first timer, crazy to start with all grain?

[glutarded]

So I am loooking to start brewing. I've never done it before. I've read a ton and watched numerous videos. My question is - is it crazy to start with all grain for my first brew? If I didn't have to be GF I would definitely start with extract to get a feel for it, but I hate all sorghum beer, so it seems crazy to brew a batch just for experience when I'm pretty sure I won't like it.

I've thought about doing a partial extract and steeping some toasted rice, but I'm no sure I will enjoy the result as much as all grain.

It seems like building a mash tun, buying some malted grains and doing an all grain with batch sparging doesn't add that much to the technique, but maybe I am naive as to how difficult it is.

Love to hear from your experience!

 

[LLBeanJ]

Not crazy at all. There are quite a few of us on these boards that never bothered going the extract route.

For simplicity's sake, you might want to take a look at BIAB. Allows you to skip the whole mash tun process. Just need a boil kettle and a large grain bag.

 

[Legume]

I agree about BIAB bieng a good way to start. I just did my first 2 all grain batches this way and they went very smoothly.

Partial mashes can work out very well also. I also dislike sorghum, you might try the brown rice syrup available from anapolis homebrew... it has worked out very well for me as long as I use some buckwheat, oats, maltodextrine, and or crystal malt to add some body (the rice syrup alone makes a very thin beer).

my best beers so far have been partial mashes with rice syrup.

 

[Jupapabear]

I have brewed all grain from day one. Just do what you feel comfortable with and have fun!

 

[rosenbrewery]

I also jumped straight into all grain. I did my first 8 batches BIAB. Although I would wrap my boil kettle-turned-mash-tun in a sleeping bag during the mash to improve insulation, I found that I would lose ≈5 ºF over the 60 minute mash. I would also do a modified sparge.

I picked up a mash tun this year and I prefer it much more than BIAB. I know people advocate BIAB for the simplicity of having fewer things to wash/clean up, but the vigilance and energy required to maintain the heat through the mash, and then sparge and wring out the bag made it more inconvenient. (I know, I know, "squeezing the bag will extract tannins" – I never experienced this).

Point is, whichever way you go, you can totally pull it off.

You may want to look up Biermuncher's recipe for Cream of 3 Crops Cream Ale. It uses rice and flaked corn in addition to the base malt – might be a good starting point for you to modify for your needs.

 

[ulnpiper]

I jumped straight into all grain and kegging in Feb of this year. Just put batch #10 in the fermenter on Friday.

Just relax, read all you can and go for it. As they say, the worst case is you've made beer (just maybe not great beer).

-g

 

[brwmistr]

Four years ago I was a regular beer maker turn GF because I got sick when I drank more then two bottles of regular beer. I spent much time trying to change my brewing habits into GF brewing habits and it can be done. If you use GF grains then your process will have to be a bit different but the all grain way is the best way to control all the ingredients in your batches and can be just as good. Go for it!

 

[hoppygirl79]

Brew in a bag is awesome.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

My first brew was all-grain - just go for it ~

 

[m00ps]

Add me to the list of jumping striaight to All-Grain with BIAB. I had done one traditional all-grain batch with a friend a while back and loved the smell of mashing in. I didn't like the idea of mixing a bunch of liquids and powders together like I'm making Mac N Cheese.

It's definitely a steeper learning curve, but that's what this site is for. The amount of variety and control you have over the wort characteristics is entirely worth it.

 

[thekraken]

I went straight to AG. Just read (or skim like I did) the How to Brew Book and study a few how-to videos on youtube and dive in. If you have any questions they have most likely been asked and answered on this forum. This forum is an awesome resource.

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html

I went the MLT route. Built this MLT for $45: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/60qt-ice-cube-mash-tun-build-cheap-simple-144475/

 

[D-Train]

You might want to check out clarity ferm for GF beer. I believe it has not been FDA approved for the GF label, but testing has shown it to be so for practical purposes. I assume it would work for extract. Not a bad idea to go extract for 1 batch just to get your process down from boil on.

http://www.whitelabs.com/other-products/wln4000-clarity-ferm

 

[duboman]

Nothing wrong with jumping feet first into AG brewing whether you go BIAB or traditional mash/sparge but I would suggest you read "How to Brew" by John Palmer, there is a free version on the web but it's dated, get the newer version.