Crossing the void

Hey erry body,

I just bottled my second batch of beer. After doing an extract and a partial mash I'm deciding to go straight to all grain and make some real BEER! I just don't really know what I'll need to get started. I already have a big gas burner I can use but to make 25L wort how big if a pot do i need? any wise words would be great. much grain and so forth. Any

Any tips and life lessons would be great

Award winning beers are made with extract too. You don't have to go all grain to make good or even great beer. Some of my extract kit beers have been better than my all grain beers.

Minimum equipment you need....hmmm......how about a paint strainer bag. You might have to make smaller batches with what you have but that isn't all bad as you learn what to do and don't get stuck with ten gallons of undrinkable swill. Read about BIAB on this forum, it's the simplest way to get started in all grain. Beyond that it's all bling.

If you're looking to make the jump to full-boil, all-grain batches, you need to gather more equipment.

Larger boil kettle. At the very least 8 gallons. You should go with 10 for a 5 gallon batch.
Some way to mash your grains. Many (myself included) use the rubbermaid round coolers. If you go this route, get a 10 gallon, not a 5. Some people will use the BIAB method if you didn't want to invest in a mash tun immediately.
Some way to cool your wort. Ice baths in the sink will not cut it. Buy an immersion chiller. You can get by with a 25 foot chiller. I upgraded to a 50 foot chiller sometime ago.
You can use your current brew kettle to heat your strike and sparge water with.

Good luck.

Before you jump into it, read up on the what all-grain entails. Don't get hung up on too many details, but don't discount them, and get an understanding of the steps and how much time it takes. If you don't have an extra 1.5 to 2 hours to add to your brew day stick with extract. The process is not daunting, it's just a bit more involved and you have to pay attention to a few more things.

A good thermometer is key... if you go with the cooler, you'll need a kettle to heat strike water in (5 gallon would work), and keep heated water on hand. And a 2 quart plastic pitcher for the vorlauf step.

I'm 3 batches into all-grain. I started with a 5 gallon mash/lauter tun, I'm happy making 3 gallon batches while I learn... and there is plenty to learn and I'm having a blast with it.

Enjoy!

RM-MN said:

Award winning beers are made with extract too. You don't have to go all grain to make good or even great beer. Some of my extract kit beers have been better than my all grain beers.

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Glad to hear someone say that

I'm moving to BIAB, but I have been consistently and exceptionally pleased with my extract brews. They have been excellent - and have improved as my methods have.

Extract beers are real beers too! There are extract beers that win comps all the time.

Always viewed extract as something like... Premade Pasta Sauce or Gravy ... I could make my own but crushing ingredients, adding them at the correct amounts and cooking... or i could just pick up a can of the stuff i like, open it, and cut 20 minutes off my cooking time.

rdann87 said:

Extract beers are real beers too! There are extract beers that win comps all the time.

Always viewed extract as something like... Premade Pasta Sauce or Gravy ... I could make my own but crushing ingredients, adding them at the correct amounts and cooking... or i could just pick up a can of the stuff i like, open it, and cut 20 minutes off my cooking time.

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I can agree with you on the extract beers but pasta sauce and gravy from cans is another matter. Both of them have far too much salt along with stabilizers and other things that have no business being there.

Okay.. so maybe a bad example... Low sodium gravy then?

rdann87 said:

Okay.. so maybe a bad example... Low sodium gravy then?

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LOL. Sorry if that came off a little harsh. I'm a bit of a food lunatic. I can give you and easy and awesome pasta sauce recipe...

shivalotus said:

LOL. Sorry if that came off a little harsh. I'm a bit of a food lunatic. I can give you and easy and awesome pasta sauce recipe...

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None taken.. I respect a man who is serious about his sauce. :rockin:

PM that bad boy over if you get a minute. I'm actually making a giant thing of meatballs for a get together this weekend. Always willing to try something new.