Single vessel brewing. Anything I'm missing?

I'm fabricating a 36 gallon pot to do BIAB in. I will be using a 60,000 btu burner and insulating/cladding the sides of the pot. I will also fabricate my own immersion chiller and my own loose fitting lid for fermenting in the same pot. Is there anything I'm missing or should know about before I get in too deep? Thanks

hugenjapan said:

I'm fabricating a 36 gallon pot to do BIAB in. I will be using a 60,000 btu burner and insulating/cladding the sides of the pot. I will also fabricate my own immersion chiller and my own loose fitting lid for fermenting in the same pot. Is there anything I'm missing or should know about before I get in too deep? Thanks

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36 gallons? Are you using a bed sheet as the bag? Get yourself a winch to hold it up for draining.... In all seriousness though, you should give us a list of what you have in order for us to give you input on whether or not you are missing anything.

Well I'm not sure about the bag yet but if I have to ill use multiple bags. As for other parts I work at a company that makes craft brewing systems so I have all the fittings (tri-clamps, DINs etc..). So far all I have done is rolled a sheet of 12 gauge stainless (22" tall x 22" OD diameter) and cut a circular bottom. I welded them together to make a full pot and have started to roll 11 gauge x 1.5" flat bar to 22" ID to go around the top and bottom edges of the pot to have an edge away from the tank for cladding around the insulation. I will be draining from the side with a 1.5" tube and ball valve with a tri clamp on the end (mainly just for kegging or whatever I want to do after fermentation. I was told I don't need to vorlauf or sparge so I haven't thought about that. I also don't really need a pump (I think) since I'm not switching to other tanks. I could either weld a thermowell (make them all the time) or weld a thermometer directly in (not sure if this would wreck it or not). I could put a sight glass in if I want but I'm not sure if I'll need one. I could make a paddle aswell. And the immersion chiller seems pretty simple to me so I'll make that. I also have a small stainless mesh hop cylinder with two tri-clamps on either end that I'm making. And I can't think of anything else I need so if there's anything else please let me know

Sounds like you have the skills and materials to build something like this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/biab-brew-stand-hoist-pump-310459/


but sized like:

Unless you are planning on open fermentation, I would suggest something more than just a loose fitting lid. Come to think of it. I am not sure that you should ferment in the same vessel that you boiled in. Someone with a little more knowledge should confirm, but I was under the impression that you should remove the wort from the hot/cold break proteins for fermentation otherwise it could give off flavors...

What are you planning on doing for fermentation temp control and carbing?

Haha! Ya I could if I find a mesh bag big enough to justify making that.. Otherwise multiple bags will have to do.. Or a basket with holes small enough to strain.. I make the false bottoms for the 5-30 bbl craft breweries so making a basket shouldn't be too hard

If your making a 36 gal pot, why not go ahead and make a mlt! That's to big for biab! Being you have the material and tools!

hugenjapan said:

Haha! Ya I could if I find a mesh bag big enough to justify making that.. Otherwise multiple bags will have to do.. Or a basket with holes small enough to strain.. I make the false bottoms for the 5-30 bbl craft breweries so making a basket shouldn't be too hard

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Take a look at the thread for the picture above. Looks like he's using the basket from the turkey fryer and puts his bag inside. Lets him "crane" the bag up without damage.

36 gallon BIAB.... Look into hydraulics to lift the spent grain out of the pot. Maybe something like they use on those Alaskan King Crab boats to haul the crab pots.

"Deadliest Brew" coming to a channel near you!

It can't be THAT heavy. 36 gallons is the total size of the pot.. I'll probably get about 20 out of it.. I think

Oddball said:

Unless you are planning on open fermentation, I would suggest something more than just a loose fitting lid. Come to think of it. I am not sure that you should ferment in the same vessel that you boiled in. Someone with a little more knowledge should confirm, but I was under the impression that you should remove the wort from the hot break proteins for fermentation otherwise it could give off flavors... What are you planning on doing for fermentation temp control and carbing?

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I actually was planning on open fermentation or I could just just make a gasket out of the "rubber" material we have at work (actually used to make gaskets) l. Then I could make it so the lid bolts onto the top of the tank with a PRVB on top. I've never heard about not fermenting in the kettle but if that's true I may have to change my whole idea.. Thanks for the input

benco said:

If your making a 36 gal pot, why not go ahead and make a mlt! That's to big for biab! Being you have the material and tools!

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The reason I don't want to do a MLT is 1. I don't have room (basement suite), 2. Cost. 3. The possibility of making something different that I could maybe mass produce for easy home brewing (not the biggest of my priorities.. Just a thought)

hugenjapan said:

I actually was planning on open fermentation or I could just just make a gasket out of the "rubber" material we have at work (actually used to make gaskets) l. Then I could make it so the lid bolts onto the top of the tank with a PRVB on top. I've never heard about not fermenting in the kettle but if that's true I may have to change my whole idea.. Thanks for the input

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I think the major reason most of us BIAB brewers don't ferment right in the pot is that it ties up our brewing equipment until that batch is done and in the bottles/kegs. The loose fitting lid shouldn't be a problem unless you have a problem with things like fruit flies that might want to slip under the lid to get at the wort. Once fermentation starts you will have CO2 escaping while the active ferment is going on and then the CO2 blanket to protect the beer for the rest of the time.

RM-MN said:

I think the major reason most of us BIAB brewers don't ferment right in the pot is that it ties up our brewing equipment until that batch is done and in the bottles/kegs. The loose fitting lid shouldn't be a problem unless you have a problem with things like fruit flies that might want to slip under the lid to get at the wort. Once fermentation starts you will have CO2 escaping while the active ferment is going on and then the CO2 blanket to protect the beer for the rest of the time.

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Hmm I'm not too worried about tying up the kettle since 36 gallons should last me a while but it looks like I'll be making a bolt on lid with a gasket. Thanks!

While living in China, I fermented over 30 batches in my kettle. My lid nested down in the kettle bit with a lip on top. Of course I never needed an airlock. With a good pitch and healthy ferment, a CO2 bed is quickly created. I just tried to keep my nose out of it until I'd rack it. My initial dozen batches I bottled, so I'd rack to a bottling bucket as a secondary for a couple days before bottling. Later I kegged everything, and just racked straight to the kegs. I used sacks for the hops in the boil, so I could remove them before fermenting. I never bothered with the break material. It would settle out below my valve port and stay caked under the yeast when racking.

So I simply recommend a snug lid, no need for a tight seal or clamp; enough to keep fruit flies out. The CO2 will push the O2 out.

Awesome! Thanks so much for the help! If there's anything else that you can think of that I'm forgetting about please let me know. Thanks again