Why doesn't everyone just BIAB?

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How do you brew?

  • I BIAB

  • I use a 3 vessel system

  • I don't brew all-grain, I'm an extract brewer

  • What's BIAB?

  • I use a system that doesn't fit into the other categories


Results are only viewable after voting.
What kind of benefit can one expect with the no sparge approach?
For me, just simplicity and repeatability. I draw out the bag, let it drain while it comes to a boil, don't have to top off or do any kind of rinse or sparge. I'm lazy when it comes to BIAB. And I max out my 10 gallon pot at about 1.074/60min boil.
 
Yeah, I was just kidding. I considered it my self but the cost of those coolers is not low. I figured double it and have matching SS kettles. I'll admit I enjoy the aesthetic appeal of my rig... 😁

Nothing wrong with your choice. If you got the budget, and aesthetics are important to you, then it was the right decision for you. Sounds like a nice system.

Everyone has to make their own decisions on how and what they want to brew. There aren't really any right or wrong answers. It's a hobby and we are supposed to derive joy and fulfillment from it.

Brew on :mug:
 
Gotta love the convenience of BIAB combined with the precise mash temp control + consistency. Keggle, control box, pump and plate chiller all fits nicely on a re-purposed gas grill cart so that it has a fairly small footprint in my garage.



Nice setup! May I ask, do you have to craft all your recipes from scratch to compensate for the reduced efficiency of BIAB? In other words, are you able to still purchase and use AG kits from say, Northern Brewer? How does that work? Do you just end up with a slightly lower gravity or do you just throw in some extra base malt to compensate? I currently do 3-vessel AG but really want to dabble with a single vessel eBIAB like yours. I have pump, plate chiller, 240V BoilCoil, controller, and enough hoses/cam-locks. Just need a new kettle to play with.
 
Nice setup! May I ask, do you have to craft all your recipes from scratch to compensate for the reduced efficiency of BIAB? In other words, are you able to still purchase and use AG kits from say, Northern Brewer? How does that work? Do you just end up with a slightly lower gravity or do you just throw in some extra base malt to compensate? I currently do 3-vessel AG but really want to dabble with a single vessel eBIAB like yours. I have pump, plate chiller, 240V BoilCoil, controller, and enough hoses/cam-locks. Just need a new kettle to play with.

My experience with BIAB is that I usually overshoot the recipe's target OG. Low efficiency of BIAB is a myth.

Brew on :mug:
 
Nice setup! May I ask, do you have to craft all your recipes from scratch to compensate for the reduced efficiency of BIAB? In other words, are you able to still purchase and use AG kits from say, Northern Brewer? How does that work? Do you just end up with a slightly lower gravity or do you just throw in some extra base malt to compensate? I currently do 3-vessel AG but really want to dabble with a single vessel eBIAB like yours. I have pump, plate chiller, 240V BoilCoil, controller, and enough hoses/cam-locks. Just need a new kettle to play with.

No need to compensate. I get 75-76% efficiency. That's with grains milled for BIAB.
 
If I prep my grain the day before and have my water additions ready, I can come home to water already heated and mash in immediately, then go mow the lawn or play with the kids for 45 minutes, then pull the bag and get the boil started, then go off and do something else for another 30 or 40 minutes, then I need to finish up the boil chill and dump to a fermenter.
12 gallons to the fermenter, double batches.

Total time from mash in till clean up, 3 hour and 15 minutes and the grass is cut or the kids are fed, etc.

I like my setup, that is for sure !!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=448915&page=2

Kevin


Holy crap! Sounds like me. Grains crushed hops weighed night before. Pot on the fryer with water ready to go. Wake up, start the mash, workout, now the lawn, begin the boil, trim the bushes, cleanup and pitching yeast by noon! Gotta be pleased with that!
 
No need to compensate. I get 75-76% efficiency. That's with grains milled for BIAB.

Agreed. With BIAB I get 80% consistently, so most recipes require little tweaking. I grind my grist very finely. With my 3 vessel I get 90% with continuous sparge, but sometimes on big beers I have to sparge more and boil off longer. I love my BIAB batches for their simplicity.
 
Holy crap! Sounds like me. Grains crushed hops weighed night before. Pot on the fryer with water ready to go. Wake up, start the mash, workout, now the lawn, begin the boil, trim the bushes, cleanup and pitching yeast by noon! Gotta be pleased with that!
Sounds like work to me...;) Have a beer during the mash, another during the boil, & several during cleanup. Wife mows the lawn, got no bushes, gotta be pleased with that.:mug:
 
Sounds like work to me...;) Have a beer during the mash, another during the boil, & several during cleanup. Wife mows the lawn, got no bushes, gotta be pleased with that.:mug:


That's what I used to do. Lol my beers got much better when I stopped drinking during my brew sessions.
 
That's what I used to do. Lol my beers got much better when I stopped drinking during my brew sessions.

Agreed - everytime I have one, it tastes like another after that and then something always inevitably goes sideways on brewday. Hop additons, times, gravity measurements, whirlfloc, you name it. Sometimes one, sometimes all of them LOL :drunk:
 
Agreed. With BIAB I get 80% consistently, so most recipes require little tweaking. I grind my grist very finely. With my 3 vessel I get 90% with continuous sparge, but sometimes on big beers I have to sparge more and boil off longer. I love my BIAB batches for their simplicity.


Thanks for the input. I just keep getting more exciting about trying BIAB. I literally have everything except the 62Qt kettle and basket to make this system happen:

https://www.highgravitybrew.com/store/pc/BIAB-Electric-Brewing-System-240V-269p3987.htm

What do y'all think about that system? The videos, albeit corny, look pretty slick. I probably won't have a Parrot on my shoulder at any point during the brewing process, nor any other time for that matter...
 
Thanks for the input. I just keep getting more exciting about trying BIAB. I literally have everything except the 62Qt kettle and basket to make this system happen:

https://www.highgravitybrew.com/store/pc/BIAB-Electric-Brewing-System-240V-269p3987.htm

What do y'all think about that system? The videos, albeit corny, look pretty slick. I probably won't have a Parrot on my shoulder at any point during the brewing process, nor any other time for that matter...
I already had a almost everything except for the controller so I ordered the EBC-SV controller and put it all together just like the one from HGB. It is a great product. I love it so much more then using a propane burner. I now brew in my basement, and with automated control I don't have to babysit my brew.
 
I literally have everything except the 62Qt kettle and basket to make this system happen:

https://www.highgravitybrew.com/store/pc/BIAB-Electric-Brewing-System-240V-269p3987.htm

What do y'all think about that system? ..

Firstly, you don't need a basket, all you truly need are a kettle, a BIAB bag, a heat source, and a thermometer.

The high gravity system you linked I'm sure is a great piece of equipment....but not by any means what need to "make this happen".
 
Firstly, you don't need a basket, all you truly need are a kettle, a BIAB bag, a heat source, and a thermometer.



The high gravity system you linked I'm sure is a great piece of equipment....but not by any means what need to "make this happen".


He said THIS system my friend, not BIAB.
 
He said THIS system my friend, not BIAB.


Correct. I was referring to making a system just like what HGB offers "happen". I am completely aware that I could do BIAB with a mesh bag and my Grandma's old pot on the stove. Not my style.

Glad to hear others have or are planning to assemble a similar system as well. I think I will grab a new kettle and basket, throw the BoilCoil in, hook up my EBC-SV and give it a whirl. After all, I was never in this to save money ;-)
 
I started with coolers for MT and HLT. Now I BIAB. The only reason I would ever see me making the switch back to 3V is if I ever go with batche sizes that would make lifting a grain bag impractical.
 
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