upgrading from extract to all grain

What will i need to add to my brewing set to make the extract to all grain jump?
Any articles detailing the specific changes in making the wort/brew?


Current kit http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...arter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit.html

Wanted to know going to order 2 more fermenting buckets (possibly a carboy) for a christmas gift for myself

Honestly it depends on what you already have for brew equipment. You will definitely need a pot/kettle big enough to do full boils. You will need something to mash in. There are many different routes for this. The path I took was a 10 gallon igloo cooler. There are several threads on how to build a mash tun from that. You may want a mill of some sort depending on how pleased you are with how your LHBS mills their grain. You will also need some way to boil your wort. You can either go the electric route or you can use a propane burner like a lot of people do. Ultimately you have many choices on how you go about making the jump. I would say they biggest factors are how much money you have to spend and how much of a do it yourselfer you are. I would say that the fact that your making beer in the first place says your willing to learn. I can that I'm still keeping it simple with my AG and I'm making better beer than the extracts I use to make and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.

Full boils for 5 gallon batches is in the 6-6.5 gallon range, plus you'll want additional space to avoid boil-overs. I would say an 8 gallon boil kettle (BK) would be a good minimum, but bigger would be good also. You'll need an additional pot to heat your sparge water in, or a separate cooler to put your sparge water in - usually you're old brew pot works for this (plus maybe an additional smaller stock pot). A large turkey fryer will work great as your BK and can frequently be found for cheap in classifieds/craigslist, sometimes you'll even get a propane burner to help with outdoor brewing.

A mash/lauter tun (MLT) setup. Cooler systems are popular and relatively easy to build. Round or square coolers. High temp spigots for your cooler setup (brass, SS, high-temp plastics??). Again, classified/craigslist is a great place to watch for these items. The cooler you pick should be a minimum of 10 gallons (40 quart) if you ever plan on brewing high gravity beers from all grain; bigger is fine but don't go ridiculously huge. It's also okay if it's not in PERFECT shape but you don't want a beater either.

Hose that fits your MLT spigot to drain into BK. You'll need to filter the grain from the wort using something: false bottom, bazooka screen??, braided SS hose.

At some point during your brew day you'll be using your sparge water, MLT, and BK at the same time so they will need to be separate vessels.

Quick minimum costs off the top of my head would be something like this:
BK (classifieds): $35 (HLT, additional $35) -- I'm thinking used turkey fryers
MLT (classifieds): $20 -- I'm thinking used square cooler
Spigot cooler setup: $35 -- I'm thinking a place like bargainfittings for 1/2" SS
Hose: $10 -- I'm thinking 5 feet of silicone tubing 1/2"
MLT filter: $10 -- I'm thinking braided SS hose from Home Depot, but would opt for something more sturdy.

I recommend buying some brewing software like beersmith. It helped me avoid all the possible calculation errors for all grain brewing. You could also try doing a few brew in a bag sessions to get a simple all grain process down w/o buying lots of extra equipment.

msa8967 said:

I You could also try doing a few brew in a bag sessions to get a simple all grain process down w/o buying lots of extra equipment.

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What he said. A couple BIAB days will answer many of the questions you thought you knew the answers to until you got there. I'd also recommend looking for tamale pots if you don't mind aluminum and are trying to save money. Most Mexican grocery stores will have them for very good prices this time of year.

mrkrausen said:

Honestly it depends on what you already have for brew equipment. You will definitely need a pot/kettle big enough to do full boils. You will need something to mash in. There are many different routes for this. The path I took was a 10 gallon igloo cooler. There are several threads on how to build a mash tun from that. You may want a mill of some sort depending on how pleased you are with how your LHBS mills their grain. You will also need some way to boil your wort. You can either go the electric route or you can use a propane burner like a lot of people do. Ultimately you have many choices on how you go about making the jump. I would say they biggest factors are how much money you have to spend and how much of a do it yourselfer you are. I would say that the fact that your making beer in the first place says your willing to learn. I can that I'm still keeping it simple with my AG and I'm making better beer than the extracts I use to make and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.

Click to expand...

i posted a link to my current items that i have (bought a start kit for northern brewers.com)