Extract brewing can be achieved in a smaller kettle, and only steeping grains for color and flavor are needed (in addition to your malt extract).
I’ve been brewing now for what I consider some time--around 2 years--but I’ve done many batches. I believe that’s where the experience comes and not from the length of time. There’s one major thing that always hits me when I question if I would’ve done things differently. That is, I wish that someone would’ve explained to me the differences between all-grain BIAB, and extract.
First off, there’s only a small time difference as far as a brew day goes. That is the number one reason I like BIAB. Second is that the beer tastes much better to my palate. Now, for someone who may be dabbling in extract or just thinking about getting into brewing: this is the article for you.
When I started, I had no clue. I ordered a 5 gallon "beer brewing kit," thinking that this is what I needed to upgrade from Mr. Beer. I didn’t even know what "all-grain brewing" meant. I had no friends or acquaintances that had brewed beer at the time. All of it just sounded overwhelming. "Everything has to be clean and sanitized or you’ll get an infection," kept ringing and ringing in my head. Not that I’m against being clean but when you hear things like this it can be overwhelming. My understanding is that yeast will pretty much take over your wort so the chance of infection is minimal.
Let’s move on to bigger and better ideas. I’m going to give a side-by-side comparison of the equipment needed for each method of brewing. These are going to be my basic recommendations. Pricing on equipment will vary some but this is a good ball park.
[tr]
[td]BIAB[/td]
[td]Extract[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]10-15 gallon stainless kettle ($75-90)[/td]
[td]5 gallon stainless kettle ($35)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]220,000 BTU propane burner ($79)[/td]
[td]60,000 btu propane burner ($49)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Wilser bag (or paint strainer bag)[/td]
[td]Muslin bag (for steeping grain) included with kits most of the time[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Hop bag[/td]
[td]Hop bag[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Pulley ($37 for kit with hop bag, brew bag, pulley, dry hop bag)[/td]
[td]x[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ruler (to measure water height)[/td]
[td]x[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ladder (you should have one!)[/td]
[td]x[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Auto Siphon, 5 feet of tubing[/td]
[td]Auto siphon, 5 feet of tubing[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]6.5 gallon bucket (or 6 gallon glass carboy)[/td]
[td]6.5 gallon bucket (or 6 gallon glass carboy)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Lid, airlock[/td]
[td]Lid, airlock[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sanitizer (no-rinse Star San is my recommendation)[/td]
[td]Sanitizer (no-rinse Star San is my recommendation)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Optional: rectangular plastic bin for 5 gallons of sanitizer. Just throw your equipment in![/td]
[td]Optional: rectangular plastic bin for 5 gallons of sanitizer. Just throw your equipment in![/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Thermometer[/td]
[td]Thermometer[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Wort chiller (50 foot copper 3/8) and hose ($75)[/td]
[td]Wort chiller (25 foot copper 3/8) and hose ($50)[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
Mashing is easy with the BIAB Method
Now if you’re thinking about brewing and have stumbled upon this article, I’ve just laid out everything that you need. You won’t be limited to kettle size or other things that come with the equipment kits that are made.
Looking at that table, you can see that there isn’t that much of a difference in equipment. I do all of my brewing outside because the smell drives my wife nuts. Also our stove doesn’t have the capacity to boil very much either. This is why I recommend the propane burners. I’m sure there are nice electric burners that you could use to do this inside but I’m trying to keep this simple. If you have a turkey fryer or fish fryer laying around those work too, but most are only around 60,000 BTUs. If you’re going to do full volume batches of all-grain tasty wort, you’re going to want to step it up. Due to the option for partial wort boils, extract brewing requires less heat to boil. Also, if you want to stay indoors, you’re better off with extract. Smaller BIAB batches are also easier to do inside. In this instance, I'm talking about doing 5 gallon (2 cases of goodness) batches.
Overall you’re looking to spend roughly $125 more for the initial all-grain set up. If this is going to put a major burden on your wallet, you may want to stick with extract (you can always upgrade later). The cost difference between extract and all-grain is such that in just a few batches you will have recouped that initial extra cost.
Alright, Let’s Get Down to Process
1. Fill 5 gallon kettle with about 3 gallons of water
2. Get water to 150-160 degrees F
3. Steep grains for 20-30 minutes
4. Remove grains
5. Stir in LME or DME, being careful to dissolve the extract fully (Turn off the heat or remove kettle from the burner to avoid scorching the extract)
6. Turn the flame on and stir in order to get to a boil
7. Once boiling, add bittering hops and boil for 60 minutes
8. Depending on the recipe, add your flavoring hops 15-1 minutes before the end of boil
9. Cool wort and place in fermenter
10. Top off water to get to 5 gallons
1. Add water to kettle using the ruler for the full volume boil. Remember to account for grain/hop absorption and boil-off
2. Heat water to mash temp (148-156F)
3. Remove heat, place bag in kettle, add grain and stir. Take temperature and keep at mash temp
4. Let it sit for 60 minutes at the mash temp (you can use an old blanket on your kettle)
5. Lift bag up and let it drain into kettle and crank the heat to start the boil
6. Once boiling, add bittering hops and boil for 60 minutes
7. Depending on the recipe, add your flavoring hops 15-1 minutes before the end of boil
8. Chill wort and place in fermenter
A simple ladder and pulley system helps suspend the bag over the wort to drain, maximizing efficiency.
In a nut shell, the difference is that we’re replacing the dry or liquid extract with all-grain. Please realize that some sugars are extracted by steeping but the intention is to provide color and flavor. By mashing we’re increasing the amount of time that the grain is in the water by 30-40 minutes to convert starches in sugars. We also want to hold a more precise temp.
Lastly, we also have to calculate how much water we need to compensate for grain and hop absorption, and boil-off. It’s so easy to figure that out by putting your kettle diameter and capacity into an online calculator, such as one from Priceless Brewing. To start, put all of your information at his defaults. His calculator tells you how much water you need and how tall that amount will be. That’s where your ruler comes into play. It will tell you water height and you measure your water with a ruler.
We’ve established that it does cost a bit more in the beginning for equipment. Your end result will most likely end up tasting much better than the canned malt extract kit you purchased that has been sitting in the LHBS for the past 2 years. Maybe you got a fresher kit…maybe you didn’t. You really don’t know and that is another problem with extract. There are all-grain kits that are available that include all the grain and hops. However, it’s extremely easy to go to the recipe database on this website, call your LHBS with the list, and then pick it up on your way home from work. You’re also going to save around 40% by doing that. Even more just by using the grain as opposed to the extract kit.
I can appreciate any comments or suggestions about this article as I’m not an expert and am going by my own experience. Currently I am in the process of making an electric BIAB system, which is essentially the same thing I’m explaining here except with a lot more equipment cost. The method described here is the KISS (keep it simple stupid) version of BIAB.
I’ve been brewing now for what I consider some time--around 2 years--but I’ve done many batches. I believe that’s where the experience comes and not from the length of time. There’s one major thing that always hits me when I question if I would’ve done things differently. That is, I wish that someone would’ve explained to me the differences between all-grain BIAB, and extract.
First off, there’s only a small time difference as far as a brew day goes. That is the number one reason I like BIAB. Second is that the beer tastes much better to my palate. Now, for someone who may be dabbling in extract or just thinking about getting into brewing: this is the article for you.
When I started, I had no clue. I ordered a 5 gallon "beer brewing kit," thinking that this is what I needed to upgrade from Mr. Beer. I didn’t even know what "all-grain brewing" meant. I had no friends or acquaintances that had brewed beer at the time. All of it just sounded overwhelming. "Everything has to be clean and sanitized or you’ll get an infection," kept ringing and ringing in my head. Not that I’m against being clean but when you hear things like this it can be overwhelming. My understanding is that yeast will pretty much take over your wort so the chance of infection is minimal.
Let’s move on to bigger and better ideas. I’m going to give a side-by-side comparison of the equipment needed for each method of brewing. These are going to be my basic recommendations. Pricing on equipment will vary some but this is a good ball park.
[tr]
[td]BIAB[/td]
[td]Extract[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]10-15 gallon stainless kettle ($75-90)[/td]
[td]5 gallon stainless kettle ($35)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]220,000 BTU propane burner ($79)[/td]
[td]60,000 btu propane burner ($49)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Wilser bag (or paint strainer bag)[/td]
[td]Muslin bag (for steeping grain) included with kits most of the time[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Hop bag[/td]
[td]Hop bag[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Pulley ($37 for kit with hop bag, brew bag, pulley, dry hop bag)[/td]
[td]x[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ruler (to measure water height)[/td]
[td]x[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Ladder (you should have one!)[/td]
[td]x[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Auto Siphon, 5 feet of tubing[/td]
[td]Auto siphon, 5 feet of tubing[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]6.5 gallon bucket (or 6 gallon glass carboy)[/td]
[td]6.5 gallon bucket (or 6 gallon glass carboy)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Lid, airlock[/td]
[td]Lid, airlock[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sanitizer (no-rinse Star San is my recommendation)[/td]
[td]Sanitizer (no-rinse Star San is my recommendation)[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Optional: rectangular plastic bin for 5 gallons of sanitizer. Just throw your equipment in![/td]
[td]Optional: rectangular plastic bin for 5 gallons of sanitizer. Just throw your equipment in![/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Thermometer[/td]
[td]Thermometer[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Wort chiller (50 foot copper 3/8) and hose ($75)[/td]
[td]Wort chiller (25 foot copper 3/8) and hose ($50)[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
Mashing is easy with the BIAB Method
Now if you’re thinking about brewing and have stumbled upon this article, I’ve just laid out everything that you need. You won’t be limited to kettle size or other things that come with the equipment kits that are made.
Looking at that table, you can see that there isn’t that much of a difference in equipment. I do all of my brewing outside because the smell drives my wife nuts. Also our stove doesn’t have the capacity to boil very much either. This is why I recommend the propane burners. I’m sure there are nice electric burners that you could use to do this inside but I’m trying to keep this simple. If you have a turkey fryer or fish fryer laying around those work too, but most are only around 60,000 BTUs. If you’re going to do full volume batches of all-grain tasty wort, you’re going to want to step it up. Due to the option for partial wort boils, extract brewing requires less heat to boil. Also, if you want to stay indoors, you’re better off with extract. Smaller BIAB batches are also easier to do inside. In this instance, I'm talking about doing 5 gallon (2 cases of goodness) batches.
Overall you’re looking to spend roughly $125 more for the initial all-grain set up. If this is going to put a major burden on your wallet, you may want to stick with extract (you can always upgrade later). The cost difference between extract and all-grain is such that in just a few batches you will have recouped that initial extra cost.
Alright, Let’s Get Down to Process
Here’s the basic extract instructions:
1. Fill 5 gallon kettle with about 3 gallons of water
2. Get water to 150-160 degrees F
3. Steep grains for 20-30 minutes
4. Remove grains
5. Stir in LME or DME, being careful to dissolve the extract fully (Turn off the heat or remove kettle from the burner to avoid scorching the extract)
6. Turn the flame on and stir in order to get to a boil
7. Once boiling, add bittering hops and boil for 60 minutes
8. Depending on the recipe, add your flavoring hops 15-1 minutes before the end of boil
9. Cool wort and place in fermenter
10. Top off water to get to 5 gallons
Here’s the basic BIAB instructions:
1. Add water to kettle using the ruler for the full volume boil. Remember to account for grain/hop absorption and boil-off
2. Heat water to mash temp (148-156F)
3. Remove heat, place bag in kettle, add grain and stir. Take temperature and keep at mash temp
4. Let it sit for 60 minutes at the mash temp (you can use an old blanket on your kettle)
5. Lift bag up and let it drain into kettle and crank the heat to start the boil
6. Once boiling, add bittering hops and boil for 60 minutes
7. Depending on the recipe, add your flavoring hops 15-1 minutes before the end of boil
8. Chill wort and place in fermenter
A simple ladder and pulley system helps suspend the bag over the wort to drain, maximizing efficiency.
In a nut shell, the difference is that we’re replacing the dry or liquid extract with all-grain. Please realize that some sugars are extracted by steeping but the intention is to provide color and flavor. By mashing we’re increasing the amount of time that the grain is in the water by 30-40 minutes to convert starches in sugars. We also want to hold a more precise temp.
Lastly, we also have to calculate how much water we need to compensate for grain and hop absorption, and boil-off. It’s so easy to figure that out by putting your kettle diameter and capacity into an online calculator, such as one from Priceless Brewing. To start, put all of your information at his defaults. His calculator tells you how much water you need and how tall that amount will be. That’s where your ruler comes into play. It will tell you water height and you measure your water with a ruler.
We’ve established that it does cost a bit more in the beginning for equipment. Your end result will most likely end up tasting much better than the canned malt extract kit you purchased that has been sitting in the LHBS for the past 2 years. Maybe you got a fresher kit…maybe you didn’t. You really don’t know and that is another problem with extract. There are all-grain kits that are available that include all the grain and hops. However, it’s extremely easy to go to the recipe database on this website, call your LHBS with the list, and then pick it up on your way home from work. You’re also going to save around 40% by doing that. Even more just by using the grain as opposed to the extract kit.
I can appreciate any comments or suggestions about this article as I’m not an expert and am going by my own experience. Currently I am in the process of making an electric BIAB system, which is essentially the same thing I’m explaining here except with a lot more equipment cost. The method described here is the KISS (keep it simple stupid) version of BIAB.