3-in-1 "Boil Kettle, Jacketed Chiller, Conical Fermenter" by Brewha

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JB_Brewing2 said:
Just finished kegging my 10th batch and used the 1/2" silicone hose as cudapak suggested for kegging. Used the chugger pump with the short larger diameter hose provided and connected the sanitized silicone hose with a tri-clamp to the chugger. Free end of the sanitized silicone run to the bottom of the keg. It took me less time to fill both kegs than what it took previously to fill less than half a keg. Talk about cutting down on the time needed for kegging! :mug: I'm sure my keg racking hose will be collecting dust now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's the only way to fly. I didn't even finish my first transfer before I went to the 1/2" hose. I haven't used the racking hose since.
 
Right now just opening the garage door.

But moving in about 6 weeks and plan to install a big stainless mixing bowl upside down with a hole cutout and tubing routed to a fan to the outside.
 
I need to sit down and take time to read this whole thread, but I have to admit I am fascinated by their upcoming BIAC microbrewery systems. Seems like a fascinating way to set-up a semi-autonomous system for a nano-brewery.
 
JB_Brewing2, that is really cool what you've done with the ventilation. Our basement is all finished so I brew in the garage. I just open a door and one of the windows get nice cross-ventilation.
 
Baja_Brewer said:
I need to sit down and take time to read this whole thread, but I have to admit I am fascinated by their upcoming BIAC microbrewery systems. Seems like a fascinating way to set-up a semi-autonomous system for a nano-brewery.
Click to expand...

I agree. He has taken the nano systems up a few notches. They can be pressurized and the mash colander even has wedge wire false bottoms now. I hope he uses the Chugger MAX for these. I got pricing from him a couple of months ago and it was reasonable. But it did not include the gantry you see on his website.
 
JB that looks great, where did you get your bowl and which fan did you purchase?


limulus said:
I agree. He has taken the nano systems up a few notches. They can be pressurized and the mash colander even has wedge wire false bottoms now. I hope he uses the Chugger MAX for these. I got pricing from him a couple of months ago and it was reasonable. But it did not include the gantry you see on his website.
Click to expand...

I bought the small 4-in-1, I'm really excited to see this thing.
 
OneManBrewery said:
JB that looks great, where did you get your bowl and which fan did you purchase?




I bought the small 4-in-1, I'm really excited to see this thing.
Click to expand...

I purchased the bowl here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONCORD-Sta...p-Bowl-4-50-QT-/131202736244?var=430448091560

The fan I purchased can be found at this link (http://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Powerfans-6-In-line-Fan/dp/B000RKOOGE). I shopped around and prices varied somewhat.

You're gonna like your BIAC. Easiest most consistent brewing for me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
limulus said:
JB_Brewing2, that is really cool what you've done with the ventilation. Our basement is all finished so I brew in the garage. I just open a door and one of the windows get nice cross-ventilation.
Click to expand...

Ohhh to have your climate in January and February :) I'll be opening windows and doors a bit later in the year probably. :mug:
 
JB_Brewing2 said:
Just finished kegging my 10th batch and used the 1/2" silicone hose as cudapak suggested for kegging. Used the chugger pump with the short larger diameter hose provided and connected the sanitized silicone hose with a tri-clamp to the chugger. Free end of the sanitized silicone run to the bottom of the keg. It took me less time to fill both kegs than what it took previously to fill less than half a keg. Talk about cutting down on the time needed for kegging! :mug: I'm sure my keg racking hose will be collecting dust now.
Click to expand...

I kinda feel the opposite way. I've been using the 1/2" hose for transfers until yesterday when I finally decided to give the racking hose a shot. I think that unless I've got some reason to worry about clogging I'm going to stick with the racking hose from now on. It definitely took a little longer but it was really easy and I like being able to transfer from closed vessel to closed vessel. I just connect my CO2 tank to a top port, set the gas to 3PSI, and let it go.

As an aside, I tried my Mark's Keg washer on the BIAC for the first time and it worked pretty well. It's a little tricky getting it underneath because it's a tight fit between the wheels, and you have to drop the spray pipe down from inside the BIAC, but it did an admirable job with no modification. I'll probably end up making a little longer spray pipe and also a nozzle cap with a better spray pattern. Should make clean-up even easier.

IMG_20160306_213611252.jpg
 
Right on OneManBrewery....I am just a week behind you eagerly awaiting my Medium BIAC.

I am hoping that the experienced on this forum can answer a few basic questions I have.

1. To sparge or not to sparge....Does anybody heat water in the jacket to sparge, or is the consensus to just add more grain and let the MT drain?

2. Does anybody use the chiller to cold crash to 40F ( the coldest setting) before transferring to the keg? And if you use glycol in the jacket do you use PBW to clean if using the jacket for sparge water on the next brew?

3. Are the settings in Beersmith for the BIAC good, or are there tweaks that need to be made? Suggestions appreciated.

4. I've been doing 5 gallon batches with my gravity system. Is the Beersmith program accurate when scaling to a 10 gallon batch?

5. Any advice for the initial setup besides what is on the Brewha website?

Thanks....Cheers
 
Congrats OneManBrewery. My medium biac was supposed to be delivered today but the trucking company had problems so now I have to wait until next week [emoji35]
 
See below.

hgearle said:
Right on OneManBrewery....I am just a week behind you eagerly awaiting my Medium BIAC.

I am hoping that the experienced on this forum can answer a few basic questions I have.

1. To sparge or not to sparge....Does anybody heat water in the jacket to sparge, or is the consensus to just add more grain and let the MT drain? I don't normally sparge with this system. But when I do, I use an upright 10-gal beverage cooler that used to be a mash tun. I heat it with an electric element and a 110v controller. I then pump in the sparge water. I never even considered using the jacket to heat sparge water. The jacket only holds 2-gal of water.

2. Does anybody use the chiller to cold crash to 40F ( the coldest setting) before transferring to the keg? And if you use glycol in the jacket do you use PBW to clean if using the jacket for sparge water on the next brew? I bought my glycol system from Rapids Wholesale before Nathan offered a glycol chiller. So mine is different. I always crash cool for a 3-5 days in the BIAC to clear the beer as much as possible. Then I rack into a keg and cool more. I brew in my garage and in summer, I don't know if I could crash mine to 40 and I have a 1/3 HP unit with an 8-gal reservoir + 2 gal in the jacket.

3. Are the settings in Beersmith for the BIAC good, or are there tweaks that need to be made? Suggestions appreciated. You'll need to tweak it from my experience.

4. I've been doing 5 gallon batches with my gravity system. Is the Beersmith program accurate when scaling to a 10 gallon batch? IDK

5. Any advice for the initial setup besides what is on the Brewha website? I would buy two butterfly valves for the bottom and the racking port. Trub gets really thick. Always dump the sediment from the bottom valve before you connect your hoses and your pump. If you don't you'll wind up with a BIG clog. Also, if you brew 5-gal batches, keep your recirculation rate very low or you'll run the element dry and kill it. Ask me how I know.

Thanks....Cheers
Click to expand...
 
Limulus has offered a nice perspective and I'll throw my two cents in from another area of the country with a variation on set-up.

hgearle said:
Right on OneManBrewery....I am just a week behind you eagerly awaiting my Medium BIAC.

I am hoping that the experienced on this forum can answer a few basic questions I have.

1. To sparge or not to sparge....Does anybody heat water in the jacket to sparge, or is the consensus to just add more grain and let the MT drain? I raise the colander and fly sparge for a short time until the wort is clear. My jacket is only used for efficiently cooling with the 53 degree municipal water.

2. Does anybody use the chiller to cold crash to 40F ( the coldest setting) before transferring to the keg? And if you use glycol in the jacket do you use PBW to clean if using the jacket for sparge water on the next brew? The jacket is my chiller and I crash in the keg after fermentation is complete.

3. Are the settings in Beersmith for the BIAC good, or are there tweaks that need to be made? Suggestions appreciated. Tweak it definitely; not for grain, hops, or yeast quantities, but certainly for boil size.

4. I've been doing 5 gallon batches with my gravity system. Is the Beersmith program accurate when scaling to a 10 gallon batch? I have several recipes from my five gallon gravity days and have had no issues converting ingredients from 5 to 10 gallons.

5. Any advice for the initial setup besides what is on the Brewha website? I have the original valves and have had no issues with blockage. This may be a result of my use of whole leaf hops secured in the Brewha hop containers rather than pellets although I don't know for sure.

Thanks....Cheers
Click to expand...
 
Well I finally ordered the medium BIAC.

The garage is set up with hoist, 24 inch SS commercial sink, ventilation system, and a GFI spa disconnect.

I also have installed a cold water manifold that supplies my sink, a sediment to carbon block filter group, and a reverse osmosis deionized filter system from Buckeye Hydo.

I have the 7.1 cuft freezer set up with a brewpi controller for long term conditioning and wine fermentation.

An 8.8 cuft freezer that will be set up as a kezzer.

I hope to pick up the system from the freight dock next weekend if all goes well. The system is at the shipper in Vancouver right now.

I am printing off this entire thread as there is some great info here. I used built the ventilation system and gfi based on thread info.

This will be my first brew ever, I decided to jump in with both feet, but it has taken a year to get the garage set and save the money for the system.

I will post pics of everything once I get the BIAC set up.
 
Wow, first brew ever!? I did not see a grain mill listed in your equipment. You can buy grain pre-crushed, so that is not a big deal. I would recommend you at least do a partial mash batch or two before jumping in to all grain. The main thing on my want/envy list is a big sink in my brewing area.

Since this is new to you, keep this in mind so you don't become frustrated: you will have spills and make messes and you will forget steps during your process. It happens to everyone. Good luck with the first brew.

QUOTE=Cmason;7466598]Well I finally ordered the medium BIAC.

The garage is set up with hoist, 24 inch SS commercial sink, ventilation system, and a GFI spa disconnect.

I also have installed a cold water manifold that supplies my sink, a sediment to carbon block filter group, and a reverse osmosis deionized filter system from Buckeye Hydo.

I have the 7.1 cuft freezer set up with a brewpi controller for long term conditioning and wine fermentation.

An 8.8 cuft freezer that will be set up as a kezzer.

I hope to pick up the system from the freight dock next weekend if all goes well. The system is at the shipper in Vancouver right now.

I am printing off this entire thread as there is some great info here. I used built the ventilation system and gfi based on thread info.

This will be my first brew ever, I decided to jump in with both feet, but it has taken a year to get the garage set and save the money for the system.

I will post pics of everything once I get the BIAC set up.[/QUOTE]
 
I forgot the grain mill,
A monster mill MM3 with a direct drive motor installed a a cabinet on wheels.
Left the gap to factory setting, which based on info from this thread should work fine.

I am working on deciding what the first brew should be.
Looking for a straight forward recipie.

Any suggestions?

I also have a couple of questions - 5 gal batches seem to run the risk of dry fireing the element, any input as to the smallest safe batch size?

Any tip or tricks if I want to run an extract batch? I do not want to burn extract on the element, so I would need to work out a sequence/process to pre heat or thin the extract I think.
 
I used the motor offered by All American Ale Works. I like the direct coupling for safety. In test grinds I did have to start the motor before the grain going in the hopper. But it powered through everything that went in.
 
Based on the comments to my previous questions, I think I will use the no sparge method for my first brews. My thought was to use the 2 gallons in the jacket that was already heated to wort temperature to rinse the grain. It seems that if you are recirculating the wort during the mash, that sparging isn’t needed.

In the Beersmith program, the equipment profile for the Brewha BIAC say:
Notes: Boil off calculated based on 60 minute boil. Brewer may need to adjust based on boil period and amount of power to element (affecting evaporation rate). Fermenter loss is due to ~1.8L in the cone below the racking port. The 'Loss to Trub' is the removal of hot break that has settled to the bottom of the cone at the end of the chilling after boil, removed before pitching yeast.
Beersmith does not account for the BIAC system where 'dead space' (area below Mash Colander) is not lost for boil volume calculations. We spoke with Brad about making a change to accommodate and he said he would for future versions. In the meantime, he said for now "the easiest way to handle it is to up your water/grain ratio for the mash in step which will add a little more water to your mash to compensate."

After spending so much money on this system, I want my first batch to taste great and not be disappointed because I didn’t use the right amount of grain or water.

Question: Can you tell me what the actual changes you made to the equipment profile to make a 5 (I’m actually going to do 6 gallon batches to prevent exposing the heating element) and 10 gallon batch? What corrections for boil off (or other changes) do you make for a 90 minute boil?

Question: Is the grain bill the same when using the no sparge method, or do you have to increase the amount of grain? The water/grain ratio is greater but we are recirculating the wort???

Most of my brews are IPAs. Any help you can give for me to make my first brews a success would be greatly appreciated.
 
Cuda6pak, what is the absolute coldest you can get with your aquarium chiller? I'm considering a similar setup.
 
hgearle said:
Based on the comments to my previous questions, I think I will use the no sparge method for my first brews. My thought was to use the 2 gallons in the jacket that was already heated to wort temperature to rinse the grain. It seems that if you are recirculating the wort during the mash, that sparging isn’t needed.

In the Beersmith program, the equipment profile for the Brewha BIAC say:
Notes: Boil off calculated based on 60 minute boil. Brewer may need to adjust based on boil period and amount of power to element (affecting evaporation rate). Fermenter loss is due to ~1.8L in the cone below the racking port. The 'Loss to Trub' is the removal of hot break that has settled to the bottom of the cone at the end of the chilling after boil, removed before pitching yeast.
Beersmith does not account for the BIAC system where 'dead space' (area below Mash Colander) is not lost for boil volume calculations. We spoke with Brad about making a change to accommodate and he said he would for future versions. In the meantime, he said for now "the easiest way to handle it is to up your water/grain ratio for the mash in step which will add a little more water to your mash to compensate."

After spending so much money on this system, I want my first batch to taste great and not be disappointed because I didn’t use the right amount of grain or water.

Question: Can you tell me what the actual changes you made to the equipment profile to make a 5 (I’m actually going to do 6 gallon batches to prevent exposing the heating element) and 10 gallon batch? What corrections for boil off (or other changes) do you make for a 90 minute boil?

Question: Is the grain bill the same when using the no sparge method, or do you have to increase the amount of grain? The water/grain ratio is greater but we are recirculating the wort???

Most of my brews are IPAs. Any help you can give for me to make my first brews a success would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

You want to be very careful when doing the smaller batches. My fear is in lifting the colander and exposing the element as it takes a while to drain. For that reason I only do 10 gallon batches. The 10 gallon IPA just brewed started with 14.5 gallons of water with 27 lbs. of grain and a 60 minute boil. When fermentation was finished it filled two 5 gallon cornies perfectly. Sorry I can't be more specific to your questions. Maybe somebody else can help with the Beersmith mods.
 
Cmason said:
I used the motor offered by All American Ale Works. I like the direct coupling for safety. In test grinds I did have to start the motor before the grain going in the hopper. But it powered through everything that went in.
Click to expand...

I have that same motor coupled to an MM2-Pro and it starts right up with a full hopper. Little surprised that the third roller would impede the torque on that motor. ???
 
JB_Brewing2 said:
You want to be very careful when doing the smaller batches. My fear is in lifting the colander and exposing the element as it takes a while to drain. For that reason I only do 10 gallon batches. The 10 gallon IPA just brewed started with 14.5 gallons of water with 27 lbs. of grain and a 60 minute boil. When fermentation was finished it filled two 5 gallon cornies perfectly. Sorry I can't be more specific to your questions. Maybe somebody else can help with the Beersmith mods.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input JB. The figures that you mentioned will be helpful to make sure I will be in the ballpark when doing 10 gallon batches.

When I ordered my BIAC, I voiced my concern about doing smaller 5 gallon batches to Nathan and he assured my that it can be done if careful. I wanted to purchase a shorter heating element from him, but he recommended that I bend down the one that comes with the BIAC and see how it goes. He said to leave the heating element installed and reach down into the kettle and push it down. I think that by bending the heating element, keeping the re-circulation rate low, and doing 6 gallon batches should keep me safe. When I raise the colander up, I will leave the heating element off until I'm sure the element is covered. I will monitor the first several batches carefully to make sure I don't ruin the element.

As an aside....my BIAC has been in a warehouse in Vancouver for 8 day now. Hey CMason, is your BIAC sitting next to mine or has yours shipped from Vancouver?
 
Yep mine has been in Vancover since the 10th.

Have you asked Nathan what is up? I suspect they are assembling a full truck of misc freight to cross the boarder with.
 
Cmason said:
Yep mine has been in Vancover since the 10th.

Have you asked Nathan what is up? I suspect they are assembling a full truck of misc freight to cross the boarder with.
Click to expand...

Probably so...Should have contracted an LTL(Less Then truckLoad) carrier..
 
hgearle said:
Thanks for the input JB. The figures that you mentioned will be helpful to make sure I will be in the ballpark when doing 10 gallon batches.

When I ordered my BIAC, I voiced my concern about doing smaller 5 gallon batches to Nathan and he assured my that it can be done if careful. I wanted to purchase a shorter heating element from him, but he recommended that I bend down the one that comes with the BIAC and see how it goes. He said to leave the heating element installed and reach down into the kettle and push it down. I think that by bending the heating element, keeping the re-circulation rate low, and doing 6 gallon batches should keep me safe. When I raise the colander up, I will leave the heating element off until I'm sure the element is covered. I will monitor the first several batches carefully to make sure I don't ruin the element.

As an aside....my BIAC has been in a warehouse in Vancouver for 8 day now. Hey CMason, is your BIAC sitting next to mine or has yours shipped from Vancouver?
Click to expand...

Glad to be of some help. I'm going to practice turning off the element when raising the colander until I can visually see that the element is submerged as you mentioned. That's something I haven't been doing although all my brews have all been 10 gallons. Good idea!
 
Nathan's advice about bending the element does work. I found that out the hard way after I recirculated a little too aggressively and ran mine dry. I bought a replacement element from Bobby M at brewhardware.com. It is all stainless and a little shorter. It comes from NJ and does not have to go through all the Canadian customs. I also bent it down and I can brew a 5-gal batch with no fear.

hgearle said:
Thanks for the input JB. The figures that you mentioned will be helpful to make sure I will be in the ballpark when doing 10 gallon batches.

When I ordered my BIAC, I voiced my concern about doing smaller 5 gallon batches to Nathan and he assured my that it can be done if careful. I wanted to purchase a shorter heating element from him, but he recommended that I bend down the one that comes with the BIAC and see how it goes. He said to leave the heating element installed and reach down into the kettle and push it down. I think that by bending the heating element, keeping the re-circulation rate low, and doing 6 gallon batches should keep me safe. When I raise the colander up, I will leave the heating element off until I'm sure the element is covered. I will monitor the first several batches carefully to make sure I don't ruin the element.

As an aside....my BIAC has been in a warehouse in Vancouver for 8 day now. Hey CMason, is your BIAC sitting next to mine or has yours shipped from Vancouver?
Click to expand...
 
Cmason said:
Yep mine has been in Vancover since the 10th.

Have you asked Nathan what is up? I suspect they are assembling a full truck of misc freight to cross the boarder with.
Click to expand...

I called the CSA Transportation company last night and they said my package was going to leave Vancouver today, go to Dallas, then eventually make its way up to Chicago. It will be at least another week before it gets to my house.:(
 
chrisjpryor said:
Cuda6pak, what is the absolute coldest you can get with your aquarium chiller? I'm considering a similar setup.
Click to expand...

It largely depends on ambient temperature. Right now my BIAC is in my garage so it swings from high 40's to high 80's throughout the year. I think I posted earlier in the thread that the coldest I could get the TK-2000 water temp was 39* in the garage which was right around 90*. Keep in mind the beer was 3-4 degrees higher than that. So I say worst case scenario with some insulated lines you could cold crash the beer at 44* in a 90* garage. Of course as temp goes down it becomes very easy to hold just about any temp you want above 35* beer temp. Still love the setup for the compact heating/cooling all-in-one and would not change it at all.
 

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