BIAB Brewing (with pics)

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So the it only for the homebrewers like myself. I have only read through about half of this thread and I understand any thing more then a 20 gallon (10 gallon batch size) is no really viable, possibly because of the weight of the grains. So what is the most grain that would be able to be placed in a kettle with out breaking the pulley system or having some sort of malfunction with the hardware or the wort?

I have done 15.5 gallon BIAB, about 35 lbs of grain w/ a simple inexpensive strap
http://www.harborfreight.com/set-of-2-1-inch-x-12-ft-lashing-straps-67386.html

With a little better equipment, I don't think 200 lb grain bills would be unreasonable with the right equipment, so thats a 3B batch, say 90 gallons. This cheap rope hoist is 500 lb capacity, and much bigger stronger stuff is available FWIW
http://www.harborfreight.com/general-purpose-rope-hoist-45076.html

How big are you looking to go? I think the bag could take the weight FWIW in that the bag becomes larger with all the more material to handle the additional load.
 
I have done 15.5 gallon BIAB, about 35 lbs of grain w/ a simple inexpensive strap
http://www.harborfreight.com/set-of-2-1-inch-x-12-ft-lashing-straps-67386.html

With a little better equipment, I don't think 200 lb grain bills would be unreasonable with the right equipment, so thats a 3B batch, say 90 gallons. This cheap rope hoist is 500 lb capacity, and much bigger stronger stuff is available FWIW
http://www.harborfreight.com/general-purpose-rope-hoist-45076.html

How big are you looking to go? I think the bag could take the weight FWIW in that the bag becomes larger with all the more material to handle the additional load.

well I was thinking what are the limitations for BIAB. If there are no limitations then why do the microbrews not use this form of brewing? If there are limitations what are they? I keep hearing more then 10 gallons needs to use a 3v or more brewing equipment or use DME in the brew, due to efficiency problems.

Personally I would like to try to make 10 gallon batches, but I am having a problem deciding to use a keggle or a 82 liter pot. I am leaning to the 82 liter pot at the moment, but I have not finished going through this thread. I will decide this when I finish reading this thread
 
Conceptually I don't know that there is a limit. We have 1/2 ton to 2 ton hoists all over my plant. They certainly make bigger than that. And I suppose you could make a "bag" that's more like a basket using steel mesh. Mechanically, it could be done for just about any size brew house if you really wanted to. Just as a quick calculation, a 7 BBL batch probably uses 600-700 lbs of grain. A 2 ton hoist should be more than enough to handle that plus the trapped water and the weight of the basket.
I suspect at a certain volume, the cost of getting a big hoist, having these custom baskets fabbed up, figuring out how to empty them, etc. becomes more than just having the standard 3 vessel system. Could be an interesting thought for a nano-brewery though.
 
well I was thinking what are the limitations for BIAB. If there are no limitations then why do the microbrews not use this form of brewing? If there are limitations what are they? I keep hearing more then 10 gallons needs to use a 3v or more brewing equipment or use DME in the brew, due to efficiency problems.

Personally I would like to try to make 10 gallon batches, but I am having a problem deciding to use a keggle or a 82 liter pot. I am leaning to the 82 liter pot at the moment, but I have not finished going through this thread. I will decide this when I finish reading this thread

imagine trying to hoist a bag of wet grain when making several hundred barrels at once (1 barrel = 31 US gallons). Also consider that most micro breweries are getting close to 90% efficiency (or better). A guy in our homebrew club works for one of the micro breweries in Atlanta. They use grain measured in the several hundred to thousand pounds... that's dry weight. doing BIAB on that scale would BE A huge pain in the ass
 
Why even put it in 1 bag? Wouldn't several bags work more efficiently?
Add a zipper to the bag, fill with grain, mash-in, mash out, retrieve grain bags from wort, and continue as normal.
Why have one giant tea bag when you can several smaller ones doing the same thing?
You can put one set of grains in one bag and one in another or you can make proportional grain mixes for each bag you use.
 
I will be doing an outdoor BIAB session on saturday. 25 degrees and 30% chance of snow flurries won't stop me!
 
STEP 5: Lift, Drain, Squeeze Grains

After draining, use a flat lid from a small saucepan (or something similar) to press down on the grains to squeeze as much wort as possible from them. You don't have to go crazy here, just press the grains down firmly, but carefully, with the lid.

View attachment 22045


Question :off:, why do you put what looks like a some type of metal between the kettle and the burner? Does this create an even better balanced heating surface?
 
imagine trying to hoist a bag of wet grain when making several hundred barrels at once (1 barrel = 31 US gallons). Also consider that most micro breweries are getting close to 90% efficiency (or better). A guy in our homebrew club works for one of the micro breweries in Atlanta. They use grain measured in the several hundred to thousand pounds... that's dry weight. doing BIAB on that scale would BE A huge pain in the ass

Point well taken, but how the microbreweries getting 90% efficiency then?

By the way I have finality finished reading the whole thread and I have other questions what I will post later. Lots of good information here. I like the first page and the page that refers to timed efficiencies in like 15 minute increments.
 
jmd1971 said:
Question: I have been doing BIAB for the last 6 months (10 batches or so) & now that its cold as hell outside in New England, I was wondering how to pull this off indoors. My thought was to do the mash in a 7 gallon pot I have with as much water as possible, then split the wort into 3-gal batches in two separate pots to boil on a stove top. What do I need to consider here? Would roughly splitting the hop additions work? I guess I'd need to consider the boil off from two separate vessels instead of one so may need to add water at some juncture of the process. Then just blend after the boil.

Half of me just says suck it up & brew outside to save the hassle, or just brew extract during the winter, but I'd hate to do that if there were alternatives. I don't mind the cold temps for the brewing part - its the cleaning in freezing water that's a bear!

Ideas?

I did a half dozen split batches in two 5 gallon pots on the stove without an issue before going to a 13 gallon pot outdoors (or in the garage).
 
This question has probably been asked before but I'm lazy and don't want to look. How do I know how much water I'm going to need? I'm doing a 6 gallon batch, and have about 14 pounds of grain. This is my first time doing BIAB. I'm thinking of mashing with 8 gallons of water, I typically loose about a gallon in a 60 minute boil. Will I loose a gallon to the grain absorbing it also, or will it be more? Thanks in advance,
 
Did a big IPA/IIPA today with BIAB... I think my pot was way too small. I only got a 70% efficiency instead of my normal 80-85%. Lesson learned...

Time to get a bigger pot! Woohoo!
 
TheJasonT said:
Did a big IPA/IIPA today with BIAB... I think my pot was way too small. I only got a 70% efficiency instead of my normal 80-85%. Lesson learned...

Time to get a bigger pot! Woohoo!

If your using the same pot as always then you low efficiency wouldn't be caused by the pot.
 
SiriusStarr said:
Unless he meant that he had to mash thicker than normal to get it to fit? That could cause decreased efficiency with BIAB.

True. I just assumed he'd done recipe before, I stand corrected!
 
Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I did a 4.5 gallon mash with about 20 pounds of grain... In a pot just a bit too small. Normally my batches are about 10-14 pounds. Too thick this time.
 
We got to about 2/3rds of the grain and had to add hot water just to be able to stir the mash. It was like oatmeal. Ridiculous.
 
Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I did a 4.5 gallon mash with about 20 pounds of grain... In a pot just a bit too small. Normally my batches are about 10-14 pounds. Too thick this time.

O_O. That would be seriously thick. Today I brewed with 20 pounds of grain in an 11.9 gallon mash, so I can only imagine...
 
Hah! Yeah, luckily I RDWHAHB'd and said, you know what? I'm still going to have beer! Woohoo!

image-3906097785.jpg
 
First all grain batch is a success!! Thanks for the help! I couldn't be happier. Had a bit of a time holding the mash temp but still managed to get my OG a bit higher than expected. All in all I'd say it was a success BIAB rules!! I can already taste a huge difference between this wort and an extract wort. I'll never go back

image-3879917550.jpg
 
Nice congratulations:rockin:

I am looking forward to my first BAIB sometime this year, but I also want to get everything in order. I have to order a new brew kettle. I want to brew 10 gallon batches of some heavy beers, or at least have the flexibility to do so. Therefore I am considering a 100 liter brew pot (if this does not work out then I could convert the pot to a 3v system). The reason behind this is, because an 80 litter might be enough but for the heavy stuff, there might not be enough room. A 100 litter pot would give me extra room for grain, however there is an issue with how high the wart will go. I am thinking 1.080. Am I right on this?

Next issue is with the trub. What is the best way to get rid of the trub? I have heard somewhere on this thread that whirl-pooling is a good idea, and I have also heard someone here say that by a double bag, like in a nylon paint strainer inside a voile material type bad that the trub was reduced by half? Which would be a better method and why? What if a combination of the two were to be applied? What would the final result be?
 
johns said:
Nice congratulations:rockin:

I am looking forward to my first BAIB sometime this year, but I also want to get everything in order. I have to order a new brew kettle. I want to brew 10 gallon batches of some heavy beers, or at least have the flexibility to do so. Therefore I am considering a 100 liter brew pot (if this does not work out then I could convert the pot to a 3v system). The reason behind this is, because an 80 litter might be enough but for the heavy stuff, there might not be enough room. A 100 litter pot would give me extra room for grain, however there is an issue with how high the wart will go. I am thinking 1.080. Am I right on this?

Next issue is with the trub. What is the best way to get rid of the trub? I have heard somewhere on this thread that whirl-pooling is a good idea, and I have also heard someone here say that by a double bag, like in a nylon paint strainer inside a voile material type bad that the trub was reduced by half? Which would be a better method and why? What if a combination of the two were to be applied? What would the final result be?

You don't need a 100 liter brew pot. I've done 5 gallons of 1.060 wort in a 10 gallon pot. If you don't mind topping up with water after the mash (before the boil) you'll be fine with a 20 gallon pot for beers in that range. Lots of people use 15.5 gallon keggle to do 10 gallon BIAB.

As for trub I don't usually worry about it, let it all go into the fermenter. A couple of times I cleaned my grain bag after the mash, and put it into my fermenter. Transferred the wort into the fermenter and then pulled the bag out, all the trub stayed in the bag. Works good but I didn't see any real benefits compared to leaving trub in the fermenter.
 
Excellent thread! I want to try an all grain batch and there are so many methods out there that require more equipment than I want to get right now. I have basically everything I need to do this method so I think I will give it a go! Thanks!

One question though, if you don't have the turkey frying basket what do you do? Just hang the bag by itself?
 
Excellent thread! I want to try an all grain batch and there are so many methods out there that require more equipment than I want to get right now. I have basically everything I need to do this method so I think I will give it a go! Thanks!

One question though, if you don't have the turkey frying basket what do you do? Just hang the bag by itself?

Adapt and overcome. Improvise. Endeavor to persevere.

Large colander
Pizza screen
Grill grate
3 or 4 dowels
etc....
 
One question though, if you don't have the turkey frying basket what do you do? Just hang the bag by itself?

yep, that's what I do. you can also place a replacement Weber grill cooking grate over you pot and sit the bag on it to let drain, place in a colander and let drain over the kettle or a second pot (did this before installing a rope and pulley). I have used my pulley to hang my original grain bag that my wife made (last weekend when doing 2 BIABs at once) as well as the bag I got from CustomBIAB which has built in handles for doing exactly that.
 
...As for trub I don't usually worry about it, let it all go into the fermenter. A couple of times I cleaned my grain bag after the mash, and put it into my fermenter. Transferred the wort into the fermenter and then pulled the bag out, all the trub stayed in the bag. Works good but I didn't see any real benefits compared to leaving trub in the fermenter.

I could see doing this as far as getting the hot break material out of the wort but you'd still have to deal with a majority of trub due to cold break material.
 
Sorry, I have another question. Would a 40 lb grain bill fit into a 5 gallon pot, or a 10 gallon cooler? I am thinking about high gravity beers that are over 1.090. I understand that I could take out the grain and sparge or add DME to increase the efficiency, but I like the idea of grain instead of adding extract more. I am seriously thinking about this and want to cover all the bases. thanks in advance
 
Sorry, I have another question. Would a 40 lb grain bill fit into a 5 gallon pot, or a 10 gallon cooler?

Sure! As long as you don't actually plan on adding water to mash it.

40# grain + 5.7 ounce water/pound takes up 5 gallons of volume

40# grain + 11.4 ounces water/pound takes up 10 gallons of volume

Standard liquor/grain ratios are 1-1.5 quarts (32-48 ounces)/pound of grain, BIAB full volume mash approaches 3+ quarts (96 ounces)/pound grain.

can I mash it?
 
Sure! As long as you don't actually plan on adding water to mash it.

40# grain + 5.7 ounce water/pound takes up 5 gallons of volume

40# grain + 11.4 ounces water/pound takes up 10 gallons of volume

Standard liquor/grain ratios are 1-1.5 quarts (32-48 ounces)/pound of grain, BIAB full volume mash approaches 3+ quarts (96 ounces)/pound grain.

can I mash it?

that makes me question the formula they use at can you mash it. I know when I buy a 55lb sack of grain, it takes 2 (and a partial 3rd) 5 gallon buckets to store it. even if I stuffed it all into 2 buckets, that would still be 27.5 pounds per bucket.

now to give the answer to the OP's question. no 40# wont fit in a 5 gallon bucket or a 10 gallon mash tun. you would need a MUCH bigger mash tun. 40# of grain would make a 1.090 11 gallon batch or a 1.193 5.5 gallon batch. If you plan on doing 11 gallons of a beer that big (or bigger) you need the equipment to handle it. a 20 gallon kettle for a 11 gallon big beer would still be tight and would require sparging for BIAB or a 35 gallon kettle for full volume. If making a 5.5 gallon 1.090 beer with 20# of grain you'd need a 20 gallon kettle for full volume BIAB of 15 gallon for BIAB with sparging
 
that makes me question the formula they use at can you mash it. I know when I buy a 55lb sack of grain, it takes 2 (and a partial 3rd) 5 gallon buckets to store it. even if I stuffed it all into 2 buckets, that would still be 27.5 pounds per bucket. sparging

Yeah, now that you put it that way (BTDT with storing grain in 5 gallon buckets).......thier formula must be more than a bit wrong.
 
Question. Is it ok to cook your mash in an aluminum pot? Just as long as your not fermenting in an aluminum pot right??
 

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