Extract brewing - a logical next step from kits?

[Stonch]

I'm going to mix up two more kits before July, then have a break for the summer and have a minimash in the Autumn. If I'm still enthusiastic at Christmas I'll reward myself with a three-tier setup of some sort and it's AG all the way in the new year!

I think I'm going to go down the same route. Finish off the two kits I'm brewing now, then take a summer break, before starting afresh with mini mash in Autumn.

[subsub]

I did 10 extract brews before going AG and can say that extract brewing stands you in good stead for all grain. I only needed to muller a cool box to get an AG brew going

[J_P]

Pretty soon im going to order up all the stuff i need and get straight into it.

The boiler and chiller are the main things I reckon, I made the leap with a coolbox as a mash tun and 2 10 gallon buckets and a tap as a lauter tun.

The rest as they say, is history.

[Chiltern Brewer]

It doesn't have to be expensive... You can make your own boiler out of a polypropylene (recycle code 5 PP) container and kettle element. A mash tun can be made out of two HDPE buckets, the inner one drilled with loads of 2-3mm holes, the outer fitted with a tap. Insulate it with an old blanket or duvet. Probably won't cost you more than £50 if that, if you can pick up the containers cheaply. Just make sure they are food grade and aren't contaminated. I saw somebody here make a boiler out of an old dog food container!

[jaytee1]

Im def going down the route of all grain but must say im not keen on cobbling togther a brewery out of old dog food containers!!

However im going to try some extracts first for a number of reasons.
1. Just to get the hang of adding another stage into the brewing process.
2. As I dont know how to do things by halves im keen to get some shiny equipment, but it costs a bit of cash. If I buy a 100l stainless boiler and make a counterflow wort chiller ill be half the way there to a decent setup. This then can be used also for all grain.
3. I'll then need to save some cash away from the eyes of her indoors for the mash tun, the HLT and other bits & bobs and while doing that I can try the extract method a few times to get a handle of the new equpiment and how it works before going all grain.

Hopefully within 6 months ill have all the equipment, will be knocking out stonking brews and happy as a pig in s*@t!