Seriously reconsidering going all grain

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Ok, so I kegged and tried my first AG batch tonight... Worth every minute it took to brew! Cant wait for my order of hops to get here so I can brew again. I'm addicted! Thanks all
 
sounds about right, my first AG batch was the best batch I'd brewed to that point - of course, similar to you, it was only my third batch - so it probably would have been better than the previous two anyhow. But my two buddies that got into brewing at the same time stayed with extract for much longer and never had a beer as good as any of my AG batches.
 
If you have to question whether or not to stay with all grain, it seems apparent that you didn't do your research or you wouldn't gotten into it in the first place.

Yeah, it's an effort above extract brewing - but it's also a completely different world.

I do hope you stick with it and give it a few tries, but I can't help but think that you might have gained some valuable experience by brewing some extract batches first - so you could accurately compare them against the beauty of all-grain.

Sounds like your kegging of the AG went well - congrats!!

By the way - don't ever feel that you're stuck now and can't go back to extract - they're simpler and faster, and sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and go that route - extract brews are better than no brews! :)

Best of luck!
 
all grain does take a bit longer to brew... but that gives your more time to have some beers while brewing! my motto has always been "drink beer and brew beer" the problem comes in on a double brew day (two 5-gal batches)
 
I brewed my first all grain yesterday after doing 8 extract batches. I gotta say I agree with really knowing the boil, yeast and fermentation first. It took me literally 12 hours including brushing up on some info from Palmers book, to planning out were I was going to mash and constructing that workspace. I spent a good couple hours just racking my brain trying to figure out what method to go with and if I was going to mash out. Everything went pretty well even though I was running around like a madman. By the time I got to the boil though I felt comfortable because I was in familiar territory and I knew the rest would be a piece of cake! I'm already planning another AG batch for Sunday and I'm sure now that I have this experience I can do it much more efficiently.
 
I started out doing smaller all grain batches to get comfortable with the process, so I did a 1 gallon as my first batch and then 2x 3 gallon batches and now I've completed 2 full 5 gallon batches. I don't think i could ever go back to extract brewing, it seems like cheating. haha..
 
AG is not really all that much more difficult. A bit more to understand and fiddle with, and a bit more time. But if you already have the equipment, I say stick with it. It will come together very quickly. Just spend every waking moment reading books and surfing this site.
 
kanzimonson said:
Finally, we come to the advice that nobody wants to hear and frankly I don't always follow it myself:

1) Brew alone, or with another brewer WHO IS WILLING TO WORK.
2) Don't drink.

Okay, so that last one is ridiculous but it makes a huge difference. In truth, my drinking limit is "at the first sign of boiling wort." But both of these tips have to do with your concentration and planning. You lose both of these when you drink, and when you have to entertain somebody else.
Click to expand...

That first one is certainly the truth. I brew on occasion with a couple of friends of mine, but they really come over to socialize, not to work. As such, I make sure that I do plenty of solo-brews to make sure I'm staying on top of everything.
 
Best thing I did was build a wort chiller. Used to take 6-7 hours just to cool the wort down after boil. Now it takes maybe a half hour.
 
Keep at it, it will get easier each time. I usually get water measured, grains weighed out the night before. Hops are measured once I start to heat the mash water. I write everything down that I can beforehand. I during the mash I get the sanitizer in the carboy. During boil wash anything that was used during the mash.
 
RMitch said:
Best thing I did was build a wort chiller. Used to take 6-7 hours just to cool the wort down after boil. Now it takes maybe a half hour.
Click to expand...
Get the Jamil whirlpool add on. Trust me. On a 20 gallon batch, I go from boil to 65 degrees in less than 7 minutes.
 
kanzimonson said:
After you've done it several times, you find ways to be more efficient. Here are some things I do that have really helped me time-wise:

-I start the brew day by getting only the equipment I need to start heating strike water. It takes about 15min for the strike water to heat up, so while this is going I bring out all the equipment I need for mashing (grain, spoon, salts, etc)
-While I'm mashing I bring out my boiling equipment and weigh out my hop additions
-While I'm boiling I clean my mash equipment, sanitize my fermentor, get the chiller and pump ready
-While chilling I start to put things away and clean the last little items.
-Channel your chill water into a bucket so you can use it to clean in place, rather than taking all the time to move equipment to the kitchen for cleaning (SWMBO likes this too)

Finally, we come to the advice that nobody wants to hear and frankly I don't always follow it myself:

1) Brew alone, or with another brewer WHO IS WILLING TO WORK.
2) Don't drink.

Okay, so that last one is ridiculous but it makes a huge difference. In truth, my drinking limit is "at the first sign of boiling wort." But both of these tips have to do with your concentration and planning. You lose both of these when you drink, and when you have to entertain somebody else.
Click to expand...
Great reply.This is exactly how I do it..the last 2 suggestions are SOOO true..
 
jaginger said:
ditto this. it sounds like you already bought equipment, but BIAB is really easy and REALLY cheap. stick with it. good times lie ahead.

FYI, I think doing extract can make fine beer, so that's not the point of my comment. To me it just feels a little more fun to start with grain.
Click to expand...

x2 do BIAB lots of great posts on here about it and grain is wayyyy cheaper and i believe the final product can be better since you arent under the sway of the extract maker....dont quit yet. do 10 batches and then see what you think. never stop reading or asking questions!
 
also agree with the above poster, dont drink. it goes way better and limits possiblity of mistakes. i may have 2 over 4-5 hours and thats it. i tried it the other way and things get forgotten and details missed, which sucks.
 

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