Starting all grain from extract brewing, don't want to do it twice.

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vtfireman85

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I am going to try to get into all grain brewing, i am a fair metal fabricator and intend to build a gravity fed 3 tier system fired with propane. i have been looking around at mash tuns and boil kettles. i currently have just an 8 gallon stainless kettle and have been doing partial wort boils, I've made a few good beers but i think its time to step it up. i agree with those who have said it is more convenient to do extract brews but the extract costs are such that i think if i intend to keep with my new hobby i would be better off to go with all grain (that and it tastes better). my question is this, I've been doing ALOT of research on mash tuns and brew kettles, it seems to me that the Blichmann Boilermaker kettle seems to be the best kettle and mash tun out there. i know they are expensive but i would rather spend more up front than decide i cant live without it after having spent money on something else. I'm anxious for a second opinion, i tried asking my wife and she said something to the effect of she had a few chores to fill my time if i felt the need for a hobby (boo on her). I am counting on you folks for more helpful suggestions. :mug:
 
vtfireman85 said:
I am going to try to get into all grain brewing, i am a fair metal fabricator and intend to build a gravity fed 3 tier system fired with propane. i have been looking around at mash tuns and boil kettles. i currently have just an 8 gallon stainless kettle and have been doing partial wort boils, I've made a few good beers but i think its time to step it up. i agree with those who have said it is more convenient to do extract brews but the extract costs are such that i think if i intend to keep with my new hobby i would be better off to go with all grain (that and it tastes better). my question is this, I've been doing ALOT of research on mash tuns and brew kettles, it seems to me that the Blichmann Boilermaker kettle seems to be the best kettle and mash tun out there. i know they are expensive but i would rather spend more up front than decide i cant live without it after having spent money on something else. I'm anxious for a second opinion, i tried asking my wife and she said something to the effect of she had a few chores to fill my time if i felt the need for a hobby (boo on her). I am counting on you folks for more helpful suggestions. :mug:
Click to expand...

I just started all grain brewing, and i love it. It more involved than extract, thus more to keep tack of. I bought a $20 5gal water cooler as my mash/lauter tun. Converted to a ball lock for $20. I use a 3 gallon kettle to keep strike water warm and I boil in my 5 gallon pot. I brew 3 gallon batches. I recommend learning all grain techniques before tricking out a brew rig and having to learn new equipment at the same time. That's my two cents. Any way you guys go, you will dig all grain brewing. More control, more variables, more to think about.
 
My 2cents is based in the fact that you already have an ultimate goal of building yourself a tier system (which is awesome by the way). With this in mind I'd suggest looking through the forum at others who have a tier system and start getting the parts that fit into your end goal. My biggest mistake up front was buying equipment that I quickly outgrew. I now have a basic 5 gallon set up that I've been using for a year or so and I'm already kicking myself for not planning ahead for a 10 or 15 gallon set up. You can always brew less beer in a bigger system. That's probably a lot more than 2 cents of advice. Time to relax and have a homebrew. :)
 
Blichmann certainly makes some pretty stuff. In terms of functionality though, I'm not sure you are getting anything extra for the cash compared to a less expensive pot. That has more to do with just making sure everything is sized appropriately for your needs.
 
I moved to AG with BIAB and then made a 3 tier gravity system using converted kegs. Once I started making 5 gallon batches I thought "I could make 10 gallons for almost the same amount of time" so with that in mind I built a system that could easily handle 10+ gallon batches and found the time difference to be 30-45 mins more than a 5 gallon batch.

I did as was already suggested and looked at pics of brew rigs here and in Google so I could get an idea of what I wanted to do achieve.

As for the kegs, I bought kettle valves, and the false bottom for the mash tun from my LHBS and bought the thermometers and sight glass kits from Brewhardware and made my own dip tubes.

image-1381187829.jpg

Here is my setup, hope this helps.

Oh 1 more thing I found that my 3/8 x 25' wort chiller didn't cut it anymore so I bought a 1/2 x 50' from Coppertubingsales and love it.
 

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