[PBnKjelly]

Hello all. I'm relatively new to brewing, I've brewed a couple of extract kits after my wife bought me a extract 5 gallon starter kit from Midwest 2 years ago. I took a break for a while but am looking to jump back into brewing with both feet but would love to switch to all grain. My main concern while I'm building a setup is that I don't want to start off with some parts that I would have to upgrade sooner rather then later when I go to really fine tune everything and want to build more off of. Basically I want to start off with a very strong building block of an all grain system. One of my first questions is when it comes to purchasing a mash tun and hot liquor tank to go along with the boil kettle, does it make more sense to go right for say 15 gallon stainless or do the plastic cooler set ups work just fine? I know there is a significant difference in price and I don't mind taking my time to save up and build it right the first time so I only have to do it once. Any helpful advice is greatly appreciated. Cheers!

[BrewBama]

Here are some links to AHA How to Brew. Run thru them to see if they help. https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/category/tutorials/

Edit:  if I were getting into all grain today I’d probably look very hard at one of the all-in-one brewing machines on the market. They sell under names like Braümeister, Grainfather, Mash and Boil, Robobrew, etc. I would look into someone selling one second hand.

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[Joe T]

There's so many ways to do all grain, no one can give you advice on what method is best for you. The two methods that allow you to start with the least investment are Brew in a bag(BIAB) and the pot and cooler method. Both methods will require a kettle big enough to handle a full wort boil(10 gallon is great for 5 gallon batches, but you can get by with 8  gallon), a burner big enough to boil it, and a chiller that can cool it quickly after the boil.
For pot and cooler, check out dennybrew.com. You can convert a cooler you already have to a mash tun for just a few dollars and still use it as a cooler.
For BIAB you just need a large mesh bag to hold your grains in your pot while mashing. When the mash is done just lift it up and out and commence the boil just like an extract batch.
Either of those methods is enough to get your feet wet and make GREAT beer and hone your craft. And you really don't ever have to move on to another method or add any shiny equipment....but you will.

[KellerBrauer]

I have a very inexpensive 8 gallon SS hot liquor tank with a sight glass.  I also have a 10 gallon plastic cooler with a false bottom I use for my mash tun.  My boil kettle is a 15 gallon SS high quality PolarWare kettle.

The main mistake I made when designing my system was my hot liquor tank is too small.  I should be using a 10 gallon kettle.

So, my suggestion is to put some thought into how you want your system laid out.  Draw some sketches if necessary.  This will bring you closer to understanding exactly what you need.  For example, my system is a gravity flow system until after the boil kettle.  So, this means my HLT is very high - too high to see in side.  So, a sight glass was needed.  Also, since my boil kettle was low in the system, a pump would be needed to move the wort to the fermenter through my plate cooler.

Also, I highly recommend using induction burners where you can.  Their clean, fast and efficient.  Propane and natural gas are also great, but special care needs to be taken if used indoors.

I hope this information helps.  Good luck and welcome to the hobby!!

[Robert]

I don't think an 8 gallon kettle will do for nominal 5 gallon batches, this is my experience.   Go 10 gallon.   Everything you get should probably be "more than you think you need," as a safety margin and to allow flexibility in the future.   Buy once, cry once.

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[Kevin]

I cringe just a little bit when I see someone refer to all grain brewing as an "upgrade". To me that diminishes a perfectly legitimate method of brewing and using extracts does not make you a lesser brewer.

[denny]

I cringe just a little bit when I see someone refer to all grain brewing as an "upgrade". To me that diminishes a perfectly legitimate method of brewing and using extracts does not make you a lesser brewer.

WELL SAID!  I've judged BOS winners that were extract beers, obviously better than their AG counterparts.

[RC]

I cringe just a little bit when I see someone refer to all grain brewing as an "upgrade". To me that diminishes a perfectly legitimate method of brewing and using extracts does not make you a lesser brewer.

Where are you reading this? All he said was that he wanted to switch to all-grain brewing. The "upgrade" in question is about AG equipment, not the leap from extract to AG. What's the cringing for?

[RC]

PBnKjell, as you've probably gathered by now there are many ways to make great beer via all grain. I suggest that if possible you observe/help an AG brewer or two so you can observe their setup. That may help guide your decisions on what AG equipment to buy. Also, IMO a lot of it comes down to the batch volumes you want to make. If you want to stick with 5-gal batches, the options are many. But if you want to do--or have the future option to do--10 or 15 gal batches, you'll be more limited in equipment choices (e.g., no all-in-one systems can do batch vols that high, at least in one brew session).

I echo Robert's buy-once-cry-once advice. Brewing smaller batches on big equipment is easy, but the opposite is not. If you want to leave your options open, go big in terms of equipment volumes. The sweet spot for many brewers I know is to go with equipment that allows them to put 10 or 11 gallons into two fermenters per batch. This would involve a ~15-18 gal kettle and at least a 10-gal mash tun.

[ynotbrusum]

I recall asking a club member at a meeting about the mash regimen on his exquisite imperial stout to which he looked at me quizzically and said - "What do you mean?  This was my extract recipe"  I learned right there that judging beer is judging beer - not process.

As to the OP - I agree with many of the sentiments here that a slightly larger than necessary kettle will serve you well.  And there are all-in-one systems that handle 10 gallon batches, but they are fewer than the traditional 5 gallon batch makers.

[MNWayne]

Your post made me realize that I've moved my brewhouse 3 times. New locations, new processes, equipment expansions and upgrades. IMO brewing is a continuum. What serves you now will ultimately be tweaked. New knowledge, equipment, and materials all will necessitate change. New challenges to overcome... what fun. Get yourself a nice boil-pot, a chiller, and a means to control ferment temp.  Try BIAB and see if it fits your style. Read a lot, ask more questions. Update, tweak, adjust and enjoy.

[ynotbrusum]

Your post made me realize that I've moved my brewhouse 3 times. New locations, new processes, equipment expansions and upgrades. IMO brewing is a continuum. What serves you now will ultimately be tweaked. New knowledge, equipment, and materials all will necessitate change. New challenges to overcome... what fun. Get yourself a nice boil-pot, a chiller, and a means to control ferment temp.  Try BIAB and see if it fits your style. Read a lot, ask more questions. Update, tweak, adjust and enjoy.

Cheers!  I love this hobby for all of those reasons....

[Robert]

Your post made me realize that I've moved my brewhouse 3 times. New locations, new processes, equipment expansions and upgrades. IMO brewing is a continuum. What serves you now will ultimately be tweaked. New knowledge, equipment, and materials all will necessitate change. New challenges to overcome... what fun. Get yourself a nice boil-pot, a chiller, and a means to control ferment temp.  Try BIAB and see if it fits your style. Read a lot, ask more questions. Update, tweak, adjust and enjoy.

Cheers!  I love this hobby for all of those reasons....

OTOH... The sheer number of changes and upgrades I've gone through over the years have led me to recommend the "buy once cry once" approach, or at least an attempt at it.  I've been buying and crying for nigh on 30 years -- largely because I didn't have the kind of advice the OP is getting right here, but also because we all evolve.  With the benefit of learning from other people's mistakes I could probably have shaved down the number of refits I undertook.  But yeah, you'll occasionally just want to blow it up and rebuild and it's fun.  But as some around here like to point out, if you buy quality up front and do decide to replace it, you'll at least be able to sell it at a loss.  Buy cheap, and you'll eat the whole cost because nobody will take it off your hands.

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[apple]

When I switched from extract, I started with BIAB. I used a 10 gallon pot and a homemade bag. It served me really well. At the time BIAB was not nearly as widely accepted as it is now in the US. It seemed like I was taking some risks at the time, but I think now most people agree that it can make great all grain beer.

Through a series of decisions including a desire to maintain mash temps and eventually move inside, I migrated first to a RIMS system for my BIAM and then eventually to a 3 vessel electric RIMS mash tun and natural gas boil kettle.

As someone said above, everybody has different goals, needs, and budget. That you need to decide for yourself.

I sort of regret switching from BIAB. The extra cost of equipment has not been as big a deal to me, but the extra time it takes to do a brew day with a full mash and sparge and the associated cleanup of the extra equipment doesn't benefit me very much. I really don't think the quality of beer is much different between the two. In my case the added complexity of my brew setup means I'm less consistent if anything.

If I was to start over again now, for my needs, I would probably go with a 15 gallon pot for a BIAB setup to do 5 gallon batches. Those extra 5 gallons of space above my original 10 gallon pot allow you to do big beers with large grain bills without having to do an extra sparge step. You might even be able to get away with doing a 10 gallon batch now and then with smaller grain bills or a sparge step.

[Kevin]

I cringe just a little bit when I see someone refer to all grain brewing as an "upgrade". To me that diminishes a perfectly legitimate method of brewing and using extracts does not make you a lesser brewer.

Where are you reading this? All he said was that he wanted to switch to all-grain brewing. The "upgrade" in question is about AG equipment, not the leap from extract to AG. What's the cringing for?

The title of the thread.