first time home brewing want to do all grain

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padawanbrewer

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Am I getting in over my head wanting to brew an all grain batch? Seems to me its not much different then extract there is just a couple extra steps and equipment. Also I would like to keg instead of bottling..

Do I slow my roll and take baby step or go for it
 
Go For it!!!
If you've got the $ to spend...sounds like good ideas to me! It has been done before. If you are unhappy with your grain beer you can brew extract with the same equipment and go back to grain once you feel more confident. I'm an extract brewer and after 15 or so batches, I am thinking about switching to grain. I keg most of my beer too, it is much less work than bottling though bottles are a lot easier to share.
 
I personally would brew a couple extract kits, to get the feel of the process doing something fool proof, and getting practice taking gravity readings and working on your sanitization. There are a lot more variables in AG brewing to worry about, from the beginning, if you don't get the crush right, or the mash temp right, you don't get the gravity right, and if you don't get the gravity right, then you won't get your hopping right for example.

Starting out simple with an extract with grain kit, especially if you do it as a full boil, and use your wort chiller, which folks usually don't start doing til they go AG, will mean that if something goes wrong, you'll have an easier time isolating your issue, rather than having 10 different variables to trouble shoot.

I think it's important to nail your process first.

Read my blog Why can't we all get along, for more of what I'm getting at.
 
Am I getting in over my head wanting to brew an all grain batch? Seems to me its not much different then extract there is just a couple extra steps and equipment. Also I would like to keg instead of bottling..

Do I slow my roll and take baby step or go for it

Do what you want, it's your time and money. But to do AG and Keg you are looking at $1000.00 or more to get started in a hobby you haven't even proven to yourself that you will want to continue. If money is no object and you have lots of time then go for it. I would try to find a brewer local to you that is an AG brewer and see if you can come over on brew day (and brew day doing AG, not BIAB generally means all day). You will learn a lot watching the process and also see if you really want to invest so much time and money just starting out.
 
I did a 5 gal extract for my first batch and it turned out like $hit. Went all grain and kegs and have loved every beer since. May have been just luck too, but I enjoy the all grain method.
 
brewit2it said:
Do what you want, it's your time and money. But to do AG and Keg you are looking at $1000.00 or more to get started in a hobby you haven't even proven to yourself that you will want to continue. If money is no object and you have lots of time then go for it. I would try to find a brewer local to you that is an AG brewer and see if you can come over on brew day (and brew day doing AG, not BIAB generally means all day). You will learn a lot watching the process and also see if you really want to invest so much time and money just starting out.

Being patient and looking for the best possible deals on both new and uses equipment will save some money and 1000 dollars might look more like 600.
 
thanks guys Revvy very informative will re think .... equipment not to much of an issue get a some given to me or for cheap

thanks again
 
I personally would brew a couple extract kits, to get the feel of the process doing something fool proof, and getting practice taking gravity readings and working on your sanitization. There are a lot more variables in AG brewing to worry about, from the beginning, if you don't get the crush right, or the mash temp right, you don't get the gravity right, and if you don't get the gravity right, then you won't get your hopping right for example.

Starting out simple with an extract with grain kit, especially if you do it as a full boil, and use your wort chiller, which folks usually don't start doing til they go AG, will mean that if something goes wrong, you'll have an easier time isolating your issue, rather than having 10 different variables to trouble shoot.

I think it's important to nail your process first.

Read my blog Why can't we all get along, for more of what I'm getting at.

It is not often that I disagree with Revvy, but I totally disagree here. There is absolutely no reason you can't go all grain right away. I know plenty of people that have done it. You can "nail your process" just as easily with all-grain as with extract.
 
I have made great extract beer. I also make great all grain beer.

Recently I did an all grain and extract on the same day.


The only thing that makes me hesitate from saying go all in on all grain right away is the time and effort factor. There is a lot more time and effort needed for an all grain brew day than an extract brew day. If you get frustrated with it you are more willing to give up the hobby all together. If you are all in on this and plan on sticking through it no matter the difficulty go ALL GRAIN. If you are even the littlest bit hesitant about what to expect go EXTRACT. I went all in but started extract. After 3 batches I was bored. I made 1 more final extract and then stepped up to all grain. I don't regret any of it.

As for doing extract to learn the process. There is something to that but if you do your homework and really truly understand what you are reading and learning then you will be fine with all grain. You could always find a homebrewer nearby and join him or her for a brew day.
 
After 3 batches I was bored.

there are some things you can do to make it less boring, even with extracts...


The guy in these videos is an extract pro....some people will be happy with extracts brewing forever...not every extract brewer is like Craig
 
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I started out with AG. I made a few mistakes but I learned a lot by just jumping in and going for it. Your first batch may turn out great or you may just have learned what not to do. As long as you keep everything clean and sanitized you should have beer when you are done. Be careful though, it is very addicting. I stated out about two months ago and I have two brews bottled and three more fermenting.
Jump right in and go for it!
 
Although it could take more money doing all grain for equipment it may not.If you have the stuff and the means and once you get the know how to do it.Its pretty simple.Doing a 5 gallon all grain ,means you have a lot of grain to mash,like 10 pounds and with water it is more than you think.I do small batches so its easy to do stove top partial or all grain.And the more i do partials the more they seem to get better as i lean towards all grain.Plus the more you brew the more you know.
Im crapping my pants over the last few partials i brewed,after a few months from brew date im changing my pants from disbelief of how good beer can be.
 
One thing I never considered when I began AG is that it IS an all day process where you are doing a lot of heavy lifting and carrying and if you have a bad back it can be hell for days afterwards.
 
Doing extract with steeping grains sounds like a good idea, I'd also suggest doing a partial mash. That'll let you get the hang of mashing but still give you the extract to fall back on if something goes wrong. I started with extract but advanced quickly, steeping grains my second batch, a small partial mash my third. Still doing partials, but as much of it is grain as my current equipment set up allows. But hey, if you've got the equipment and the confidence, by all means jump in head first :)
 
If you have the right equipment, then go for it. I did and my first batch was excellent. I did a lot of research here prior. I had the benefit of spending 1 day with a friend as he brewed an all grain batch. He gave me a 5gal cooler mashtun and 2 kegs. Father in law gave me a tukey fryer burner/pot combo. I made a 50' immersion chiller and I was all set.

I also recommend going straight to kegs. :D
 
You're going to get a lot of different opinions on this, mainly because there are many different types of brewers. There are a lot of threads on here about mistakes or misunderstandings that people have, even on extract batches. AG isn't hard, but there is more stuff to screw up on. Really you should just take the time to assess your own abilities...such as are you a person who normally gets the job done right the first time, or do you need a little bit of practice first? I found that doing extract batches and bottling helped me understand the core of what I was doing, and I still screwed things up when moving to AG.

If you want to move to AG, the biggest piece of advice I could give, is to find a local homebrewer or club to help you out. Keep in mind that when you watch a youtube video that either 1: the person is experienced and the "beginner mistakes" don't arise in the videos because they've been doing it for a while, or 2: they edit the mistakes out to make it look like a smooth brew day. Only an experienced brewer can spot the small nuances early on that will be an issue. It can be small stupid things like "hey did you pre-filter your mash/sparge water because your city water sucks?" or "did you check that valve shut?" or "I suggest +10F for that instead of what the recipe states" or "did you pick up the extra dme/lme if you don't hit target OG" or "throw a towel under that glass carboy before you set it down"...etc.
 
Go for it. You'll screw something up, but so what. Once you do a few times it will get easier.

It's how I started. It looks more overwhelming than what it really is. Nothing has to be perfect. If you shoot for a certain mash temp and miss it a few degrees it will still be beer. It may wind up out of style or not what you wanted but it will still be beer. Then you correct your mistakes as you brew other batches.

3 things that are important:
1)chlorine free water
2) sanitization
3)fermentation temp control.

I don't think anything else matters. I think nothing else will ruin a batch.

Watch videos, read, ask friends questions, listen to podcasts, go to a class, read forums, join AHA
 
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