Graduating from kits to extract

crank_1975

I've brewed a few kits now with much success, my Coopers Irish Stout was really excellent (if I do say so myself) however I want to take my home brewing to the next level and start to experiment with different ingredients (hops, malts etc).

I got a few spondulicks for xmas and would like to invest in some more equipment however I'm not sure what I would need.

I currently have all the equipment necessary to brew from a kit so what else would I need?

BeerNut

This is the guide I used when I started extract.

You can go the stove-top route, using a stockpot, but really a boiler and chiller are worth getting if the brewing bug has definitely bitten you.

Shiny

When I migrated from kits to extract I just got a large stockpot (4Gal) and cooled it with an ice bath. I found it to be extremely slow to get boiling and I quickly outgrew it as I wanted to start mashing grain which normally needs a full boil (6Gal).

I currently use one of these which you can either buy or make yourself. It gives a great rolling boil but I'm going to add a second element to increase the speed of getting to a boil.

I got a wort chiller as a Christmas present and while I hate the fact that you are essentially dumping loads of water down the drain, it is a quick and easy method of cooling the wort.

Everything beyond this is merely sundry parts which are covered in the guide from BeerNut.

scrapsmac

Hi crank!

I started a thread here a while back about the step up from kit to extract. It should be near the top. Its full of useful info. As I'm typing this I'm watching the wort cool (next purchase wort chiller haha).

Anyway hope it goes well and keep us updated

oblivious

Shiny wrote: »

I got a wort chiller as a Christmas present and while I hate the fact that you are essentially dumping loads of water down the drain, it is a quick and easy method of cooling the wort.

I use the hot waters coming from the immersion chiller to wash out my mash tun and other non sterile equipment