Slowly Graduating from Extract

[MTomasko2011]

Hi all! First time posting here. I’ve brewed a dozen or so extract batches over the past few years and am looking to get back into it (work has finally settled down)! Right now I have a basic beginners kit with plastic fermenters and a glass carboy, and am looking to slowly build up to all grain over the next few months/year. I would like to make smaller, incremental upgrades in equipment to work towards that goal, while still being able to take advantage of my interim purchases. What equipment would you guys recommend investing in month by month so as to avoid making the big plunge all at once? Chillers, oxygenation kits, etc?

Thanks!

 

[madscientist451]

Get a brew in bag, bag. I suppose you already have a pot. So for less than $10, you can brew all grain beer. You don't need an oxygenation rig. If its cold at night in your area, brew late in the day and just sit the pot outside at night with the lid on and it will be chilled in the morning.

 

[IslandLizard]

First you need a kettle of the right size depending on the batch size(s) you intent to brew and the brew method. You also need an adequate heating source.
You also need to figure out where you'll be brewing. Outside or inside (kitchen, garage, dedicated "brew" room, etc.).

The BIAB (Brew In A Bag) system typically uses the kettle as both mashing and boil vessel. After the mash, you strain/separate the wort from the grain by means of the large fine mesh bag that lines the kettle.

For full volume BIAB mashes your kettle needs to be large enough to hold both all the grain and all the water at once. For a 5-6 gallon batch you'd need a 10-12 gallon kettle, at least.

Sparging (rinsing the mash after draining it), can allow for a somewhat smaller size kettle (8-10 gallons), but you'd need a 2nd vessel to hold the wet bag in after the mash. A large bucket or plastic storage tote can suffice. An 8 gallon kettle can be a little too small to boil all the wort at once for a 5-6 gallon batch. I know, I have one, but you learn quickly how to get around that.

If you want a "conventional" mash system (not BIAB) you'd also need a large cooler (40-50 quarts) and modify it or use a BIAB bag inside to lauter (drain) the wort.

A chiller is handy, and you can make one yourself from 20-50' of copper tubing, or buy one.

That's pretty much it to get started with all grain.
Oh, you need a source for your grain. It needs to be milled.
And good water.

 

[kh54s10]

Go for it now. Get a BIAB bag. If you don't have a big enough pot for the size batch you want start smaller. If you want to go to traditional mash tun/boil kettle you can be brewing while collecting more equipment.

Then I would work on fermentation temperature control, and after that a wort chiller.

Next I would get a grain mill and start buying grains in bulk.

I started with 4 extract kits then did 4 partial mash brews while collecting equipment. BIAB was not as big back then. If I knew about it I would have gone all grain on the 5th batch.

 

[MTomasko2011]

Thanks for the replies everyone! For a 5 gal batch (trying to plan for future use as well), would a 15 gal kettle be a good option? If so, any preferred brands?

 

[chicken]

A chiller would be a great upgrade that you could use right away, even before you start all grain brewing. When I finally got one, I couldn't believe I had waited so long.

I took baby steps towards all grain brewing by trying a few partial mash brews. It didn't take me long to realize that all grain brewing wouldn't be all that much different.

I've been doing it on the cheap, using a paint strainer bag and a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot I already had. I mash in the 7.5 gallon pot, wrapping it in a sleeping bag. Then I lift out the paint strainer bag and put it in another pot, and pour sparge water over it. This method may not work for everyone, but I've been very happy with it, and haven't seen any reason to upgrade.

 

[PADave]

Thanks for the replies everyone! For a 5 gal batch (trying to plan for future use as well), would a 15 gal kettle be a good option? If so, any preferred brands?

I do full volume BIAB mashes in a Spike Brewing 10 gallon kettle. Never had a problem even with some bigger grain bills over 15 lbs. This leaves very little head space in the kettle, which helps hold mash temps better.

 

[tennesseean_87]

Here's how I evolved from extracts, to a super-ghetto 3 vessel, to eBIAB.

Extract: Typical extract kit from Midwest. I had two 4gal pots used on a gas stove for heat. I did full volume boils.

BIAB: I used the above, with paint strainer bags. I started with 2.5 gallon batches. It was easy to use this site to calculate how much water and grain would fit. I'd dunk sparge in the second pot, mix the runnings a little, then bring both pots to a boil. I started upping my batches to 3 gallons.

BIABucket: I used an old 5 gallon bucket instead of my four gallon pots because of larger grain bills and/or batches. I still used my bag to lauter.

Bucket-tun: I put a bottling spigot on the bucket. I made a CPVC manifold that attached to the bottling spigot instead of using my bag to lauter. Then I got a 6 gallon bucket. I ended up doing some batches up to 5 gallons on this set-up. I still boiled on the gas stove in two 4gal pots. I once got 92% efficiency on a session beer with this setup doing a fly sparge. I used a second bucket with a spigot as HLT and drained it into the MT over a plastic lid with lots of holes drilled in it.

eBIAB: I decided that fly sparging took too long and all the necessary buckets and pots strewn about the kitchen for extended periods of time were not good for my marriage. I got a 15gal Bayou Classic, a 5.5kW element, built a 240v panel with PID, a pump, sewed up a larger bag, and have been doing this for 3 years now. I have been doing 5 gallon batches since I got kegs, but previously did 5-8 gallons batches split into multiple beers (see diversity link in sig) on this setup.

Until the last step, it was pretty incremental. I made an immersion chiller near the beginning, and didn't change until the electric build. I added something like a SOF chiller for fermentation somewhere along the way. I made a stir-plate. I got an oxygen regulator and stone. Something for a birthday here, a Christmas present there. I still like smallish batches, and may go back to some more of them (getting too fat on 5 gallon batches and like to brew a good variety of beers).