Newbie question - Starting with all Grain?

[ericfine50]

Morning,

Been doing a lot of reading was wondering if it makes sense to start all-grain or not? Any benefits to starting this way?

 

[TheCADJockey]

Have you checked out some all grain videos on youtube? If it looks like something you can do, and you have the proper equipment, room, and time to do it... absolutely. Otherwise you could also consider doing a partial mash if you have less room and equipment. A smaller grainbill and a bag, supplemented with extract will give you an idea what you are getting into and help you start to figure out what processes work for you.

I don't know if there are any benefits, aside from maybe if you successfully make consistent all-grain batches... you may be ready for just about anything. I feel it has more to do with what kind of system works for you and your current conditions.

 

[estricklin]

I can understand why you would want to, but I always advise people to do an extract batch and maybe a couple partials at least when they start out. If you want to start out all grain, I'm sure you'll do fine just be sure to focus on your sanitation and fermentation techniques.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Yeah absolutely. If you need any suggestions as to some equipment to start off with make sure to ask that as well. No matter what route you decide to take, pick up a nice bottle of StarSan and clean everything.

 

[dkevinb]

There's nothing that says you can't, and some people do. The advantage is that you get experience doing all-grain right from the start. There are a few disadvantages, though. It takes more equipment, the brew days are quite a bit longer, and there are quite a few more variables to control all at the same time. Extract is easier, faster, less complicated, and still makes darn good beer. With fewer variables to control you can concentrate on the basics more easily. Finally, it's just a lot harder to screw up an extract batch.

 

[RM-MN]

Can you heat a batch of water to 160 degrees? That's the main requirement to all grain. Get a pot large enough and a bag to hold the grains and you have all you really need via BIAB. You'll get a lot of other people telling you of all the equipment that you need but you really don't "need" all of it. You'll also have people telling you to allot a full day for brewing but that isn't really true either. I regularly make a batch in less than 4 hours.

 

[dkevinb]

Can you heat a batch of water to 160 degrees? That's the main requirement to all grain. Get a pot large enough and a bag to hold the grains and you have all you really need via BIAB. You'll get a lot of other people telling you of all the equipment that you need but you really don't "need" all of it. You'll also have people telling you to allot a full day for brewing but that isn't really true either. I regularly make a batch in less than 4 hours.

I certainly can't disagree with any of this. I do BIAB, too, the only extra equipment I had to buy was a bag, and my brew days are typically 4 - 4.5 hours. One big advantage of all grain is that it is considerably cheaper than extract, too.

OTOH, I already owned a propane burner and an 8-gallon kettle when I switched to all grain. When I first started I was doing partial boil 2-gallon extract batches on the stove in a spaghetti pot, and I could finish one of those in under two hours, with clean-up. Then I went to steeping grains, then full boil 5-gallon extract batches. Each step was just a simple add-on. I was intimidated by all grain for quite a while before I made the plunge. Once I had experience at steeping, boiling, chilling, pitching, fermenting and bottling buying a bag and going BIAB was easy, but I'm glad I did the extract first, just to gain the confidence, if nothing else.

 

[brick_haus]

I started brewing all grain on my first batch. Did a bunch of research, bought 3 15 gal. kettles, 3 blichmann burners, propane tanks and all other related equipment to "do it right". The first few brews were pretty chaotic, theres a lot do remember (or forget!) to do!
After a bach or two, I didnt like the way my beer was tasting, so I started troubleshooting my process. I'm getting better results now (2 years later). Most of my problems were pitching temps, general yeast handling techniques and water chemistry.
That being said, I recommend starting out extract brewing. Get your fermentation/yeast handling techniques down, and brew good beer. Then switch to all grain if you want. If you then have undesireable results, troubleshooting will be much simpler, as you will know that your issue is on the front end.
I brewed many batches changing things on the front end of my process, when the main issues were on the back end.
Luckily, all beers were drinkable, but I'm a perfectionist. Still working towards that perfect batch.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[kh54s10]

If you have researched the processes and understand it there is certainly no reason you can't start with all grain. It is not more difficult, just more going on.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Morning,

Been doing a lot of reading was wondering if it makes sense to start all-grain or not? Any benefits to starting this way?

Can you heat a batch of water to 160 degrees? That's the main requirement to all grain. Get a pot large enough and a bag to hold the grains and you have all you really need via BIAB. You'll get a lot of other people telling you of all the equipment that you need but you really don't "need" all of it. You'll also have people telling you to allot a full day for brewing but that isn't really true either. I regularly make a batch in less than 4 hours.

RM-MN is right. The difference between starting with extract and specialty grain vs. Brew-In-A-Bag is so little that you can jump right into all-grain. I teach homebrewing at a local community college, and that's how we start. You can do BIAB with pots you already own and a fine mesh bag, on your kitchen stove. Then you can decide if you want to go on to larger batches, and by then have a better idea if you want to simply do larger BIAB batches or go to three vessel.

 

[madscientist451]

Go for all grain, skip the extract, start with a pot, a bag, a thermometer and a bucket to ferment in.