BIAB Electric Brewing System

I am planning to buy this setup, but not sure if I want the 62qt or 82qt. I only plan to do 5 gallon batches, but I want to be able to brew any 5 gallon batch. Is 82qt overkill? If I were to do a high gravity 5g batch in the 62qt, would the mash/boil be close to the top of the kettle? I will be brewing in the basement, so a boil over cannot happen.

Also, I noticed that one post mentioned efficiency. Can I get some others to post their experiences with efficiency? Based on the gravity of the brew, could Beersmith adjust the expected efficiency? Or would I have to manually adjust the efficiency when designing the recipe based on the gravity?

Thanks!

WIBrewer83 said:

I am planning to buy this setup, but not sure if I want the 62qt or 82qt. I only plan to do 5 gallon batches, but I want to be able to brew any 5 gallon batch. Is 82qt overkill? If I were to do a high gravity 5g batch in the 62qt, would the mash/boil be close to the top of the kettle? I will be brewing in the basement, so a boil over cannot happen.



Also, I noticed that one post mentioned efficiency. Can I get some others to post their experiences with efficiency? Based on the gravity of the brew, could Beersmith adjust the expected efficiency? Or would I have to manually adjust the efficiency when designing the recipe based on the gravity?



Thanks!

Click to expand...

I would do the 44qt system if you're only wanting to do 5gal batches. No need in getting too big unless you can foresee yourself doing larger batches in the future.

As a side note, I live in Tulsa, where High Gravity is based at. Dave knows me by first name whenever I go into the store. They have a really helpful staff, and always have a few beer samples on tap to try out either their kits or personal creations. The best one I've tried was a Peppercorn Saison. Would go great with a white sauce pasta.

Having said that, I've read some disappointments about their systems coming with a few kinks. I can't really speak about this subject as I'm a DIY guy. But I will say this. If there is something wrong, that was their fault, Dave will make things right. He does spend most of his days building brew kits, so I could see how he could miss torquing a bolt or two.

If anyone has any questions about them, I'd be happy to talk with you about them, but I suggest a PM as I don't always get a chance to check in daily. Busy work schedule....


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WIBrewer83 said:

I am planning to buy this setup, but not sure if I want the 62qt or 82qt. I only plan to do 5 gallon batches, but I want to be able to brew any 5 gallon batch. Is 82qt overkill? If I were to do a high gravity 5g batch in the 62qt, would the mash/boil be close to the top of the kettle? I will be brewing in the basement, so a boil over cannot happen.

Also, I noticed that one post mentioned efficiency. Can I get some others to post their experiences with efficiency? Based on the gravity of the brew, could Beersmith adjust the expected efficiency? Or would I have to manually adjust the efficiency when designing the recipe based on the gravity?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I would go with the 62qt version myself. I also do mostly 5 gallon batches. I've done beers up to a 1.090 (18lb of grain) on my system and still had room to spare. You can also do 10G batches of a lower gravity beer if needed. You would not be able to do that in the 44qt version.

I've got my system dialed in to about a 70% efficiency with about 10 or so brews behind me. I am doing a somewhat fine crush but nothing crazy. I am not double milling as some people recommend with BIAB. I just found the few extra % in efficiency wasn't worth the cloudier wort. I just set my efficiency to 70% in BeerSmith and allow it to modify the recipe as needed.

I also gently squeeze the grain bag while it is hanging over the kettle.

I used to have a Brutus 20 with the 62qts. So not quite BIAB, but still had some of the size limitations. I used to do ~8gal batches of big RIS all the time. 62 for you will be great. 44 would work as well. Screw the 82.

62qt it is!! Thanks for the feedback. I can't imagine doing a 10g batch, but good to know it would be possible for some beers.


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WIBrewer83 said:

62qt it is!! Thanks for the feedback. I can't imagine doing a 10g batch, but good to know it would be possible for some beers.


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Click to expand...

Good choice. You will be able to do 5 gal batches easily, and 10 gal batches of something not high gravity. You can even make a 6 gal batch of RIS, lol.

26 lbs of grain, 12 gal water, 15 gal kettle.

blizzard -- Sorry I took so long. The 62-qt system needs about 1.9-2 gallons to the top of the element and 2.6 gallons to the bottom of the strainer. I don't think I would want to use it for the 3-gal starters you described. Just a thought... ever consider an induction cooktop? I have a 120V burner that can easily boil 3 gallons that I got for ~$100.

shellerb said:

blizzard -- Sorry I took so long. The 62-qt system needs about 1.9-2 gallons to the top of the element and 2.6 gallons to the bottom of the strainer. I don't think I would want to use it for the 3-gal starters you described. Just a thought... ever consider an induction cooktop? I have a 120V burner that can easily boil 3 gallons that I got for ~$100.

Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for the measurements. There's no room for an extra cooktop; too many extra fridges. I'll probably go with 62 qt so I can continue making big beers and then just do my starter wort on my regular stovetop.

Thanks again!