What is All-Grain Brewing?
All-grain brewing means making beer entirely from malted grains rather than using pre-made malt extract. You’ll mash crushed grains in hot water to convert starches to fermentable sugars, then lauter (rinse) to collect sweet wort. It’s more complex than extract brewing but offers complete control over your beer’s flavor, body, and character.
Why Go All-Grain?
- Cost savings – Grain costs 50% less than extract per batch
- Unlimited recipes – Access to thousands of grain combinations
- Fresher ingredients – Grain stays fresh longer than extract
- Better beer – More control means better consistency and flavor
- Creative freedom – Design your own recipes from scratch
Additional Equipment Needed
Beyond basic homebrew equipment, you’ll need:
- Mash Tun – Insulated cooler with false bottom or bag ($40-100)
- Hot Liquor Tank – Second pot for heating sparge water ($30-60)
- Larger Brew Kettle – Minimum 8 gallons for 5-gallon batches ($80-150)
- Wort Chiller – Immersion or plate chiller speeds cooling ($50-100)
- pH Meter or Strips – For monitoring mash pH ($15-100)
- Grain Mill – Or buy pre-crushed ($40-120)
The All-Grain Process
Step 1: Crush Your Grains
Crush 10-12 lbs grain depending on recipe. Grain should be cracked, not pulverized. Pre-crushed works fine for beginners.
Step 2: Heat Strike Water
Heat 4-5 gallons water to strike temperature (usually 165-170°F). This will drop to mash temp (148-158°F) when you add grain.
Step 3: Mash (60-90 minutes)
Add grain to heated water in mash tun. Stir well, check temperature (target 150-154°F). Maintain temperature for 60 minutes. This converts starches to sugars.
Step 4: Mash Out
Raise temperature to 168°F for 10 minutes. This stops enzyme activity and makes wort flow easier.
Step 5: Sparge
Slowly rinse grains with 170°F water while draining wort into brew kettle. Collect 6-6.5 gallons total wort. This takes 45-60 minutes.
Step 6: Boil, Cool, Ferment
From here, process is same as extract brewing: 60-minute boil with hops, cool to 70°F, pitch yeast, ferment for 1-2 weeks.
Mash Temperature Guide
- 148-150°F – Highly fermentable, dry, crisp (IPAs, Saisons)
- 152-154°F – Balanced (most ales)
- 156-158°F – Fuller body, sweeter (Stouts, Scottish ales)
Common All-Grain Issues
- Stuck sparge – Grain bed too compacted, flow stops
- Low efficiency – Not extracting enough sugar from grain
- pH too high – Affects flavor and extraction
- Inconsistent temperatures – Affects final gravity