Beginner - wanting to start with All-Grain?

[miss.toonchie]

Hi all! I am brand new to this world of home brewing. I have not yet purchased my equipment/first kit because I am trying to decide what type of brewing I should start with before I make my purchase. Originally, I was looking at buying a kit from Northern Brewer that was recommended by some friends. Recently, I have discovered the idea to jump straight into all grain brewing instead of starting with extract. There is a lot of support for either method the more I read online, but I dont want to get in too over my head by trying to start with BAIB. I read some reviews and articles talking about the functionality and great price of the BrewZilla and how that can be used for BAIB - thoughts?

Sorry if this seems all over the place. There is a lot to read and learn as I journey into home brewing, but I wanted some advice before I make my first equipment purchase! I am a graduate student so my finances are important and I don't want to get equipment that I may want to replace sooner ratehr than later which has also guided me some towards starting with all grain.

Any and all comments/advice is very much welcomed! Thanks!

 

[jrgtr42]

Welcome to the obsession.
I get wanting to start AG - but it's kinda like starting swimming in the deep end. THough with BIAB, it's sort of in the middle.
I uusally suggest starting with an extract kit or two, mainly to get the procendures down, and understand the system you're brewing with, be it kitchen stove, turkey fryer burner or full on pro-level rig. Not to mention fermentation
You don't need anything above and beyond AG brewing to do extract, but there is less you have to worry about, and there's ALWAYS something to worry about.
Everyone who will comment will have their own ideas on what to splurge on, (buy once cry once,) so there's really no right or wrong answer. You'll want a good size kettle (pot) minimum 10 gallons, probably more, if you want to BIAB brew - and presuming you'll be going with 5-gallon batches, at least for now. Make sure your heat source can handle the amounts of water you'll need and get it to temp in a reasonable amount of time. Likewise cooling - the more time it spends in those middle areas the more chance that unwanted things can get in there.
|You want to make sure you have a spot to ferment in - as long as there's somewhere that sticks, or can be stuck, in the mid-60ps F temp wise, you'll be fine for most brews.
The biggest things to worry about for new brewers is sanitation, yeast health and happiness, sanitation, temperature control, sanitation and sanitation.
And the hardest thing to learn is patience. Instructions for recipes will give time frames for fermentation - but the yeast don't read them. They'll finish when they're good and ready. Resist the urge to constantly open the lid of your fermenter to see how things are going, and constantly sample. |As long as things are happenning in there (airlock activity is a good sign) then just walk away and leave it alone.

 

[IslandLizard]

Welcome to HBT!

Do you happen to have a big(gish) pot or kettle already?
You can start out with a 2 or 4 gallon pot, if you have one, just to see if you like it. Brewing is 95% process.

Where would you be brewing? The larger the volume the larger space and heating requirements. Then chilling.

What kind of beer do you like?
Have you tasted homebrew from others?

Although brewing all grain doesn't have to be difficult, I still think starting with an extract brew will make things a bit easier on you.

 

[odie]

+1 on extract...

it's cheaper and easier...get a couple simple beers done just to see if home brewing is something you really want to get into...

less things to get wrong and ruin your beer. Nothing will end a hobby faster than a bad first experience.

There are so many ways to build your all grain system...only a fool would blindly commit time and money...

 

[hotbeer]

I started out with all grain brewing. And it was just recently after wanting to brew my own for over 40 years.

BITD, it was only 5 gallon extract kits I found. Not to offend any of the extract brewers out there, that just didn't seem fun or interesting to me. I felt it too much like just make a batch of kool-aid. Though I now see how there is actually a lot more to it.

One of my son's gave me a 1 gallon all grain kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop and now I've done quite a few batches in just a short time of 10 months. The one gallons worth of beer means that I don't have wait so long between brewing because I have too much already bottled or kegged going undrunk.

They have very simple instructions that will leave you wondering about all the other stuff we talk about here. They don't give you OG or FG values, their recipes give times from start of boil instead of till end of boil. They essentially just give you the base information you have to have to make beer.

So I'd recommend them or any other 1 gallon all grain kit. Then you can work on your methods and add complication like hydrometer readings, brew in a bag, and different yeast types to your repertoire before you also add the complications of handling large amounts of grain to an already confusing amount different ways to make beer.

Though if I had to do it over, I might suggest throw away their yeast packet and get some other dry yeast for ales that most all their recipes are. I'm finding better results now that I use another yeast.

 

[IslandLizard]

Once you know brewing is for you, get a copy of John Palmer's How to Brew, 4th Ed.
There's an old 1st Ed. online version too, to give you an idea of what's involved in homebrewing.

I read some reviews and articles talking about the functionality and great price of the BrewZilla and how that can be used for BAIB - thoughts?

It is designed for BIAB (!), although you could boil extract batches in it as well, or steam crabs, or even sous vide.

FYI, MoreBeer has the Brewzilla on sale right now.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/brewzilla-v31-grain-brewing-system-pump-35l925g.html

 

[IslandLizard]

One of my son's gave me a 1 gallon all grain kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop and now I've done quite a few batches in just a short time of 10 months. The one gallons worth of beer means that I don't have wait so long between brewing because I have too much already bottled or kegged going undrunk.

Although they have great merit, and some swear by them, I find there's little need to buy 1 gallon kits. One can build recipes from raw ingredients for far less $$, IMHO.

Buying 5 gallon kits when they are on sale can be a very decent deal. A friend of mine has been buying 2-fers and 3-fers like that for years, and the price difference between building a recipe from raw ingredients or buying on sale kits (with free shipping!) is fairly small.

 

[mattdee1]

Starting with all grain or starting with extract are both worthwhile and reasonable approaches.

I think it's important not to lose sight of the fact that all grain has stronger potential overall for making great beer (although, to be fair, it guarantees nothing in and of itself.) With that in mind, IMO, the following are the only good reasons NOT to start with all-grain:

1) you're not sure you'll stick with the hobby and want to just "dip in your toes" to start
2) you're very impatient and want to get started with the least amount of up-front learning and equipment as possible
3) your budget is razor thin
4) you have nowhere to store equipment and want to keep your rig as small as possible
5) you can't or are unwilling to make time for full all-grain brew days (which can easily take 5-6 hours straight)

I went straight to all grain and was very happy with the results, but I read "How To Brew" cover to cover before spending a dime on equipment and, also, I'm the type who just likes to make things from scratch so I knew that all grain was the only path I would find fun and fulfilling. No regrets, whatsoever.

Although, it's kind of funny I'm writing this right now, because as we speak I've got 5gal of pale ale fermenting downstairs that was made entirely with DME. I've been brewing for 6 years and have done a few small (1-2 gal) experimental (read: almost throw-away) batches with extract but this is my first ever "serious attempt" at a full 5 gal batch using extract that I intend to put in a keg and onto my serving system.

Why now, you may ask? See point #5 above - my wife and I just welcomed our 2nd kid in September so time will be in short supply for the foreseeable future.

I hope this extract brew turns out to my satisfaction because it was so easy. When the boil was done, I just shut the burner off and let it cool naturally over night, then drained it into my fermentor the next day. So "brew day" consisted of little more than bringing some water up to boil, mixing in some extract, then stepping out into the garage 2-3 times to dump in some hops. Clean up the next day was the biggest continuous effort but I was never "occupied" for more than 20 minutes or so at a time.

 

[DannyBoy270]

Originally, I was looking at buying a kit from Northern Brewer

This is what I started with, and it came with a block party amber ale extract kit that turned out okay despite sitting in my garage for about a year before getting used - long story behind that

Personally I would suggest at least 1 extract batch before you jump straight in to AG. You can get your equip with going AG in mind as the process isn't that much different. Like I said I got the Northern Brewer kit, and still use most of the parts and pieces that came with it. Likewise, I did two extract batches and then jumped to AG on my 3rd with the same 5 gal pot, etc. I just settled for roughly 3 gal batches until I felt like upgrading to a bigger pot.

With this hobby to say there's more than one way to skin a cat is probably an understatement, and new equipment seems to pop up all the time. My advice would be to keep it simple and not make a big investment up front until you've had a chance to play around and figure out what works for you & what doesn't, and likewise what parts of the process you enjoy and what parts you'd rather find a way to streamline.

Cheers & welcome to the hobby!

 

[JRHDBrew]

I just flipped from extract/partial mash to all grain. The reality of equipment is a thing. I am doing 3 gallons now. I made a mash/lauter tun out of a cooler. 10 gallons. I have a 10 gallon gas one kettle. I have a 30 qt pot that I use to heat my water (liquor) for mash and sparge. My sparge arm is a stainless steel colander. I have a Farraday 30 plate chiller for the wort. I started this journey with a 2.25 gallon Mr. Beer setup. Started just extract and then started doing some partial mash with their kits. I learned to do gravity checks with that although not necessary. Brewing equipment can get pricey really quick. I see the common thread of start extract. I agree I would also add maybe start small too. Make sure it is something you enjoy before dropping the cash on a full up kit. And make sure you have somewhere you can temp control unless you keep your domicile between 60 and 70 degrees.

 

[hotbeer]

Although they have great merit, and some swear by them, I find there's little need to buy 1 gallon kits. One can build recipes from raw ingredients for far less $$, IMHO.

Buying 5 gallon kits when they are on sale can be a very decent deal. A friend of mine has been buying 2-fers and 3-fers like that for years, and the price difference between building a recipe from raw ingredients or buying on sale kits (with free shipping!) is fairly small.

And that's what I'm just getting into. But for a beginner that has some trepidations and is unsure even what hardware to get, One gallon all grain kits can be inexpensive to let you get started and begin having ones own experiences to build on.

If you look at the simplicity of what they give you in their kits, then you might just have most of that stuff already at home. An 8 quart or better stock pot is about the only other thing needed.

Also, if you read their instructions, you'll probably be disturbed about what they don't tell you to do or the information they don't list. But their instructions do make beer when followed. Reasonably decent too.

My only reason for suggesting them is because they are one of the few that you can find a 1 gallon all grain kit from. And that if it wasn't for it being one gallon and all grain, then I'd never have brewed my first batch.

5 gallon batches are just too much IMO for a noob on a kitchen stove. And dividing them up into smaller batches leaves a noob wondering what to do with the leftover stuff and how to properly store it. Much less how to divide up a 11 gram pack of dry yeast into smaller amounts accurately.

 

[estricklin]

I would have to say I personally see some value in doing an extract kit or 2 first. You can use a lot of equipment you have laying around the house to do extract. Getting good temp control, and sanitation are far more important to the quality of your beer than whether it was brewed with AG or extract.

Welcome to the hobby and the forum. I was once in a positon similar to yours now, I started with extract and worked my way up to AG. I miss extract, loved how fast they are to brew, but the economics keep me with AG.

Be sure to check out John Palmer's "How to Brew" as already mentioned in this thread. It's basically a homebrewer's Bible.

 

[AlexKay]

I started all grain in a bag, and to this day don’t even know what malt extract looks like. I’m pretty happy with how things worked out. The only hiccup I hit was with water — my tap water is unusably hard, which took me a brew to figure out.

BIAB, especially if you aren’t buying a kit, is also cheaper per batch, and requires very little in the way of equipment.

 

[Velnerj]

Starting all grain is certainly possible but I was obsessed with brewing for months before I even bought equipment. I did a ton of reading and was sure it was something I wanted to invest time and money in (both of which I am short on!). Nevertheless my first brew was a smashing success and I've been hooked since.
I don't think my journey is typical nor can I necessarily recommend it but I can say it's possible and rewarding. If you have the drive and desire it can go well. But don't go in blindly. Read and study as much as you can. If there's any doubt about your commitment go extract to start.

 

[TkmLinus]

I agree with starting with the Brooklyn Brew Shop recipe kits if you want to start all grain. True, they are more expensive than putting it together yourself, but it is a super easy way to get into all grain. All you need is a stock pot and a colander. Also the northern brewer 1 gallon kits aren't bad but you can't go all grain with them. For the fermenter, get a little big mouth bubbler from Northern Brewer, also grab a small autosiphon, tubing, bottle caps, bottle capper, and a small bottle of star san and you should be good to go. With that basic set up you will be set for doing small batch brews. Even if you go bigger it is nice to have a small fermenter for experimental batches/ wines/ ciders/ etc. At least that is my take on things.

 

[Knightshade]

My path is a little different than most, as I started with a Picobrew C. It was basically a Keurig, but with beer. Throw in the pod, fill with water and push a button. It got boring...really quick. So I started doing the manual brew stuff w/it, which was effectively BIAB. Then they started having some financial issues and finally went out of business. I kept doing manual brews on it for awhile, then just said the hell w/it and went to a 5 AG setup. Found some cheap/free stuff on Craigslist, (Kettle, MT, etc.) and basically got kicked out of the kitchen. So that facilitated purchase of a Foundry 10.5, which I'm still using.

So I feel like I started with AG and while I can recognize that extract brewing might be easier because it is a couple less steps, if I had to do it differently...I probably would have just went straight to the Foundry vs. Kettle/MT route.

 

[Coastalbrew]

I started out extract and am very glad I did. Brewing in some ways is very simple, but also has a great deal of complexity especially when you get into all grain. With extract brewing you have a chance to learn the basic process, focus on getting your brew day rhythm figured out and work on dialing in your sanitation and fermentation control before having to worry about all the other variables involved in all grain brewing.

For me, as I was getting comfortable with extract brewing, I did a ton of research on all the different methods and systems available for AG brewing. My experiences with extract and my first trial with full volume stove top BIAB helped me pick the best system for me and ultimately helped me learn the craft with less frustration and, I think, better success than I would have had jumping in to AG from the get go.

Palmer's book is a great choice. I also recommend "the homebrew recipe Bible" by Chris Colby. It is much simpler and guides new brewers from simple extract, to extract and stepping grain, mini mash and then to AG with recipes designed for each method and an easy to follow format.

Good luck and welcome to the hobby.

Cheers!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Eventually, many brewers realize that ...

 

[madscientist451]

Making good beer really isn't all that difficult. The trick it to figure out what to do when things go wrong. There's way less to go wrong with extract.
If you want to try it, go for it. I started with all grain, but I already had years of experience with wine and cider.
The other issue is where are you going to get your supplies. Many home brew shops have closed down and its not as easy as it once was to go in and get all your ingredients down to the ounce.
My 2 cents:
Get a $20 Anvil scale for your grain and hops. Figure out what style of beer you like and gather up the ingredients. A cheap 5 gallon pot, a BIAB bag and your kitchen stove and your ready fort brewing.
Look on your local craigslist or F/B marketplace for used brewing gear, but know what the new stuff costs, some people sell things cheap, others want to charge more than they paid.

 

[Knightshade]

You haven't what area you're in..which is fine. But I'm fortunate enough to have two LHBS both of which provide 'come brew with us' classes. There was also a microbrewery that held a "Brew with Chuck" every month and that beer was on tap as a small batch offering. But I got to watch, listen, participate on the system that got that brewer (who was the head brewer) into brewing and I learned A TON!

If that isn't available to you, there are numerous youtubers who do live brew days. I'd recommend watching one of those, and maybe try to attend a Live one and see if you can get some of your questions answered.

 

[IslandLizard]

Originally, I was looking at buying a kit from Northern Brewer

This is what I started with, and it came with a block party amber ale extract kit

Let's make sure we distinguish between equipment kits and recipe kits. They're not associated.
Equipment kits are rarely very good, it's to get started. Better to buy exactly what you need. For example, a good, easy to read long, all-white scale hydrometer showing Brix and SG, nothing else. Everything else is needless fluff, and confusing. The longer the scale the easier to read the difference between 1.010 and 1.012.

Most kits come with an auto-siphon, much better to get a racking cane instead. A stainless one could last a lifetime.
A local home brew store (LHBS) can be a great resource, if not, order online. You don't really need all that much.

[EDITS]
A gallon recipe kit is pricey for what you get, and only yields 10 12-oz bottles of beer, at best, a month (to 8 weeks) after you brewed. Most recipes can be scaled down proportionally, say from 5 gallons to 2 or 3 gallons. Twice or thrice the beer as a 1 gallon "kit" for about the same effort, and a little more time while you're bottling.

Stay away from pre-hopped extracts, and LME unless you know for certain it's very fresh (manufacturing date).
Buy (unhopped) dry malt extract (DME) or brew all-grain, and use real hops (either pellets or whole flowers).
Together with clean, low mineral water and a pack of yeast, you can make beer.

All municipal water is chlorinated or chloraminated. It needs to be treated with 1/4 crushed Campden tablet per 5 gallons (21 liters) or a 1/16 teaspoon of K-Meta or Na-Meta. Just mix it in by stirring. 2 minutes later, stir again, done!

 

[CDS]

Hi all! I am brand new to this world of home brewing. I have not yet purchased my equipment/first kit because I am trying to decide what type of brewing I should start with before I make my purchase. Originally, I was looking at buying a kit from Northern Brewer that was recommended by some friends. Recently, I have discovered the idea to jump straight into all grain brewing instead of starting with extract. There is a lot of support for either method the more I read online, but I dont want to get in too over my head by trying to start with BAIB. I read some reviews and articles talking about the functionality and great price of the BrewZilla and how that can be used for BAIB - thoughts?

Sorry if this seems all over the place. There is a lot to read and learn as I journey into home brewing, but I wanted some advice before I make my first equipment purchase! I am a graduate student so my finances are important and I don't want to get equipment that I may want to replace sooner ratehr than later which has also guided me some towards starting with all grain.

Any and all comments/advice is very much welcomed! Thanks!

My advice is to spend a brewday (or two) with someone who has experience with BIAB. I too thought I should first try extract to see if I liked the hobby. So that's what I did and I had a terrible experience - really made me think homebrewing was way too much bother for the results, so I didn't bother trying again. Something in the back of my mind kept nagging me about brewing though, and coincidentally I met a person at work who had been brewing for years using BIAB. He invited me to join him on a brewday, and it was the best thing I ever did. I got to see his whole set-up, go through the entire process, stress-free, and was able to see just how easy it could be with really a basic setup. I haven't looked back since that day - set up my own brewspace in my garage and am making great beer (most of the time!), learning a lot every time, and loving the hobby.

 

[porterguy]

You haven't what area you're in..which is fine. But I'm fortunate enough to have two LHBS both of which provide 'come brew with us' classes...
... numerous youtubers who do live brew days. I'd recommend watching one of those, and maybe try to attend a Live one and see if you can get some of your questions answered.

+1 Also check around to see if there is a homebrew club in your area...I'm pretty sure you can just do a google search for "homebrew club near ...." and enter your location. Good chance to get your feet wet with a group brew, and frequently someone is upgrading equipment and will sell their stuff at a good price to a fellow club-member.

 

[porterguy]

To each their own, and no offense meant but...

I started with an extract kit...it was like buying a cake mix, adding water, and ending up with an edible (drinkable) result. But like "hotbeer" said above, the whole process was missing something (for me), the creative part. BIAB was relatively unknown or a well kept secret at the time (and looked down at by "real" homebrewers), but somehow I stumbled upon it and decided to try that before investing in a major equipment upgrade and expansion for all grain. I have happily stayed at the BIAB level with just a boil kettle and a bag (you can try out BIAB with a 5-gal. paint strainer bag from Home Depot before investing $30 in a well-made and long-lasting "real" BIAB bag). DIY is your friend if $ is an issue, which you indicated. Used equipment from online (Craigslist, etc. which someone mentioned) or from the "for sale" section on this forum, brew clubs, etc.

A "Corona-style" grain mill is about $25-$30 online and does a great grind for BIAB. Look up "no-chill" on this site and you'll see you can get a food-safe "cube" to put put your hot wort into and don't need to purchase or clean any chilling equipment.

My short answer is "I suggest starting with BIAB".

Good luck and Happy Brewing. It can be a highly addictive hobby, but very gratifying.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

BIAB isn't all THAT complicated, but I would still recommend a 5 gallon extract kit for your first batch. That gives you a chance to get all the things common to both brewing methods down pat first, instead of figuring out everything about grain brewing all at once. Extract is pretty easy to get it right the first go. And with a good kit with a good set of instructions, all you have to do is follow them. Riiiiiiiiight.... there is always something left out or some tangent that you go off on that seems perfectly natural and normal. But generally you will learn about getting a good seal on your fermenter and using an airlock properly, pitching your yeast correctly, maintaining temperature to suit the yeast and the beer style, and bottling which is where you can make some spectacular and entertaining mistakes. I think that's enough wild cards for one go. Now if you add grinding and mashing and sparging all that stuff, in worst case scenario (always plan for worst case scenarios!) you got a LOT of crazy things happening and a lot of chances to screw up, many of which you might take advantage of.

That first extract kit batch is a good confidence builder and you get a fairly painless initial experience with that. I would definitely recommend going with BIAB on your second batch, though. You will save money and maybe have a better beer, though actually the popular extract kits, especially the ones that include steeping grains, really do make a very nice product. My first batch was the Block Party Amber Ale kit from Northern Brewer. It's quite a delicious beer.

Just a few tips.

1. don't use a plastic bucket for your fermenter. It is really hard to both get a good seal and get the lid on and off easily. I highly recommend the Big Mouth Bubbler with a spigot near the bottom. The Fermonster looks good, too, but I have never used one. Both have an opening wide enough to get your arm in, so you can do a good job of cleaning up. Everything post-boil needs to be done with very clean equipment.

2. Cover your clear fermenters, to keep UV off your beer. I use an old black tshirt.

3. Pay attention to your yeast's temperature range. Remember that just because your brew room is 72° doesn't mean your fermenter is 72°. Once the yeast is working vigorously, it can raise its own temperature several degrees.

4. Don't be in too big a hurry to get your beer into bottles, and don't be in too big a hurry to start drinking them. In the first case, you may have too much sugar left in your beer or too much dissolved CO2 in it, which could lead to overcarbing and making exploding beers, or beers that are a PITA to open. In the second, you might open bottles that aren't ready yet, and have too little carbonation or too much suspended sediment. It doesn't hurt a thing to have your beer resting in the fermenter for a week or two "too long", and once it is safely in the bottle, it will keep well for many months, even a year, if kept cool and in a dark place.

5. Before you get started, get in the habit to save and wash thoroughly your brown glass beer bottles. Crown cap style, not twist off style. Your 5 gallon batch will need 53 12oz bottles. There is no need to buy bottles for your first batch.

Good luck and good brews!

 

[miss.toonchie]

Hi everyone!

Thank you all so much for the flooding of comments on my post. You all have given me a lot to think about as I dive into this exciting journey. I'm really looking forward to getting started and will be definetly be refering back to everyone's advice throughout the process.

Cheers!

 

[YeastFeast]

If I had to do it over again, I would definitely go right to all grain. I read a ton before I did my first brew and felt I wasted my time doing extract and not learning the way I was eventually going to do it right away. Maybe it was just my local home-brew shop but the kits were stale and I never made a great brew until I did all grain (I probably did 5 kits). It was OK but nothing to get me excited to go make more.
My goal was to make the beer possible while customizing & making it my own. Doing extract first did nothing to help me reach my goal.

 

[hotbeer]

5. Before you get started, get in the habit to save and wash thoroughly your brown glass beer bottles. Crown cap style, not twist off style. Your 5 gallon batch will need 53 12oz bottles. There is no need to buy bottles for your first batch.

Or maybe buy and drink up enough of beers that come in swing top bottles like Grolsch. Then one won't need a capper or caps right off the bat.

Though Grolsch are green bottles, if kept in the dark while carbonating and conditioning till they are drank, the color is no issue IMO.

I've never used swing top bottles myself, so I can't say if they are worse or better. But it seems that not having to buy a capper and caps will save a few bucks till it's known whether brewing is more than just a passing whim.

 

[Jim R]

If you are willing to read and study extensively before you spend money and start brewing, all grain is very doable with great beer on the first try (and not even just with BIAB). If you aren’t, start with simple extract brewing.

i started with all grain and a mash tun but I probably studied for 2 months taking extensive notes before I started. In fact, I enjoy the self education part probably more than the actual brewing.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

It seems some people are confusing "extract brewing" with "brewing an old kit that you just mix with water." While I do enjoy the all-grain side of brewing, there is a lot that can be done with extract brewing. Places like Northern Brewer and More Beer have an excellent selection of extract kits (most with steeping grains), the book "Brewing Classic Styles" is a great source of extract recipes, and you are free to get as involved as you want with creating extract recipes...though starting off with a recipe or kit is where I would suggest.

The 2021 AHA Homebrewer of the Year award went to an extract brewer! AHA homebrewer of the year

I am a huge fan of 2.5 gallon stove top BIAB. I think it is a great place to start with BIAB brewing. The biggest challenge is a lack of starter equipment sets, recipe kits or published recipes for that batch size. Love2Brew (www.love2brew.com) is one of the few vendors in the US that I have seen with 2.5 gallon kits, but you can pretty much just divide a 5 gallon recipe in half.

If you are good with spending $400+ for a hobby that you may or may not stick with, one of the electric all-in-one systems seem like a decent starting place. I like that the Anvil Foundry can be swapped from 120V to 240V with a simple change of the plug. Most systems are 120V or 240V specific.

One benefit of extract brewing, is that you can start off with a 4-gallon pot (you can likely find for $20 or less). You can do a concentrated boil on your stove and chill the wort with an ice bath + chilled water. With 5 gallon BIAB, you ideally will have a 10+ gallon kettle, a high power heat source and a chiller. Many of the all-in-one systems provide all this (though I am not sure I would be happy with a 120V system).

Note that even if you purchase something like the BrewZilla, you still need everything in one of the basic $99 kits. Just don't get one with a nice kettle.

To me, starting with a basic starter equipment kit + extract ingredient kit is a great place to start.

 

[Knightshade]

If you are willing to read and study extensively before you spend money and start brewing, all grain is very doable with great beer on the first try (and not even just with BIAB). If you aren’t, start with simple extract brewing.

i started with all grain and a mash tun but I probably studied for 2 months taking extensive notes before I started. In fact, I enjoy the self education part probably more than the actual brewing.

So I've already said my bit..but your comment really resonates. I have a friend in another state that started at the same time as I did..which was 2 years ago this month actually. He too started on a Pico C and ended up with a Foundry. I've had my share of mistakes, but I know where I went wrong, read, researched addressed it..then made other mistakes..but that is part of the process I think and I enjoy the learning aspect of it. I've brewed..I think 18 batches..it is in my sig, but I've dumped 2. I've got another fermenting and another conditioning, but I won't make a verdict on those until I taste them. So hopefully they go on the <-- side of the /

At any rate...my friend has brewed maybe 4 batches in the same amount of time and dumped every single one of them. He has never provided a lot of detail as to why, so I can't help him out other than just saying "This isn't good." I did a remote brewday with him the other week..and it was fun. But...there were definitely a lot of "Wait..don't do that." "Whoa..are you sure you." "Wait..did you remember to." "Because...well...because that is what you're supposed to do."

I read a lot, take a lot of notes. Feels like he just wants to wing it..or ask me. But to his cred, the dude is a BBQ Masta!

 

[GrowleyMonster]

Or maybe buy and drink up enough of beers that come in swing top bottles like Grolsch. Then one won't need a capper or caps right off the bat.

Though Grolsch are green bottles, if kept in the dark while carbonating and conditioning till they are drank, the color is no issue IMO.

I've never used swing top bottles myself, so I can't say if they are worse or better. But it seems that not having to buy a capper and caps will save a few bucks till it's known whether brewing is more than just a passing whim.

Yeah I have used a few flip tops and they are pretty cool except they don't fit in my bottle drain rack unless I pop the bails off the bottles. I actually seldom bottle, but I think it is an essential skill and also bottling has a cheaper entrance fee than kegging, so bottling at least the first batch or two ought to be a standard rite of passage.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

It seems some people are confusing "extract brewing" with "brewing an old kit that you just mix with water." While I do enjoy the all-grain side of brewing, there is a lot that can be done with extract brewing. Places like Northern Brewer and More Beer have an excellent selection of extract kits (most with steeping grains), the book "Brewing Classic Styles" is a great source of extract recipes, and you are free to get as involved as you want with creating extract recipes...though starting off with a recipe or kit is where I would suggest.

The 2021 AHA Homebrewer of the Year award went to an extract brewer! AHA homebrewer of the year

I am a huge fan of 2.5 gallon stove top BIAB. I think it is a great place to start with BIAB brewing. The biggest challenge is a lack of starter equipment sets, recipe kits or published recipes for that batch size. Love2Brew (www.love2brew.com) is one of the few vendors in the US that I have seen with 2.5 gallon kits, but you can pretty much just divide a 5 gallon recipe in half.

If you are good with spending $400+ for a hobby that you may or may not stick with, one of the electric all-in-one systems seem like a decent starting place. I like that the Anvil Foundry can be swapped from 120V to 240V with a simple change of the plug. Most systems are 120V or 240V specific.

One benefit of extract brewing, is that you can start off with a 4-gallon pot (you can likely find for $20 or less). You can do a concentrated boil on your stove and chill the wort with an ice bath + chilled water. With 5 gallon BIAB, you ideally will have a 10+ gallon kettle, a high power heat source and a chiller. Many of the all-in-one systems provide all this (though I am not sure I would be happy with a 120V system).

Note that even if you purchase something like the BrewZilla, you still need everything in one of the basic $99 kits. Just don't get one with a nice kettle.

To me, starting with a basic starter equipment kit + extract ingredient kit is a great place to start.

Good points. And also, familiarity with extracts is a big help when going for that first really big beer. The brewer can get the flavor profile just right with a well conceived mash bill, then use an appropriate extract to add crazy amounts of fermentables with no waste, after mashing the grains and squeezing the life out of the bag. My beers usually run about 1.075 OG but I have been thinking about doing a batch at 1.100 or better, and the easy way to get those kind of numbers is to add LME right before the boil.

 

[Kharnynb]

It depends a lot of how much money you are willing to spend on the initial layout and if you are certain you will continue.

If money is less of an object, it's better to buy some good kit immediately, most of it can be used for extract anyway, but it saves you from rebuying stuff down the line.
for me, the things I wished I had bought immediately instead of cheaping out:
-chapman style metal fermenters(this was the big one for me, easy to clean, can dump hot wort straight into it if you do no-chill or chill in the tub), can even double as your first kettle in a pinch.
-an electric biab kettle, a decent "cheapish" one like the one I use is about 300ish, and they really make it so much easier to mash and boil, especially if you have 220v available.

 

[franknbeans]

Hi everyone!

Thank you all so much for the flooding of comments on my post. You all have given me a lot to think about as I dive into this exciting journey. I'm really looking forward to getting started and will be definitely be refering back to everyone's advice throughout the process.

Cheers!

Where abouts are you located? I'm looking to sell the beginner kit I got when I first started last year when Rona happened. I'm near Sacramento in CA.. maybe we can work something out. you can go either direction with straight extract or try BIAB on what I have.

 

[jrgtr42]

To each their own, and no offense meant but...

I started with an extract kit...it was like buying a cake mix, adding water, and ending up with an edible (drinkable) result. But like "hotbeer" said above, the whole process was missing something (for me), the creative part.

Honestly, that's exactly why I recommend starting with a recipe kit. You have to learn the process before getting creative. Just like a guitar player wouldn;t start by jamming with Eddie Van Halen, or a beginning golfer wouldn't join Tiger Woods for a round, making a pastry bourbon barrel imperial stout from scratch as your first brew is a recipe () for disaster.
With a recipe kit, you know that at the end, presuming everything goes well, you'll end up with a known entity as a reward - this particular pale ale, or porter or whatever. This is more about getting the procedures down, like a guitar player needs to learn the chords and a golfer gets confortable with their swing.
Once you're confident with that part, then understanding the why and how of recipe creation is much easier, and more likely to result in a good beer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

My beers usually run about 1.075 OG but I have been thinking about doing a batch at 1.100 or better, and the easy way to get those kind of numbers is to add LME right before the boil.

I brew a small batch OG 90-ish barley wine maybe once a year.

A couple of years ago, I brewed it twice. Once as a double mash and once as a "partial mash" (mashed an OG 70-ish all-grain wort and added DME to get to OG 90-ish). (aside: this year, I brewed it as a full volume mash / boil - I'll bottle it soon).

DME/LME is not a direct 1-to-1 substitution for the equivalent base malt. When the DME/LME is made, they take just the water out, leaving the minerals from the wort behind. Different brands of DME/LME likely have a different mineral content (depends on where the DME/LME was made). Ingredient selection is likely to be a key factor in making a really good (rather than just good) "partial mash" barley wine.

 

[Homebrew Harry]

My best advice is to get in cheap by starting with good used equipment. Some people get out of this hobby as fast as they get in after spending hundreds. I have gotten great deals on big carboys and totes of stuff. I have seen killer deals in other states where people have damn near given their stuff away. Look at FB marketplace a couple times a day. Save those $'s for grain. Good luck to ya !

 

[bwible]

I think the biggest hurdle to just starting with all grain is recipe formulation/knowing all the different grains and understanding what they contribute.

To me, there is the grain side of things and the hop side of things. And there are many beer yeasts. If you’ve never brewed before you don’t know munich malt from vienna malt from biscuit malt, etc. Or Cascade from Amarillo from Fuggles, etc. Or what yeast is for what. So how are you supposed to put a recipe together and understand it?

This is a big part of where extract recipes can be of value. Extract kits or recipes take most of the grain side recipe stuff out of it and you can concentrate on techniques and getting your equipment to do what you want and also makes the hop part of it more up front. It’s part of a learning curve.

Either way you’ll be following other people’s recipes to start. How do you pick decent recipes that are supposed to make a good beer if you don’t understand ingredients? If you start with a bad recipe you won’t get good results even if you do everything right.

 

[bwible]

I am a huge fan of 2.5 gallon stove top BIAB. I think it is a great place to start with BIAB brewing. The biggest challenge is a lack of starter equipment sets, recipe kits or published recipes for that batch size. Love2Brew (www.love2brew.com) is one of the few vendors in the US that I have seen with 2.5 gallon kits, but you can pretty much just divide a 5 gallon recipe in half.

…(though I am not sure I would be happy with a 120V system).

This is where I’m at. I settled on 3 gallon batches a long time ago. It’s a decent batch size giving me a case plus a 6 pack out of each batch. I found I don’t need 50 bottles of beer out of a batch, which is what 5 gallons gives you. I originally settled on 3 gallons because of available equipment. I can use a 5 gallon brewpot. I calculate my recipes in BeerTools as 3.5 gallon recipes, collect 4 gallons and boil down to 3.5 so that I actually get 3 gallons of finished beer after losses. You can convert 5 gallon recipes to 3.5 gallons by just multiplying everything by .7

I use a 5 gallon carboy to ferment in and I have 3 gallon carboys if I want to settle the beer in a second stage. I have 3 gallon kegs. I guess if 2.5 gallon carboys had been available I might be doing 2.5 gallon batches.

Side benefits of the smaller batches are that everything is easier to handle, and I can brew inside on the kitchen stove.

I bought an Anvil Foundry 6.5. It works fine on 120V for what I am doing. I like being able to adjust temp and do step mashes. Biggest consideration is that it has an 8 lb grain capacity. That is great for an average 3 gallon batch. If I want to do stronger beers I can always supplement with extract.

Everything has come a long way from when I started homebrewing in 1997.