Moving beyond kit brewing, kit advice

[Horlock07]

Evening

As a newbie I am looking to move from kit brewing to extract brewing and then hopefully full grain, so I need a boiler of sorts but not sure where to go with things?

Is there a do all option so I can avoid spending a fortune more than once, apologies if it's a stupid question but I am a tight arse so if I can avoid duplication etc it would be great.

Taking muchly for any advice/suggestions on advance....

 

[GerritT]

What do you already have, and how big will your batches be? A 20L might set you back around £40

 

[stigman]

If your confident with tools and electricity "legally" source a keg chuck a 3kw element in there plus a ball valve and away you go.

 

[Horlock07]

What do you already have, and how big will your batches be? A 20L might set you back around £40

Not much beyond fermenter and pv to store it. Tends to do 20l batches as that's fermenter capacity?

Looking possibly at something like this https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.u...er-with-tap-hop-strainer-and-thermometer.html but are there cheaper options?

 

[terrym]

@Horlock07
You don't need a boiler to do extract brewing.
More here
A Simple Guide to Extract Brewing

 

[Ciaran12s]

I toyed with starting with extract and moving to AG. After looking at reasonable sized pots etc I though it more economical to go straight to AG by spending just shy of a hundred quid on a cool box mash tun, a 60 litre bucket boiler and the necessary fixtures and fittings. This option depends on your diy skills but it is all fairly simple. If you need to buy tools that'll obviously ramp up the cost a bit but you may have all the necessary tools.

I'm glad I skipped the extract stage and went straight for this. It's only a few quid more than what a 25l fermenter volume extract setup would have cost and it works well.

 

[AdeDunn]

You might want to research BIAB as a consideration. With this method you can mash your grain right in the boiler you then boil the wort in afterwards, meaning you just need the one boiler/pan.

Like you I considered going via extract to eventually all grain, but after working out how much the extract would end up costing me, I went straight to BIAB all grain brewing. TLDR: Extract brewing you pay more in cash, all grain brewing you pay more in time. So if you have plenty of time to brew (5-7 hours for a brew day) AG makes sense, where if you don't have that sort of time to invest then extract brewing makes more sense.

Purely so you can look at some shinies:-

https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...0L-LED-Display-Timer-304-Stainless-Steel.html (very very similar to what I use)

Or swankier:-

https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...1500-3000W-25l-LCD-Touch-Stainless-Steel.html

Swankier still:-

https://www.klarstein.co.uk/Home-ap...er-Brewing-Set-2500W-30l-Stainless-Steel.html

Getting nice now:-

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Bulldog-brewery-all-grain-system.html

Almost at the top rung:-

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/The-Grainfather-Connect-Control-Box.html

How much? That's crazy money!

https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Braumeister-Brewing-System.html

Just to show there are more options than picnic box mash tons and plastic bucket boilers, for those who want them.

 

[GerritT]

Not much beyond fermenter and pv to store it. Tends to do 20l batches as that's fermenter capacity?

Looking possibly at something like this https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.u...er-with-tap-hop-strainer-and-thermometer.html but are there cheaper options?

That boiler sure looks nice, but my preference (because of safety etc) is to have >20% of headroom in the boiler, which would mean a boiler of 30L capacity, just a 10 bob more. And then you would be ready for AG. There is no missus to consult in purchasing these kinds of kitchen equipment?

You can of course, and advisable, take a step inbetween and mash the special grains, and add extract later, a socalled mini-mash. Partial AG, as it were.
Good luck!

 

[Horlock07]

Thanks for the advice gents, looks like there is a little more thinking to be done....

 

[terrym]

@Horlock07
Every homebrewer has a different set up, driven by cost, space and the time they are willing to support their hobby. This can vary tremendously from someone with a only a small stockpot in addition to the basics at one end, to someone with a dedicted brewhouse filled with lots of shiny costing several £100s or possibly even £1000s and which may take up a lot of their time. Output is important too, not a lot of point in having a major set up in my view if you only get through 2 or 3 bottles a week. However nothing is right or wrong, it's just what suits you.
I think you need to think through what your short and long term plans are for brewing and then go from there. Certainly give yourself a target budget with a spend plan. And when you have decided what you think you want to do, come back for more advice