How long did it take you to go all-grain?

[MysteryHaus]

So, you malt your own barley, wrangle your own wild yeast, and never use hop pellets?
Most of us AG'ers use some level of processed ingredients, just moving back closer to the source.

Brew on

Haha you got me there! But if I ever hit the lotto you're welcome to move onto my ranch and be my farming/brewing partner

 

[EuBrew]

Went all grain first batch and built electric after 5th

 

[MysteryHaus]

Sorry for the multi post my app got all scrambled

 

[jrgtr42]

Did maybe a dozen or 15 batches before I went full scale AG. Did a couple on 1 gallon batches, starting at maybe 10 or so in. Part of rasoning is that I started brewing in a tiny apartment, and when I moved out of there, I had more space to be able to devote to equipment. Did cooler mash tun, turkey fryer burner, and got a deal on copper tubing for immersion chiller.

 

[normonster]

I started with 15 gallon kettles all grain from day one. I lurked on here long enough to know what I wanted to do and was sure I'd be sticking with it. Now upgrading to 26 gallon kettles though so didn't nail it first shot. Hoping the ability to maintain a vigorous boil with 15 gallons to start will make me happy....boiling 14.5 in a 15 gallon pot is scary every time.

 

[normonster]

Got a 1 gallon AG kit from my brother for Christmas and been going ever since. Extract never interested me it takes away some of the fun to me. Doing it like the old days with no processed ingredients makes it better and there's a little more pride in it when you start from scratch

Lol bro it's only April....Christmas was like yesterday.

 

[theseeker4]

I have a total of 4 brews under my belt, I got started with an extract kit from my wife for Christmas. Brew #2 was also an extract kit, then I decided to jump into all-grain.

So, for me 2 extract brews and I moved to all-grain. Just curious about others.

Same for me. I just started, so I have done two extract brews that are in the bottles, and my third batch is a BIAB APA still in the fermenter. Plan to do the rest of my brews as all grain, unless I decide to do an isolated extract batch here or there.

 

[Bearsmith]

I did one extract, followed by one partial, and then went all grain.

Some of my favorite aspects of homebrewing is the ability to grow into new equipment, try new techniques, and drink beer! I've spent two years mashing in a cooler and I'm in the process of building a HERMS system. The DIY aspect is also a huge bonus for me.

 

[brisboy]

I decided I wanted to brew beer after doing some turbo ciders.
I Found out about single vessel Brew In A Bag.
I ordered some grain, hops and a paint strainer bag and went to it.

No idea how to do extract. Is it easier? I assume it is. Love how much I can experiment and how forgiving the process of BIAB is.

 

[Evan_L]

3 extract then AG. Went to the LHBS intending to get a full AG kit/setup, even had a recipe all picked out. He talked me down to a kit n kilo. Did 2 partial mash after. While I could have done AG i'm glad I didn't. First AG, even though I thought I was over prepared, was hectic! If I had done AG while also mixing in other firsts such as sanitizing and hydrometer use etc... it would have sucked. I'm sure I could have done it but it wouldn't have been much fun.

LHBS advice to start extract and focus on cleanliness and process first was spot on. Yeah it didn't taste that great (wicked old Coopers IPA) and I wanted to brew a spot on Stone clone right out of the gates (knowledge does not substitute for experience I later learned), it was nice to make the crappy kit as good as it could be made. The move to AG was easy. Still crazy keeping all the new steps straight but the shared parts of the process were simple by that point.

 

[mschieve]

Three batches then AG. My first AG brew day was awesome and I look forward to many more.

 

[wilserbrewer]

It's a cost thing for me (see a trend here?)... the cost of extract to grain is ~3:1 around here.

Nope.

Brewed extract for many, many years on and off, then about ten years ago the price of extract nearly doubled and the price of grain looked real attractive...now buying whole sacks with group buys, hops by the pound and recycling yeast the beer is almost free.

 

[Harry482]

I did two extract batches. I went all grain so I'd have more control over the fermentability of the wort - other than just different attenuating yeasts.

 

[Natdavis777]

Jumped in head first. First beer was a butter bomb and volumes were way off. 2nd beer was better, 3rd beer ( a brown ale) tasted commercial (our local water supports dark beer), and I think we killed the keg in two nights. That was 4 years ago. Its a neverending learning experience.

 

[RodrigoEick]

My first batch was already all grain with keg. Never experienced the hassle of bottling.

 

[Bearsmith]

No idea how to do extract. Is it easier? I assume it is. Love how much I can experiment and how forgiving the process of BIAB is.

It is easier but not better. Almost everybody starts there and most don't stay there.

 

[Bearsmith]

Sorry, double post from mobile app.

 

[brisboy]

Cool, I'll stick with my delicious and fun BIAB beer then!

 

[Scriv]

I decided I wanted to brew beer after doing some turbo ciders.

I Found out about single vessel Brew In A Bag.

I ordered some grain, hops and a paint strainer bag and went to it.



No idea how to do extract. Is it easier? I assume it is. Love how much I can experiment and how forgiving the process of BIAB is.

Extract is definitely less time consuming, but all-grain gives much more control.

 

[chisena]

Took me about 6-8 extract brews before my AG system was under construction. AG is a PITA but I like that. She's my dirty mistress.

 

[zam216]

I did 2 extract beer kits and did a crap load of research and equipment purchasing and switched over to All grain. My first batch was actually better than my second and now I have done about 5 and have gotten the hang of it.

 

[rupert130]

9 years of extract batches until I went 5 gal BIAB and now 10 gal BIAB. Still do extract batches on occasion, but I enjoy the all grain process more

 

[didinho]

six months.
three kits, two extract batches, one homebrewers meeting. then I started All-grain.

 

[Espressomattic]

I did one extract, then partial for a couple. Then I was bought a fine extract kit by my daughter and the one after was partial. Now I am all grain. Just fermenting a Best Bitter. Two stage process as my kit isn't big enough for a full 5 gallons so do two 2.5 gallon batches. All takes time, but the best things always do...

 

[Riot]

I think k did about 6 batches before grabbing a couple paint strainer bags and trying BIAB. After a handful of those I had a cooler converted to a mash tun, totally loving it.

 

[azscoob]

I started out all grain brewing, never done an extract brew in my life outside of a yeast starter.

 

[DrFuggles]

SWMBO bought me my first kit - a one gallon Brooklyn Brew Shop all grain kit for Xmas in 2013. I knew it was going to be all grain from then on - in for a penny, in for a pound!

I only use extract for 15 minute Speedy Brewing Sessions (a la Basic Brewing Radio). 45 minutes from "gas on" to cleanup complete - who can argue with that?

 

[mauer_62]

started out with two brewers best IPA kits then made roughly 15 batches in my first year. made my first all grain batch last weekend. wasnt as difficult as i was thinking it would be. wish i would of started will all grain from the start.

 

[jimdkc]

Batch 1: Mr. Beer "Oktoberfest". Followed Mr. Beer instructions, used all Mr. Beer ingredients. Came out horrible! Dumped most of it. But, while it was fermenting, I read "How to Brew"...

Batch 2: I used a can of Mr. Beer Hefeweizen extract, did a full boil, added some extra flavor hops, and fermented with White Labs WLP300 Hefeweizen yeast. Came out pretty good! I knew at this point that brewing decent beer at home was feasible.

Batch 3: Went all-grain.

 

[kh54s10]

4 extracts and 4 partial mash then all grain. About three or four months. It only took that long because it took that long to collect the equipment. I now brew extracts and small batch BIAB in the winter when it is too cold outside.

 

[mbalbritton]

Never done an extract.

 

[ChefDougAU]

My wife gave me a NB Deluxe starter kit for Christmas in 2013... I brewed the American Wheat extract kit that came with it... then two partial mash recipes... then switched completely to all grain. 30+ brews later, I'm going strong.

 

[YeastFeast]

I'm 7 extract batches in and just purchased my all grain equipment! Can't wait to break it in soon!

 

[TheCADJockey]

I've been brewing on and off for 3-4 years and I just made my first all-grain batch a week and a half ago. If the gravity sample I tasted is any indication as to what I can expect once it is finished, cold and carbed... I wish I didn't wait this long.

 

[wi_brewer]

Have been brewing consistently since starting about 5 years ago.

The first 3 years it was all extract. Haven't gone back since making the switch a couple of years ago. Shouldn't have waited so long, like most I was under the impression that it would be much more difficult and take a lot longer. False.

 

[KeninMN]

I also got the 5-gallon NB Deluxe Starter Kit from Northern Brewer for Christmas in 2013. I brewed 12 extract batches in 8 months before switching to all grain, after researching the subject for the entire eight months I was brewing extract. The first eight extract batches I did were pretty good. Four were even fantastic. When the last four batches didn't turn out quite right (despite the fact that I was using distilled water and controlling fermentation temperatures) I decided it was time to start all grain. I have now completed 16 all grain batches, with each batch better than the one before it...

 

[Supertrapped]

2 partial-mash brews before I went all grain.

 

[djonesax]

My first batch was already all grain with keg. Never experienced the hassle of bottling.

Myself as well.

1st batch, all grain and kegged. I had been making wine for years and knew I would not brew for very long if I had to wash, fill, and cap 50+ bottles of beer. Its funny because now, I want to start bottling, but in liter bottles so I can brew stuff that I want to age and not take up a keg.

 

[browder]

Six batches most were partial extract got a bigger kettle & a bag and been buying grain every since---

 

[A2HB]

I started brewing AG from the very beginning. I've found it's not really that hard to do and the process of extracting sugar and making wort from the grains is something I find quite enjoyable on my weekends.