Leaving Pitch and Forget Kits...

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Piperlester

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SWMBO and I are feeling confident after 3 kits that have turned out well, with another conditioning and a fifth in secondary. We're planning to buy a 14gal pot and banjo burner but not sure if we should do some extract brews to start or just jump to biab. I'm comfortable with the process, and thinking about a super simple blonde ale (10lbs 2row, 2oz Willamette, little carapils and Crystal 10).

Thoughts, suggestions (other than don't bother with secondary... We have a process that works and aren't looking to change is until we're ready to experiment with split batches to see the difference) it any advice is appreciated!
 
Do it. Buy the kettle, banjo burner, biab bag. Seriously consider an immersion chiller and mid range thermometer. Then you can do either biab or decent extract brewing, depending whether you prefer a long cheap brewday or a short expensive one.
A blonde ale is a great choice to start with either way.
 
I say go for it. It sounds like you are wanting to get away from kits, so you may want to add a mill to your shopping list.
 
Do it. Buy the kettle, banjo burner, biab bag. Seriously consider an immersion chiller and mid range thermometer. Then you can do either biab or decent extract brewing, depending whether you prefer a long cheap brewday or a short expensive one.
A blonde ale is a great choice to start with either way.

A BIAB doesn't have to be a long brew day. If the grains get milled fine you can mash for the same amount of time as you would steep the grains in an extract batch and have full conversion.

If the brewer can bring water to a specific temperature (known as strike temp) then that brewer can successfully do all grain with BIAB. It's simple.

Heat water, put in bag, stir in grains, wait, remove grain bag and let drain. Mash is done. Now you have wort, the same as you would with an extract that has had the water added to it.

Cooling a large (relative term) amount of wort takes some work or equipment with either extract or all grain. Many do this with a wort chiller, a long metal tube coiled so it fits into the pot.
 
I started with extract kits but then switched to biab using recipes on this forum and I'm so glad I did. Turns out it's not hard, and my all-grain beers seem to have much better flavor. Around the same time I bought a chest freezer to control fermentation temperatures, which also contributed to improved quality. So, that's another recommendation to consider.
 
AT least do a boil in the new BP to find out your boil off rate.
This is darn good advice. Learning the characteristics of your equipment is a good investment of your time. Like @C-Rider suggested, you'll not only learn of the boil off rate, but also how your burner operates. I use Beer Smith for AG recipe design, and equipment profiles inc boil off rates are an important part of this process. It is a very good thing to know how your equipment handles prior to getting into a real brew when all this knowledge comes together.
 
If you asked this question ten or fifteen years ago I’d say move to all grain. Today the answer is a bit different. The quality of extract has made leaps and bounds in this short time, and with good brewing practices and a full wort boil I can’t tell a well brewed extract/partial mash beer vs an all grain. Back in the day we could definitely tell.

I agree with the posters above suggesting learning your new gear. Learn how much water you need to start with to end at your target. Lear to take pre-boil gravities to make sure with the larger equipment you’re still on target. Also note how long it takes to get up to a boil and cool down. All of this information will help greatly when moving to all grain to help you know what level you need to sparge to, how much you loose in your boil, how much you leave behind in trub, and finally it gives you an idea of how long your brew day is going to be.

Nice choice on the new hardware by the way
 
... planning to buy a 14gal pot and banjo burner but not sure if we should do some extract brews to start or just jump to biab. ...

I went BIAB, and would not change that decision.

14gal kettle is a good size. I have a 15gal and like the flexibility it gives, plus zero worries of boilovers on my normal 5gal batches.

With BIAB you'll want to get control over the size of your grain crush, so plan on getting a grain mill as soon as you can. A standard or double crush from your grain supplier will work, but your extraction efficiency will take a huge leap once you start grinding your own. I use the Kegco mill, set to .025".
 
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