What is the minimum equipment needed to start all-grain brewing?

[dicken74]

Over the past two years I've brewed about 15 extract batches. Now I'm thinking about making the move to all grain. Would like to keep the equipment and the process as simple as as possible. What is the minimum amount of equipment I would need? The basic starter set from northern brewer is $200 and maybe I'm wrong, but that seems like a a lot to pay for what looks like 2 coolers.

 

[z-bob]

What do you have already? a 5 or 6 gallon stainless steel or aluminum kettle, at least?

 

[atoughram]

Something able to do a full wort boil, like a 15gal pot or Keggle

A nice cooler to use as a mash tun with some sort of straining ability in the bottom. I started out with a Yellow round igloo with a false bottom.

Your original pot for heating water.

Decent Thermometer for measuring strike water temp, mash temp, etc

I still use the heck out of my kitchen timer

Some sort of cooler, an immersion chiller is a good one to start with.

Long handled spoon, preferably stainless steel

A propane burner and tank

A pitcher for vorlaufing [sp?]

A copy of the book "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing"

Thats got to be a pretty good list...

 

[aidan]

If you want go the minimum equipment route go BIAB. My first all grain was small batch stovetop BIAB with my boil pot and grain bag that I already used for partial mash batches so I did it without any extra equipment. Then to move up to full size batch BIAB I got a 50L kettle and a gas burner and had a bag sewn up for me out of Swiss voile material. I made an immersion chiller from copper pipe. Later on I added a ball valve to the kettle (before that I just poured from kettle to fermenter, a bit tricky for 1 person but no problem if you have someone to help) and etched on volume markings (cheaper than sight glass!). My BIAB process is documented here: http://brewinmyown.com/biab-all-grain-brewing-process/

 

[passedpawn]

The only diff between extract and all-grain is the mash tun. 10g igloo cooler, bazooka screen, a ball valve from one of our online vendors, it's probably $100 or less.

The answer you don't want to hear: if you want to save money, take $1k and buy the gear you'll end up with. Keggles, false bottom, burners, kegs/regulator/CO2, plate chiller, freezers, etc. Buying the final solution saves you the effort and $ of the intermediate solution. Expense is the best economy.

 

[normonster]

Fermentation temp control and BIAB.

 

[smccarter]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/way-i-brew-beer-all-grain-504231/

 

[hunter_le five]

a kettle and a large nylon paint strainer bag.

 

[Happywanderer]

I have to update the links in this file, some broke when I copied from excel, but this is a list I put together for a friend who wants to get in to brewing.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...JKFaTCrL8IECx3b8mGx-h9Y/edit?usp=docslist_api

I'll go thru and update the links later.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

the absolute minimum but full water all grain and reasonably cheap, a 10 to 15 gallon pot, weldless stainless ball valve, propane burner, a large grain bag, wooden paddle, analog temp probe, a cheap ratchet rope winch or pulley hooked to something high and a beer ... or 2

 

[z-bob]

I just did my first all-grain brewing session last week; mashed 6.5 pounds of grain in my 5 gallon brew pot in a paint strainer bag on top of the stove. It's a 3 gallon high-gravity beer. (I added 1 pound of sugar, which is appropriate for the style)

Now I'm planning my next beer. Going to try 4 gallons of normal beer this time, using more grain and no sugar.

I'm an engineer, and figuring out how to drive the costs towards zero is part of the fun for me. I did build an electric HLT so I can heat water quickly, but I could have done all this on top of the stove without it (it would just take forever to get hot)

I cannot boil 5+ gallons of wort with this setup, so I have to work around that. (For now)

 

[RM-MN]

Over the past two years I've brewed about 15 extract batches. Now I'm thinking about making the move to all grain. Would like to keep the equipment and the process as simple as as possible. What is the minimum amount of equipment I would need? The basic starter set from northern brewer is $200 and maybe I'm wrong, but that seems like a a lot to pay for what looks like 2 coolers.

If you already have a pot that is 5 gallons or bigger (yeah, you can do it in a 4 gallon or smaller but it's a pain) which you probably do since you've been brewing extract already, you need a bag. That's it! By adding just a bag to hold the grains you can do all grain. I use paint strainer bags. The cost about $4 for a pair and last for years if you are careful. With them and my 5 gallon pot I do 2 1/2 gallon batches and I do it right on the kitchen stove. It's nice to have a way to hold the bag above the pot to drain or a separate bowl with a colander in it to hold the bag and catch the runoff but even that isn't "necessary".

 

[Calichusetts]

Very few people on here are talking about the minimum...which is most likely the largest stock pot you own and a paint strainer bag...literally, this is all you need and all I had for quite a while. Considering you have done extract I'm guessing you have the basic fermentation equipment already

Even as I "updated" not much has changed. I think people are stuck in the 5 gallon mentality. Even so. You can do a high gravity small batch in your stock pot and just top up to 5 gallons. Even better, would be to start with 1-3 gallon batches until you get the hang of it and get some recipes down.

If you must go 5 gallon...I'd say the minimum would be an 8 gallon kettle (preferably a tall boy style) with or without a ball valve. You can always add that later. You should be able to get that to a boil on your stove top.

 

[SPR-GRN]

I'm going to echo what calichusetts stated; for small batch all grain you are ready to go.

Bare minimal equipment to do 5 gal all grain would be a larger pot and a bag large enough to hold the grist. This will allow you to do BIAB.

I have an 8 gallon pot for mash, I use my 5 gallon pot for batch-sparge, and boil in the 8 gallon pot. When I do a 6 gallon or larger batches I utilize both pots for the boil. I brew indoors, on my stovetop.

 

[Oginme]

Very few people on here are talking about the minimum...which is most likely the largest stock pot you own and a paint strainer bag...literally, this is all you need and all I had for quite a while. Considering you have done extract I'm guessing you have the basic fermentation equipment already

Even as I "updated" not much has changed. I think people are stuck in the 5 gallon mentality. Even so. You can do a high gravity small batch in your stock pot and just top up to 5 gallons. Even better, would be to start with 1-3 gallon batches until you get the hang of it and get some recipes down.

If you must go 5 gallon...I'd say the minimum would be an 8 gallon kettle (preferably a tall boy style) with or without a ball valve. You can always add that later. You should be able to get that to a boil on your stove top.

THIS is the minimum requirement to get into all-grain. Low cost, convenient, and versatile. I agree 100% with the idea of doing smaller batches until you get everything down properly.

My standard batch size is 10 liters (~2.5 gal) and produces a case of beer (12 oz bottles). It allows me to make and refine recipes until I get them to where I want without burying me in multiple cases of beer that is OK, but not what I aimed for.

When I get a recipe that I want to stock up on, I then go to a 5-gal batch size.

 

[GoatyBeer]

a cheap ratchet rope winch or pulley hooked to something high and a beer ... or 2

Guessing the ratchet rope winch is to allow the bag to drain?

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

yes you can raise the bag just above the wort, the ratchet will hold it in place, let it drain then use your water over the bag to rinse off the grain and get a better efficiency.

if you heat the mash up to 168 then let it set for 10 minutes, that softens the grain some then raise to drain

I have just used cold water from my filtered hose and over the top and it worked fine, it also lets you raise the water level to the correct hight while rinsing