All Grain Vs Kit?

[randyrob]

My colleague is very proud of the fact that he can make beer for 15c a stubby with a kit and 1.5kg of sugar.
The result is :icon_vomit: but he's happy.

Can you beat 15c a stubby, $9, total?

$8.20 has been my cheapest AG for a single batch. just ingredients not including gas/electricity etc

 

[Katherine]

$8.20 has been my cheapest AG for a single batch. just ingredients not including gas/electricity etc

What was it like?

 

[randyrob]

What was it like?

Fantastic, Mashing a double batch again this weekend!

 

[pint of lager]

Once brewers have made the move to AG, they rarely do an extract or kit, unless time is against them.

If you want to do a brew cheaply, for nothing, do some dirt brewing. Grow and malt your own barley, grow your own hops and step up your yeast from a previous batch.

If you want to have a crack at malting grain, buy whole barley from the horse feed barn. Haven't bought any for ages, but it would be around a dollar a kilo.

 

[tangent]

i think i was getting 25kgs of ale malt for $30 at one stage. Since it's already malted, i reckon it's a better deal than a dollar a kilo for feed.
Coopers yeast from a few stubbies and nugget hops that a kind brewer gave me
Was a good brew too!

 

[chimera]

totally agree. i've turned out some pretty good kits over the last couple of years, but even the best, aged until perfection just isn't in the same park as AG beer.

In the process of stepping up my partial system, still don't have a tun or kettle big enough to do full sized batches. my biggest concern is what i'll do with half a hundred tallies of kit beer once the good stuff flows more freely

 

[Katherine]

totally agree. i've turned out some pretty good kits over the last couple of years, but even the best, aged until perfection just isn't in the same park as AG beer.

In the process of stepping up my partial system, still don't have a tun or kettle big enough to do full sized batches. my biggest concern is what i'll do with half a hundred tallies of kit beer once the good stuff flows more freely

Exactly how I feel... Im really just starting of on All grain this Saturday doing a single batch and Sunday doing a double. Have 2 fermenters full of All Grain and a fermenter full of extract. A shed full of kit and extract. And I need more Pet bottles to bottle! Some of the stuff in the shed is drinkable BUT! But have easily 200 or more.... to drink...

 

[wambesi]

Exactly how I feel... Im really just starting of on All grain this Saturday doing a single batch and Sunday doing a double. Have 2 fermenters full of All Grain and a fermenter full of extract. A shed full of kit and extract. And I need more Pet bottles to bottle! Some of the stuff in the shed is drinkable BUT! But have easily 200 or more.... to drink...

I know the feeling, I'm moving to AG next month and have quite a few kit & extract beers in storage to drink, also have a heap of kits bought on special which I never got around to doing and now I just don't want to!
Especially after tasting some of the brews in the case swap.

Luckily have a few mates who still love their kits so passing them on, oh and ebay too.

Bring on AG!

 

[Katherine]

If I never tasted a AG... I would happily be drinking SOME of my extracts!

Good Luck Wambesi on your All Grains!

 

[wambesi]

If I never tasted a AG... I would happily be drinking SOME of my extracts!

Good Luck Wambesi on your All Grains!

Should be good, got the BIAB guide, been talking to Pat quite alot, have some enlisted help for the day, so now just need that burner, bag n grain!

 

[crozdog]

Exactly how I feel... Im really just starting of on All grain this Saturday doing a single batch and Sunday doing a double. Have 2 fermenters full of All Grain and a fermenter full of extract. A shed full of kit and extract. And I need more Pet bottles to bottle! Some of the stuff in the shed is drinkable BUT! But have easily 200 or more.... to drink...

Katie,

have a party & supply all the beer - that'll get rid of a few bottles for you. It is xmas and new year is just around the corner, so you should be able to come up with an excuse for one.

 

[Katherine]

Katie,

have a party & supply all the beer - that'll get rid of a few bottles for you. It is xmas and new year is just around the corner, so you should be able to come up with an excuse for one.

Im sure the silly season will help us out! And 10 hours of brewing on the weekend also!

 

[braufrau]

And I need more Pet bottles to bottle! Some of the stuff in the shed is drinkable BUT! But have easily 200 or more.... to drink...

Over the past 18 months or so I've collected stubbies. Only brown ones that aren't screw tops.
By scrounging through the pub and oragnic cafe rubbish bins, friends reycling bins and grabbing
Singhas etc. at restaurants I've accumulated quite a lot. I had to tootle to the shed to get case
for the lastest brew and discovered I had 5 cases there! On top of what is already full of beer.

Perhaps I should see a therapist.

 

[Adzmax]

I just threw out over 200 bottles, I realize kegging is now the only way and I've made up a mini 10ltr rig that's totally portable in a wheelie esky for parties and people love it! I think cleaning, sterilizing, filling, priming and capping bottle was the worst part of brewing. Now it's straight into the keg and away, force carbonate and drink.

I'll get some pics up of the party rig, it was cheap to make and super effective

I'm in the same boat now, I have all this kit beer that I simply don't want to drink. I've chilled 3 of each type and have 3 not so fussy mates coming over to try them and hopefully take them off my hands

 

[enoch]

$8.20 has been my cheapest AG for a single batch. just ingredients not including gas/electricity etc

Malt $40/25kg = $1.60/kg - grain is a bit dearer by the kg from LHBS rather by the bag in a bulk buy though..

1. 7kg malt 11.20
2. Hops $5
3. Yeast (dried) $5
   

43litres = $20-25 which would be similar to K&K ignoring setup costs. Could easily save the cost of yeast by culturing from a coopers a'la tangent.