Good morning!
I am a noob who is going to start brewing. I ordered a brewing kit and receip kit this morning. I have almost finished reading “How to Brew” (am getting bogged down in the math at the moment) and have started reading “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing.”
It looks like All Grain is more “fun” than doing the extracts and steeping methods. How fast (or slow) would you suggest going before jumping into all grain?
Thanks!
Dano
There’s no single answer, it just depends on when you are ready for it. Mentally, financially, have the space, have the time etc.
If you’re ready, go for it!
AG requires more equipment (more cost in equipment) but lowers your ingredient costs.
AG is simple enough, so if you are so inclined I’d make the jump.
Mufasa would say you’re already moving too slow 
If you got the money and space, do it…you won’t regret it.
For me the equipment cost and space is what delayed me but if you got the space and $$ I would go for it!
It’s really up to you. One of the benefits of starting with extract kits is that you can get a feel for how much you’re gonna like the process of brewing your own. Once you’re comfortable that you’re in it for the long haul, then you can go ahead and upgrade to all-grain. And don’t forget, it doesn’t have to be all at once. There’re incremental upgrades you can make on your path from extract to all-grain.
If you’re ultimately going to do all-grain and you have the equipment, do it as soon as possible. You’ll have less bad habits to unlearn.
Go see someone do it end-to-end before doing it yourself, though. A lot of what you do is visual, so you need to know what “looks right.”
Yeah, if you have a club in your area and can go watch/help someone brew some day that will really help you know how to do it and figure out if you really want to. Don’t be afraid of it though, it can sound all complicated and mystical when you’re getting started but it really doesn’t have to be that hard.
Brew your kit beer to see whether you even enjoy brewing. Assuming you do, you don’t have to jump right in to AG brewing. There are alternatives such as partial mash (aka mini mash) brewing, which is a hybrid of extract and AG brewing. Click on my links below for visual examples of both partial mash and AG brewing processes. Good luck!
+1 on whenever you’re comfortable
+1 on finding someone in your area to help out
I always advise someone doing 1 or 2 two Extract with Steeped Grains recipes to get the hang of the boil, sanitation and fermentation and then go for AG if you’re having fun.
I moved to AG on my 6th batch. (Oddly enough I switched to kegs then too)
While that’s undoubtedly the best way to do it, that’s not the way I did it. I’d never seen anyone do AG before I started. I just read a lot of books and the usenet group rec.crafts.brewing and jumped in. Once I was done, it was kind if like “wow, is that all?”. The point being that if you can’t brew with someone else to learn, don’t let it stop you.
I had no one to watch either, but I did read, and ask Denny and others at the HBD lots of annoying questions. For me, I wish I had never bothered with extract brewing.
Don’t let the math scare you. Most of the brewing software programs do it all for you, and there really isn’t all that much to do anyway.
One other thing. Be careful with what, and how much equipment you buy. A lot of newbies think they need everything. Don’t go buying 150 bottles thinking you’re going to really dig bottling your own beer. Try not to fall for gimmicky brewing crap. Don’t buy the smallest boil kettle you can get away with. You will likely want to do some double-batches, especially if you have friends who are sucking your kegs dry, or if you have a brewing partner. Take a look at Mike Dixon’s homebrew site and see how little you can easily get by with.
Huge +1, Denny. That’s how I did it too. I had 3 extract batches down, before switching. I would recommend you do a couple extract, just to get the boiling, sanitation, racking processes down. That way, if there is a question with your finished, you have fewer things to second guess.
You’ll know pretty quickly if this hobby/obsession is for you. I knew it as soon as I was finished brewing my first batch. My third batch was all-grain. I did it with minimal equipment, a cooler and a couple pots. My only advice is to get the biggest brew pot you can afford, you’ll use the capacity, I promise. And focus on temp control. That’s where I spent my dough, and it has paid off.
I went to all grain after only a few extract batches. In addition to doing lots of reading, I also suggest searching youtube for videos of homebrewing. If there is something that doesn’t make sense to you, sometimes it helps to see it done.
I would definitely recommend doing a couple of extract batches, especially to see if you enjoy the process. All grain will require more equipment, more space, more time to brew but it will also be more fun and rewarding. I did one mini mash before stepping up to all grain and I thought it helped me understand the science and process of all grain. I’m just glad to hear that you are doing your homework before brewing. My first batch was yanking the package out of the mail and firing up the stove-- but it somehow worked out.
nowadays its very easy to find a solid youtube video (think Kai) series that can show you the steps in case you don’t have a friend to show you the ropes.
FWIW, I would have gone all grain my first batch as well, but I had a brew partner who insisted we do extract first. He lasted 3 batches before his ADHD took him elsewhere. He loves coming to drink my beer though.
Another vote to do some extract kits to get a firm handle on the essential parts of the process…ie…sanitation, boiling, hopping, and chilling while continuing to research. This will ease the learning curve and allow you to really enjoy the hobby. Once you become comfortable with extract kits then start the transition into AG.
Everyone starts at different levels so you need to start where you are comfortable - I watched a friend brew once and went all out with all grain to start with - it was almost 2 years later before I ever did an extract batch and that was only because I won one in a homebrew competition. I enjoy the process of of starting with the malt and mashing it so for me the process is less exciting when I do an extract batch. It all depends on what you want out of brewing, the time and money you have. Don’t feel like you have to go to AG tho as you can make phenomenal beer by extract also. It does sound like you are interested in going AG tho so just go for it - don’t feel like there is a magical amount of time you need to wait to move up.
You’ve heard some great advice on how to get into brewing–>AG. IMO you are only moving too fast if you are mashing your first AG BEFORE your last batch of extract has cleared your fermenter. 