Transitioning to All Grain

[zmster2033]

I received a starter brewing kit for Christmas from a girlfriend a couple years ago and have now become addicted to this hobby. I have only attempted extract brewing thus far, but all brews have turned out fairly well. Currently using a couple plastic buckets and a stock pot (not stainless steel) I picked up from Big Lots. I am interested in starting to transition to all grain brews and was wondering what pieces of equipment I should pick up next. I know I will need a HLT and mash tun, not sure if it is worth while upgrading to a stainless steel boil kettle before this though. Thoughts?

 

[TX_Brewing]

It depends on what you want. My suggestion, check out brew in a bag. Depending on the size of your stockpot you may only need to buy a bag which is pretty inexpensive. I see this as a great way to get your feet wet in all grain for minimum investment. Had you asked me several years ago about stainless I would have said it is the only way to go. That said, much experimentation and even more real world experience shows that aluminum lots are just fine as long as they are treated properly.

 

[Painter]

I just made the jump to all grain BIAB. Good results so far. I bought an 8 gallon pot and a gas burner because the pot that I had for extract brews was too small, and my electric stove can't handle boiling the larger amount of water.

 

[schatzke]

How big is your current kettle?
Are you wanting 5 gal batches?
You don't top off the wort in ag like extract so a kettle that can boil 6 gal is a must(or bigger)

 

[Aristotelian]

BIAB for sure. No need for a mash tun.

 

[jimmywalker55]

+1 for brew in a bag. It's comparably cheap to get started. I have an 8 gallon kettle, which is a bit small for 5 gallon batches, but I usually just do 3 gallon and it works great! I did a 5 gallon batch once with a very small grain bill (centennial blonde, thanks BierMuncher, its a great summer beer) and it was only a couple inches from the top of the kettle with the grains in the bag. good luck!

 

[seabrew8]

First question: Budget?

 

[Pappers_]

Hi @zmster2033 BIAB is a great option, as suggested above. You'll a find a subforum dedicated to it, under the All-Grain forum. Spend some time reading through threads there, it will be helpful.

If you wanted to do the traditional mash, I started with a mashtun made from a round cooler, a 12 gallon brew kettle (aluminum), a propane burner, a 5 gallon stockpot to heat water, and an immersion chiller.

 

[beergolf]

It is pretty easy to transition. Like others have mentioned BIAB is a cheap way to do it. You could even just pick up a paint strainer bag and use you current kettle to make a couple of smaller batches to get your feet wet. If you like it then you can expand.

Doing full boil 5 gallon batches will require a bigger pot, a heat source to get it to a boil. Most stoves cannot boild that much liquid. I know my older stove could only boil 3-4 gallons. If you do full boils then you will need an immersion chiller. A 10 gallon round cooler with either a flase bottom or bazooka screen will make a nice mash tun.

Good luck.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

+1 on BIAB. You don't need to go with stainless. Aluminum is fine, too. Just be sure to passivate it first. I do a modified BIAB with a 9 gal "tallboy" stainless pot with a fryer basket for my grain bag. I have a pulley setup over the stove to raise the basket. I do traditional mash water/grain ratio of 1.25 - 1.5 and then sparge using my old 5 gal BK (hence the "modified" BIAB). With this setup, I max out at about 16 lbs of grain or about OG 1080 without added sugar. Because my pot is narrow and tall, my electric range will actually boil 8 gal and I get about .8 gal/hr of boiloff.

That said, I would recommend a 10 gal pot as minimum for 5 gal brews. Go even bigger if you want to do a simpler full volume BIAB mash or might step up to 10 gal brews

 

[Kee]

BIAB probably makes more sense on paper, but there is something about a mash tun. Whichever way you decide to go, rest assured that all grain is not hard or complicated. It's just another step. And fun.

 

[zmster2033]

I just made the jump to all grain BIAB. Good results so far. I bought an 8 gallon pot and a gas burner because the pot that I had for extract brews was too small, and my electric stove can't handle boiling the larger amount of water.

In a similar situation as this. Currently using an electric stove top. Thinking about getting a gas burner to start making larger batches. Currently making 5 gallon batches. My stock pot is 6 gallons I believe.

 

[brittney81895]

I am ready to start making an all grain 5 gallon brew. I am wondering if anyone has tried splitting the grain up in to 3-4 grain bags and putting them in a 40qt pot with 8 gallons or water. If so, how did it go? Thanks!

 

[thunderwagn]

I am ready to start making an all grain 5 gallon brew. I am wondering if anyone has tried splitting the grain up in to 3-4 grain bags and putting them in a 40qt pot with 8 gallons or water. If so, how did it go? Thanks!

Sounds complicated. How would you stir? Most hbs sell biab bags for under $10. They may not be the best fit for your kettle, but I would imagine much simpler. You could even get a 2 pack of paint strainer bags at Home Depot for under $5.


Wilserbrew has a killer Superbowl special going. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=571357

I put in an order before 5 am and he had it shipped out within hours. (very few hours I might add!)

 

[kh54s10]

Again it is budget and what type of brewing you want to do. I have gone many different ways (no electric yet). Started with extract kits, partial mash kits and by recipe, all grain with a mash tun and one turkey fryer setup. 7 gallon pot (IMO, bare minimum for a 5 gallon boil) Now a 10 gallon HLT on the turkey fryer burner, 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler mash tun, 10 gallon BK on a Bayou Classic SP10 burner. I occasionally do a small BIAB or extract batch inside when it is cold outside.

I am one who dislikes BIAB, because to me it is a hot, heavy, wet, sticky, messy process that is more difficult to clean up than dumping my mash tun and rinsing it out.

 

[Pappers_]

This was my guide on my first all-grain brew day, Denny Conn's cheap and easy batch sparge brewing page. http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/ Honestly, I don't do a lot differently now. @Denny

 

[PADave]

I don't like aluminum for cooking, so I'd say get yourself a good stainless 10 gallon kettle, and a wilserbrewer bag and do no sparge BIAB. Doesn't get much simpler in doing AG.

 

[Denny]

This was my guide on my first all-grain brew day, Denny Conn's cheap and easy batch sparge brewing page. http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/ Honestly, I don't do a lot differently now. @Denny

Same here. After 18 years and 500 batches, same equipment, same techniques. Although it's a great way for beginners to get started, it's also robust enough that you never need or want to switch to anything else.