Anyone looking to buy a BREWHA mash colander for their medium BIAC? I've got one that I'm looking to sell.
This is now sold!
Anyone looking to buy a BREWHA mash colander for their medium BIAC? I've got one that I'm looking to sell.
Secondly. Is squeezing the grain bag a good idea???... I read that you can squeeze hop bags to get the liquid out of them, but you should NOT squeeze grain bags.[/url]
So I guess I would like some feedback as to how you all are brewing in the BIAC. For my hoppy IPA's, I usually do a 11 gallon batch with about 33 pounds of grain and 18.25 gallons of water adding 3 lbs of rice hulls (Efficiency is only about 61%).
My mash is usually 1 hour (power 27%) and I stir about 3 times (15 minute intervals), then set the temp controller to 40% and raise the temp to 170F to mash out. It takes about 12 minutes to get to 170F and I let it stay there 10 minutes. I then raise the colander to so the mash drains into the kettle, increase the flow on the pump to keep the wort a few inches above the grain bed, and sparge for 20-30 minutes.
As the kettle is draining after the sparge, I turn the pump off and raise the temp on the controller to 195F with power 100%. So now the mash tun is draining and the temp on the wort is increasing towards the boil. Once it hits 195F, I roll the BIAC out the door of my basement to boil outside.
Does this sound somewhat like what you all do when brewing with the BIAC?
Is anybody adding the crystal/dark malts at the end of the mash, during the sparge rather than including them in the full mash?
I attended the BYO brew camp this month and had a full day class with Chris White, founder of White Labs, for a yeast class. There were two big take aways for me. One...we need to use a zinc enhancer for our yeast like his Servomyces for yeast health. Yea...I know what you are thinking...he wants to sell more of this, but I also took a full day class with Aston Lewis, aka the BYO Mr. Wizard, and he said the same thing. We are not adding enough zinc to our fermentation's, even with yeast nutrient.
Secondly, Dr White said that we are way under aerating out wort before pitching our yeast (and it is very difficult to over aerate he said) and said that you should aerate for 2 minutes with 100% Oxygen for a 5 gallon batch and 4 minutes for a 10 gallon batch. I have been doing 1:30 with 100% O2 for an 11 gallon batch which is too little.
Any how, I know there is a lot of experienced BIAC brewers out there and would like to know what you think. Thanks.
I've never used rice hulls and I usually get around 75% mash efficiency.So I guess I would like some feedback as to how you all are brewing in the BIAC. For my hoppy IPA's, I usually do a 11 gallon batch with about 33 pounds of grain and 18.25 gallons of water adding 3 lbs of rice hulls (Efficiency is only about 61%).
I also mash for an hour, stirring only at the beginning of the mash. Your controller powers are comparable to mine at the given times of the mash. I let the mash rest for about 10 minutes after doughing in, then I slowly recirculate for the remainder of the mash. I typically do not sparge, and I don't recirculate any wort after lifting the mash basket.My mash is usually 1 hour (power 27%) and I stir about 3 times (15 minute intervals), then set the temp controller to 40% and raise the temp to 170F to mash out. It takes about 12 minutes to get to 170F and I let it stay there 10 minutes. I then raise the colander to so the mash drains into the kettle, increase the flow on the pump to keep the wort a few inches above the grain bed, and sparge for 20-30 minutes.
Same here, although I have a vent fan that I like to use if the weather is nasty out.As the kettle is draining after the sparge, I turn the pump off and raise the temp on the controller to 195F with power 100%. So now the mash tun is draining and the temp on the wort is increasing towards the boil. Once it hits 195F, I roll the BIAC out the door of my basement to boil outside.
I sometimes add dark malts in the last 10 minutes of the mash, but crystal malts have always been added for the full duration.Does this sound somewhat like what you all do when brewing with the BIAC?
Is anybody adding the crystal/dark malts at the end of the mash, during the sparge rather than including them in the full mash?
I attended the BYO brew camp this month and had a full day class with Chris White, founder of White Labs, for a yeast class. There were two big take aways for me. One...we need to use a zinc enhancer for our yeast like his Servomyces for yeast health. Yea...I know what you are thinking...he wants to sell more of this, but I also took a full day class with Aston Lewis, aka the BYO Mr. Wizard, and he said the same thing. We are not adding enough zinc to our fermentation's, even with yeast nutrient.
Secondly, Dr White said that we are way under aerating out wort before pitching our yeast (and it is very difficult to over aerate he said) and said that you should aerate for 2 minutes with 100% Oxygen for a 5 gallon batch and 4 minutes for a 10 gallon batch. I have been doing 1:30 with 100% O2 for an 11 gallon batch which is too little.
Any how, I know there is a lot of experienced BIAC brewers out there and would like to know what you think. Thanks.
(Efficiency is only about 61%).
Thank you xico, JBBrewing2 and RiverCityBrewer for the detailed responses. No problems with water. I use Bru'n Water spreadsheet and generally use about 70% RO and the rest Chicago city filtered, which has been tested by Ward Labs. My low efficiency mostly has to do with doing 1.079OG batches with 18.25 gallons of water with 34 pounds of grain and 3 pounds of rice hulls (higher gravity with a very thick mash). If you subtract the 5 gallons under the mash tun, the mash is quite thick. I generally hit my pre-boil gravity pretty close.
Has anyone tried to whirlpool post boil through the bottom of the cone and through a Stout style racking arm aimed slightly up at the racking port? Not sure if it would be pulling too close to the outlet to form a good enough whirlpool. Both conicals are filled up so can't test right now.
I would be cautious with adding anything into the jacket @itivino other than non flammable and abundant water. Air is not a good way to transfer heat compared to the liquid inside which means your difference in temps would have to be very intense. Controlling oven temp heat and its needed ventilation at your conical sounds dangerous and wildly difficult to control.
Hot oil would solve the heat transfer issue but leave you with the risk of pressurizing a material that can well exceed the temperature of boiling water but also is volatile with flame or water and sticks to things. If I can say so without offending this sounds like a truly bad idea.
What would you be hoping for by replacing the near-100% efficiency of an element in your wort?
I'm planning to brew a KBS clone to put into a 15gal whiskey barrel I'm getting. My grain bill will be 50lbs+ based on my expectations for lower efficiency (target OG is 1.092)
I was wondering what is the maximum grain bill anyone has used in a Medium BIAC? BREWHA website says 35lbs, but I have gone over 30lbs for a 10gal batch and still had plenty of extra space in the colander. This is my first time going for a 15gal batch. I have an old BIAB set up that I could do a separate mash in, but would prefer not to have the extra setup/clean up.
I've done 35 pounds and it was pretty full. You could do 50 lbs + if you pull the basket up and do a sparge after.
I'm just going to point out that biab type systems may work ok for home brewing but you will find very few single vessel systems in the actual for profit situations for a reason and That because they are simply not as efficient.
Or as consistent I believe.
To that said every start up and brewery I've visited said the started too small.. for that reason alone I would not consider anything smaller than 3 Barrel any type of system for anything but a very small town or rural area.
There is also a section where you can post recipes on how to make a delicious brew in the BIAC.FYI - Nathan just put up a dedicated forum for Brewha/BIAC products on the website -
https://brewhaequipment.com/community/brewha-forum
I just looked and the medium I have is still listed. ???
View attachment 563462
The old medium was 90l/24 gallons. The new large is 90l/24 gallons.
Not sure about "old" but my medium has always been the 16 gallon just like the one advertised. Large has always been 24 gallon. What am I missing???
https://brewhaequipment.com/products/biac-all-in-one-brewing-system-package
Cut and pasted from an email I received from Nathan......
ps. about a year ago we changed the naming as we added a new 60L/16gal size and called it 'Medium', so the 24gal/90L is now the 'Large' -- a little confusing for existing customers I know, I apologize, but the nomenclature seemed simplest this way going forward.
Additionally, he said that uploading images on his site should be up and running in a week or so.
Hi JB. I have a question about your sparge. If you are sparging until clear then I guess you have very little solids after the fermentation, and so, there may be some beer that is below the racking port on your Brewha. Do you have some beer that sits below the racking port? And if so, how do you recover that?My brew day is pretty similar.
Often I have a second person helping pour the grain into the colander; one to pour, the other to stir during the pour. This method really reduces the potential for dough balls to form. Some immediate stirring occurs once the pour is done but that is the only time I stir the mash. No rice hulls used. More and more I've been brewing 15 gallon batches so my grain bill is somewhat greater than your 11 gallon recipe. Mash for an hour without disturbing it then (after raising the colander) open the bottom valve to empty sediment from the mash in order to avoid a clogged pump. Attach the pump to the bottom valve and sparge until clear. A couple gallons or so of hot water is added to completely rinse the grain bed for the 15 gallon recipes. Boil for an hour and follow hop additions schedule. Similar temps as the OP throughout.
I've read a few posts here that note an issue with the colander. I'm curious as to what the issue is. Is it the crush? Additional stirring? I've not had an issue with the ales I primarily brew and I've had great efficiency and great beer.
Hi JB. I have a question about your sparge. If you are sparging until clear then I guess you have very little solids after the fermentation, and so, there may be some beer that is below the racking port on your Brewha. Do you have some beer that sits below the racking port? And if so, how do you recover that?
My experience with clogging the pump, as you alluded to, was so bad in my first batch that it has discouraged me from using the pump to sparge again. I do a manual vorlauf of sorts by draining into a 2 liter measuring cup and pouring that into the colander, repeatedly until "clear". After fermentation I still have an amount of, let's call it slurry, that seems to always amount to a volume reaches just under the racking port.
Enter your email address to join: