I've been saying this for a while...

[neosapien]

yeah, it's that easy

I thought that too the first time I did it.

 

[ahaley]

The guy in the video he said he forgot Whirfloc tablet, is that just for his recipe? And oh my goodness. I need to get a list and price everything to step up..

 

[danielbt]

The guy in the video he said he forgot Whirfloc tablet, is that just for his recipe? And oh my goodness. I need to get a list and price everything to step up..

Whirlfloc is something you can use when doing any brewing, be it extract or AG. Drop a tab in about 5-10m before the end of the boil. It coagulates proteins that are inherent in wort and settles them out so you end up with a clearer beer.

It's not necessary if you don't care about your clarity.

 

[MI_Troll]

I just started AG with a cooler for a MLT and two 4 gallon pots for boiling on the stove. With a couple drops of foam control in each pot I've boiled over 7 gallons without catastrophe. I heat the strike and sparge water in the pots, run the wort from MLT into a bottling bucket, when sparge is done transfer wort from bottling bucket to pots and boil. It takes a little more concentration on the hops additions, but eliminates the cost of a large kettle and burner up front. I used that money on immersion chiller, ph meter, and some other junk. In theory, 2 bags would get you a BIAB setup provided you have a second larger kettle (4 gallon pot goes for $12 at Walmart). I should mention both batches brewed using this technique are still in primary so I can't really say, "and it works great!". Hit my numbers though FWIW.

 

[ahaley]

I think im going to buy the stuff to get what joe from the video has, and brew that way! I looks super easy and more fun than what I'm doing right now! And I'll be buying a immersion chiller soon

 

[pentachris]

I think im going to buy the stuff to get what joe from the video has, and brew that way! I looks super easy and more fun than what I'm doing right now! And I'll be buying a immersion chiller soon

I think the "Brewing with joe" is a reference to his coffee cup...

 

[LuiInIdaho]

When I was first considering moving to all grain, I found some videos on You Tube that took you quickly through the mashing process. There are several excellent videos there! My reaction to watching some of them was "Is that all that is involved?" I would recommend that you check it out, if you haven't done so already. You might even look particularly at BIAB mashing. This might give you some ideas on how to step into all grain without spending a fortune.

I hope that this helps! Mark

 

[RM-MN]

Ok you guys are twisting my arm!
So far my equipment list is the following
5 gal pot
Grain bag for speciality grains
Boil proof spoon
And the miscellaneous ones, hydrometer, thief, racking tubes ect.

To go to AG I need a bigger pot, i also heard that turkey friers work wonder for temp control, is this true? the voile bag, lauter tun & mash tun(?) do I need a CFC or something of the sort to chill rapidly?
Because I let it do it's thing in the bath tub with water and that takes for ever.. I did recently get a carboy though I think that was an upgrade

I started all grain BIAB with a 5 gallon pot and just did a half size batch to see if I wanted to continue badly enough to buy a bigger pot. I thought it worked well enough that I did a second batch that way before I got a turkey fryer for the 5 gallon batches.

 

[ahaley]

I'm looking into making a mash tun right now, and I'm looking into some stuff to maybe not do BIAB, I like the way it went in that video and it looks like a blast! I'd be able to brew outside by my garden, fresh air! I really want to make this happen but so far, I need to spend About 200$ or so to buy the gear, so I need to find some ways to maybe cut corners and attempt to DIY some of the stuff like the mash tun. The wife gave in but I think I made her angry at me due to my pestering her for like a month lol

 

[ahaley]

When I was first considering moving to all grain, I found some videos on You Tube that took you quickly through the mashing process. There are several excellent videos there! My reaction to watching some of them was "Is that all that is involved?" I would recommend that you check it out, if you haven't done so already. You might even look particularly at BIAB mashing. This might give you some ideas on how to step into all grain without spending a fortune.

I hope that this helps! Mark

Ya I'd watched a few and still didn't understand, because one guy did BIAB and one guy didn't so I got confused quickly

 

[neosapien]

Here, check this thread. Reading it is what gave me the guts to think maybe I could pull this off.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/

 

[ahaley]

Here, check this thread. Reading it is what gave me the guts to think maybe I could pull this off.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/

I'll check it out thanks!

 

[Piratwolf]

Two quick additions:

1). Some BIAB folks are really excited to get you to go that way--you can make good beer either way, but it seems the cooler mash tun suits you so why force BIAB?

2) Craigslist

 

[ahaley]

Two quick additions:

1). Some BIAB folks are really excited to get you to go that way--you can make good beer either way, but it seems the cooler mash tun suits you so why force BIAB?

2) Craigslist

Ya, before I thought there was only BIAB, so I didn't really explore any of the other options.

I checked out craiglist in my area and not to many brew stuff came up and if it did it was a little cheaper than brand new

 

[danorocks17]

make the switch! I did last year after 3 years of extract brewing and I wish that I had switched sooner. The most important thing I found for AG is making sure you have an accurate thermometer. I didn't for my first few AG batches, and they still came out fine, but they could have been better if I more accurately knew my mash temp. It's a blast and remember, no matter how difficult it seems or how much you think you've screwed up, you will have fun and you will make good beer.

 

[Handsaw]

Trust us. The one common thing I always hear from people who went AG is how much easier it really was than they thought it was going to be. If you've done extract batches, then you have most of the process down. The ONLY things different are mashing, which is mostly knowing how much water to put in your grain and what temperature. Lots of people here can give you those numbers and show you how to get them yourself.

The rest of the process is exactly the same. Get temp down ASAP, oxygenate, pitch correct amount of healthy yeast and control the fermentation temps.

The mashing part is actually pretty easy. I would suggest having a bag of extract on hand just in case you miss your OG wildly though. It's better to have that to fall back on than make something that is not close to what you wanted.

I'm interested in what you say about getting the temp down ASAP. I have been doing no chill for the last 3 batches because 1) I don't have an imersion chiller and 2) I got a new boil pot which won't fit in my sink for the ice bath method. Unfortunately, I can't tell you with certainty that it works flawlessly because the last two batches are still too young to judge. The first batch however turned out fine. So - except for the reduced time for infection, why do you recommend getting the temp down asap?

 

[ahaley]

I'm interested in what you say about getting the temp down ASAP. I have been doing no chill for the last 3 batches because 1) I don't have an imersion chiller and 2) I got a new boil pot which won't fit in my sink for the ice bath method. Unfortunately, I can't tell you with certainty that it works flawlessly because the last two batches are still too young to judge. The first batch however turned out fine. So - except for the reduced time for infection, why do you recommend getting the temp down asap?

You could try a counter flow chiller? I'm not sure how well those work or really how they work, but ive heard of them

 

[pentachris]

So - except for the reduced time for infection, why do you recommend getting the temp down asap?

It gets the cold break out of your wort, which reduces the likelihood of chill haze. It's my understanding that most people consider chill haze to be strictly a visual flaw, having no impact on taste.

 

[pentachris]

You could try a counter flow chiller? I'm not sure how well those work or really how they work, but ive heard of them

A counter flow chiller is more expensive than an immersion chiller. It's basically a long copper tube inside of a garden hose. The wort flows through the copper tube in one direction, while cool/cold water flows through the garden hose, outside of the copper tube, in the other direction. The water draws heat off of the copper, which is drawing it off of the wort.

 

[ahaley]

A counter flow chiller is more expensive than an immersion chiller. It's basically a long copper tube inside of a garden hose. The wort flows through the copper tube in one direction, while cool/cold water flows through the garden hose, outside of the copper tube, in the other direction. The water draws heat off of the copper, which is drawing it off of the wort.

It's more expensive than an immersion chiller that has like 25-50' of copper tube?

 

[pentachris]

This 50' immersion chiller is less than this 25' counterflow chiller. (I found two items from the same supplier for a better head-to-head comparison.)

 

[LuiInIdaho]

It's more expensive than an immersion chiller that has like 25-50' of copper tube?

Because the counter flow chiller also has 25-50' of copper. It also has additional parts and is harder to put together than an immersion chiller.

 

[ahaley]

Because the counter flow chiller also has 25-50' of copper. It also has additional parts and is harder to put together than an immersion chiller.

Oh ok, is there a big different for which works best?

 

[Homercidal]

Oh ok, is there a big different for which works best?

Yes and no. I've only ever used a CFC. I built it. It works "great".

Cons: More work to put together (or more fun..)
Only chills the portion of the wort that passes through. What hasn't gone through is still HOT.
Can't easily know if the inside is clean.

Pros: Chills somewhat more efficiently. If I choke the flow I can cool the batch in about 15 minutes in the summer. Normally in the winter I run it wide open, so maybe 10 minutes.

If I had to do it again I'd build a IC. The ability to see that it's "clean" is a huge bonus for me. The difference in performance is not enough to make it a clear cut winner. Shure you can chill 10 minutes faster, but really, does that 10 minutes make your beer noticeably better tasting? There is the question of how fast do you HAVE to chill your beer? There is no answer. Lots of people chill in 30-45 minutes and make great beer.

I actually thought about *downgrading* to an IC, but then I realized that with my pump I could recirculate the chilled wort back in and chill the whole batch at once. And i also realized that I could sanitize the chiller by recirculating for a while before I start the water flow to the chiller.

At this time I'm thinking about upgrading to a Duda Desiel Plate chiller and selling my CFC. The plate chiller has all the advatages of the CF, but is even more efficient, and can be baked to STERILIZE it between batches if I want to.

Bottom line: Any and all will work well enough. IC is a winner for people looking to save a few $$ and still have a great chiller.

 

[ahaley]

Yes and no. I've only ever used a CFC. I built it. It works "great".

Cons: More work to put together (or more fun..)
Only chills the portion of the wort that passes through. What hasn't gone through is still HOT.
Can't easily know if the inside is clean.

Pros: Chills somewhat more efficiently. If I choke the flow I can cool the batch in about 15 minutes in the summer. Normally in the winter I run it wide open, so maybe 10 minutes.

If I had to do it again I'd build a IC. The ability to see that it's "clean" is a huge bonus for me. The difference in performance is not enough to make it a clear cut winner. Shure you can chill 10 minutes faster, but really, does that 10 minutes make your beer noticeably better tasting? There is the question of how fast do you HAVE to chill your beer? There is no answer. Lots of people chill in 30-45 minutes and make great beer.

I actually thought about *downgrading* to an IC, but then I realized that with my pump I could recirculate the chilled wort back in and chill the whole batch at once. And i also realized that I could sanitize the chiller by recirculating for a while before I start the water flow to the chiller.

At this time I'm thinking about upgrading to a Duda Desiel Plate chiller and selling my CFC. The plate chiller has all the advatages of the CF, but is even more efficient, and can be baked to STERILIZE it between batches if I want to.

Bottom line: Any and all will work well enough. IC is a winner for people looking to save a few $$ and still have a great chiller.

Got it.. I saw a IC for about 30$-100$ so and 1 plate chiller for about 80$ and it takes me hours to cool my beer because I dont have a trying besides a bathtub and water. Now I've read on a few threads that mash tuns are "easy" to build if I know what I'm doing, but is it better to build one or buy a manufactured one for a lot more? People were discussing the weakness where you make the hole and how to make it stronger, leak proof, and all around better. Do you guys have an opinion on that?

 

[ahaley]

Double post! Sorry

 

[crushingblackdoom]

You have nothing to fear but the fear itself!
I went AG about 10-15 batches ago & I swear it's even easier then extract/partial. Less clean up, somehow..., total control, pride in "designing" brews, no more stovetop (def get a campchef outdoor propane burner, you won't believe the difference in heating time!), no more crap piling up in the kitchen. I've done a couple extract brews since, and I wonder why. PITA!! I boil over EVERY TIME i use extract on my stove. Go for the AG! You won't regret it. Just my £2. Brew On!

 

[ahaley]

You have nothing to fear but the fear itself!
I went AG about 10-15 batches ago & I swear it's even easier then extract/partial. Less clean up, somehow..., total control, pride in "designing" brews, no more stovetop (def get a campchef outdoor propane burner, you won't believe the difference in heating time!), no more crap piling up in the kitchen. I've done a couple extract brews since, and I wonder why. PITA!! I boil over EVERY TIME i use extract on my stove. Go for the AG! You won't regret it. Just my £2. Brew On!

Thanks for the sound advice! I just went on a shopping spree... I got this http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/all-grain-system-mash-tun-5-gallons.html I hope its the right one, and I dont need a mash tun & lauter tun! I can only afford one right now so I hope it works!

 

[ahaley]

Hooray! I got my gear today, mash tun, auto siphon, immersion chiller, and some other misc toys! I can't wait to make my first AG brew !!! Any ideas on some first AG brews? Right now I have a peach blonde sitting in bottles, wife was thinking about a black ipa. We drink anything, but I love the dark heavy beers, I don't mind flossing after a beer if it's good. Lol

 

[ahaley]

Thanks everyone for more or less pushing me into AG! I did my first batch today, it was NB nut brown ale, and it was so much fun!
I love all grain now haha it went pretty quickly also! I started around 11am, and got done with clean up around 330pm after loitering around and recleaning things several times.