First brew - all grain or kit?

[Megaross]

Hey, first off, great forum, I've been here mere days and I feel like I know more about improving my brews.
I've been making wine for a while now and churned out some pretty good stuff I think but now I think it's time to move on to bigger and better things.

Anyway, I'm looking to get into real ale brewing, I'm wondering if it's worth taking the back pocket hit and going straight into all grain brewing or starting off with a few kits first to get "the lay of the land" as it were?
Is all grain brewing as technical as some of the guides make it seem? Or is it one of those things, once you've done it a handful of times it becomes second nature?

Also I have a question regarding kegging, I see these king kegs and corny kegs and all this stuff. Would I be right in thinking corny kegs are for force carbonation and king kegs are for priming for natural carbonation with just the added co2 as a protective blanket on top of the beer?

Cheers in advance guys :

 

[PD]

your last question first...you are correct

Nothing hard about beer makng whichever way you go kit extract BIAB or 3 vessel. Just extra processes to do.
However if you havent made beer before I would suggest you do a couple of kets and get the fermentation proces cracked and understood, thats common to all types of brewing.
Have a read of the How to's on the forum.

Short term kits are cheapest...long term All grain is cheapest, however start up costs can be reduced in several ways by building your own equipment.

 

[Jeltz]

PD is right that kits provide a sound grounding and a useful comparison of how much better AG is however most of what you learn you should have already learned with wines so you could probably dive straight in to all grain.

Its not hard, I recommend BIAB as an easy start.

Good luck

Nic

 

[Equinox101]

I went through the same thought process when I was looking to start brewing, I thought I'd go all in and jump in at the deep end into all grain, as I got closer to it and read more about it I though kits were the way to start to understand the simplicity of making your first brew, time taking, yeast, sanitising everything, a couple of kits later I went onto extract, all the while buying a couple more bits of kit for the next level till I got to all grain and using corny kegs etc. for me starting from the very bottom was the best way to go, but there's so much help on here if you did want to go straight to all grain it's possible to do.

 

[BreadMurderer]

My experience (as small as that may be)?

I did one extract brew, noted it as a test (grasping the basics), and jumped straight in AG.

I found I wouldn't get the control I wanted from extract brewing and was more than willing to put in the time and effort into AG. I noted EVERYTHING down on the extract brew, I had already devised a battle plan from information on here and the t'internets. Now with each brew I'm refining my process ('Beer Brewing Battle Plan' I call it...) and I'm all ready quite confident 3 brews in. :thumb:

 

[Megaross]

Thanks guys, massively helpful, to the brew shop for an extract kit then I reckon! :thumb:

 

[danb]

i did 2 kits whilst getting the bits together to go ag. theres that much good info on here to help out it shouldn't be a problem going straight to ag with knowing already about sanitising and fermenting from the wine making. the first brew is a bit hectic but with everything wrote down to follow makes it a lot easier than trying to remember then after the first it gets a lot better and more relaxing.

 

[JKaranka]

It's quite easy to move into partial mash before going all grain. It's flexible and fast too.

 

[captain wassname]

Never did anything other than AG
Its not at all as complicated as some would have you believe and if you give some notice of your first brew help will be at hand on the forum
That said a brew day means exactly that,about 7 hours at first, and you will need space.
I didnt get into brewing until I was retired so no bothers about time and I brew in my garage.
Space can be a big problem as partners are not always keen about giving up the kitchen,or wherever, for a day.
I wish you well with your future brewing

Jim

 

[dennisking]

Where do you live? you may find someone on here who is local to you that will let you join them to see a brew day first hand. I never started with a kit, they were **** in the 70s, so I started with extract then AG soon after.

 

[Duxuk]

Extract is not much different to kits, except in the quality of the finished brew. Boiling hops in a big pan or boiler and steeping some crushed crystal is not hard, but you can make some great beer. I've spent a long time learning about hop useage through extract brewing. I can do an extract in less than 2 hours. Read up on the forum and jump in! :

 

[Wezzel]

Before I found this forum I happened upon the following web site. Having done a couple of extract brews back in the 1980's I already had a plastic boiler converted from a fermentation bucket so thought i would give it a go.

I followed Johns method & recipe and made really good beer. It was a perfect way to get into AG brewing and since then I have bought a new boiler and mash tun. All you need is a fermenter, a makeshift boiler (lots of info here on that) and a bag and you are well on your way!

http://www.genre.fsnet.co.uk/brewery/bitter/

 

[rpt]

I did 3 kits and an extract kit before doing my first AG. The kits allow you to concentrate on getting sanitation and fermentation right, but as you are already doing wine then you should have those right. I recommend BIAB as you need less kit and it is quicker (no need to do any separate sparging). For my next brew I am planning an overnight mash and so should have the beer finished by lunchtime. I also save time (and water) by using a no-chill cube.

 

[Swift Pint]

I'd be tempted to start off with few extract brews, with steeping grains and hops, before moving up to allgrain.
I think this will probably be more rewarding than doing a Kit, and is a great place to start. It will allow you to have control over your recipes, without being to tricky or confusing.

All grain doesn't have to be a complex as some of the guides make out. Its the sort of thing that makes more sense and is easier to understand by doing and going through the motions than reading in a book.


Welcome to the forum
:thumb:

 

[Newtons Shed]

I guess it is more down to what equipment you have (compared to what you would need for AG) how much time you have and whether you think you will stick at it or go back to more wine making than beer.

Pros for kits;
Easy, quick and simple to make
Little equipment needed Fermenting bin - already have them from wine making? Pressure barrel or bottles to serve again you may already have these.
Cons for kits
Can lack quality esp the cheaper <3kg kits with well over 10% cane sugar in quick fermantables
Cost of kits
expensive £18+ (wilko wheery) compared to AG
Little control over flavour/receipe

Pros for BIAB/extract
Simalar to AG less kit - mash tun needed, still need boiler or simalar to boil wort
Bit more control over recipe than kit
Cheaper than kits once intial outlay made for equiptment
Cos of BIAB/extract
Simalar to AG see AG cons

Pros for AG
Full control over recipe and ingredients compared to kits and to some extent extract.
Can be better quality than cheaper kits and to some extent extract though not much in it.
Cheaper compared to kits/extract once intial equipment purchased (boiler + MT =£150 ish new? or cost of 8 kits at £20 each.
Cons of AG
Time
Space (to some extent)
Cost of intial set up

Any option you choose will turn out good drinkable beer like anything just depends how much tinkering you want to do and how much you want to spend on inital set up. If don't want spend too much to start with do jits go from there.

Thanks
Andy
Nerwton Shed Brewery

 

[rpt]

Not sure why you list Extract and BIAB together. BIAB=AG

 

[Jeltz]

Indeed BIAB is a method of AG, done right it gives great efficiency and great beer. While shiny looks tempting I see no advantage in changing over to a 3 vessel system.

As it stands the only disadvantage I see is if you are trying to do a decoction mash, step mashes and infusions are fine. I use a Maxi method so do use a 2nd vessel to sparge, but that's all.

 

[Wezzel]

I tried BIAB a couple of times but hated cleaning the bag and got fed up having to I pinch the duvet off the spare bed for insulation.

An insulated mash tun is much easier.

 

[rpt]

I tried BIAB a couple of times but hated cleaning the bag and got fed up having to I pinch the duvet off the spare bed for insulation.

An insulated mash tun is much easier.

I use a piece of voile rather than a bag, but after the mash I just rinsed it under the tap and stuck it in the washing machine. Using a mash tun sounds much harder to me - one extra bit of kit to clean (and buy) plus ages sparging.