Went all grain today!

I live in a crappy little shoe box of an apartment, so I've been doing partial mashes for a while now. My girlfriend just moved into a nice big house and I seized the opportunity. Over the summer I built my MLT and IC, when I get the money I'm going to get a turkey fryer burner and a much bigger pot (had to split the boil today) and have been storing the stuff in one of her extra bedrooms.

Well... the little lady is having a halloween party so for the occasional and as "thank you" for letting me store/use my rig there, I whipped her up a batch of a spiced pumpkin ale.

My efficiency was a little low (I'm not worried about it though, practice makes perfect and all) and my MTL's valve leaked a bit (I used a plastic one instead of brass) but other than that it went about perfect.

I always felt like I was cheating a bit using extracts but.... Today I feel like a real brewer. I can't wait for halloween to roll around so I can taste (and share) the fruits of my labor. Just wanted to brag a little and say THANK YOU ALL for all the advice and knowledge that's been bestowed on me here on HBT.

Couldn't have done it without you guys!

Great sounds like you had fun doing it. I love all grain and would never go back. There is a wealth of knowledge on this forum and you will learn a lot just have to ask. Go luck with your all grain and keep Mashing.....

I went AG too today and its great! i also had a leaky MLT but i found that everything was TOO tight. Good thing SWMBO caught the drip or else i would've had sticky wort everywhere except where it should be.

Congrats to the OP and FishinDave07 for switching to the dark side! Wait until you taste that first AG!

Welcome to the AG club. Congrats.

Honestly, I can't believe that more people don't brew AG. Once a person decides to do it, it is actually very easy. I was able to participate in a "new" homebrewers club this winter, and I was amazed at the number of people who "brewed from the box". Most of them were impressed by the AG brewers for taking the leap, but the common theme was they hadn't thought of searching the internet for homebrew forums, and hadn't bought a new brewing book in 10+ years.

Congrats to the new AG brewers who decided to take the leap!

(Now, it is time for you to start kegging)

Reddy - Welcome to AG, and I'm sure your love it even more when you taste the final product.