All Grain Brewing for an Absolute Beginner?

Hilly_2017 · Jun 19, 2017

Afternoon everyone!

Let me start by saying that I've never done any sort of home brewing before, but of course I'm an avid beer fan! Having said that, I have watched plenty of YouTube videos over the past month or two about how to get started in home brewing.

All of which suggest that if I want to try and clone some of the types of beer I like e.g. Brewdog Dead Pony Club / Hop Fiction, Beavertown Gamma Ray etc... then it's obvious that I need to look at All Grain brewing.

My worry is that having looked around various sites, everyone seems to start out doing Extract brewing, and then work their way up to All Grain brewing.

My question is..... am I stupid to contemplate starting with All Grain brewing, or shall I begin with Extract brewing?

My local bottle shop (Hop & Grape, Darlington - https://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/) do some decent All Grain brewing setups for beginners and I'd like to think that I've watched enough brew day for beginners videos to try and muddle along, but I can't help but feel that I'm underestimating things!

IainM · Jun 19, 2017

It isn't stupid, but I would recommend starting with a couple of kits first, to get a feel for it and get some practice with the basics of sanitation, temperature control, bottling and so on. Kits are quick, not too expensive and give decent results. Then you can upgrade to all grain later by buying the additional bits. For the beers you mentioned, the kits for Youngs American IPA, Festival Razorback IPA, and Tiny Rebel Cwtch sound like they would be up your street.

EDIT: Welcome to the forum by the way!

Sadfield · Jun 19, 2017

Go for it. It's how I started. Do a single malt and single hop variety pale ale to start. It really isn't difficult just more time consuming. Anything you'll learn doing kits, you'll learn doing all grain. If your aim is all grain, buying kits eats away at your AG equipment budget.

Whether kits or all grain, the easiest way to fail is poor sanitation and messing about with it when it is fermenting. Read up about oxy cleaner and starsan, leave your lid on the fv for 2 weeks, and you won't go far wrong.

Remember, there is always someone here to help if need be.

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Hilly_2017 · Jun 19, 2017

IainM said:
It isn't stupid, but I would recommend starting with a couple of kits first, to get a feel for it and get some practice with the basics of sanitation, temperature control, bottling and so on. Kits are quick, not too expensive and give decent results. Then you can upgrade to all grain later by buying the additional bits. For the beers you mentioned, the kits for Youngs American IPA, Festival Razorback IPA, and Tiny Rebel Cwtch sound like they would be up your street.

EDIT: Welcome to the forum by the way!

Thanks Iain!

I guess I was worried that by starting out with a few kits I might get a sub-standard product, and therefore I might as well save my money and buy a proper All Grain kit.

But looking at the list you've given, it seems there are plenty of decent kits floating about. I'm a fan of 'fruity / hoppy' West Coast APA's so I think I'll do as you suggest and pick up an extract kit.

Which out of those 3 would you recommend the most?

IainM · Jun 19, 2017

Hilly_2017 said:
Thanks Iain!

I guess I was worried that by starting out with a few kits I might get a sub-standard product, and therefore I might as well save my money and buy a proper All Grain kit.

But looking at the list you've given, it seems there are plenty of decent kits floating about. I'm a fan of 'fruity / hoppy' West Coast APA's so I think I'll do as you suggest and pick up an extract kit.

Which out of those 3 would you recommend the most?

I only tried the Youngs one before moving to all grain, but the other two get rave reviews and are similar in style. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. There is a list of review threads here, which might help you decide.

Aristotle · Jun 19, 2017

I would agree with Sadfield that you may as well start with AG. I did one kit before I went to AG, and I don't think I learnt a great deal from it. There's no substitute for learning from doing the real thing.

Also, the kit I used was Young's American IPA. The beer was pretty terrible if I'm honest, and I think the main culprit was the yeast included in the kit. If you do go down the kit road, I would make sure the yeast is good, or buy yeast separately. A pack of Safale us-05 is cheap, and would do the job.

MyQul · Jun 19, 2017

If your keen on trying to clone your favourite beers I'd say go for it and start out all grain. I dont think there's anything you going to learn doing a kit you wont pick up quite quickly doing AG.
However I would suggest starting simple and starting small. This thread has help many cross over to AG. It's a lot simpler than you might think

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51779

m_rawdin · Jun 19, 2017

The good thing going about all grain brewing now is there is so much help, advice and I formation out there. There are videos on YouTube, a few must have books, forums like this, websites with recipes etc. It could be worth starting with brew in a bag then moving on from there. I was lucky in that I know someone who is a home brewer who taught me how to use a 3 vessel system. A few months ago I moved onto an all in one system which is fantastic, but expensive.

Byron · Jun 19, 2017

I always knew AG was where I'd end up but was nervous about the investment in kit and messing something up with all the variables.

So I did 1 kit, then 1 extract and I've been AG all the way ever since. Every now and again I get a kit as a present as people know I homebrew and they're always a nice break from the length of time an AG takes up.

Gerryjo · Jun 19, 2017

Hilly_2017 said:
Afternoon everyone!

Let me start by saying that I've never done any sort of home brewing before, but of course I'm an avid beer fan! Having said that, I have watched plenty of YouTube videos over the past month or two about how to get started in home brewing.

All of which suggest that if I want to try and clone some of the types of beer I like e.g. Brewdog Dead Pony Club / Hop Fiction, Beavertown Gamma Ray etc... then it's obvious that I need to look at All Grain brewing.

My worry is that having looked around various sites, everyone seems to start out doing Extract brewing, and then work their way up to All Grain brewing.

My question is..... am I stupid to contemplate starting with All Grain brewing, or shall I begin with Extract brewing?

My local bottle shop (Hop & Grape, Darlington - https://www.hopandgrape.co.uk/) do some decent All Grain brewing setups for beginners and I'd like to think that I've watched enough brew day for beginners videos to try and muddle along, but I can't help but feel that I'm underestimating things!

Honestly if you're up for it then go for it.I started back into homebrewing after away for over 20 years but went staright to an all grain stove top kit and I have not looked back.
Any questions I need answering I just ask these very kind folk on the forum who are always more than willing to help.
So it's down to yourself,though I would do a few small batches on the stove to get yourself going and it's minmal equipment need.:thumb:

ElvisIsBeer · Jun 19, 2017

Time is the big factor for me....I'll deffo go AG, but I appreciate the kits because time is short now.

Hop & Grape - nice people. Happy to chat. :thumb:

Gerryjo · Jun 19, 2017

Byron said:
I always knew AG was where I'd end up but was nervous about the investment in kit and messing something up with all the variables.

So I did 1 kit, then 1 extract and I've been AG all the way ever since. Every now and again I get a kit as a present as people know I homebrew and they're always a nice break from the length of time an AG takes up.

+1 on time saving and they are handy on timeÃ°Å¸âÂ

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Hilly_2017 · Jun 20, 2017

Thanks for all the advice guys. Really appreciate it.

The goal is obviously to be able to brew my own stuff which can hold a candle to the type of beers I currently buy off the shelf without the hefty price tag.

I like the idea of having a go at a simple all grain brew day though. Looking at clibit's post, I didn't realise how simple it could really be! I thought to even attempt All Grain brewing, I'd have to fork out Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£200+ for an All Grain starter kit.

I haven't read all the thread just yet but looking at it - I could potentially brew something with less than Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£20's worth of kit.

In theory could I use the DIY Dog pdf alongside Beersmith and calculate the quantity needed to produce a 10 litre stove top version of my favourite beers?

Gerryjo · Jun 20, 2017

Hilly_2017 said:
Thanks for all the advice guys. Really appreciate it.

The goal is obviously to be able to brew my own stuff which can hold a candle to the type of beers I currently buy off the shelf without the hefty price tag.

I like the idea of having a go at a simple all grain brew day though. Looking at clibit's post, I didn't realise how simple it could really be! I thought to even attempt All Grain brewing, I'd have to fork out Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£200+ for an All Grain starter kit.

I haven't read all the thread just yet but looking at it - I could potentially brew something with less than Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£20's worth of kit.

In theory could I use the DIY Dog pdf alongside Beersmith and calculate the quantity needed to produce a 10 litre stove top version of my favourite beers?

It seems daunting at the start but when you get started the process gets easier.
Keep good notes/documentation right from the start in a big book or create a checklist once your established.
Note water, equipment, temperature of water,room,grains.
Try and calibrate your equipment from size, type and the most critical thing is sanitisation after your boil has completed but these will come through like OCD after a while.
You'll be amazed at the different ways people brew and can still achieve amazing results.

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chewie · Jun 20, 2017

Hilly_2017 said:
My question is..... am I stupid to contemplate starting with All Grain brewing, or shall I begin with Extract brewing?

Extract or kits (tailored extract) are a great entry point as you need little more than a big bucket and some bottles so nothing wrong at all with trying a quick kit now while you figure out exactly what you want/need in regards to equipment.

Simple BIAB will make you a great beer time after time so moving into all grain doesn't have to be expensive at all though it will be quite a bit more time consuming meaning you can be limited to making a brew on days of.

Dutto · Jun 20, 2017

A lot of us mix and match with AG, Partial Mash and Extract Kits depending on what we wish to brew and time available, so starting AG definitely isn't stupid.

However, screwing up an AG brew that took hours of work to prepare and produce can be very disheartening so I would personally recommend starting with a few cheap kits (which require the minimum of equipment and take only minutes to prepare) and cut your teeth on them before moving on to AG.

That way you will get used to waiting patiently for the yeast to do its work, waiting patiently for the carbonation to occur and waiting patiently for the beer to condition and become palatable.

Did you notice the "waiting patiently" bit? It's one of the hardest things to do so starting out with a few kits will get you into the swing of things and if you screw up a brew it won't have cost you a lot of time and effort. :thumb: :thumb:

Enjoy!

Gerryjo · Jun 20, 2017

Oh @Dutto you forgot to mention.....

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GlentoranMark · Jun 20, 2017

Wish I'd have discovered Clibit's thread sooner.

If I had to do it over I'd buy one of those Coopers bitter kits and then move to AG ASAP. Stove tops are a great way to get started (it was my first AG) but it can get smelly and it's just as easy to do 20L as it is to do 5L. Smaller batches is just a matter of scaling down.

If funds are really tight you can DIY a boiler out of one of those 20L brewing buckets for about Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£25 (have a google) and go the no chill method and if your tight in space then do a Brew in a Bag method. Dedicated boilers start at around Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£50.

Welcome to the dark side.

Gerryjo · Jun 20, 2017

GlentoranMark said:
Wish I'd have discovered Clibit's thread sooner.

If I had to do it over I'd buy one of those Coopers bitter kits and then move to AG ASAP. Stove tops are a great way to get started (it was my first AG) but it can get smelly and it's just as easy to do 20L as it is to do 5L. Smaller batches is just a matter of scaling down.

If funds are really tight you can DIY a boiler out of one of those 20L brewing buckets for about Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£25 (have a google) and go the no chill method and if your tight in space then do a Brew in a Bag method. Dedicated boilers start at around Ã¯Â¿Â½ÃÂ£50.

Welcome to the dark side.

30 litre Burco cygnet for ÃÂ£78 delivered but my heads up my @##_ at the moment as I've so much going on and can't get room in the garage to get my kit set up.
Good thing about the boilers/urns is you can do Boil/strike water/mash or BIAB.I just think they can be so versatile and easily sorted for your needs.It was a birthday present for me and that's my excuse....

Gerry

pvt_ak · Jun 20, 2017

I've done 3 AG now (BIAB).
1st two stove top then bought a Peco boiler and have done 1 in that.
I wish I'd have done this years ago. My brews are simple at the moment as I'm learning and I get desire to brew every other day !! If only I had the time.
Results have been awesome - heads above the kits I'd done before.

Go for it as you say. Stove top 10l jobs really won't cost you a lot and YOU WILL be hooked !

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