Options to slowly transition to AG (full wort poil, partial mash....)

I've been brewing partial mash for a while now and am wanting to start upgrading my equipment. I realized that most all grain kits sold really require more equipment than what is included (an external heat source, a larger kettle for boiling that what I've been using...).

Instead of paying that much to upgrade at one time I was hoping you could suggest an upgrade path that would allow my to buys some pieces I will need now to improve my beer. (I.E. buy a larger kettle and heat source first so I can do full wort boils, then in a few months add the next piece...). Then in a year or two take the plunge and buy the rest of what I need for all grain.

Also, would upgrading to kegging and using a Conical Fermenters be the last things to consider? Thanks.

I really reccomend you research BIAB. I only did 2 batches of extract untill I get bored but wasn't ready to shell out $$$ on AG set-up with MLT, HLT and other stuff. If you already doing full boils, have a turkey frier and at least 40 qt pot thats all you need to do AG BIABs, well, not really, you will need $5 bag I guess. I don't even own IC at this point. I either do no-chill or chill my wort in snow on my deck. Very simple. BIAB is so convenient for me and takes so little room to store between brewing I don't think I will be moving to MLT design any time soon. I do keg my beers though, I started kegging from first batch for convenience

All you need is a mash tun and you can just do whatever wort size is possible on your stove. I have a 15 gallon pot for outside and a 5 gallon pot that I used to use for extract on stove...I have grown to like doing 3.5 gallon batches on my stove in the small pot. I use the same tun I used for 5 gallon batches when brewing outdoors.

Check craigslist for a good cooler and convert it to a tun for $15. You are all set for AG then. You should be able to accomplish this for 40-60 bucks total, EASILY. If you do this then you are set up for all grain, it's that simple...why everyone makes it out to be difficult or expensive is beyond me.

Kegging is extremely nice, but not needed to improve your beer. If you wanted to improve your beer quality I'd suggest making sure you have proper temp control for fermentation.

It's easy. First step, turkey fryer with minimum 7.5 gallon pot for full boils. I got mine for $50, propane tank included, on craigslist.

Second step, keggle or other bigger pot, (10+ gal) I got mine for $20 on craigslist.

Over time - upgrade pots with valves, thermometers if you'd like. My weldless valve setups cost around $20 per.

Third step, Cooler and manifold for sparging, ($25 for the cooler, $10 for the pvc manifold).

Finally, put it all together. Your original boil kettle, (7.5 gal from the turkey fryer), becomes your HLT. Cooler is MLT, Keggle is BK. Some two by fours and elbow grease gives you the height differences required for gravity transfer. You can easily get by with only the one burner forever if you want, (use the burner to heat strike/sparge water, then lift the keggle onto it for boiling the wort.

Well, the reason I felt it was expensive is that I don't have a 10/15 gallon pot yet, and don't have a stove that could heat it (my 4 gallon stock pot on full heat maintains a perfect rolling boil when I start with 2.5 gallons of water, but I would need another heat source to do more).

Shorty, that is exactly what I was looking for! You said you paid $20 for a weldless valve setup, did you get them off Craig's list, because the only valve kettles I've seen have been several hundred dollars.


BTW, is it safe to put a 10 gallon pot on a glass top stove, suddenly I have images in my head of it shattering from the weight.

Shorty meant that he got the weldess valve to install himself. The pot w/ valve is what you're seeing that is hundreds.

somecallmetex said:

Well, the reason I felt it was expensive is that I don't have a 10/15 gallon pot yet, and don't have a stove that could heat it (my 4 gallon stock pot on full heat maintains a perfect rolling boil when I start with 2.5 gallons of water, but I would need another heat source to do more).

Shorty, that is exactly what I was looking for! You said you paid $20 for a weldless valve setup, did you get them off Craig's list, because the only valve kettles I've seen have been several hundred dollars.


BTW, is it safe to put a 10 gallon pot on a glass top stove, suddenly I have images in my head of it shattering from the weight.

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I paid $20 for a beer keg with stale beer in it. I cut the keg top off with a sawzall to make my keggle. I bought the parts for the weldless valves from Lowes/Menards, which cost an additional $20 per valve setup, and installed them myself after drilling the holes with a $10 hole saw drill bit from Menards, (forgot to mention that).

The keg I got off of craigslist, valve parts from the store. If you don't feel like piecing together stuff for the valves, check out bargainfittings.com.

Never tried a bigass pot like that on a glass top....I'd be a bit afraid too, but don't know if that's justified.

Like paraordnance mentioned. If you can already do full boils, which you didn't mention specifically you should be able to transition to all grain for the price of a paint strainer bag. The hold a decent grain bill for 5 gallon batches. You mention needing a larger kettle than what you have so I'll assume you don't do full boils.

If you don't have a heat source or a kettle I'd buy a very large kettle. One that you think you'll never out grow. You probably want to replace that within a year. I'd also look at aluminum pots. I wish I'd spent my money on a larger aluminum kettle as opposed to the keggle I built. I like the keggle, but I think the aluminum was better with heat distribution. If I knew then what I know now I would have bought a minimum 20 gallon aluminum kettle. It cheaper than stainless, but no bling factor.

Here is a link about aluminum vs. stainless. I don't want to get a debate going about one vs. the other. I prefer aluminum.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/

I have a cheap turkey fryer burner I do 8.5 gallon batches on and it's worked great. I saw a cheap propane burner at Home Depot the other day for $50.

You are correct, right now the largest thing I have is a 16 quart stock pot. Is the reasoning behind a 20 gallon that I will one day be wanting to make much larger batches (If so, then I agree but should I do what shorty suggested and just find a 20 gallon for step 2?)

And should I get a wort chiller when I start doing full wort boils (it looks cheaper in the long run than the massive amounts of ice I would need... not to mention that I am assuming ice would take 2-3 times longer to cool it at that point)

Yeah, wort chillers are very helpful. You can make a huge one for about $50. $40 for 50' of 1/2" copper, $10 for fittings.

Sorry I meant to mention BIAB in my post and never did. I was writing my post assuming BIAB from paraordnance post.

Yes bigger pot for future larger batches.

If you can find a turkey fryer big enough I'd say that's a good way to go. You can use the burner later on most likely. The cheap turkey fryers I've been seeing are 7-7.5 gallons. You can BIAB in it but its tight. Or you could just do a 4 gallon batch vs 5. They're $60 on sale.

I moved from extract partial boils to all the equipment I needed to learn all grain for $2.37. Yep, that's all, but I cut my batch size down from the 5 gallons to 2 1/2 gallons so I could continue using the 20 qt stock pot I already had and just bought a pair of 5 gallon paint strainer bags at the local big box store. I'm in northern Minnesota and it gets pretty cold outside for brewing so with this setup, I can do the mash and boil right on the stove top and chill in the kitchen sink. Everything is indoors, I have counter space and a ready source of running water for cleanup. Doing a small batch takes as long as a 5 or 10 gallon batch but my risk of failure is lower because I only use half as much ingredients and bottles in case something goes wrong and I have to dump a batch. As the weather warms up and I get more experience I will go to a 5 gallon batch and do it outdoors but by then I will have the process down and my only additional equipment needed will be a turkey fryer (already procured for free) and maybe a chiller to help cool the larger amount of wort.

Good call RM-MN
I think small batches on the stove are great. I do 1 or 2 each year in the winter. I have yet to do one this year though.

You could probably do 2.5 - 3 gallon batches on the stove with your 16 qt. BIAB and direct fire your mash. When I got back into all grain a few years back I did a lot of small batches and brewed more frequently. I also had the time to do that back then though.

My wife hates the smell of beer brewing though.

Thanks for the great advice, I am sure you saved my a small fortune over the next few years. Now to keep an eye out for a cheap turkey fryer.

Also, I just learned another cool beer fact on why brewing outside doesn't skunk beer!

Riboflavin, a compound produced by yeast during fermentation, absorbs energy from light at wavelengths of 350 to 500 nanometers (nm). It transfers the energy to iso-alpha acids, the compounds that give beer bitterness. They then release free radicals-small, unstable chemical fragments-that react with sulfur compounds produced by the yeast. The result is the offending thiol.

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This is the route I went:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/

I had the turkey fryer setup and a cheap 5 gallon SS kettle. Add paint strainer bag and I was in business. I used this for about a year, and just recently added a cooler mash tun and a 15 gallon aluminum brew pot so now I can do 10 gallon batches.

This doesn't have to be an expensive hobby if you don't want it to be. You can still make great tasting beer with low-cost equipment.