bierhunter
Active Member
I thought I would clarify the brewing techniques available to a new brewer or maybe a brewer looking for more advanced options.
Easiest to hardest:
1. Extract or Kit
Pros: Easiest way to make beer, no mashing steps
Can make better beer with steeping certain grains or dry hopping
Cons: Limited quality.
Can never be as fresh as freshly milled/mashed grains.
Can be more expensive.
You are limited for creativity.
Next steps go all-grain:
2. Australian BIAB method
Pros: Easiest way to all-grain - least amount of equipment needed.
Done in one pot, no sparge.
Makes beer comparable to more advanced all-grain methods.
Cons:High liquor to grist ratio limits certain beer styles, although in practice most styles are ok.
Efficiency may suffer, although because of eliminating the possibility of stuck sparges grain may be milled finer to compensate.
3. Deathbrewer's stovetop all-grain method
Pros: 2nd easiest way, only 2 pots needed.
Proper liquor to grist ratio and sparge make this true all-grain.
Cons: More calculations for amount of water for sparge, no big deal really.
If you have a stove like most with one big burner, you are heating 2nd pot on small burner, but not to boiling, just to sparge temperature.
4. Building your own mash/lauter tun with Palmer's method or Papazian's false bottom pail method and all their alternates.
Pros: True all-grain
If you like do-it-yourself projects, these are fairly easy ones.
If not, you can buy some fairly reasonably(eg morebeer's 29.95 AG starter)
Cons: More calculations, possibility of stuck sparges.
5. Advanced All-grain setups - as with most hobbies the sky's the limit on how much you can spend on all manner of advanced equipment. There could be a separate post on this.
These are the techniques as I understand them. If I have made any errors please let me know. Also if anyone has any techniques I've missed please let me know.
BH
Easiest to hardest:
1. Extract or Kit
Pros: Easiest way to make beer, no mashing steps
Can make better beer with steeping certain grains or dry hopping
Cons: Limited quality.
Can never be as fresh as freshly milled/mashed grains.
Can be more expensive.
You are limited for creativity.
Next steps go all-grain:
2. Australian BIAB method
Pros: Easiest way to all-grain - least amount of equipment needed.
Done in one pot, no sparge.
Makes beer comparable to more advanced all-grain methods.
Cons:High liquor to grist ratio limits certain beer styles, although in practice most styles are ok.
Efficiency may suffer, although because of eliminating the possibility of stuck sparges grain may be milled finer to compensate.
3. Deathbrewer's stovetop all-grain method
Pros: 2nd easiest way, only 2 pots needed.
Proper liquor to grist ratio and sparge make this true all-grain.
Cons: More calculations for amount of water for sparge, no big deal really.
If you have a stove like most with one big burner, you are heating 2nd pot on small burner, but not to boiling, just to sparge temperature.
4. Building your own mash/lauter tun with Palmer's method or Papazian's false bottom pail method and all their alternates.
Pros: True all-grain
If you like do-it-yourself projects, these are fairly easy ones.
If not, you can buy some fairly reasonably(eg morebeer's 29.95 AG starter)
Cons: More calculations, possibility of stuck sparges.
5. Advanced All-grain setups - as with most hobbies the sky's the limit on how much you can spend on all manner of advanced equipment. There could be a separate post on this.
These are the techniques as I understand them. If I have made any errors please let me know. Also if anyone has any techniques I've missed please let me know.
BH
