First BIAB

Wish me well, the flame has been lit and no turning back now!

What's your setup like? I'm curious to know... thinking about shifting to BIAB at some point.

!0 gallan pot, a ginormous grain bag and Bayou SQ14 burner.

Good luck

how'd it go?

Went pretty well, I broke the bag while draining into the kettle, but it was small and I didn't spill grains. I was able to hit and keep my mash temp which was the scariest part of this. What suprised me, was how much more gunk there is when transferring to the fermenter.

What's is a biab???

Brew-in-a-bag. . . . . I think. All ingredients in one bag. Correct me if I'm wrong.

NRS

Yep, thats correct. I've done 12 brews ever, and five have been biab. If you can steep grains, you can biab. Its that easy.

That wasnt a complete answer. Biab is a brewing process that boils (ha!) down the mashing process to as little as one step, done in the brew kettle.

I am thinking of trying the BIAB and wonder what to expect. BTW - I am not doing to good with efficency on my standard mash tun method..

I done about 15 BIAB batches so far and no looking back. Simplicity and consistency is really attractive with this method of brewing. I'm getting anywhere between 65-75% efficency and I have brewed everything including 9% ABV Maibock with 18 lbs of grain all in same 10 gal brew kettle and voile bag.

Switched to BIAB and luvin it. I crush a bit finer and mashout for 10 minutes, getting 80+% efficiency every time. Just went to NC (cube) two brews ago, luvin life even more now that my brew day is @ 3 hours total.

Can you post a link to some of the kits you have brewed? I did a couple of coopers kits and then I went to partial extract I am ready to try biab I think..

Bookem15 said:

Can you post a link to some of the kits you have brewed? I did a couple of coopers kits and then I went to partial extract I am ready to try biab I think.

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Me? No kits, I brew from recipes. EdWort's Haus Pale Ale is a simple (and very tasty) one to start with:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bee-cave-brewery-haus-pale-ale-31793/

Thanks looks tasty

I am currently moving torwards BIAB....I will be trying it soon.

Run3minman said:

What's is a biab???

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Everything you wanted to know is right here!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/biab-brewing-pics-233289/

paraordnance said:

I done about 15 BIAB batches so far and no looking back. Simplicity and consistency is really attractive with this method of brewing. I'm getting anywhere between 65-75% efficency and I have brewed everything including 9% ABV Maibock with 18 lbs of grain all in same 10 gal brew kettle and voile bag.

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CRAP!!, My brew kettle is only 32qts, anyone know off hand how big a beer I could possibly make? Just stopped by the not so LHBS and picked up a large bag today hoping to try BIAB. May have to try a 3 gallon batch first to calibrate. May be the excuse I need to buy a larger kettle (I like that better!).

BrewMedic said:

CRAP!!, My brew kettle is only 32qts, anyone know off hand how big a beer I could possibly make? Just stopped by the not so LHBS and picked up a large bag today hoping to try BIAB. May have to try a 3 gallon batch first to calibrate. May be the excuse I need to buy a larger kettle (I like that better!).

Click to expand...

I use 40 qt kettle and let me tell you its too close for comfort. If you try BIAB calculator it will tell you that you need to start with 31 qts of water for 11 lbs of grain or something like that. I cheat a little. I ALWAYS start with same amount of water regardless of grain bill, and just sparge my bag with grains with 170F water till I get pre-boil amount I'm looking for. My water to grain ratio is different all the time but who cares, BIAB is about simplicity. I make great beers and it works for me

I have a 7.5g pot and I have done a 4g batch before. It was tight, but the only part where it's close is the mashing, before you boil. Once you remove the grains, you get a ton of headspace back for the boil.

I switched to BIAB when I realized that it was just a big partial mash......

I got 68% efficiency with the brew store crush, need to get my barley crusher up and running

I have a IPA made via BIAB fermenting right now. Used a 6 gal ( 24 qt) pot and boiled 12 lbs grain in 4.5 gals water. This gave me about a 1/2 gallon of space after grain was added. It's totally do-able if you sparge with 2 gals and add that into the brewpot. Then i cool to ~110 F and add near freezing water to top up to my desired 5 gallons. Ended with 80% effiviency but scalded the crap out of my hand. Sparge water is HOT...

12 lbs grain, Mash @ 1.5q per lb = 4.5 gal, all in a 6 gal pot!

You talked me into it... Thank you...

The only thing in the bag is the yeast I'm assuming. Sorry I'm new at this.

Not in the bag I meant.