All Grain Mashing

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rickyboyg

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Hi,

I'm going to start brewing pretty soon, i'm just at the reading and researching and building up equipment stage right now. I am reading a book called 'Brewing Made Easy' by Fisher & Fisher. It is a really good helpful book and they advise to start with Malt Extract brewing first because less can go wrong.

Having read up and watched numerous youtube chancers on how to mash the grain with temperature controlled water to get the sweet wort for boiling, it looks simple enough, just like making hot porridge. I think I will also have more control over the flavours, etc.

So what do you guys recommend? Thanks in advance!
 
It comes down to a couple of things:-
Cost & Control

AG is more expensive to start - more equipment required, and always more wanted :lol: , but extract is cheaper to start but more expensive to buy the bits
AG gives you complete control over the flavour profile - mixing malt types/amounts etc vs Light or Dark extract.
You can partial mash using the top of stove type, where you use the speciality grain in a small amount of wort and add the extract to it after the "mash" is finished.

Also doing an AG brew will take most of a day (Mine take about 6-7 hours) vs <1hr on extract.
 
I've you've got the confidence, time and equipment go for it.

Maybe a couple of kits first just so can appreciate the difference when you do an ag brew?
 
If you're keen and confident about AG, but can't get all of the equipment check out the Brew in a bag method. It's a really great stepping stone into AG as you don't need all of the equipment (just a boiler and a bag).

Once you've mastered that you can build up your mash tun and a hot liquor tank if you wish to move toward a more traditional system :)
 
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