6 Things to Consider Before All-Grain Brewing

If you think it’s time to make the switch from extract brewing to all-grain brewing, here are 6 things to consider and think about before making the move. Note that this article does not get into the specifics of all-grain equipment, processes, or techniques (those will be covered in other articles). These are just a few things to check-off before taking the plunge into all-grain brewing.

1. Start with Extract Brewing

It may seem obvious from the title, but extract brewing is really the way to start when it comes to homebrewing. There may be some out there that will disagree with me, but I think they may have forgotten what it is like to be a beginning brewer.

Extract brewing allows the beginning brewer to focus on the basics of boiling wort, hop additions, cooling wort, pitching yeast, controlling fermentation temperature, and bottling beer. And yes, every beginning homebrewer should go through the rite of passage by bottling before kegging their homebrew. Not to mention there is also the cleaning and sanitizing all along the way that are critically important steps to master.

The bottom line is that there are many more areas that require focus and attention when it comes to all-grain brewing that the basics need to be second-nature (or at least very familiar) before making the switch to all-grain brewing.

2. Master Fermentation

This goes along with the first tip. But if you’re going to ignore my first point, you really need to have some prior background with fermentation. This may be making wine, cider, kombucha, or some other fermented beverage. You need to understand how to keep your yeast happy and healthy to make the best quality homebrew. As the old saying goes, the homebrewer makes the wort, the yeast make the beer.

3. Read/Watch How-To’s

We live in amazing times. Take advantage of the internet and read up on how-to articles or watch how-to videos on YouTube. There are lots of them and they vary in the quality of their information. But absorb as much knowledge about all-grain brewing as you can before diving in. While this can lead to information overload, don’t get overwhelmed. This should lead to excitement about the next step in your homebrewing hobby. There is so much to learn!

4. Do Your Research on the Best All-Grain Setup for You

This one ties in with the previous tip. As you’re doing your research, you’ll come across many different methods and equipment setups for all-grain brewing. There isn’t really any right or wrong method or equipment setup. No matter how hard anyone tries to sell you on any given method or equipment setup, it simply comes down to what will work best for you.

Everyone has different factors and constraints that they need to consider. For most of us, money will be a big constraint. You can pretty much spend as little or as much as you want on all-grain brewing. Most of the time, that money spent is not going to greatly increase the quality of your beer, but it will usually improve your efficiency both in terms of ingredients and time.

Other folks will need to consider the amount of space they have to brew and also to store their brewing equipment. Again, so many different setups out there in so many different price ranges. Do your research!

5. Purchase an Ingredient Kit for Your First All-Grain Brew

Since you’re hopefully coming from the extract brewing world, you’re probably already used to purchasing ingredient kits. I highly suggest going with an all-grain ingredient kit for your first all-grain brew. You’ll be getting a tried and true recipe with the right ingredients and (usually) some good instructions, too.

If you live on Mars and absolutely can’t get an ingredient kit delivered to you, or if you’re adamant about buying the ingredients piecemeal, at least make sure you find a well-reviewed recipe with good mash instructions.

6. Keep It Simple (…At Least At First)

There are a lot of technical aspects of all-grain brewing that you should not worry about for your first couple of all-grain batches. In time, yes, you should worry about those things and you’ll see in my other articles why those things are important. However, your first couple of all-grain brews should be focused on a few critical new steps and getting those right rather than worrying about a whole bunch of things you barely understand and getting them all wrong.

Here is a brief summary of things you should focus on to keep things simple and things that can wait:

Things to Focus On

• Getting your grain to water ratio right. In addition to an efficient and effective mash, it will help to prevent the dreaded “stuck sparge” (clogging up your false-bottom or whatever filtration method you use).

• Maintaining the specified mash temperature for your recipe. This is a fairly important part of the mash process to ensure you can extract that sweet, sugary goodness from your grains. It also helps to ensure that you land in the range of your targeted final gravity.

• Sparge water temperature and volume. If you’ve decided to go with a no-sparge method, good for you. One less thing to worry about. Otherwise, follow your recipe to ensure proper volume and temperature. This will help to prevent astringent off-flavors from tannin extraction.

Things to Worry About Later

• Water chemistry. Yes, this is important. But it is also a huge can of worms. If the water you used during extract brewing made great tasting beer, then that water will work for all-grain brewing. You can dive into adjusting water chemistry later.

• Mash pH. Some people may disagree with me on this one, but I say it can wait. I’ll repeat what I said for water chemistry; if the water you used during extract brewing made great tasting beer, then that water will work for all-grain brewing. There may be some rare circumstances where you’ve got some funky city water that may cause you some problems. If you’re really that concerned, buy some gallon jugs of bottled water.

• Fancy Extras. Don’t worry about sparge arms, pumps, or any other extra gadgets or add-ons in the beginning. Sure, those things can be hugely helpful down the road. But you don’t need them to get started. Instead of a sparge arm, explore batch sparging, brew in a bag, or other no sparge methods. Pumps are a huge help to prevent any accidents from lifting and pouring hot liquid. This would probably be one of the first upgrades I would go for, but it can wait.

Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or additional tips for homebrewers looking to make the switch from extract to all-grain brewing.