Looking to start all grain in 2010. Need some ?s answered

So i have done most of my batches with extract and a couple with extra and some speciatly grains.

In a lot of extract recipes there is a wide range of total pounds fementable extract. In general what is the most (pounds) of grain i would buy to make 5 gal batches?

Is there a good rule of thumb for pounds of grain to what that would be in pounds of LME or DME??

well, its a bit more complicated than a simple answer. But I'll give you a WAG...6 lbs of DME is eqiuv. to about 7.2 lbs of LME which is equiv. to around 10 - 12 plus/minus pounds of base malt?? depending on your efficiency??

The standard conversion is:

1# grain = .75# LME = .6# DME

There is a table somewhere that breaks it down so you don't have to do the math. Obviously the exact conversion would depend on a lot of variables though.

Check out BeerSmith -- you can download it and use it for, I think, 30 days for free. It'll do all those conversions for you.

A really quick rule of thumb is about two pounds of grain per gallon, with of course variations in efficiency and beer style. But if you're stranded on a deserted island that's what you can go by.

The real question is whether you want to start all grain in 2010 given the lull in the sunspot cycle, possible worldwide crop failures, dogs sleeping with cats, and all the rest. Malt extract has a pretty good shelf life to get you through such trying times, although weird guys with souped-up cars, compound bows (never could explain that one) and feathered headresses will undoubtedy find about your malt extract cache and try to raid it. Your only hope is Mel Gibson. The young crazy one. Not the old crazy one.

Hrm... Or just brew American style light beer. Nobody every risked their life for that swill.