Beginner Kit (All Grain Ready, or All Grain Expandable)

I am not currently a brewer, but have decided to take the plunge. I helped my friend brew an all grain beer last week and really enjoyed the process. It seems like all the beginner kits are designed with extract brewing in mind. l forsee brewing a batch or two using extract just to get more familiar with the process, but I see myself moving to all-grain shortly, and I’d prefer not to have to buy equipment in a starter kit and have it go to waste.

Which kit (plus “extras”) is best to get if I’d like to be all grain brewing in the next few months?

The main thing you want to do if you are planning a quick upgrade to all grain is to get appropriate sized equipment. With that in mind, right off the bat I would get a big kettle (8-10 gallons), a wort chiller of some kind and a propane burner of some kind. If you have the money nice stainless steel stuff is awesome. If not, many people have gotten aluminum turkey fryers that work just fine and are significantly cheaper. You can also cut cost with buckets instead of carboys which work just as well.

There’s nothing in our host’s starter kits that you can’t use for all grain brewing. I would definitely check out Denny’s page on cheap and easy all grain before buying a mash tun.

http://www.dennybrew.com

I find it odd that they sell gravity testing equipment as an add-on. You definitely want that if you buy from NB.