This is not a quick and cheap hobby

WOW I just finished my 2ed batch. The first was a Coopers extract Wheat...quick, easy and cheap. My second was a all-grain Cream Ale.
Bought and/or made all the equipment necessary equipment and even some that was not necessary. That will nickel and dime you to death. All went very smooth but did take 9 hours from the start to the end of cleanup. Like everyone said, it is easy just time consuming. Now I know why a brew structure or table is such a big deal. I have already started the design and after I upgrade my account I will post a drawing for your critique.

Thanks for all your help to get me this far.


Brewing today kicked my butt. Time for the recliner.

I think that once you taste the fruits of your labor it all comes full circle. For me, every step of the brewing process makes it worth it.

LOVE the smell of the grains when I cut open the bag.
LOVE the smell of the grains when they are mashing.
LOVE the smell of the wort when its getting ready to boil (and starts boiling)
LOVE the smell of the hops before I add them.
LOVE the smell of the boiling wort when you add the hops (and it gets progressively better)
LOVE to taste the sweet wort before and during the boil.
LOVE the sweet smell of my beer as its fermenting. (I open the ferm cabinet several times just to take a whiff - and I love to let others smell it too)

And of course, I love my beer when its on tap. Its exciting when you get a nice clear glass of brew that gets comments like "Damn, I would buy this in the store"
Its even cooler when others say this about your beer too
-Me

Only two batches and you're 80% of the way down the slippery slope. next step is to spend $2-300 on lumber, cable and rhizomes to grow a few bucks worth of hops.

Davids answer is full of win... Yes, it gets progressively 'worse'

Wait til you start kegging. That is an expense (a rewarding one) but the downside of it is you will be forced into brewing more and more often because you will drink it faster.

There are SOOOOOOO many toys you will end up acquiring along your journey. It adds up, but you dont really think about it. (At least I dont) Or at least try not to
-Me

From one extract to full grain? Wow. I'm on 7 extracts and I'm still not sure I will ever go full grain. Kudos to you for being so brave.

I spend a lot of time in Austin, which is not good for the pocketbook. I see Austin Homebrew all to often. Also the Keg Connection is not all that far and I do have plans to make a visit there before long. The idea of having 3 or 4 different brews, on tap, in my office is just...

Next weekend I think Moose Drool

Kudos to you! I made the switch to AG after 4 extract batches, and absolutely love the process. It's my ultimate relaxation day to sit in the garage, both doors open, turn on some good Aerosmith, Dave Mathews Band, etc, and just brew the day away.

pretzelb said:

From one extract to full grain? Wow. I'm on 7 extracts and I'm still not sure I will ever go full grain. Kudos to you for being so brave.

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AG might seem a little intimidating but its really a piece of cake once you understand what you are supposed to do. Besides, it gives you a chance to take an hour or so break while your grains are mashing (to get other stuff accomplished)

And there is nothing wrong with extract. I have a BJCP judge buddy who likes to do extract batches cause they are "easier" and less time.
Good luck to ya bud!
-Me

+1 on AG being more intimidating by sound than by action. It's really a very simple process. Heat up water, poor water in cooler with grains, mix up grains and water real well, let sit for an hour. Cycle the water through via batch sparge or fly sparge (watch a youtube video to see) and bam. Off to the boil.

I havent spent anything on equipment in over a year, once you get your process down and your happy with it, all the money you have to spend is on ingredients

My 14th batch was my first all grain. I think I did 5 cooper's kits before I did some extract + steeping grains recipes. I was so nervous about using grain and thought I would never do all grain. Now that I have one AG batch under my belt, I am totally excited to do more. I thought it was a fairly simple process and was more fun to do.

Your right the process is very simple. Once I can do it without not thinking too much and running around like a chicken with its head cut off all will be good. I guess it all about having your system.

SporkD2 said:

I havent spent anything on equipment in over a year, once you get your process down and your happy with it, all the money you have to spend is on ingredients

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And that is actually cheaper than buying beer in stores unless you're really inefficient.

Once I got over the sticker shock of buying the initial set of gear, this got easy to justify pretty quickly, given that I can make 6 weeks' worth of beer for ~$30, as opposed to spending $50 to $60 buying it.

Yes it is expensive when starting out. You can save quite a bit by not buying equipment and doing as much DIY as possible. You'll still spend money, just not enough. The good thing is, most equipment is one time spending. But the need (aka desire) for upgraded equipment is never ending I hope to get to a relatively automated electric system and bulk grain purchasing in the future. The bulk grain an hop buying will save on cost.

Yikes, 1 extract to AG!? i want to do AG but for me the reality is live in a small townhouse with no garage. The most i could go about doing is like a partial. Luckily for me, as i start looking into partial its some of the same equipment that will get incorporated into all grain and a brew structure. Cheers, i think its time to find something else to brew!

cryptonic84 said:

Yikes, 1 extract to AG!? i want to do AG but for me the reality is live in a small townhouse with no garage. The most i could go about doing is like a partial. Luckily for me, as i start looking into partial its some of the same equipment that will get incorporated into all grain and a brew structure. Cheers, i think its time to find something else to brew!

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Take a look at Deathbrewers stovetop AG thread. Hes got alot of great tips and tricks in that thread.
AG doesnt have to be a huge space hog and you dont need an extravagant brew rig to make it happen. I basically use 1 burner, 2 pots (one for heating water and the other to catch the wort/boil) and my cooler.
-Me

inspector13 said:

This is not a quick and cheap hobby

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I'm finding I spend less time and money on brewing than I did playing golf.