Trying to switch over from extract to all grain, could I get a hand?

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ToddPacker69

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I have done some research but I am still a little confused on the switch over to all grain.

1. What additional equipment will I need?
2. How much will this cost?

Thanks so much.

T
 
I have a 5 g carboy, another 6.5 gallon plastic bucket, and then a bottling bucket. I got the true brew gold kit, so it came with bottle capper, siphon, etc...
 
I started with the same kit. Started by using the bottling bucket with a sparge bag inside then wrapped with a blanket. And using a 4 and 5 gal pots on stove to boil the wort. Then made a keggle to boil all at once on a propane turkey fryer stand.
 
hmm need some more help... Is there like a kit that I can order that has all the additional equipment that I need to move to all grain?
 
hmm need some more help... Is there like a kit that I can order that has all the additional equipment that I need to move to all grain?
I don't mean to be rude, but you seem to be elusive about what you already have. How can anyone recommend anything without knowing what you have? Everyone's set up is different, so you can't expect a "one size fits all" answer. The above link seems rather informative to me. Perhaps a little more research?
 
tek, Ive been doing a ton of research. Reading a bunch of articles. I read the article before, I just am still confused. The other comment wasn't too helpful, and yours, well, speaks for itself. But I will now research the brew in a bag method.

PS- I said I have
" a 5 g carboy, another 6.5 gallon plastic bucket, and then a bottling bucket. I got the true brew gold kit, so it came with bottle capper, siphon, etc..." I now know I need a mash tun just trying to figure out how I can get one without paying 100s of dollars.
 
I wasn't as clear as I thought.
I use the bottling bucket and sparge bag as a mash tun. It worked good for 9 ag batches before playing with a cooler
 
tek, Ive been doing a ton of research. Reading a bunch of articles. I read the article before, I just am still confused. The other comment wasn't too helpful, and yours, well, speaks for itself. But I will now research the brew in a bag method.

PS- I said I have
" a 5 g carboy, another 6.5 gallon plastic bucket, and then a bottling bucket. I got the true brew gold kit, so it came with bottle capper, siphon, etc..." I now know I need a mash tun just trying to figure out how I can get one without paying 100s of dollars.

You're doing the right thing in the "research" and "reading" part. Try and keep in mind the things you're attempting to accomplish. Getting wort.

I once was about to throw out an old laundry sink. I converted that puppy into a great mash/lauter tun with a bit of screen, a valve on the drain and some plywood and foam insulation.

Super special equipment isn't the goal. Learn as much as possible about the goals of the process and you'll be amazed at the different ways to tackle it.

Read. Understand. Approach. Enjoy!

Cheers
 
You have the bottling equipment and the fermenting equipment. To go all grain you need a way to mash and to boil. With boil in a bag they can be 1 in the same. Go online and do a google search for a 40 quart aluminum pot and buy the cheapest one you can find. Then go to home depot or lowes and get the largest paint strainer bag you can find or to LHBS and get the large sparge bag. Then go to the nearest farm supply store and get a galvanized water tub 60 qt is best. Now do a search on HBT for BIAB and read about brew in a bag. The 60 qt tub is for 20 lb of ice and water to give your 40 qt brew an ice bath to cool in. The rest is same as extract/partial mash.

Edit... 4 home brew IPA's into the wind and loving it
 
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

That is where I started and found it was very easy to follow and made myself an MLT that I now have successfully brewed 2 batches of AG beer within. I spent about $60 on building it. I might not be able to speak on the level of difficulty being a mechanic by trade though but I honestly think anyone that is capable of reading comprehension should be able to follow the instructions in the above mentioned link.

I would pick up a Banjo Burner turkey-frier (propane burner) and at least a 7 gallon kettle to brew with. Aside from that some other items I bought to switch over was a 1/4 gallon glass pitcher to use for pulling water out of my kettle for sparging and a colander I also use to sparge with (placing it over the opening of my MLT.)
 
+1 on the cooler MLT. If you go that route, definitely spring for the 10 gallon cooler. I did the five gallon and am wishing I had gone bigger. Try the BIAB for a couple of batches. I think the important thing is to just start brewing all grain and experiment. It will make more sense the more brew days you do and you will find what works for YOU!
 
iceemone said:
+1 on the cooler MLT. If you go that route, definitely spring for the 10 gallon cooler. I did the five gallon and am wishing I had gone bigger. Try the BIAB for a couple of batches. I think the important thing is to just start brewing all grain and experiment. It will make more sense the more brew days you do and you will find what works for YOU!

I just started BIAB from extract and all it took was a turkey fryer and a nylon bag. If you look on eBay you can score a fryer for about $100 and use paint strainer bags from the depot and start brewing AG right away.
 
I'd strongly reccomend going the batch sparge route. Denny Kohn's website shows how to build a cooler MLT with an SS hose braid for a manifold. I built a system like his, and did split stovetop boils for a few years before going to a propane burner recently, and got great results. New 40 qt Aluminum stock pots at restaurant supply stores are about sixty bucks. Google Denny brew for instructions.
 
I went all grain and the only additional piece I purchased was a 10 gallon igloo water cooler, a ball valve kit, and a kettle screen (bazooka tube). I later added a grain mill to crush my own.

I already had a 15gal ss pot, immersion cooler, etc that I used for extract.
 
I have a 5 g carboy, another 6.5 gallon plastic bucket, and then a bottling bucket. I got the true brew gold kit, so it came with bottle capper, siphon, etc...

What size pot do you have? If money is an issue you can pick up a cheap aluminum pot on amazon.

I recently bought this 13 gallon one for under $40 shipped

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0072NG0JI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I bought a yard if viole fabric for around $5 at a fabric shop, took it to an alteration sewing shop and they sewed 2 bags custom cut to fit the pot for $12.

I could do a 10 gallon batch if I wanted to now.

A turkey fryer set up is what I used before with a 8 gallon pot. That required sparging in a 5 gallon bucket to wind up with a full 5 gallon batch. I used a smaller pot to heat that water on the stove.
 
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I recently switched to AG and I used the instructions here http://www.donosborn.com/homebrew/mashtun.htm with a cooler that I had lying around and the conversion cost me around $15 and it works great. I have an 8 gallon tamale pot I use for my boil that I bought for $20 so you can definitely build something inexpensive and easy to make great beer.
 
Is aluminum bad to boil in? I have been told to use stainless which is real expensive, or enamel. I have a 20 qt enamel pot SMOKEWATER. I am guessing I will need a bigger one.
 
ToddPacker69 said:
Is aluminum bad to boil in? I have been told to use stainless which is real expensive, or enamel. I have a 20 qt enamel pot SMOKEWATER. I am guessing I will need a bigger one.

No, aluminum is not bad but does need to be conditiond to create a oxidized layer that you don't want to scrub off afterwards.. And dont use the water you boiled to condition the pot for brewing!!
 
Here you go. And congrats! I always say, it's hard to make bad beer when you go all grain!

Clapping People.gif
 
Is aluminum bad to boil in? I have been told to use stainless which is real expensive, or enamel. I have a 20 qt enamel pot SMOKEWATER. I am guessing I will need a bigger one.


Bad thing about enamel is once it gets a chip it will rust.

Check out these threads

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-
pics-90132/


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/biab-brewing-pics-233289/


another slightly larger pot would make this possible

If you plan to not boil on the stove go at least 8-10 gallons for the pot. 8 gallons is about minimum for full volume boils.
 
I had all the same items as you before recently switching to AG. Here is the additional items I made/bought to complete the process:

1. MLT - 52 quart cooler from Target. various brass/stainless fittings from Lowes. 1/2" CPVC piping for manifold from Lowes
2. Immersion cooler. 40' of 3/8 copper tubing from home depot. Couple brass compression fittings from Home Depot
3. Turkey fryer from Bass Pro Shops 30qt Aluminum pot. Added a ball valve from Lowes and a copper manifold to bottom of pot.
4. Hop Spider. PVC reducer, carriage bolts, paint strainer bag, and hose clamp from Home Depot. I only added this to the AG mix because the hops would clog up the manifold in turkey fryer pot.

I still use my old 5 gallon pots from the extract days to heat strike water on stove top. I collect wort from MLT in turkey fryer pot and boil outside. Immersion cooler fits nicely in 30qt pot and I use garden hose to feed it cold water, recycle water out to swimming pool via another garden hose.

Some links that inspired me along the way:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/diy-mash-tun-design-parts-list-updated-cost-243974/





 
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My first all grain was just adjusted so I could do everything using my existing extract equipment. I just used brewtarget to adjust for 3 gallon boils and used the family picnic cooler as a MLT.

My initial cost to go all grain: $0.00

However, you must be warned: it's addictive and you'll quickly find yourself buying ingredients and gadgets.
 
I think I am going to go stainless steel for my brew pot, my enamel one is too small. I got a real good deal on some stainless steel pots from the kitchen I work at, what size should I order? How big in quarts/gallons do I need for all grain, consider I want to do 5 gallon batches for now, but maybe bigger quantities in the future?
 
ToddPacker69 said:
I think I am going to go stainless steel for my brew pot, my enamel one is too small. I got a real good deal on some stainless steel pots from the kitchen I work at, what size should I order? How big in quarts/gallons do I need for all grain, consider I want to do 5 gallon batches for now, but maybe bigger quantities in the future?

62qt is perfect for my AG batches.. It does 8gal 90 minute boils good.. Sometimes it gets close to boiling over but I HOVER for the first 10 minutes with my trustee spray bottle untill the rolling boil :mug:
 
The size of the pot is partially determined by how you are going to heat it.

Some people cannot boil more than 3 gallons on their stovetop.

I have a turkey fryer ~$50 when not on sale at Home Depot. It is somewhat slow to heat 10 gallons for strike water. I got a Bayou Classic SP10 for the boil kettle and will boil the 7+ gallons of wort easily.

Even with a 10 gallon pot I still have to be careful at the start of the boil. I have boiled over a couple of times.
 
I just switched from extract and steeping grains to PM and then to AG. Below is a list of the additional supplies I bought

//-------------list of supplies follows------------------

//--------------end list of supplies--------------------

opinions on the best/most effecient/cheapest way to do AG are like elbows; everybody has one. I do BIAB single infusion in a 7.5 gallon turkey frier. Just bought a 15 gallon boilermaker so I will have no issues with large grain bills in a 5 gallon batch, but that's not required. Equipment may make the process easier but it doesn't make the beer better. Only you can do that. Read and understand the principles, to a point you can explain the answers to the following questions

1. What is alpha amalyse
2. What is beta amalyse
3. What is the impact of low VS high mash temps
4. what is the affect of raising mash temp above 170

once you understand the answers to these 4 questions you will be ready to decide for yourself what you need.
 
Get bigger than you think you need. Better to be under capacity than over. I have an 8g. BK and I wish it was larger for 5g. batches. If I went to 10g. batches I'd look for something north of 16g.
 
You can do it pretty cheap. I got a 5 gal round cooler for free, then upgraded to a 10 gal cooler I found at a yard sale for $3. I use a turkey fryer with a 32qt aluminum pot I bought from craigslist for $25. I built the spout and bazooka style strainer for my cooler MLT for about $20. The most expensive item I had to get was a Copper IC that I paid $50 shipped for. That's all I really need to brew my beer. Of course like any good home brewer I did not stop there. After scouring these forums I built a fermentation chamber using a $30 craigslist mini fridge and some sheet insulation. Then I found an el cheapo kegerator on CL for $100 and jumped into kegging. Finally I built a DIY stir plate using parts I had on hand and a flask and started harvesting yeast and building starters up from previous batches to save money on smack packs. I am by no means finished with this dynamic process but I have found ways to do every step on the cheap by reading hours and hours worth of priceless wisdom on this forum and scouring resources such as eBay, craigslist and the classifieds on this forum to find great deals. Good luck on your journey, you won't be disappointed.
 
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