Equipment Needed to go BIAB From Extract

Hey HBT,

Been researching making the jump to all grain via BIAB from my current extract setup. Wanted to list out the things I think I need to get and get some feedback.

I'm currently doing half volume boils for extract. I have a home made 20ft copper immersion wort chiller I use before dumping into the fermenter, adding water to full volume and fermenting.

I want to do mostly 5gal batches.

Things I think I need to upgrade:
10+ gal pot for full volume boil
BIAB bag
False bottom to stop bag from scorching
Propane heater
Something to wrap around/insulate kettle during mash
Heat resistant gloves

Nice to haves / soon after:
Fermentation chamber for when the weather gets hot
Grill/pizza tray to plop bag on top of kettle to get drippings.

Unsure:
Stand for burner - presumably I'll need the burner to be high enough up that I can easily siphon the wort into my fermenter once it's cooled. Not sure how most folks do this.


Thoughts on what I have above? Am I missing anything?

10+ gal pot for full volume boil

• Yup, 10gallon will roughly hold a 1.055 beer, 15 gallons for a 1.075. I love my 15gallon size and only brew 5 gallon batches.

BIAB bag

• Yep, bought or made will work.

False bottom to stop bag from scorching

• You only need this if you are going to heat a lot during your mash without stirring. The bag will survive better than your grain, but you really want to avoid putting heat into your mash if you can. A garage sale sleeping bag might be all you need.
• Mash out is very much optional in biab. It adds a few points in efficiency, but I regularly just toss in an extra $0.75 in grain to save myself the extra 45min on the brew day.

Propane heater

• Works great, you might even find one on Craigslist with a nice 40 quart stainless steel pot.

Something to wrap around/insulate kettle during mash

• Reflectix at the hardware store is a bit spendy, but it looks sharp.

Heat resistant gloves

• I haven't seen the need

Nice to haves / soon after:
Fermentation chamber for when the weather gets hot

• Absolutely, and as soon as possible. Not just for cooling in the summer, but also to heat and do ales all winter in the garage. One of my best $100 spent, especially with those new cheap inkbird controllers.

Grill/pizza tray to plop bag on top of kettle to get drippings.

• I dont see the need. If you have a ratchet hoist just let the bag hang and drain while you heat the boil. Or, dump it in an old 5 gallon bucket.

Unsure:
Stand for burner - presumably I'll need the burner to be high enough up that I can easily siphon the wort into my fermenter once it's cooled. Not sure how most folks do this.

• I set my burner on the porch steps to get it above the fermenter, then ultimately built a little cart for the whole thing to sit on.

Thoughts on what I have above? Am I missing anything?

• Some sort of lift for the grain bag is awesome if you can swing it.
• Buy a nice digital thermometer, I like my Lavatools one.
• A longer spoon to match the new pot.
• Extra bucket or two, going full volume means moving more liquid than before.
• Tools to check the volume in the pot and in the fermenter, as well as specific gravity if you don't have it. Going to all grain gives you new variables to tweak, but if you don't measure everything at each step, you can't tweak.

Only thing I can think of that's not already covered is a pH meter to check your mash so you can tweak chemistry.

I should have also mentioned that you can always try out an all grain biab in the gear you currently own!

Go to lowes and grab a 5-gallon paint strainer for the bag, and then just do a small batch.

If you have a 3 gallon pot already, then you can heat 2.5 gallons of water for strike and mash in 5# of grain (tight squeeze). After the mash you should have about 2 gallons left to boil. Chill and add that to your fermenter then top up with a bit of water to get to 2.5 gallons. You should be close to 1.045 starting gravity which could make a nice APA.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/314560/starter-biab

This should come out tasting a bit like Bell's 2-hearted

To clarify, a false bottom is not needed as long as the heat element is not on during the mash and you stir occasionally?

DirtDiver said:

To clarify, a false bottom is not needed as long as the heat element is not on during the mash and you stir occasionally?

Click to expand...

I can run my pid up to 10% with no issues, no false bottom, grain in bag sitting right on the element. 3-4% is all I need to hold temp at 40F ambient.

I can mash out at 30% if I stir steadily while the heat is on. 30% with only pump recirculating left me with a 1" bit of black scorched protein on the element, no bag scorching, no off flavor in the Marzen.

I use a straight fold back 5500w lwd element, not the better ulwd ripple.


Your mileage may vary. With. No heat during mash then the false bottom would do almost nothing.

All you NEED is a pot big enough for the batch size (at least a 10gal for 5gal batch) and a bag (check out @wilserbrewer he makes great bags).

There's a BIAB sub-forum under all-grain with lots of good info and helpful folks.

I started with a 10 gallon pot and went for a 15 gallon so I don't have to worry about head space for a 5 gallon batch.