Need some advice on starting.

Hello, New here. Ive been kickin the idea around of starting to brewing my own. I need help with where I should start. I was thinking of just starting with all grain. :rockin: Has anyone done this? Ive been reshearching for a while, and going to all grain from the start sounds good. Any feedback would be great. Thanks.

best thing is to find a local club and introduce yourself as someone whos interested in the hobby.

Somebodys bound to take you under their wing. If thats not an option at least find a local hombrew shop, get some materials and give it a go.

Lastly read John Palmer's How to brew. That book is indispensable when you're new to the hobby.

Welcome to HBT!

Welcome!

All grain can be a serious investment, so if you're still on the fence about whether you want to really get into the hobby, it might be a good idea to start out with a beginner equipment kit. You'll hear a lot of talk about all grain being "pure" or "better" but a lot of folks can brew amazing beer from extract. Plus you can continue to use a lot of the equipment from those kits as you progress and get more gear.

I would also recommend starting with extract because it gives you a chance to dial in other parts of your process before having to worry about mashing. Getting good at sanitation, racking, bottling, etc. are all important skills that need to be learned as well. Not saying you couldn't learn it all at once, but I certainly enjoyed having a good understanding of brewing before I tried my first mash.

Either way, it's a great hobby!

I've read how to brew already. Good book, lots of info. I also bruoght the homebrewers bible. I know its an investment (had to talk the wife into it , wasent hard shes cool with it) I'm looking at about 4-5 hundred initial investment. That sounds about right. I think. The most expensive being the brew pot. If it dosent turn out good im ok with that. Ill try again. I also figured I can always try partial also. Ill have all the equipment. Go big or go home lol Thanks for the welcomes.

Well, if you start with Extract or PM with the idea of going AG soon, (buying a big enough kettle) you won't really end up with anything that you don't end up using for AG batches.

But I don't know, taking baby steps as I did was a lot of fun. Each batch got more involved with a new piece of equipment or 2 with every trip to the LHBS or Hardware store. A month or two of anticipating new purchases or builds. Not sure if blowing all that in one wad would have been as exciting. And with other hobbies, I have found that buy going ALL IN I would end up with crap I didn't really need or with stuff that really wasn't the quality that I ended up wanting.

Thanks BB, I like your sense. Good info, and point of view.

Lepersquatch said:

Thanks BB, I like your sense. Good info, and point of view.

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You're welcome.

Enjoy the Ride!!!!!! The Journey is the Prize.

You can jump into AG for under 500 (it may be close though)

Brew Pot 60QT Amazon $110 [went 60 so you can still use it for 10G if you want in the future]
Burner SQ14 Amazon $60
Cooler Your choice ~40QT should be fine $80 max
Stuff to convert it $50 max
Tubing/Therms/Hydro/Ale Pale Misc $100
Bench Capper $30
Bottles $40

Should get you going.

I see no problem going with all-grain from the get go. If it's something you think you will stay in then it's worth it. If you are the type that will not let a setback ruin your experience and give up then go all out! I regret taking smaller steps, i would have saved a lot of money had I just started with what I have now.

Advice I would give to myself when I started is, get a 60qt pot at the least. And get a 6.5 gallon carboy vs. the 5.

I started All Grain, and only have ever done all grain. I read "How to Brew" online, read a lot here, purchased and read the hard copy of "How to Brew", read some more... then spent ~$40 on my 5gallon round Igloo cooler MLT and brewed. I haven't looked back.

In general ingredients for all-grain brewing is cheaper than buying extract, and I enjoyed (still enjoy) the crushing, the mashing, the sparging, etc. and the everything involved with all-grain brewing.

That said, as you can see you can do baby steps with all-grain as well, plus you get lots of other fun stuff you can dive deeper into if you so desire.

I used stock pots I already had, and one bucket fermenter and just did 2.5 gallon batches. Doing all-grain is not rocket science, and does not require a large outlay of money. Prepare ahead of time, have all of your materials in place before you start on brew day, have a written/typed schedule of what needs to happen and when, and brew!


As far as getting started, definitely buy once-- get at least a 60 quart BK, etc. I also recommend trying to maximize how far the dollar goes by having as much of my equipment being multi-purpose as possible (i.e. I ferment and serve from cornie kegs).

Good luck, and enjoy!

I was really interested in going AG first too, but now I'm glad I didn't. It might be different for you, but unless something I make is damn near perfect the first time, then I am a bit disappointed.

I have started with extract and after about 5 batches I am going to take a step to partial mash before stepping up to AG. With each extract brew my beers have gotten better. There are little details that I am learning as I go that make improvements in the final product. Also, I am constantly reading about AG and as I learn more and more about brewing with my extract brews, I am gaining a much better understanding of WHY I am doing each step, and how those steps will relate to the AG brewing process. I expect that moving to partial mash will enlighten me even more. By the time I do my first AG batch I believe I'll have a good foundation to work from to reduce my worries and ensure I've got the best chance at creating a quality AG batch the first time I try it.

Good luck! I'm sure if you start with AG you'll make a decent beer. But if you're uptight like I am, it may take a few tries, and some education about what is going on in each step and how it relates to the final product.

I've also watched alot of videos on youtube. Very informative. The only thing I am worried about is the fermenting temp as far as holding it at the right temp.

Well controlling fermentation temps is going to be needed, regardless of extract, pm, or ag.

Many people here use a water bath with a t-shirt over the fermenter if ambient temps are too high; I did this at first and was able to lower temps 10f on average. Others also point a fan on the water bath setup to keep it a bit cooler.

Every batch I have made has been good (my first batch ever received a score of 39 from a BJCP class including two BJCP judges). And every batch will always have the potential to be better, again, regardless of extract, pm, or ag.

Good luck!

I went AG for my first batch and I'm glad I did. Doing an extract seemed like about as much of a challenge as making instant potatoes. I liked trying to build my own equiment. Some of it I still use, some of it I don't.

Buy the biggest and best equipment you can afford. Get at least a 10 gallon cooler for your MLT. More than likely you will eventually reget getting only a 5 gal unit.

A 9 gal pot is a small as I would go but there again, bigger is better.

Here's where you can go cheap "fermenters" plastic buckets work great and you can get a bunch cheap or free. Eateries throw them away all the time.

Carboy's are great if you want to watch it ferment but they are heavy, slippery, and dangerous if they shatter.

If you have questions ask, there's plenty of folks here that love putting in their 2 cents. Then take the advise that makes the most sense to you.

abracadabra said:

If you have questions ask, there's plenty of folks here that love putting in their 2 cents. Then take the advise that makes the most sense to you.

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Great advise to live by!