When is it All Grain time??

[double_e5]

I went AG after two extract batches.

I got a brand new turkey fryer for free, which I wasn't expecting. I was looking at buying one and a neighbor said they had one they would never use and just gave it to me. I already had an empty keg so I cut the top of and turned it into a keggle. I then coverted a 10 gal. cooler to a MLT and bought 50' of copper and made an IC.

I was just planning to go ahead an do a couple full boils, but said ef it and just bought the ingredients to do an AG batch, did a lot of reading and just went for it.

My first AG batch went well and I haven't looked back.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

...

My only question is how long does it take if you batch sparge? I'm guessing 1.5-2 hours for the sparge (heating water, mash, mash out), 1 hour boil, .5 hour cool down. Is 3.5-4 a reasonable estimate?

My brew day from filtering water to done cleaning up is about 4.5 hours. I've had days where I'm done in 3.5 hours...but that's when I don't have friends and neighbors over to distract me . I've also had days where it takes 5-6 hours, due to stuck sparges, chatty neighbors, and over indulgence (not recommended! :cross. I recently made the switch to brewing 10 gallon batches, so I've noticed that this extends my brew day by about half an hour due to a longer sparge time. With a 5 gallon batch, I've found you can get away with one sparge if you don't mind sacrificing a couple efficiency points. With a 10 gallon batch, I MUST do 2 batch sparges and sometimes depending on the grain bill another couple gallons after that. YMMV.

My typical 10g brew day:

Start @ 12:30pm: Get all the equipment out and set up, and filter 15 gallons of strike water.
12:30pm - 1:00pm: Heat strike water to 166F
1:00 - 1:15: Mash in and stir thoroughly. Take a temperature reading and adjust if necessary with boiling or ice water.
1:30 - 2:00: Gather another 12 gallons of filtered water, and heat to 180F for the sparge.
2:10 - 2:20: Recirculate/Vorlauf until wort is clear
2:20 - 2:45: Batch or fly sparge (lately I've been fly sparging). While sparging, start up the boil kettle burner and start bringing that wort to a boil.
3:00 - 4:00: Boil. Clean out mash tun. Drain HLT. Add sanitizer to primaries and cover with tin foil.
4:00 - 4:30: Chill and rack to primary (I use a CFC). Pitch yeast.
4:30 - 5:00: Clean out boil kettle and....DONE!

 

[nosmatt]

Although the thought of sculpting a brew rig sounds mighty appealing right now... This heating strike/sparge water on the stove and running out to the mancave to dump it in the MLT is getting rather old. (Very quickly)
-Me

now is the time to invest in another burner and propane tank!


this made my brewing life so much easier....amazon had the sp10 on sale for like 40 bucks shipped. you can heat sparge water while mashin, and the brew pot is there for the first runnings...i wish i had bought the second one sooner honestly.

to the OP:
when you ask the question when to go ag, that is the time to do so.
for me extract was a bigger PITA! i love being outdoors and not stuck in the kitchen... plus i got my music as loud as i want in the garage.

good luck!

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

If your asking if it is time, it is probably time

 

[KUbrew]

You sound a lot like me, as soon as I started brewing I knew I wanted to do AG I just wasn't sure when I would be ready.

What I did was watch Ebay, CL and the classifieds on HBT and I started picking up AG equipment for cheap as it became available since I wasn't in any hurry. I ended up making the switch for about $120 (which included a MLT, chiller, 20qt pot and propane burner). I actually only ended up doing 1 extract batch because I was lucky finding everything that I needed. It is definitely true what previous posters have said about AG not being as complicated as it sounds. Good luck!

 

[Eepa]

Well i cant wait to jump in to AG. It seems that the deciding step is space and equipment. I dont have either so im going to wait and just take my time accumulating all the required tools. I will totally be keeping my eye open for good deals on equipment and hopefully soon ill have a good spacious place where ill have no problem brewing when i want and storing all my stuff. Lucky for me i have a friend on here, STAD, who is going to start AG soon and i will definitly be helping him. So cheers to all and thanx for the advice.

-Eepa

 

[sterling214]

When I first started extract brewing and joined this board, I was very intimidated by AG. I made the mistake of checking out the sculpture tread, and figured I would never be able to afford, or understand the complicated process of brewing all grain. The more I lurked around here, and read more threads I started to realize that you don't need a ton of expensive equipment, or a degree in chemistry to be able to do AG. If you are already extract brewing, are happy with how your beers are turning out, and have an interest in adding a little more work to your brew day, then it is time to go all grain. I just made the switch on my 4'th batch.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

If you are interested in going all grain...just GO! I know a few people that NEVER did extract batches and their beer is great. You need to make sure to read and reread some good books on all grain brewing until you are comfortable with the process. After that, it's really just buying the correct equipment for the Mash/Lauter process. If you like taking your time and crafting a delicious beverage, and at the same time learning how to make beer in the traditional way, all grain brewing is the way to go.

I brewed 5-6 batches of extract before jumping into all grain brewing. It was an easy transition, and only cost me $25 to upgrade from my extract setup. I took an old 5g cooler, and put in a ball valve and SS braid for the lautering "manifold". I already used a turkey fryer kit for my boil kettle, and for all-grain I simply forced it to do double duty as my hot liquor tank (HLT). I used my bottling bucket to collect the first runnings from the mash, then transfered those to the boil kettle after I had made my last sparge water addition. From that point forward, it's just like extract...boil->hops->chill->pitch.

Braid:

It's coming up to a year since I brewed my first batch, and I've moved on to 10 gallons batches and am loving it. Buying a grain mill with some fellow brewers was the best purchase I've made. Coupled with buying bulk 50# bags of grain for $30-45/bag is a real pleasure. I can now brew a 10 gallon batch of my house ale for $18.93 for the ingredients. Even for my more expensive recipe it rarely gets above $30 for a 10 gallon batch. With extract I was paying $28-35 for a 5 gallon batch. All grain works for me, and sounds like it would work for you too. It's a bit of a step up in equipment, but it allows more flexibility with recipe formulation, better beer(given good process), and it's cheaper per batch.


The three biggest cons I see with all grain are:
1) $$$ for equipment, but this depends a lot upon YOU. You can go and buy an 1/2 barrel automated setup for $6500, or spend a modest $50-100 for a nice 5 gallon system.
2) Time. Extract is faster because you don't have to heat sparge water or perform a 60-90 minute mash and sparge. But if you like brewing, and like taking your time with makin beer, this is a non-issue.
3) Space. Again, this depends a lot on you and whether you brew inside, outside or in the garage. Many people do all grain on their stovetops, but this would never work for me, or I should say SWMBO. Lucky for me I've got a garage I can take over with my brewing equipment.

Well that's got to be my longest post evar! Hopefully you can glean some information from it, and make an informed decision about your brewing future. Cheers to you, and cheers to all homebrewers!

Hey TwoHeads, Are you using the same MLT for your 10g batches? I like that MLT, I'm looking to get a new one and that one looks about right. How much grain can you get in there and what's your grain/water ratio?