Kits to all grain soon

[ibrew4me&u]

Hi All, I have been brewing kits for a couple of years now and am looking take the jump into all grain. Any recommendations on all grain setup? Maybe BIAB next step? I have a whole room in my house ready to go

 

[sp0rk]

Give BIAB a go first and see if it's for you, imho
The brew shop in Lismore has grain, but if you're happy to make a longer drive, iBrew at Goldy has a pretty big range

 

[Coodgee]

Depends how much you want to spend. Biab is cheap and highly effective. A grainfather will make life very easy for you and make it easier to brew consistently good beer.

 

[ibrew4me&u]

I have been looking at the Grainfather but it might be a bit expensive for me atm

 

[tugger]

The robo brew could be a cheaper option.

 

[ibrew4me&u]

Yeah they are about half the cost

 

[Benn]

Until I get the chance to put my 3v together (never ending house move) I'm BIABing with a 2nd hand 40L Birko urn, a hand full of clothes pegs and a doona. Its not what I'd call my "dream rig" but I'm making decent beer, hitting my numbers and having fun learning with different grain & hop additions. (Easy clean up too)
There's oodles of All Grain brewing methods, the above is just one povvo <$200 way of doing it.
Jump into All Grain however you can, you won't regret it.

 

[stewy]

Crown urn for BIAB is a great way to go... Less than $300 from memory

 

[Bribie G]

I've been BIABing in urn since 2009 and produce some often award winning beers. I personally wouldn't bother with any other system. I had been tempted to get a Grainfather but simply to produce clearer wort. However with a few tweaks I can now get this just as well using my trusty Crown urns and bags. I have a 40L and a recently acquired 20L that's a little terrier for competition and experimental brews.

Remember that BIAB or Grainfather or 3V mashing isn't brewing.
It's just wort production.

So you already have the processes nailed, it's just that you are replacing your wort stream with your own, not out of a tin

Lismore shop behind Aldi is ok for bits and bobs. They were doing sacks but ran into courier problems getting it in, not sure what the current situation is.
Gold Coast would be an excellent run to pick up your initial grain.

You'll need a mill, it will pay for itself fairly quickly if buying sacks.

I get my other stock such as yeasts, hops, spec grains, chemicals etc from Brewman or Craftbrewer and both deliver overnight Fastway.

If you are ever going into Brisbane, Craftbrewer is one of the main Australian suppliers and just 15 mins off the Gateway South and I grab a sack or two.
If going south, Country Brewer at Toormina or Brewman at Raymond Terrace are also just a loop off the M1. Brewman has a pick up cabinet so you can't go wrong, got my last two sacks from there on my Sydney trip last month.

edit: Guide to All Grain Brewing using an urn,

 

[technobabble66]

+1000 for going all grain. Def the best way to go.

Many different ways to do it, and your choice depends entirely on your budget, and size of batches you want to do.
Also, are you inside or outside?
Would you prefer gas or electricity?
Lastly, do you enjoying building/growing your system, or do you just want a turn-key startup?

If you're likely to want <30L batches, you have virtually any option open. If you're likely to want >30L, you're looking more at the 1-3V-with-mashtun type systems.

I'm assuming you're <30L for the foreseeable future. So I'd def go BIAB. An added bonus is that the stuff you get for your initial BIAB setup will most likely still integrate well into a 2-3V system if you decide to complicate things later.

If you're inside, you're pretty much limited to electricity.
Crown or Birko 40L urns are one of the best ways to go. Virtually ready to rock straight away. Obviously you need power nearby.
The pot+gas setup can also be great.
It really comes down to whether you want to deal with flames + cheap gas (that can run out at inopportune moments); or convenient but more expensive electricity.

Fwiw, I started with 1 urn I got cheap from eBay to use as a BIAB setup, and have slowly grown to 3 cheap urns that operate as a 3V system. I even still use my bag, as I can lift out all the grain in one hit during cleanup. (I do 22-27L batches, 3.5-8.5%alc).

So in short, my bias is towards Electrical BIAB - most versatile, probably easiest to use initially, and easiest to grow (namely if you target batches 20-30L and have some limit on space).

 

[Bribie G]

On the subject of gas, if you do a bit of a research it's actually way more expensive than electricity per brew.. I did a calculation the other day for that "cheap AG" thread and my costs per mash and boil are about 75c per brew based on my last power bill. Gas guys only seem to get 8 boils out of a swap n go, so I'd guess that's about $3 a pop.

As Techobabble says, if you want to extend your BIAB system then urns are the way to go - with my system I can easily whack out a half batch, a single batch or a double batch.

As you already have all the other equipment apart from a mill an urn is "turn key", don't even need a bag.. I sold my bags years ago and just went to a simple circle of voile cut out of a length from Spotlight and hang it like a swagman's bag.

 

[ibrew4me&u]

Yeah I have solar installed at home to so would be even cheaper!

 

[MastersBrewery]

The only real reason to move to gas is availability of power in your brew space. Once you start brewing 80L + your heading into dedicated power circuits; 3 phase and such. Start simple, then if you decide to upgrade down the track, take some time to look at all the options and by then you'll know what and who to ask.
I still do all my wheat beers and occasionally a single of something in my urn.

Good luck with your journey.

MB

 

[Bribie G]

Yeah I have solar installed at home to so would be even cheaper!

Way to go.
When I lived on Bribie Island at the time I started brewing, we had Solahart solar hot water (not modern panels) and the water was about mash temp anyway so worked out, at that time, about 30c a brew for power.