BIAB 2.5 Gallon Batches - Brew Pot Size

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BlakeL

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I'm getting back into brewing and I'm switching to 2.5g BIAB batches. Previously I was doing 1g all grain or 2.5g extract batches inside on the cooktop. Before I start buying any of the equipment I just want to make sure I'm getting the best stuff. I'm planning on getting a Bayou SQ14 propane burner, wilserbrewer BIAB Bag w/ Pulley and if I can't find a decent price on an immersion chiller I'll build one myself. My main question is what size brew pot should I get? I'm leaning towards the Winware pots on Amazon but I'm not sure if I should get the 24 Quart or 32 Quart. I obviously want to save money by going with the smaller pot but I'm not sure what the gravity limit would be for the 24 qt. I'm not ever planning on doing 5 gallon batches so please take that into consideration. I plan on adding a valve and thermometer in the future as well.
 
Just getting into brewing, 4th batch brewed a week ago. I've been doing a ton of reading on here though. I had 6.5 lbs of grain and 3.5 gal water in my 5 gal pot with just a little head room. OG was 1.069. Kept the temp OK for an hour mash, had to heat a bit near the end. I used about 2qts to bring it back up to 3.5 gal (pre-boil volume) due to grain absorbtion. If you were going really big, I think you could reduce your strike water volume and do more for a rinse/sparge to bring you up to pre-boil volume.
 
A 5-6 gallon stock pot should suit your needs fine. Keep in mind that minimal empty space in the pot means better temperature retention during the mash.

Also, in my extremely humble opinion, buying a burner and setting up a pulley system seems a massive waste when talking about 2.5 gallon batches. You're already boiling that much water doing extract, so your stove can handle it, and your soaked grains aren't going to weigh all that much for that batch size.

Grab a nylon paint strainer bag from the hardware store, stay stovetop, and use the savings on ingredients.
 
MarathonMurse said:
A 5-6 gallon stock pot should suit your needs fine. Keep in mind that minimal empty space in the pot means better temperature retention during the mash.

Also, in my extremely humble opinion, buying a burner and setting up a pulley system seems a massive waste when talking about 2.5 gallon batches. You're already boiling that much water doing extract, so your stove can handle it, and your soaked grains aren't going to weigh all that much for that batch size.

Grab a nylon paint strainer bag from the hardware store, stay stovetop, and use the savings on ingredients.
Click to expand...

Your comment about the bag and pulley makes sense, I'll try the paint strainers and see how it goes. I would love to brew inside but I don't really have very good ventilation in the kitchen and my wife hates the smell so I'm going to start brewing outside with the propane burner.
 
Just used my propane burner for the first time on the last brew. Wow did it get that 3.5 gallons boiling fast. My glass top stove couldn't get it beyond a solid simmer. My wife hates the smell too. Outside it is.
 
BlakeL said:
Wow, for $25 that is a really good deal. Even at $45 it's cheaper than the Winware with a lid. It's hard to tell in the picture, does it include a lid? I heard that tall, slim pots retained heat better than wide ones so it might be better.
Click to expand...

Yes, comes with a lid, thermometer, and the attachement thing you would use to pull the turkey out, but you won't need that... lol
 
dstranger99 said:
Yes, comes with a lid, thermometer, and the attachement thing you would use to pull the turkey out, but you won't need that... lol
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I think this is the pot I'll go with. Does it seem too thin or is it decent quality? I wish it was still $25.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Home Brew mobile app
 
BlakeL said:
Thanks for the info, I think this is the pot I'll go with. Does it seem too thin or is it decent quality? I wish it was still $25.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Home Brew mobile app
Click to expand...


It's heavy duty stuff ! I've done about a dozen BIAB's in it ! The handles do get a little hot, so I wear oven mittens to move it after the boil........
 
I've got an 8gal kettle and I do 3gal BIAB. My starting volume is around 5.5 gallons and my pot is plenty big. I haven't had any boil over issues.

But I'll be moving outdoors as well since my electric glass cooktop can't bring that much liquid to a good boil.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Ok, regarding pot size, at a minimum I would go double batch size...perhaps even plus a gallon or two.

Regarding purchasing a burner and moving outside, I would suggest a simple 120v electric element kettle for small batch brewing, or even a 2000w heatstick for small 2.5 gallon batches. E-brewing can be very simple and inexpensive!

My next suggestion, if at all possible, and if you have a basement, is to set up a small e-brewery in your basement. A simple window fan in an open window behind the kettle works wonders, when I brew in the basement, you can't really even smell it upstairs in the main living space.

Oh, and obviously, I don't care for paint strainers...and a ratchet pulley can be very handy to let the grain bag hang above the kettle and drain, letting the bag hang and drain eliminates the squeezing of the bag chore...cheers!

edit....oops just noticed the OP is in Florida, so likely no basement, and no freezing winter outdoor brewing, but running a burner in the hot florida sun could suck compared to indoor e-brewing in the AC....cheers!
 
wilserbrewer said:
Ok, regarding pot size, at a minimum I would go double batch size...perhaps even plus a gallon or two.

Regarding purchasing a burner and moving outside, I would suggest a simple 120v electric element kettle for small batch brewing, or even a 2000w heatstick for small 2.5 gallon batches. E-brewing can be very simple and inexpensive!

My next suggestion, if at all possible, and if you have a basement, is to set up a small e-brewery in your basement. A simple window fan in an open window behind the kettle works wonders, when I brew in the basement, you can't really even smell it upstairs in the main living space.

Oh, and obviously, I don't care for paint strainers...and a ratchet pulley can be very handy to let the grain bag hang above the kettle and drain, letting the bag hang and drain eliminates the squeezing of the bag chore...cheers!

edit....oops just noticed the OP is in Florida, so likely no basement, and no freezing winter outdoor brewing, but running a burner in the hot florida sun could suck compared to indoor e-brewing in the AC....cheers!
Click to expand...

I was thinking of electric brewing but I only have a 15a GFCI near where I'll be brewing outside and I don't want to upgrade it. I would rather spend a little extra money on propane to reduce boil times. As for your bags, how much finer is the mesh compared to a strainer bag? I've read people having to use two strainer bags because of cloudy beer.
 
I do almost exclusively 2-2.5 gal batches and my 20qt pot works great for me never worry about boil overs and always end up with the right amount of wort at the end. Got it on amazon for 28$ shipped to my door


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
BlakeL said:
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1395757987.064997.jpgAs for your bags, how much finer is the mesh compared to a strainer bag? .
Click to expand...

The attached photo better depicts how fine the poly voile is to the naked eye, the photo above is about 200% actual size.
View attachment 185612

Polyester voile is a very fine weave material, yet still very durable, not a mesh at all. The photo might help, but the holes are so fine they are not really visible to the naked eye.
 
crash568 said:
I do almost exclusively 2-2.5 gal batches and my 20qt pot works great for me never worry about boil overs and always end up with the right amount of wort at the end. Got it on amazon for 28$ shipped to my door
Click to expand...

Which pot did you buy?

wilserbrewer said:
Polyester voile is a very fine weave material, yet still very durable, not a mesh at all. The photo might help, but the holes are so fine they are not really visible to the naked eye.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the image. Seems like a much better option than paint strainers.
 
I routinely do 2.5-3.5 gallon BIAB in a 5 gallon stainless steel pot I got at a local department store for $20. I do use paint strainer bags.

I have to do a bit of a sparge to get to 4.25 preboil/3.5 gallons post boil, and it sometime gets on the hairy edge of boiling over. Also, if you go this route don't expect to be brewing really big beers. A bigger kettle would be better, but I am waiting until I'm good and ready to go there.

One question you should ask yourself- Is there any chance you will be doing bigger batches some day? In that case, you may want to go bigger. As mentioned previously, batch size x 2 + a gallon or two would be a good way to calculate kettle size.
 
CUrchin said:
I routinely do 2.5-3.5 gallon BIAB in a 5 gallon stainless steel pot I got at a local department store for $20. I do use paint strainer bags.

I have to do a bit of a sparge to get to 4.25 preboil/3.5 gallons post boil, and it sometime gets on the hairy edge of boiling over. Also, if you go this route don't expect to be brewing really big beers. A bigger kettle would be better, but I am waiting until I'm good and ready to go there.

One question you should ask yourself- Is there any chance you will be doing bigger batches some day? In that case, you may want to go bigger. As mentioned previously, batch size x 2 + a gallon or two would be a good way to calculate kettle size.
Click to expand...

I really don't see myself doing bigger batches in the next couple years, until we move to a bigger house. I don't have enough room for kegging and really only have a small space to store bottles. I store all my brewing equipment in a Rubbermaid container in my shed and once I start brewing outside it will be next to the shed so I can at least get out of the sun when brewing in the summer.
 
Wilserbrewer, do you still use the corona mill in your signature? I'm thinking of buying one if I can find a good deal. Do they work well for biab?
 
I do my 2.5g batches in a 16qt SS pot, up to 9.5lb of grain done in it so far at one time
 
BlakeL said:
Do you have to make a lot of modifications to get a fine grind for biab? From what I've heard my homebrew shop has a pretty good mill but I would rather have control of every step.
Click to expand...

Corona mills work great for those w/ the mindset and skills to use them. 1661 posts here...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/index167.html

If your homebrew shop has a good mill and reasonable grain prices, I see no advantage to getting a mill.

The advantage of owning a mill is not only control of the grist, but bulk purchasing by the sack for substantial savings.

If you will be buying grain at the LHBS anyway, and he will mill it for free properly, I'd be inclined to let him do it.
 
BlakeL said:
I'm getting back into brewing and I'm switching to 2.5g BIAB batches. Previously I was doing 1g all grain or 2.5g extract batches inside on the cooktop. Before I start buying any of the equipment I just want to make sure I'm getting the best stuff. I'm planning on getting a Bayou SQ14 propane burner, wilserbrewer BIAB Bag w/ Pulley and if I can't find a decent price on an immersion chiller I'll build one myself. My main question is what size brew pot should I get? I'm leaning towards the Winware pots on Amazon but I'm not sure if I should get the 24 Quart or 32 Quart. I obviously want to save money by going with the smaller pot but I'm not sure what the gravity limit would be for the 24 qt. I'm not ever planning on doing 5 gallon batches so please take that into consideration. I plan on adding a valve and thermometer in the future as well.
Click to expand...

You ay have already purchased a brew pot but if not see if there is a Menards (or other big box home supply type store) in your area. Our local menards is selling the 30 quart aluminum setup for $29. I started BIAB using 3 paint strainer bags but now I really prefer the voile cloth.
 
You can always do what I did....get a 5 gallon kettle, and some paint strainer bags....do 1-2 gallon batches.

Then I built a mash tun to solve the heat loss issue...figured anything I bought to insulate my kettle might as well be money towards a tun. I'm still doing small batches, and using a smaller stock pot I had around the house for a hot liquor tank.

I will at some point step it up to 5 gallon batches...at that juncture I will buy a 7.5-8 gallon kettle....my current 5 gallon kettle with then be used as a HLT.

Minimal money to get started, and no waste. No "go big or stay home" with the first boil kettle purchase (it just gets turned into a HLT!)

And then you are set up to do both BIAB or 3 vessel; and anything from 1-5 gallon batches. Best of both worlds really.

Oh, and a cookie rack works really good for draining your bag...no need for a winch in the kitchen lol.

I too said "I'll never do 5 gallon batches"...lol. It only took like 4 brews to change my mind. Small batch is pretty fun though. I have four 2 gallon fermentors going....
 
wilserbrewer said:
Corona mills work great for those w/ the mindset and skills to use them. 1661 posts here...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/index167.html

If your homebrew shop has a good mill and reasonable grain prices, I see no advantage to getting a mill.

The advantage of owning a mill is not only control of the grist, but bulk purchasing by the sack for substantial savings.

If you will be buying grain at the LHBS anyway, and he will mill it for free properly, I'd be inclined to let him do it.
Click to expand...

I'll have to see do a few batches with grain from the LHBS and see how it goes like you said. If the efficiency sucks then I can grab that cheap mill.

msa8967 said:
You ay have already purchased a brew pot but if not see if there is a Menards (or other big box home supply type store) in your area. Our local menards is selling the 30 quart aluminum setup for $29. I started BIAB using 3 paint strainer bags but now I really prefer the voile cloth.
Click to expand...

I'll check Home Depot and Lowes this weekend. I haven't bought anything yet because a coworker of mine that brews said he might have some stuff he's willing to give away so I'm waiting on him.
 
Midwest has a deal on the Dark Star burner and a 5 gallon pot for $63 shipped. That's $30 cheaper than the pot and sq14 burner I was going to get through amazon. Think its a good deal for 2.5g biab batches?
 
BlakeL said:
Midwest has a deal on the Dark Star burner and a 5 gallon pot for $63 shipped. That's $30 cheaper than the pot and sq14 burner I was going to get through amazon. Think its a good deal for 2.5g biab batches?
Click to expand...

This is a good deal but even an electric stove top burner can be used for a 2.5 gallon BIAB session. The propane burner will easily do this but is not essential for a 2.5 gallon batch. However, most electric stove tops will not go above 2.5 gallon BIAB size so if you are looking for future batches that are larger than 2.5 gallon brews then the DarkStar burner will work very well.
 
msa8967 said:
I like the DS burner for pots up to 10-11 gallons. Please let us know what you think of the 5 gallon pot comimg with your order.
Click to expand...

I got the burner and pot in the mail today. The burner seems pretty nice but the pot seems very cheap but for free I can't complain too much. I'm sure it will work fine but it's even thinner than the 2.5 gallon stock pot I got from Walmart.
 
7.5 gal SS pot (turkey fryer kit from Academy / $30) w/ lid and thermometer = perfect for my 3 gallon stove top batches.

Once mash temp is reached, I drop my pot down into a 10 gallon cooler which holds my temp within a degree or two over an hour.

I use second colander / pot combo for draining my bag, heating sparge water and "sparging" about 1/2 gal of water over the draining bag while starting the boil.

My pot fits in my sink for an initial ice bath cooling then down to the basement mop sink I go for the rest of my chilling with an immersion chiller.

BIAB (2).jpg


BIAB (3).jpg


BIAB (4).jpg


BIAB (6).jpg


BIAB (7).jpg
 
I recently bought a 22 qt heavy ss triclad pot with glass top from WalMart. Very reasonable. Handles a 4g boil very well. Quite happy with it. I think the line is called something like Tramentina or similar. Perfect for up to a 3 gallon batch as long as you keep your eye on it before the hot break settles..

The nice thing is that the diameter to height ratio is very similar to a turkey fryer or Blichmann/Bayou Classic. In other words.. perfect :)
 
I brewed my first BIAB batch today, I started with 4 gallons in my 5 gallon pot, 6lbs of grain, and I ended up with 3 gallons in the fermenter.
 

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