb, and so the more you sparge with to get the desired boil volume.

I BIAB in a 5 gallon kettle and my rule of thumb is 4.25 gallons strike water, a grain bill of 7.25 pounds or less, and a loss of 1.25 G (for grain absorb and boil off) to get 3 gallons in the fermenter. When I go up to 5G batches I use my 8 gallon kettle.

I do not sparge, but you can. Some folks do.

Stupid question. What's biab and how's that different from using a mash tun?

I started AG with a similar setup: 5 gal pot for boiling. 3 gallon pot for my hot liquor tank (heating sparge water) and an electric stove top. I use a 5 gallon igloo for mashing. I shoot for 4.5 gals preboil, and 3 to 3.5 gals in the fermenter. I have repeatedly gotten just over 3 gals in the fermenter after a 90+ minute boil and straining out hop gunk. My strongest beer so far used just under 10 lbs of grain and an OG of 1.070 with 3 gals in the fermenter.


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there are no stupid questions

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Brew_in_a_Bag

Do a mini mash first. Not to intimidate you, but there is a lot to learn.you need to research a little more. I'm sure helpful posts/ links will follow here... A partial mash will eliminate your problems if you don't get good efficiency the first few times. It's the perfect segway into AG


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I just finished my 4th all grain biab...it rocks! I'm doing 2 1/2 gallon batches and about 6# of grain is perfect. I did do a stone ruination clone and it about whooped me....but your average beer will be perfect. Go for it...I'm hitting my numbers and efficiency is about 70%. Beginners luck maybe but so far I've really enjoyed and all grain isn't as scary as it seems!


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Watch all grain videos on u tube, helped me a lot ! Good luck. It's a great hobby.


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I enjoy the versatility and control that is available through doing AG batches (I use a home-built PID controlled E-BIAB system).

When guys in our local club express an interest in making the move from extract to AG, we gladly help them along with that (my old mash tun cooler pretty much stays out on loan), but strongly suggest that they first get set up (if they haven't already) with some really good, precise control over pitch and ferment temps. At last month's meeting, I took them step-by-step through what's needed to wire up an STC-1000 to make an outlet box into which you plug in a fridge or freezer.

The taste of an extract brew done right (including fermented at the ideal temp) is preferable to an AG beer that was fermented even just moderately too warm.

Minus the temp controls (which are still difficult in my neck of the woods) I switched to BIAB and loved it. It adds a little more time to brew day (about an hour to hour and a half, depending on your recipe). Yes, 10 pounds of grain soaked in water can be heavy to lift, but I didn't find it too bad. I bought aluminum pots to use, boiled in the oxidation ring to keep metals out, and it worked great. Target had a 42 qt aluminum pot for under $30 which worked great, allows me to do my full boil in there.

BigFloyd said:

The taste of an extract brew done right (including fermented at the ideal temp) is preferable to an AG beer that was fermented even just moderately too warm.

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I'm somewhat of a stickler for process control so generally I agree. I'm planning to do my first AG brew (cooler MLT, batch sparge, full boil) this weekend, Sunday, I'm thinking. Probably will give it at least a couple batches to gauge effect but if it seems like too much hassle for the result I have no qualms about going back to extract brewing.

I can't answer your question about batch sizes, but I moved to AG after only 3 extract batches (the first two of which I failed on - big time!).

One thing that helped me immensely in learning the process was building my own mash-tun. To those of us who already mash, it seems like such a simple process. But reading about it while gearing up to do it your first time can seem daunting. Directing that research and energy into building a mash-tun will. via osmosis, teach you the basics on how to mash. You'll still have questions, and room to 'F'-up, but you'll feel like you know what you're doing. haha! Since RDWHHB is the motto of the hobby, that feeling can count for quite a bit.

rel322 said:

Just a quick(ish) question...

I currently do extract brewing, but want to try my hand at AG, so i looked around and decided to do 2.5 gallon batches. I also learned that to get everything proper 1-1.25qts of water/lbs of grain should be used for striking and .5 gal of water/lbs of grain should be used for sparging.

My question is... I only have a 5 gal pot for brewing, using those calculations, does that mean i'm limited to recipes of 6 lbs of grains? or can I use the same calculations with bigger grain bills and just add the sparge to the wort to bring it up to 2.5 gallons?

Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Everything depends. But AG brewing feels more scientific and adds some control over your finished beer. You mash at your given water ratio but can sparge less than/equal to that volume to get your desired pre-boil volume. Bigger beers = more liquid (more grain necessary....). BeerSmith or other brewing software will really help you adjust to AG brewing.

But from helping a friend convert, you really need 2 pots and a mash tun or go BIAB. You need to lauter your first running into a pot (1) as another pot (2) heats your sparge water... you cant drain and hold heated sparge water in one pot. Not everything is equal, but for making beer you will be just fine with what you decide.

All grain feels more "fun" to me and is cheaper. I say go for it.

rel322 said:

Stupid question. What's biab and how's that different from using a mash tun?

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I am so with you! The moment I think I know what I am doing, bang, back to 101, what the h? We all throw around buzz words and feel good!

I'm only about six batches into my homebrewing career...


I started with Brooklyn kits... which are all grain. I think if you are confident at all around the kitchen, then all-grain isn't that hard to start with.

My first three brews were with the three kettle system and a sparge.. but then I investigated BIAB and it has been awesome.

I do two gallon batches using a 16qt kettle. I really should move up to a 20qt kettle as it gets pretty close to the top at times. Once the grain is removed though, it is plenty of room.

Flboy said:

I am so with you! The moment I think I know what I am doing, bang, back to 101, what the h? We all throw around buzz words and feel good!

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BIAB: You steep the grains in a bag in hot water for 60 minutes. Remove the bag of grains, and optionally sparge to get any remaining sugars out of the grain. It's simple and straightforward.

Mash tun: Some people use a cooler, most others use a pot or keggle. The idea is that you steep the grains with the hot water inside the cooler/pot/keggle. Then you have a mechanism in the bottom of the cooler to separate the sugary wort from the grains, such as a bazooka screen, stainless steel braid, or copper or PVC manifold. The grain bed acts as your filter, and you drain the wort out of the mash tun into the boil kettle. You can either batch sparge or fly sparge, but some kind of rinsing is necessary to extract the sugars. It's essentially what breweries do, but on a much smaller scale.

This is the writeup to my first AG. It lists all the equipment used.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/first-all-grain-brew-report-443604/

I do recommend a software like beersmith to help with volumes. You can calculate them manually and they are not to hard but it just adds a level of worry.

The one other thing I would add is write out your proposed process. That will help you think through everything ahead of time. And I am sure the fine people here will be happy to critic any process you would care to share.

This is how I got into ag. The first time I brewed a chocolate stout because I knew it would all fit in my pot, which was 5.5 gallons. Each beer I made bigger and bigger until I maxed out my pot. I did that for about a year or so then I built a 5.5 gallon mash tun to get the big beers going.
I sparged up to pre boil volume and didn't really worry how much water it took. Draining the bag was always a crap shoot as to how much wort I could collect. This is what ultimately made me build my mash tun.
Basically, I played with my process and found I maxed out at about 8 lbs of grist. You can get pretty good efficiency if you try different things which could get you higher gravity beers. I topped out at 1.080.
Now I'm doing the same process with my new setup. Just keep at it and keep trying different things until you get it just right... then upgrade and figure it out all over again. :

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Don't overthink it. AG is easy. Hot water + grain + time = wort. You do it a couple times and you won't look back.

Just be sure to heat some extra water and keep some extra ice on hand. You'll probably screw up either volumes or temps the first couple times and will need to adjust on the fly. Write out your plan and calculations in advance and take notes along the way. Note anything you have to correct on that sheet so you know what to change the next time.

Oh, and the most important thing to remember is that your brew day is going to be longer. If you are used to cracking a beer while getting out your equipment, you'll need to slow down bit. If you have to do some on the fly adjustments, they'll probably go a lot easier on beer 1 than beer 3.

Don't worry about going ag. Just watch some videos on YouTube to get the basic process down. After that just change one thing at a time and see what gets you the best efficiency. There are some good videos and some bad ones. It is your set up that matters the most and until you get it going you won't know what it will do. Start with a basic recipe. My first was 10lbs 2-row, 2lb crystal 60, 1 oz saaz at 60 and 1 oz centennial at 10. I just kept making this beer until I made it perfect in my opinion-- changing one thing at a time until i figured out the mistakes I was making. Then I ventured out into proven recipes until I got the process down. Still, the original recipe is one of the best beers I have made, I have changed numerous processes in my ag technique since but every beer is a new adventure and it has been more than worth the initial cost of around $100 for equipment. Have fun and good luck--you will never regret it.


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Just did my first AG (BIAB) batch today (and freaking nailed the SG, 76% efficiency). It took no longer than an extract batch with specialty grains. Instead of steeping grains for an hour, you're mashing them. Same deal. Bigger pot, bigger bag, same process.

Recipes are no harder than kits. AG is no harder than extract.