step by step all grain build...?

I checked the stickies, and did some searches, and found videos (BobbyfromNJ is great) for individual projects. But does anyone have a step by step breakdown of exactly what it would involve to build an entire system from scratch. I'm hoping to do something like Bobby's 3 converted 1/2bal system, but have 0 all grain experience. I've been talking to people and occasionally try to invite myself over for brewing sessions so I can get a feel for their systems, but as of yet the scheduling hasn't worked out. I'm feeling uncharacteristically motivated, am tired of taking the slower (probably smarter) route, and really just want to jump in and build my own system.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

The first thing I would suggest would be to read Palmer's How to Brew book cover to cover. Next, join a home brew club in your area and see if you can invite yourself to observe some of the all grain guys actually brewing. Obviously, you can learn a bunch from this forum as well. Then, it becomes a matter of your personal preferences and brewing style. There can really be no single step by step instructions on how to build the best home brewery for you. You need to settle down on the general brewing method you want to use and how much money you estimate that you can comfortably spend. You can get into all grain brewing for as little as $50 if you scrounge some stuff and look for deals on the stuff you have to buy. Now, that $50 would be for a mash tun cooler and misc accessories. It assumes you have a burner of some kind and the requisite fermenter(s) among other equipment that you have used for your extract batches. From that point forward, you are off to the races. Want to build a rig, a RIMS, a HERMS with big kettles and lots of bling? Keep your wallet handy. IOW, you'll need to be more specific on what you want to build before we can be of much help.

There's so many setups, and so many methods, and each ends up being tailored to the needs (cost, space) and wants (preferred beer styles) of the brewer.

Due to my job, I think in scalability, so I've been building the most basic and versatile set of components that I can use, with plans on how to connect and improve on them when the money is available. Right now the only things I'm missing are a wort chiller, and a burner. But I have plans on how I'll connect these parts with a march pump to eliminate gravity feeding/pouring, and various other little things that I'm excited to do.

*edit*
If you search RIMS or HERMS those builds are complete rigs, and probably would be close to what you're looking for.

My suggestion is to first join a club and brew with some All Grain brewers. There are so many different configurations, that it takes some experience to see what works well for you and what doesn't.

There's a huge list of questions to figure out before you can really start.

Whats the budget... How long of a brew day do you want... where can you brew... what do you have available for Gas, Electric, and water... build from scratch... buy complete... All of these things are going to play a role in the final system.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and either learn welding or make good friends with a welder!

A turkey fryer and a large grain bag is the simple setup do a search for BIAB or brew in a bag. There are several informative videos on youtube. Then you can work your way up from there.

Jawbox0 said:

EDIT: Oh yeah, and either learn welding or make good friends with a welder!

Click to expand...

IMO, you don't need to learn how to weld and you don't necessarily need to have anything welded. I built a modular RIMS system and I don't have a so called "rig". I know how to weld and I have a MIG welder, so it was not a lack of skill or tools, I just was never convinced that a full blown rig was the way to go for me.

that would be a pretty big document. IMHO, the best way to figure this one out is just to research different systems. if you want to go all grain, you are definitely going to at least need a MLT and depending on your DIY level, converting a plastic cooler of some sort is one of the easier ways to go about this. there are many threads on building a MLT from such coolers, this is one of the more popular ones:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

secondly, you will need a large vessel for the hot water and/or boiling the wort. you can conceivably use the same vessel for both functions, but it's more convenient with two. again, there are many threads dealing with the conversion of kegs into HLTs and BKs, but bobby, as you mentioned, has great videos dealing with this conversion.

lastly, you will need some sort of stand for brewing on and a way to heat the water and boil the wort, and your imagination is the only limitation here. a turkey fryer is an easy way to accomplish the heating. you only need one burner, but again, two is more convenient. the stand could be wood (as i use), metal (which is more time consuming and expensive to build), pre made structures, chairs, tables, anything that will put gravity on your side.

i have a wooden stand with two kegs (HLT, BK) and the old cooler MLT. my beers turn out great with single infusions (no HERMS or RIMS), i have a pump, but i am anal about amounts, so I often measure strike water, runnings, and pre boil volume with graduated buckets. and none of it cost me all that much money to do (I found a welder to put in my valves/couplings for pretty cheap) and did the rest myself. again, i think you just need to search and examine as many systems as you can from here and in the meantime, start locating some thrifty deals on kegs, coolers, valves, etc.

i agree with the advice about starting out simpler, but is there any single location that describes all the various methods? i like pictures.

jasper9 said:

i agree with the advice about starting out simpler, but is there any single location that describes all the various methods? i like pictures.

Click to expand...

yes, right here. there are a ton of threads with great pictures devoted to almost every conceivable way of making an all grain brewing system and several methods of achieving each on this website.

android said:

yes, right here. there are a ton of threads with great pictures devoted to almost every conceivable way of making an all grain brewing system and several methods of achieving each on this website.

Click to expand...

i know i know.. and i've read a lot of them. what is confusing to a newbie is the terms and descriptions in most of them make sense to someone that understands the concepts but not the brand new brewer.

The closest I've seen as a consolidated all in one primer is the SueBob page, but even that doesn't hit on many of the other techniques.

Maybe it's in the wiki i don't know, but a table listing all techniques and their variants, pros/cons, and what types of equipment is needed would be sweet. Even if the equipment part was a quick reference of "three pots, three burners, two pumps" sort of description.

can i get a pony too, while i'm at it

I think the closest he'd get to a comprehensive DIY all-grain step-by-step guide would be the Brutus10 build?

http://***********/store?page=shop.browse&category_id=21

I mentioned it in an earlier post, but you could learn a lot by reading, "How to Brew" by John Palmer. This book is a very good starting point for all things home brewing related.

I myself am working on making an all grain setup. Although I plan on doing extract batches along the way till I can acquire everything I need to build my system. My plan is to build an Brutus 10 system, but the finished product is a long way off. So if money is an issue like others have said. My advice is to do what I'm doing, and get what you can for which ever system you decide on, when you've got the extra funds to do so.

so.....i just cracked open my How To Brew and realized i never made it all the way through to the end. Holy crap this book is good.........