hi all I want to step up to all grain brewing .. Any recommendations on a good set up. I rather spend a little more up front then having to upgrade in a year. Thanks!
I just stepped up to AG as well, got a 10 gal water cooler with false bottom and stainless valve - purchased from my local home brew store. A little costly since it was pre-assembled, but after looking at it, it looks pretty easy to built one from scratch if you want to save some $$. Not to tread jack, but as both the OP and I are making the transition, could anyone direct me to a quality "How to" video/instructions on AG batch sparging. I'm a bit nervousness for my first brew - an American Blonde.
Depends on how you want to mash. I've been using a 50qt coleman cooler and some copper pipes with slits for about 25+ years, they work great for single infusion, and decoctions, and RIMs. The only thing I've upgraded is the cooler, it gets pretty worn and warped over time, I replaced it after about 15 years with a new one. The new one is holding up great, I think the plastic is a bit thicker on the inside. It's one of those green coleman coolers.
I picked up a 48-qt cooler and some copper pipe and fittings at the local home supply superstore, and with some time and thought, ended up with my mash tun for roughly $50 invested. There's a million ways to skin this cat, ranging from something like this, to a high-zoot, custom made hunk of stainless steel, to somewhere in between. Most of the homebrew supply shops - MoreBeer, Austin Homebrew, Northern Brewer, sell kits to make the 10-gallon round into a mash tun with minimal work. Only problem with the cooler-style ones is you can't (easily) adjust temps later, or do step mashes in them. Most of us work around that. For a batch sparge, it's very difficult. Vorlauf and run out your mash. Dump new sparge water in, stir (waiting 10 - 15 minutes is optional,) then vorlauf and drain sparge.
@JrGtr "It's very difficult" I don't know if you're being sarcastic, but I just want to try to keep this simple for the OP. ^^^ He didn't mean it. Some info on how big you want to go and how you want to get it done. Do you want to do 5 gal batches, or more? Do you want to do high gravity beers for this size? Do you want to fly sparge, or just batch? Do you want to be able to recirculate with a pump and add heat to the mash? I have lots of success with a toilet braid filter in a 60 quart cooler with a ball valve. The whole setup cost like $55 and I can do 10 gal session batches easily.
Go bigger earlier. I would love to be able to boil a 10 gal batch, but my pot isn't big enough, and I kick myself for it. A nice burner would be good too.
I use my old kettle to preheat water for strike and sparge. While I regret it less, I wish I bought big and bought once.
So many variables here.. but if you're wanting to start out with the typical 5-gal batch: a 10-gal Igloo cooler w/ false bottom, a 10-gal kettle and a propane burner are what you'll need to upgrade to all-grain. Most of the other stuff you probably already have if you've been brewing extract. I don't know what your idea of 'spending a little more up front' is, but I paid roughly $200 for all of this stuff I agree with @JackHorzempa 's post on the video with John Palmer – I watched this a few times before my first AG brew, and knew exactly what to do after this. Have fun!
I just made the switch to all-grain and bought a burner so I could brew outside instead of indoors. The extra space really helps when doing AG. Here's a list of equipment I bought to make the jump: 10 gal water cooler from Home Depot (Mash Tun) Brass Cooler Valve Kit w/ barb 10 gal Tall Boy kettle 1/2" tubing Dark Star burner Propane tank Instead of buying a false bottom for the mash tun, I watched this video to learn how to make a bazooka screen to attach to the brass valve. I watched the John Palmer video several times to learn batch sparging techniques. I used this guide for easy instructions and to help formulate my first AG recipe. www.homebrewersassociation.org/wp.../How-To-Batch-Sparge.pdf
I started brewing a few months ago and after looking around I decided to go big with certain things so I didn't have to buy when I wanted to brew a bigger batch. My setup cost me around $1,100 with my biggest expense being a SS brewtech 15 gallon kettle at $325.00. You certainly can go cheaper then that. It all comes down to you expenses and what is your short and long term desire for brewing. Good luck and cheers
