What would you consider "Natural Progression" in brewing?

[car421]

OK, So I have been brewing extract kits, some with specialty grains, for about 15 months now. I just converted an old fridge to a fermentation chamber using a Johnson A419 controller. I really would like to get into kegging next and then progress my brewing from there moving away from extract kits.

What would you consider the next step I should take?

 

[freisste]

I would say anything that interests you. If you like the idea of kegging more than experimenting with new brews, buy a keg setup before going all grain. Personally, I would look into BIAB, because depending on your boil kettle it requires no investment. It allows you to do some small beers all grain or "standard" beers partial mash. It will get you into mashing which (personally) I think is way cooler than extract.

Do you do yeast starters? There is a lot of research you can do, some DIY projects to work on, and they help your beer a lot (depending on current process). That is one thing to get into.

All personal preference, of course. At the end of the day, the decision is yours.

 

[grem135]

I think the only set progression in brewing is this
Brew
Ferment
Package
Drink
Repeat

Everything else just depends on the Brewer.

 

[mysteryshrimp]

Your one of us now. Normal is relative. You've already left natural

If you haven't made a stir plate for starters or a wort chiller, that's what I'd do. If you have those, I'd go for BIAB, and maybe try a small batch.

 

[jmcquesten]

OK, So I have been brewing extract kits, some with specialty grains, for about 15 months now. I just converted an old fridge to a fermentation chamber using a Johnson A419 controller. I really would like to get into kegging next and then progress my brewing from there moving away from extract kits.

What would you consider the next step I should take?

Brew in a bad is a great way to get into all grain, which is usually the next step.

 

[ZombieBrew83]

OK, So I have been brewing extract kits, some with specialty grains, for about 15 months now. I just converted an old fridge to a fermentation chamber using a Johnson A419 controller. I really would like to get into kegging next and then progress my brewing from there moving away from extract kits.

What would you consider the next step I should take?

As others have stated BIAB is a great opportunity to play around with. I brewed extract batches for about a year before spending a whopping $7 on a nylon bag and moving to BIAB. I was able to mash up to 11lbs in my 7.5 gallon kettle from Midwest generating a wort around 1.058 gravity. If I wanted anything more than that I would throw in some DME to get into higher gravity.

For such a small investment I was blown away by the uptick in variety and nuance in my final product. I would highly recommend looking into BIAB if you are looking for a new challenge and add a little more to your brewing process.

I built a keezer and started kegging at the same time as moving into BIAB. Kegging also adds new levels of enjoyment to brewing. As long as your spouse/roommates/landlord are cool with the extra brewing equipment you'll need, this can be another amazing step forward.

 

[LaurieGator]

Which one gets you more jazzed? Trying all grains or getting away from washing bottles?

I went the strange path, first extract then to all grain (I love to cook and play with recipes). Then I worked on my ferment temps, then starter yeast and now kegging.

It all depends on what makes you more excited, then go for that. Keep having fun!

 

[DirtyOldDuck]

As others have stated BIAB is a great opportunity to play around with. I brewed extract batches for about a year before spending a whopping $7 on a nylon bag and moving to BIAB. I was able to mash up to 11lbs in my 7.5 gallon kettle from Midwest generating a wort around 1.058 gravity. If I wanted anything more than that I would throw in some DME to get into higher gravity.

For such a small investment I was blown away by the uptick in variety and nuance in my final product. I would highly recommend looking into BIAB if you are looking for a new challenge and add a little more to your brewing process.

I built a keezer and started kegging at the same time as moving into BIAB. Kegging also adds new levels of enjoyment to brewing. As long as your spouse/roommates/landlord are cool with the extra brewing equipment you'll need, this can be another amazing step forward.

BIAB is great, but if you already have a large kettle all grain does not have to be expensive. For a little more than twice the $7 you spent on the bag to do BIAB, I converted a 52 quart Coleman cooler that I have owned for years (yes, some people may not own a cooler) into a mash tun. A stick of cpvc along with some right angles and other connectors needed to make a manifold was somewhere around $10 (and I still have about half the cpvc. The ball valve and barb were another $6 or $8 together.

So for about $16 or $18 you can have a mash tun. Maybe even less if you use the stainless outer part of a water supply line instead of cpvc. The beauty of mine is that the manifold is easily removable and the cooler can still be used for its original purpose. I'm not saying you shouldn't do BIAB, just that a mash tun doesn't have to be expensive.

 

[sptaylor70]

I had to learn quickly so that I could teach this, so although this might not be "ideal" (whatever that might mean), here's how I progressed. It might possibly be instructive.

1. Munton's Export Stout kit. All LME, dry yeast.
2. Brewer's Best Witbier kit. LME, DME, steeping grains, spice/sachet, dry yeast.
3. Blonde ale extract recipe from a friend. LME, DME, steeping grains, dry yeast, but not in a kit so I had more choices over exactly how to accomplish things.
4. Oktoberfest ale partial mash. DME + BIAB, liquid yeast, more choices to make.
5. Dunkelweizen all grain. BIAB, Schmitz decoction mash, liquid yeast.

And I've done all all-grain since then, always BIAB (I only brew 3 gallons at a time). Sometimes Schmitz decoction, sometimes step-mash, sometimes simple infusion mash. Mostly I use liquid yeast, and for big beers sometimes I make a simple starter.

That being said, the owner of my LHBS started brewing all-grain when he was 14, and has since decided that all-extract all-dry-yeast is fine with him.

It's not rocket science (which is pretty easy, and brewing is even easier than that). Nobody can say that what you're doing is wrong, although many will be happy to tell you that what you're doing won't taste very good (and many of these people are frequently right), but no matter what happens, it will be beer, and it will be yours.

 

[acidrain]

Add things that make brewing easier.

 

[Pratzie]

Ive made some pretty good steps lately too as far as adding keggles, a fermentation chamber and a kegerator. My current goal is to add some corny kegs and I have the hookup there, just waiting for my LHBS to get them in.

Im going with four cuz my kegerator is a dual tap tower, but i also like the idea of being able to use the cornys as a longer term conditioning vessel for lagering in my ferment chamber (can do at least two at a time, maybe more if i get them).Lagers and stouts are my fav beers so thats why im taking that angle.

If kegging is something ur def considering, i'd look into that area for an investment now. If bottling isn't a very big pain in the ass in your opinion, maybe invest in something for all grain area. If you can do BIAB with ur set up, i'd go back to the kegging area since that will last you a long while and can be used with both extract, BIAB or AG batches.

Or you could take acidrains advice and add some things that will make ur brewing easier or more efficient. Just throwing ideas out there since i don't know what u have, maybe a new chiller, burner, refractomter, cam lock setups for your tubing, organization supplies for your ingredients/adjuncts, stir plate/yeast starter kit, CW Crates for bottles, digital thermometers, etc. These things aren't all that expensive per se, and help cut some time or improve the quality of your brews.

 

[davekippen]

I went like this:
Extract with grain kits
Starters
Starters with DIY stir plate
Brew in a bag (one brew)
Temp controller DIY
Temp controlled fermenter
All grain w/DIY mash tun
Keg with picnic tap

And I've only been brewing about 15 months!

>>>and next<<<
Keezer build
Wort chiller build
Brew stand build

 

[wyobrewer1]

I thought about progressing from extract to BIAB and then all grain. A lot of people were saying just skip BIAB and go straight to all grain. I felt like I needed the practice with BIAB first. I ended up doing 2 BIAB brews and now I'm doing all grain. Building a cooler mash tun is a piece of cake.

 

[anico4704]

Personally some great advice I got was to go for what makes the beer better first. Focus on the toys after you have the process down and are making great beers. Its tough because the stuff you have to buy to make better beer isn't as fun as say a kegerator. The better the beer comes out the more you will get into the hobby and the more excited you will be. For me i went this route.
Mr beer
Many many books
Full kit from Northern Brewer beacue Mr Beer sucked
Extract with steeping
Chest freezer with temp control <--a must before anything
Yeast starter and stir plate
More books
All grain
Oxygenation kit
bottle tree
Kegerator

You can keg a crap beer to say you did it but making amazing beer then kegging may take a bit more money and work to get there but it's well worth it.

 

[CDGoin]

Not sure this qualifies..

BUt : https://www.homebrewtalk.com/search.php?searchid=18450324

I'm a fast learner and a constant tinkerer..

 

[freisste]

It's not rocket science (which is pretty easy...).

Easy for the ex-rocket scientist to say...