The 30 would seem to small IMO, though I have never used a basket. I am curious why you feel you need the basket?
Hey guys, the 44 qt stainless perforated basket seems to be really pricey, anyone use the 30 qt one? Would it be big enough for a decent grain bill?
The 30 would seem to small IMO, though I have never used a basket. I am curious why you feel you need the basket?
I did an IPA batch today with BIAB equipment identical to Seven's at the start of this thread. The grain bill was 14 lbs. Per the recipe I mashed at 152* for 75 minutes. Raised the tempature to 168* for 10 minutes stirring most of that time. I ended up with 67% efficency into the fermenter according to BeerSmith. Now I certainly don't have a problem with that but what kind of things could I do differently to up it a some?
Mysticmead said:yeah... I never planned on going bigger than 5 gallon batches.. trouble is I have family and friends that LOVE my beer since going to BIAB.. 10 gallons is where I'm heading now. Look at it this way.. if you get a 15 gallon pot now, you can make 5 gallon batches and if needed (like for a party) you can make 10 gallons with ease. oh yeah, while a strainer basket is a nice thing to have it's not a must have item.
How is it easy to do 10 gallon batches with the 15 gallon kettle? I had planned to go with a 3 keggle system and do 10 gallon batches, but the cheapest I can find sanke kegs are $100 each, plus at least $100 to ship them to me. This price alone has me considering staying with 5 gallon batches and doing BIAB with a blichmann 10 gallon kettle. If I can do 10 gallons once in a while I'd spring for the 15 gallon...
How is it easy to do 10 gallon batches with the 15 gallon kettle? I had planned to go with a 3 keggle system and do 10 gallon batches, but the cheapest I can find sanke kegs are $100 each, plus at least $100 to ship them to me. This price alone has me considering staying with 5 gallon batches and doing BIAB with a blichmann 10 gallon kettle. If I can do 10 gallons once in a while I'd spring for the 15 gallon...
taintedplay said:what is the largest batch size that can be done with this method?
Antler said:All you guys out there doing 5 gallon batches, are you happy with that? I'm usually the only one drinking my brew, so I'm starting to think 5 gallon batches will be enough for my needs. How many 5 gallon guys wish they had the equipment for bigger batches?
Thanks for the input guys. I'm still doing starter kits, and start with 23 liters/6 gallons, though i always say 5 gallon batches. This usually leaves me with right at, or damn near 5 gallons to bottle. No matter which batch size I decide to use I'll be shooting a little higher to end up with 5/10 gallons into the kegs.
Thats a good point, the smaller batches allowing for more variety in brewing. Great input guys keep it coming!
2brew1cup said:A 5 gal batch is 2 cases of beer. And unless you are into light beers i think 2 cases a month is enough. Though i wish i had case of Saison everyday..
I saw some discussion on the earlier pages of this thread but it didn't seem to go into detail of where people were getting their voile bags from. I just got a 15 gal keggle and would like to move from extract to BIAB method. Is there someplace that creates these voile bags? I don't even want to attempt sewing one myself, that would turn out very poorly. Thanks for any help!
Brew in a Bag - Brew In a Bag - Home
These are excellent bags. He makes them to perfectly fit keggles.
Tyring to get the equipment together to get started on BIAB and save a few bones at the same time.....Has anyone purchased one of the cheaper stainless steel 15g pots (or other size) on amazon (or elsewhere) and added the no weld ball valve themselves? Any issues with this?
Is a regular turkey fryer burner okay to use? I know they are not the sturdiest structures in the world, but I already own one...thanks
Brew in a Bag - Brew In a Bag - Home
These are excellent bags. He makes them to perfectly fit keggles.
Thanks cowgo, that is exactly what I was looking for. As soon as I get my keggle and new burner I'll be placing an order for one of these. I don't know how I am going to rig up a pulley system in my backyard, I may just be holding up the bag with grains by hand for as long as possible before passing out from exhaustion! :cross:
Tyring to get the equipment together to get started on BIAB and save a few bones at the same time.....Has anyone purchased one of the cheaper stainless steel 15g pots (or other size) on amazon (or elsewhere) and added the no weld ball valve themselves? Any issues with this?
Is a regular turkey fryer burner okay to use? I know they are not the sturdiest structures in the world, but I already own one...thanks
Tall ladder straddling the pot. Google Alton brown good eats turkey fryer episode.
I also do "5" gallon batches for variety reasons and since it is plenty for my own consumption (wife won't drink beer, but now she has me doing hard cider since I've got all the gear). It does make it a bit more tricky for the times that you are needing to brew for occasions where you are entertaining others. My particular challenge is our annual 4th of July get together where last year I had to time things out so I had about a barrel kegged and ready to go for 2 days of fun- while still having brew to consume durring and in between all that brewing (helps that I have 8 - 5gal corny kegs, and a 3 gal in my inventory so I can celler things and stock up).
Hind sight being 20/20 and needing a reason to upgrade the brewery is all fine and dandy, but if your just starting off from BIAB scratch, I would suggest springing for a brew kettle that will allow for 10 gal batches (so you need at least a 15 gal). You can easily do 5 gal batches in that for when it's just you, but you can also do a double batch when you have to keep the friends and family happy. That said, you will need to consider how to approach your fermenting set up (do you go with a big vessel for the big batches, or do you split it into two smaller ones).
When I got back into brewing I swore off pails and carboys and went stainless conical, and considered getting a large enough conical to do 10 or 15 gal batches, but it was pointed out by the equipment pros that once you go to the bigger vessels (this includes kettles), there's no moving them once they are filled (at least not by yourself) so you either need a crew to help, or you will need to spring for pumps etc.
I would say ideally (and what I'm working towards as upgrades) would be a "10" gal batch kettle with 2 "5" gal batch conicals (have one, so I "need" a second conny) so you can do a big batch when you need to and split it into the two fermenters, and all the other time you can have two different brews alternating between the two fermentors in which you can do big beers that need more time to finish for yourself, while pumping thru session brews in the other fermenter for all your "home brew groupies"
best of both worlds.
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