How long did it take you to go all grain?

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After deciding to go all grain how long did was it before you brewed your first batch

  • I have not yet gone AG

  • 6 months or more

  • between 3 and 5 months

  • 1 or 2 months

  • Less than 1 month

  • Less than 2 weeks


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Donasay

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From the point in time when you decided to commit to all grain to your first all grain batch, how long did it take you to assemble your equipment and brew your first batch?

I hear people on here talking about collecting equipment and ideas for months, I personally just ordered most of the stuff online as well as the ingredients. I then spent a day assembling everything and was AG brewing within a week of making the decision to commit to all grain. I know some people buy their setups a piece at a time and assemble their rig over a few months, but I am wondering how long it usually takes people to take the plunge once they make the decision and the initial purchase.
 
I transitioned through Partial-mashing. I setup my cooler MLT about 4 months after I started brewing, so I could PM. After 9 months I went completely AG with the burner, wort chiller, bigger kettle, etc. Going AG was pretty quick for me as it was around the holidays, so I could get the equipment and as I said I had to MLT already...
 
it was a pretty quick transition for me. maybe a few weeks. though working my way up to 10 gal batches has been slower. gradually keep improving the setup as i replace item by item from my 5 gal. seems brewing is a never ending journey of improving efficiency through complicating the process.... but i love it :)
 
It took me a few months since I did it a little bit at a time. One month I got all the stuff for the MLT, another month I bought my IC, SWMBO got me the turkey frier for Christmas, etc ....
 
Donasay said:
From the point in time when you decided to commit to all grain to your first all grain batch, how long did it take you to assemble your equipment and brew your first batch?

I hear people on here talking about collecting equipment and ideas for months, I personally just ordered most of the stuff online as well as the ingredients. I then spent a day assembling everything and was AG brewing within a week of making the decision to commit to all grain. I know some people buy their setups a piece at a time and assemble their rig over a few months, but I am wondering how long it usually takes people to take the plunge once they make the decision and the initial purchase.

I knew I was going to go AG before I even started brewing, so I purchased my first equipment kit with that in mind. When I decided I was ready to make the leap to AG (after 6 extract/PM batches) I already had everything I needed except for the cooler fittings. It was just another week from that point. Total elapsed time of 3 - 5 months.
 
I've put it off for the last year or so, but finally decided that I'm not brewing again until I have the stuff to do it. I haven't brewed since the beginning of January so it's really been frustrating, but I'm finally ready to go except finding the time to actually finding the time to brew.
 
McKBrew said:
I've put it off for the last year or so, but finally decided that I'm not brewing again until I have the stuff to do it. I haven't brewed since the beginning of January so it's really been frustrating, but I'm finally ready to go except finding the time to actually finding the time to brew.

same thing happened to me when i decided to do full wort boils. takes a while to acquire the big pot, propane, propane burner, etc.
 
My third batch was AG. My first book was HOW TO BREW by John Palmer. It really made all grain brewing easy to understand.
 
It was about 4 months from my first brew day for me, but I knew from the start I would be AG brewing, not extract brewing. I started brewing with kit&kilo and worked through extract and partial mash, all the while building my AG gear. It was an important part of the hobby for me to build as much of it myself rather than buy it so it took a while longer - and I was in no real hurry, it's a hobby after all.
 
I've been doing PMs for all my beers for the last 6 months or so, but I just pulled the trigger on a Barley Crusher, I have plenty of copper tubing to build a manifold for my cooler and the SWMBO promised a wort chiller sometime in the (hopefully) near future. :D
 
I've done 3 extract kits, and i've already decided to move towards all-grain. I purchased 3 kegs and some other random equipment to help get me ready.

In the meanttime, i'm moving into partial-mash to get a feel for the process. Once more room opens up and funds allow it, i'll finish up converting the kegs, get rest of the equipment and move to ag.
 
I'm going all-grain this weekend!!! I've been collecting equipment over the last couple of months. I went from an all extract first batch, into 2 extract with steeping grains to partial mash for my last batch. I started brewing back in November.
 
About a year. I'd bought 55# of DME and made it through that. The delay was basicly enough to make me pretty bored with extracts-and then there was the attraction to being able to do a batch on a weeknight..as well as the extra equipment. I got most of my AG equipment this last Christmas and have enjoyed it much more. I can still bottle or make starters during the week-but brewing on the weekend is much more of an event.
 
I brewed three batches several years ago, quit, then started back this past November. Since then I've brewed three more batches (with a fourth coming up tomorrow - A Scottish Wee Heavy). I'll probably try a partial mash on my next brew.

Rick
 
My 5th batch was AG in the garage. My 4th batch was a PM on our brand spanking new SS kitchen cooktop. The minute I walked away, I had a boil over and I still can't get all the carmelized wort cleaned off.
 
First beer ever made, an extract on 1/11/08, three batches later my first all grain on 2/16/08. Im never looking back:rockin:
 
1st beer was a 5 gallon partial grain non lagered pilsner and I kegged it (never have used bottles). My second batch was all grain and 10 gallons. I ordered all the pots and equipment I needed in one shot. I was ready in less then a week. I used to tell my friends it cost me about $20.00 a mug when I factor in all the equipment I've purchased. 6 years later I've probably got it down to $10.00 a mug. Just can't seem to get away from new brew toys. :mug:
 
Well, it was several years since my very FIRST brew -- I started brewing years ago but only did a handful of batches (all extract/steep). At the time I had never even HEARD of AG, except that it was the big scary chapter at the end of my Papazian.

I gave up on brewing for a few years, then came back to it full force a few months ago -- since then I've moved to AG in just a few months -- I did one extract/steep, one Partial Mash, and then one All Grain (and a wine and an aplewein in the process).

I think I'm pretty hooked on AG now, I don't see myself going back to extract unless I need to brew under conditions where time, space, or boil size are limitations.

chris.

P.S. I've only been part of this forum since October or so. Nearly every day there is at least one person who posts to say that they "just went AG." It's like people are converting left and right. Has it always been like this here, or has it just been a productive few months?
 
I had stepped up to PM from extract. Somehow it simply hadn't occurred to me how easily I could get started with AG... Once I actually stopped and realized that all I really needed was a cooler for an MLT, turkey fryer kit, and a grain mill, and that I could get all of that for under $100, it was only a matter of days before I was brewing AG. Ordered a corona mill on ebay immediately, picked up a dirt cheap turkey fryer kit at walmart, and cooler at target. Piece of cake.
 
Started doing PM's about 3-4 months ago and have started putting together a kit for doing AG. As of right now, PM'n is cheap enough and is fun enough to teach me the ropes for one day getting into AG.
 
I went to the homebrew shop on a Saturday morning to buy ingredients for an extract batch. They didn't have any extract! (or not the one I wanted). He sold me some primitive equipment, 2 buckets, a false bottom, a sparge arm, some tubing, and a propane stove, and told me to go round the corner to the hardware store to get a 7.5 gallon enameled pot. He promised to give me a full refund if I wasn't happy.
I brewed the next day.
Next weekend, I was back for more grains, and he sold me a grain mill.

Never looked back.
 
I had heard a lot about AG but was pretty intimidated by the complexity of it. After finding this forum and talking to some guys on here I was pretty convinced that I could do it with very little in the way of upgrades. Already having boiling kettles, a burner, chiller, and other various brewing things made it pretty easy to make the step. All I had to do was make a MLT out of a cooler and a stainless braid, which honestly took me around an hour. I can't believe I did extract batches for 5 years prior.
 
AFTER i decided? it only took a day. i stayed at a friend's house on thanksgiving and he had just bought a turkey frier. i converted my cooler to a mash tun the next day.
 
I jumped right into AG when I got back into brewing.
I couldnt go AG before, due to the military housing overseas, otherwise I would have dont it alot quicker than I did.
 
It took me over a year, maybe 2 years, to do it.

What was the hold up?

1. Well, first off, it just looked way, way more complicated than extract with steeping grains. Every extract batch I made had an easy to follow recipe. I would read about AG here and in books and it always seemed as if there were 27 different opinions on how to do everything. After awhile I was pointed to this site:

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/

and I saw that it really didn't have to be complicated at all.

2. I didn't want to build my own equipment. Again, as in par.1, there seemed to be 27 different opinions on what cooler to use, whether to use a false bottom, or a braided hose, or build a manifold.... In the end I just ordered an AG setup from NB and I've been happy with it.
 
It was about 10 months from my first extract batch to my first all grain batch. I did 4 or 5 extract batches, they all turned out like crap, so I desided to go all grain, I started to buy and build everything 4 months after my first extract batch, but I busted my hand up at work and was out of commission for 5 months or so. So it was 10 months before I started all grain.
 
I learned how to brew at the LHBS. They teach extract and sell kits to the new customers. They have everything for any kind of brewing, they just let you figure it out by yourself.

I found HomeBrewTalk around brew #3. After reading on here about extract twang I moved to partial mashes. Then I read how to convert a cooler with a SS hose and was all grain a couple weeks later.

When I started, I thought AG required much more expensive equipment, like pumps, multiple pots and rotating sparge arms. The LHBS doesn't teach how to go AG for cheap. I learned all that online, mostly on HBT.
 
I brewed extract batches, and pretty much decided I wouldn't ever do AG. I didn't think I could build a MLT or gather all the equipment. So, I stayed with extract for about a year or so. I did a couple of PMs, though, and decided I could do AG. Once I decided to do it, I was making AG beer within a month of that.
 
Well it was my fourth batch that was AG. But after I decied to go AG it didnt take long to gather and build my equipment.
 
When I started brewing, there wasn't as much community information available (or I wasn't aware of it), so I read a books and agonized about a lot of things before I was actually able to make the leap. I decided to go all-grain a bunch of times.

Even so, I brewed all-grain before I really had all my equipment together. Hell, more than ten years later I'm still tinkering with things and improving this and that along the way.
 
Havent started yet, but plan on going partial mash to ease into it. As well, I dont feel I have grasped extract with steeping grains to the best of my ability yet, so dont want to rush ahead.

Definitely looking forward to it though. :)
 
It was a little short of a month, did a normal extract brew, then a full boil with chiller and when I finished my MT my 3rd batch was AG. Now I only do extract batches when getting a n00b brewing.
I did have a extract lite lager that my BMC friends like, I will probably keep a keg of that on tap for then since it was easy and turned out good.
For me its not so much that the beer is better with the AG its more the fun factor.
 
I wasn't even aware that there was all grain until I discovered this board in Sep.
'07. I was doing extract batches for about 5 years. Me and my son are assembling equipment right now and hope to start AG in early spring. Have to thank Bobby M for introducing us to the AG process.
 
1st 3 were extract, then I decided to make the switch.
It took a couple of months to plan out my setup and then purchase everything, but my first two all grains are now in the bottles conditioning.
 
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