just started homebrewing

I take it from the thread title that you've brewed 1-2 batches. My advice is to do at least a couple more extract brews before trying an all-grain batch. It's not that all-grain is all that difficult—it's really not. And it gives you much finer-grain control (ha!) of important variables like the fermentability of the wort.

But! It also adds a lot of time and effort to your brew day, both during the mash itself and in the extra cleaning up. Beyond that, it adds a lot of variables to think about, at a time when you should be getting more basic variables down cold. I would focus on basic process, yeast handling, and fermentation temperature control for now. Those are going to end up being some of the most important variables anyway, and by using extract you can avoid dealing with other variables that are less important.

That said, a good halfway step is to steep some grains or do a partial mash. Some grains, such as crystal malt and roasted malts, don't have to be mashed at all. Other grains need to be mashed, but that really just means you need to steep them in the mashing temperature range (basically 148°F to 156°F, but people can and do mash higher and lower). Some of my favorite beers that I've brewed, actually, were porters that I brewed with extract and steeped grains early in my brewing career.

I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of the new edition of John Palmer's How to Brew.

 

experiment a bit with the extract kits. Throw in some different hops, dry hopping, etc.

You can make some great beer with the extract kits. I had a great single hop Mosaic a buddy and I did with an extract kit and a bit of tweaking.

I personally like how quick I can have a brew day using the extracts---and turn out a good beer.

either way--have fun.

 

Learn all you can, read read read, ask questions and then I would suggest you give Brew in a Bag a try, (BIAB). It is all grain but you need less equipment and you can still have a 3 hour brew day.

 

1. Clean AND sanitize everything on the cold size (everything after the boil).
2. Pitch enough, heathy, and the right yeast.
3. Control your fermentation temperature.

Follow those three rules and you will make good beer 99 of 100 times!

I’d also agree with brewing a few more extract/partial mash recipes before going all grain. I don’t know if it’s been mentioned yet, but even a very basic all-grain rig will run you probably twice what you paid for a beginner kit.
Also, before jumping into making your own recipes from scratch, I always suggest rebuying one of the kits you already made and change out the hops, the yeast, or the specialty grains. That’s a great low-risk way to begin to understand how the ingredients in beer affect the final product without worrying about making crap beer.

Good luck and have fun!

 

What kinds of beers do you like to drink?

 

If by this comment that you want to create your own recipes and you equate this with all-grain brewing, the two are independent of each other. You can create recipes with extract too, but you will have much more control of the variables that can occur in a finished beer with all-grain. Experience in brewing by substituting or varying the amount of ingredients from one batch to the next and then comparing notes between the two batches takes time and a lot of batches. Reading about someone else's experience is the fast way to do it, and there are books that can help: https://www.google.com/search?q=wri...rome..69i57.8038j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

Also when I started homebrewing, I watched so many youtube brewers to get an idea as to the process. That helped me a ton

 

You've already done some batches and you have How to Brew. If you're "into it", I'd recommend moving to all-grain. It's more time and a few more pieces of equipment but I think it's more fun. Mashing is cool. If you're intimidated, check out Don Osborn's old "how to do all grain" video on You Tube. That video inspired me to move from extract to all-grain and I'm so glad I did. He gives a real quick simplified approach to the process.

 

My advice, do what you think you want to do. Worst case, you make a mistake and you learn. You can do recipes with extract, and this might be a good place to start. You can find the grain makeup that goes into different extracts. I would say take good notes on your ingredients and any observations throughout the process and finished product. Also, learn your IBU balance and hop extraction.It is good to at least understand how these are calculated and how to balance your beers.