When to make the leap to All-Grain?

I made the move after 3 extract batches. Knew I wanted to continue, but was somewhat bored with the process. I needed to be more involved...so I jumped in.

 

Made the move to all grain BIAB after 3 or 4 batches. Total additional cost: $4 for a big BIAB bag.

 

It took me a while - a few years and maybe a dozen or 15 batches. I lived in a small apartment and didn;t have the space for continuous brews. Heck I'm in a larger house now and still don't have the space for contunous brews. However for about the past 2 years I've been all-grain. I did a couple of the 1-gallon Brooklyn Brew Shop kits to get the hang of it, and then a few AG kits from MoreBeer, Austin Homebrew and so forth. I've done a couple recipes of my own and have a few more in line to be done at some point.

 

I switched after the 3rd batch. If you want a bigger challenge with extract, try making your own recipe vs using a kit.

Also, don't think you have to spend tons of money to go all-grain. If you already are doing full boils then all you need is a mashtun like this http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/ If you have been doing everything on the stove, you need to spend a little more. Get a propane turkey fryer with a 7.5 gallon pot for cheap along with your cooler and away you go.

 

I made the jump when I decided that this was something that I was going to do for a long time. I decided it was worth a trip to the hardware store and building a mash tun. It was around batch 4 for me. You know if this is something you want to do or not by now.

Brew in a bag is easy and it's basically a disposable mash tun. It's a good leap. I had someone in my local homebrew club come over and help me with my second AG batch. My first was drinkable but forgettable. Just have a checklist ready and even post it on here so that we can make more suggestions.

It doesn't have to be really measurement intensive. You just need to hit a mash temperature with your grains. Guess what? You've already hit that temp if you've sparged grains in your last 4 batches. It's just holding those grains at that temp for a little longer. Conversion is going on here, but it's the same motions. A mash tun is just a fancy way to rinse the grains. You may or may not have tried to rinse a sparge bag in your brewing career. If so, consider it a blessing because you won't have to burn your fingertips.

 

I switched after 3 extract brews. I wanted the challenge and knew I would end up at AG eventually anyway.

 

I'll echo everyone and say if you feel this is something you enjoy, step it up. The tool I sue the most is my refractometer. It helps me hit my numbers with only a few drrops of wort at certain points during brewday and isn't affected too bad like a hydrometer is bby temps. My only other suggestion is to pick up a copy of designing great beers. That book gives you a firm idea of how to construct your own recipes. I haven't used someone elses recipe or instructions since my second batch because of that book.

 

I brewed canned extract batches 20+ years ago and they were terrible, so I quit. Nine years ago people were telling me brewing good beer was easy, so I tried again. I was not satisfied with the quality of the two batches that I made. So I decided I would "pull out all the stops," which for me meant adding wort aeration with O2, getting a chiller, getting more serious about sanitation, and figuring out a cheap way to do all-grain brews -- http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

In retrospect, it wasn't going all grain that improved the beer, it was figuring out those other things. But all-grain brewing is much more interesting - haven't you always wanted to know what biscuit malt was like when you properly mash it? Although it takes longer and there are some details, it really doesn't have a steep learning curve. I suppose you can get wrapped up in mash chemistry, but you can get started without and augment your brewing practices as you expand your knowledge base. If you have done a few extract batches and want to go all-grain, then you are ready.

 

You can easily go to Brew in a Bag (BIAB) or try AG one gallon kit small scale, which will give you the idea of what AG is.

 

I went there after about 8 batches. I did liquid kits, LME kits, LME recipes, then what else was there to do? I'm in it for the hobby, not the cheap beer so AG enhanced the hobby...

 

If you can afford to get a simple cooler setup to use as a mash tun, I'd switch ASAP. AG is really not anymore difficult than extract. Mashing is, for all intensive purposes, just a more in depth steeping of the grains. Learning the complete ins and outs may take time, but the process is fairly easy to transition from extract. The biggest downside is merely the extra cleanup

 

I started brewing as a curiosity and I think I made about 20 extract batches. After that, I did a few partial mash kits and I noticed that the beer really stepped up in quality. Then life got in the way and I didn't brew for a while. I guess I just felt like I didn't have the time and I could afford to buy good beer at the store.

Anyway, then I moved to Norway and beer is so expensive here that I started up again. I brewed two extract batches and then switched to all grain. I have been brewing nothing but all grain since, and let me tell you... I have made some really excellent beers!

When I switched, I found that the only extra equipment I needed was a mash tun. I had brought an Igloo extreme cooler to Norway with me so on a business trip back to Texas, I picked up the valve, screen, & tubing I needed to convert it into a mash tun. I've been using it ever since.

 

It took me over a year. I switched due to more control over my ingredients. I was also a bit discouraged by another brewer who constantly tried to make all grain brewing sound like it was the hardest thing ever to do... ask a question, he over-complicates it... we all know the guy...

 

After three extract batches I did one BIAB batch, then stepped it all the way up. Don't worry too much about knowing/not knowing about the various ingredients and their harmoniousness. It's still part of the process in AG. And when you're doing AG, you can make SMaSH beers - a great way to learn.

As far as I'm concerned, the most important piece of equipment is a thermometer. Get a good one that you know is accurate and it will make a world of difference.

 

All grain is pretty easy, but it does make for a longer brew day. I did a partial mash on my 5th batch, then all grain after that. I switched so I could incorporate a wider range of malts and so I could control more of the process. I have done one extract batch since then also due to time constraints. It is nice not to have to deal with dissolving DME when doing all grain.

 

After eight years of extract brewing, I switched over to all grain. Nine years years, after I opened my own homebrew shop, I went back to extract. I wasn't going to use my one day off a week to brew beer.