Moving from extract to all-grain
How to transition from malt-extract brewing to all-grain mashing, what new equipment you need, and what changes about brew day.
Estimated time: One brew day, ~5 hours
Why move to all-grain
Two reasons:
- Cost. A 5-gallon all-grain batch costs roughly half what the same beer in extract form does, once you have the equipment.
- Control. You choose every malt, every percentage. You decide mash temperature and therefore body. Recipe variations you can’t do with extract become trivial.
Extract beers can be excellent. Don’t let perfectionism keep you from brewing. But once you’ve made a few good extract batches, the next step is real.
What you need that you don’t already have
| Item | Why | Approx. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun (cooler with false bottom, or BIAB bag) | To hold grain at temperature | £30-100 |
| Larger kettle (25 L+) | All-grain takes more wort volume | £50-150 |
| Burner or larger heat source | Boiling 25 L takes more heat | £40-150 |
| Wort chiller (immersion) | Faster cooling = better beer | £40-80 |
| Grain mill (optional) | Crush your own | £100-200 |
Most homebrew shops will crush grain for you for free, so a mill is purely optional.
What changes about brew day
| Step | Extract | All-grain |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-boil prep | Heat water, dissolve extract | Mill grain, heat strike water, do a mash and sparge |
| Boil | Same | Same — slightly larger volume |
| Cooling onward | Same | Same |
| Total time | 3-4 hours | 4-5 hours |
The mash + sparge adds 75-90 minutes. Everything else is the same.
Two approaches: traditional vs BIAB
- Traditional three-vessel — hot liquor tank, mash tun (insulated cooler), boil kettle. Highest efficiency, most equipment.
- Brew In A Bag (BIAB) — single vessel, large mesh bag holding the grain. Mash and boil in the same pot. Lower efficiency (~70-75%), much simpler.
For a first all-grain brew day, BIAB lowers the activation energy enormously. Most full-traditional brewers used to be BIAB brewers.
First-batch advice
Brew a simple recipe you’ve already made with extract — the Everyday Bitter is ideal. You’ll have a flavour reference, so you can compare extract vs all-grain side by side. Don’t try a complex grist on your first all-grain — debugging an under-converted mash is much easier with two ingredients than nine.
Suggested products
- Maris Otter Pale MaltThe classic British base malt. Rich, biscuity wort with enough enzymatic power to convert itself and an adjunct or two alongside.
- Hopwise 30 L Stainless Boil KettleA 30-litre stainless steel kettle for 5-gallon (19 L) all-grain batches with comfortable headspace. Welded ports, no exposed threads in the boil.