Stepping up to the grain

[tonight_we_fly]

I've always received really helpful responses when I've posted questions here before, so I think this one might be worth a try...

I've been happy with my recent experiences of moving from starter kits to two-can kits, and I'm now just about ready to take the next step and have a go at all grain brewing. My question, really, at this stage is what additional equipment I'll need to be able to do all grain brewing at a lo-fi kind of level?

Looking around at books and web pages, suggestions seem to vary as to what you essentially need, as opposed to which additional equipment would be a luxury. Some of the suggestions seem to claim that I will need things like my own mash tun with a tap at the bottom, a vessel to boil on the stove which holds at least eight gallons, my own ice bath (complete with supplies of ice on a seemingly Antarctic scale), water which has been through some kind of treatment process, a unique purpose-built filtering system and something called a copper wort chiller (which sounds more to me like some kind of a specialist genre of horror films).

I first took up brewing after a tour of the Brodies microbrewery in East London, at which the guide told me that brewing was basically something which (with the right ingredients, and enough effort put into the cleaning and sanitising stages) anybody could do at home in their kitchen. However, some of the things I'm reading sound a little out of my league now. An eight gallon vessel would be far too big to fit on my stove (not to mention that when it's full of water I'd probably need some kind of industrial crane to lift it on/off), before even contemplating the fact that I'd need some kind of pulley system borrowed from a local docks to somehow get that upstairs if I was then going to soak it in the bath.

I already have all of the basics for kit brewing (fermenting vessel, siphon, stirrer, thermometer, hydrometer, etc.) and of course all of the things you would typically expect to find in someone's kitchen; until now I've happily been heating water in a few large saucepans (occasionally containing muslin bags with a few flavouring adjustments inside), and haven't really need any further specialist items which I didn't already have lying around.

My question, then, is really just to ask which additional equipment will I actually need to now buy in order to make the step up to all grain brewing? I know it sounds like an answer that can easily be looked up myself, but I'm asking here because wherever I look I seem to keep ending up with different answers.

Thanks in advance, as I do always seem to receive helpful responses here.

 

[Cononthebarber]

Different brewers will tell you you need different equipment for different things...THIS is the setup I have built and I think it has cost me just over £100...however if you have a bigger budget you can go shiney with stainless vessels and what not...they are more expensive, however they will likely last a lot longer. At the end of the day though its down to you...

The essential items you need are a boiler and a fermenting vessel, if you BIAB you dont need a mash tun but I've never done that so don't quote me...

 

[pittsy]

don't forget to have a crack at extract brewing , easy to do , great results and helps you understand All grain brewing better , all you would do is steep some grains in a large pot with the grains in a muslim bag at approx 67c for about 30mins then rinse grains with water at around 75c then boil some more water with liquid or dried malt extract and boil with some hops for an hour , add wort to fv along with water steeped in grains and top up with boiled cooled water (or tap water) job done , we can help on quantities etc if you want help :thumb:

 

[mmaguy41]

I did my first all grain a few weeks ago and am now planning number 3. I use the brew in a bag method (BIAB) with a 19l stock pot i bought off ebay for about 20 quid. Then all you need is a masing and sparging bag (around £8) and a decent thermometer is handy. I brew full 23l batches using this method using advice found on here and ive had great results, i dont have room for a 3 vessel setup so it works great for me and doesnt cost alot to give it a try. The pots are still cheap on ebay too i think

 

[rich27500]

Mmaguy you took the words right out of my mouth.

Truth is (as Dave and I recently proved,) you can do AG many ways, you can spend tons on shiny HERMS systems or you can put a BIAB set up together for about £50. I believe a 3 vessel plastic set up can come in under £100 depending on your DIY skills too.

I BIAB. I don't chill. My set up is an electrim boiler and a bag purpose made for he bin. That was an expensive way of doing it! No I know different I'd get a 50l boiler safe plastic vessel, tesco kettle elements (great how to on this forum for those) and make a bag t if my boiler from net curtain (did one for my Dad offcuts cost £3, got a shower cord for 99p for he drawstring and recycled a toggle off a rucksack so secure the draw string.)

Saying all that if ican afford it in a few years I'll replace it all with some shiny stainless steel, but I'll always BIAB...UNLESS I scale up significantly and start my own brewery, then BIAB becomes inpractical.

 

[mmaguy41]

I cant see myself moving on from BIAB any time soon either. Its just really easy and cheap and the results so far have been great

 

[EskiBrew]

Have a look at the Back to Basics thread - the idea is to show that you don't need a lot of equipment to brew good beer - mostly just stuff you have in your own kitchen. Of course if you want to brew more then a big enough boiling vessel is required :thumb:

 

[PD]

I.m a kit brewer and thoroughly enjoy the results and until a few days ago I had no intention of moving on.... However I've browsed around the usual sites and taken a positive interest in the process and the equipment required. It was always just that little bit too expensive for me to invest in as a hobby.
However during my browsing recently I came across an offer for a stainless steel boiler from one of our site sponsors " The Homebrew Company " As they say it was an offer not to be missed at half the price of a plastic boiler. So I bought it. ( delivery expected today ) Now I have made the purchase I still can't really brew all grain as yet but I've made the start I now need a couple of bits more. I'm in no rush and will browse around for a cool box mash tun and poss a chiller.
I will continuing with my kit brewing. If its next spring before I'm ready I ain't bothered. ( Christmas is coming up and family are always stuck for present ideas for me ) So I'm on the way to be an AG brewer ha..ha.

 

[pittsy]

I.m a kit brewer and thoroughly enjoy the results and until a few days ago I had no intention of moving on.... However I've browsed around the usual sites and taken a positive interest in the process and the equipment required. It was always just that little bit too expensive for me to invest in as a hobby.
However during my browsing recently I came across an offer for a stainless steel boiler from one of our site sponsors " The Homebrew Company " As they say it was an offer not to be missed at half the price of a plastic boiler. So I bought it. ( delivery expected today ) Now I have made the purchase I still can't really brew all grain as yet but I've made the start I now need a couple of bits more. I'm in no rush and will browse around for a cool box mash tun and poss a chiller.
I will continuing with my kit brewing. If its next spring before I'm ready I ain't bothered. ( Christmas is coming up and family are always stuck for present ideas for me ) So I'm on the way to be an AG brewer ha..ha.

You won't regret it , if you like your beers now or think they just ain't right (not that great ) then you'll love all grain , unless you seriously mess up you can't get a bad pint (not including infections) I'm at the point where i'm now trying to get as good as beer i buy (hopefully better even) And best of all it truly is made by you and not out of a tin (bit like cooking microwave meals then going onto home cooked food ) :thumb:

 

[tonight_we_fly]

Wow, there are some very useful replies to my question here, I really appreciate that.

I didn't even realise that the genre of extract brewing existed until reading these comments! That actually sounds like a really sensible middle step between using the kits and moving on to all grain brewing, and so I think I'll now have a go at that next.

Also that's very helpful that people have suggested that people have suggested boiling in a bag as an alternative to having a mash tun. It wasn't so much the cost that was putting me off as the fact that I'm going to end up running out of space under the stairs to store all the equipment, but this approach really sounds ideal.

Mention of a 19 litre pot is helpful as that also gives me some idea of the size I'll need to boil in; there's a shop down the road from me in Brixton Market which sells every conceivable size of pot known to mankind, so I'll have a look at picking something up there at the weekend.

I loved that analogy as well about moving from microwaved to home cooked food! I think most of all, reading these comments has not only been very helpful for me to understand that I perhaps don't need mountains of expensive equipment to proceed, it's also really given me the encouragement to do it as you've all made it sound so do-able.

Thanks very much to all who have commented!