All Grain beginner

[Andy_Mills]

Hi Guys,

I have now been kit brewing for quite a while and keep getting the urge to start all grain brewing, however, as the process is different wondered if I could ask for some advice.

First of all, would it be advisable to attend an all grain brew course? I have been trying to find some in the north of England but the majority appear to be around London; Or, from watching videos on youtube and following the method of trial and error is it possible to dive straight in?

depending on the answer above, where would be the best place to purchase a boiler and the other necessary equipment to start all grain brewing (I did find a 30 litre boiler on ebay for £80.)

Thanks in advance,

Andy

[Pinto]

Welcome to the dark side

Search is your friend here - there are many, many who have trodden the path before you and quite a few have reported on their journey (myself included) - its so worthwhile tho...

Diving in is what most of us have done, and learned by trial and error - but if you can find a course close to you, more power - nothing wrong with eduction !

First of all, you need to work out how much you want to brew - as this dictates the size of the kit you need; as a general rule, sticking to the general kit size brew of 23l requires a 30l boiler - go bigger or smaller as you need.

Next thing you need to do is work out how much you want to spend you can home build an all plastic/electric brewery for less than £100 if you're resourceful and careful (once again, there are many threads on ghetto builds on this forum) or you can be super rich and shell out a couple of grand to walk away with a shiny, all computerised BrauMeister system off the shelf. Most of us are somewhere in between, with part plastic / three vessel stainless setups.

Finally - what are you going to brew ? Check out the many recipes listed here and build it with your own grains, or (fairly) new to the scene, a lot of the larger HB shops sell pre-assembled clone kits to mimic some well known and loved commercial brews.

Good luck on your journey - you're among friends

[Andy_Mills]

Thank you for your response! it is very much appreciated

I have been looking at one of these for the boiler: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-ACE-Mash- ... 3f41d2db9b as it appears to be reasonably priced and gives me the ~23 litre I like to brew - although this is argubly a lot to brew to get it wrong .

I shall continue doing some research and searches through the forum and see if I can find some decent home made setups. I did find one of these what does appear to do the majority of the process: http://www.home-brew-online.com/equipme ... wery-p1781 - but could be expensive to 'start; rather than being an seasoned home brewer - but could simplify things.

As far as brews I have found some black sheep bitter clones (as this is my favourite beer at the moment), but from what I can gather is difficult to reproduce.

Again, a massive thank you for your response, and i shall continue researching and start building up my equipment

Thanks,

Andy

[Pinto]

If this is local to you, theres literally everything you need here :

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=71465

at an excellent price

[Andy_Mills]

thank you

[joeskidmore]

although this is argubly a lot to brew to get it wrong .

Or it could turn out to be not enough when you get it right!

[Horden Hillbilly]

Hi Guys,

I have now been kit brewing for quite a while and keep getting the urge to start all grain brewing, however, as the process is different wondered if I could ask for some advice.

Click on the UK Homebrew link in my signature for a all grain brewing guide.

[Manngold]

I made the hump by getting into BIAB and have not looked back!

There are loads of vids on YouTube and whilst a brew course maybe helpful I don't think it is necessary. If you are in Bromley, feel frwe to pm me so we can arrange a brew day and you can see the process.

MG

[alexlark]

I can highly recommend BIAB as a cheap entry into all grain: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=67731

[Dave-Leeds]

I have some biab items for sale if ur local to leeds.

its in items for sale under biab pot

cheers

[Dave-Leeds]

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=71378

try this

[BenB]

I went on a brewing course. I didn't learn that much other than to relax and just get brewing. Most of the stuff I was worrying about was stuff I should have just chilled about.
It was definitely worth it (otherwise I probably wouldn't be brewing even now). But if you've read up you're going to know most of it. Best option is to find a brewer near you and offer to help out on a brew-day.

[MarkA]

Jump straight in, you won't regret it!

I went straight from kits to AG but read loads about it on the internet first (youtube videos are handy too). On my first brew day, I wrote out step by step instructions so I didn't forget anything. Once AG#1 is out of the way, you'll pretty much know the process for future brews, and can rectify any mistakes and make the process more efficient. Don't confuse yourself too much with targets etc, just brew some beer. You can worry about that in the future, when the learning really begins

[alexlark]

^^ What Mark says.

Also, once you have the wort cooled your kit knowledge comes into play then. You'd have to seriously mess something up not to make beer at the end

[DerbyshireNick]

IF in DOUBT - Keep It Simple.

Technique, understanding and knowledge make good beer, not kit. Get yourself a cheap pot from Amazon 20L or so and do a few 20 pint BIABs to get your eye in. You can always add a second pot and a tun if you want to up your scale later.