BIAB wisdom help

[GuyBob]

Hey everyone,

I currently do extract beers, full boils and want to convert to BIAB. I would like to do full 5 gallon batches but be able do some big beers. I love IPAs. I have been looking at some BK but not sure what size to get and what kind. I also want to upgrade my burner and have a single stand on wheels with a pulley system and counter flow system. I have seen some folks on here use the turkey fryer basket. Does anyone have some good wisdom here? Thanks in advance


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[PackerfaninSanDiego]

I do BIAB with a 9 gallon pot and it's not big enough, as I found out last week with a 15# grain bill per this recipe. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/my-2-time-gold-winning-american-ipa-81478/

I picked up a 15.5 gallon keg, cut the top off and ordered a BIAB from member Wilserbrewer.

 

[Andrew862]

I just made this leap from extract. A 15 gallon kettle will handle full volume, big beers well. I have a 10 gallon and just did a 1.070 IPA and was pushing it in the 10 gallon. It worked but I had to hold back some water and do a "sparge" through the grain bag at the end to get the full preboil volume. I use the fryer basket but I will warn you it eats up space and if you are doing a smaller grain bill your volume of water in the 15 gallon kettle may result in very little water above the bottom of the basket which will make it hard to stir/wet the mash. I like the basket because I can easily lift the grains out and set them over the kettles on a stainless grate to let it drain.

So in short, I would recommend a 15 gal if you plan for big beers, the basket at that size may or may not be useful but it does make it way easier to lift the grains out and drain them.

My $0.02



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[Foosier]

Well, at a minimum you need a 10 gal pot. This is plenty big for most normal (up to 1.060 OG) beers. Bigger beers and you won't be able to mash with the full volume of water, but that is not that big an issue as you can top up you volume after you pull the grain out for a larger beer.

Stands are tricky. If you can do metal fabrication, there are a number of nice builds you can refer to. I'd recommend learning the basics before going full bore into a rig. This ay you can apply your experience to your build.

On burners, turkey fryer burners work great, but if you are thinking of building your own, there are burner only options like the SQ14 which can be mounted in a stand.

The reality is, there is no standard conventional wisdom with BIAB like there is with 3 vessel brewing (and even then there is a large variety of latitude between what people do.) You kind of need to figure out what is most important to you to be able to figure this out.

 

[RM-MN]

Well, at a minimum you need a 10 gal pot. This is plenty big for most normal (up to 1.060 OG) beers. Bigger beers and you won't be able to mash with the full volume of water, but that is not that big an issue as you can top up you volume after you pull the grain out for a larger beer.

Stands are tricky. If you can do metal fabrication, there are a number of nice builds you can refer to. I'd recommend learning the basics before going full bore into a rig. This ay you can apply your experience to your build.

On burners, turkey fryer burners work great, but if you are thinking of building your own, there are burner only options like the SQ14 which can be mounted in a stand.

The reality is, there is no standard conventional wisdom with BIAB like there is with 3 vessel brewing (and even then there is a large variety of latitude between what people do.) You kind of need to figure out what is most important to you to be able to figure this out.

Why weren't you around to tell me that I couldn't do that 1.072 Belgian Wit in my 7.5 gallon turkey fryer pot? Of course, that wasn't quite what I had intended, I was shooting for an OG of about 1.055 but I hadn't known what efficiency I would get yet and just followed the recipe. I did sparge a little, perhaps half a gallon to get my pre boil amount.

 

[brewfreeordie]

I built my setup with a 10 gallon pot and I regret it. It's too small for party-gyle brews, and if even though I love to brew it would be great to get ahead on some session brews with 10 gallon batches, or do splits with 5 gallons with different yeast/adjuncts.

I would recommend 15 gallons, and a tall vs wide pot which will help when brewing smaller (5gal or less) batches.

 

[thaymond]

I've had success with up to 16 lbs of grain in my 10 gallon pot. It got me an OG of 1.075. After boiling, it was at 1.085. My water was all the way up to the lip, I had to squeeze the bag relentlessly, and had to top up a half gallon, but it still made a great double ipa. I wouldn't recommend going any more than probably 14 lbs of grain with an OG of 1.065. I had worries while brewing and needed to do too much problem solving through the process, which is no fun when the typical routine is Rdwahahb during my brew day.

When I finally muster the courage and the funds to make a barleywine or a RIS, I'll probably have to either go with the cooler mash tun or a bigger pot.

For most beers I make, the 10 gallon pots works great, but I kinda wish that I would have gone with a 15 gallon pot.

 

[calvey]

If you use 15 pounds of grain in a 5.5 gallon batch, that grain + water is going to take up about 9 gallons worth of space and once all the water and grain is in your brew kettle for the mash.

 

[newnick]

I use an 11gal. Bayou Classic with a basket. The burner I use is a modified turkey fryer that is tall enough to drain the pot into the bucket without moving the pot. I've set it up to be able to recirculate while mashing with a small 12 volt pump. The last batch I did was a Belgian 1.075 after boil with alot of room to spare. There are quite a few pictures of peoples setups on here if you look around a little.

 

[FB12]

I've had success with up to 16 lbs of grain in my 10 gallon pot. It got me an OG of 1.075. After boiling, it was at 1.085. My water was all the way up to the lip, I had to squeeze the bag relentlessly, and had to top up a half gallon, but it still made a great double ipa. I wouldn't recommend going any more than probably 14 lbs of grain with an OG of 1.065. I had worries while brewing and needed to do too much problem solving through the process, which is no fun when the typical routine is Rdwahahb during my brew day.

When I finally muster the courage and the funds to make a barleywine or a RIS, I'll probably have to either go with the cooler mash tun or a bigger pot.

For most beers I make, the 10 gallon pots works great, but I kinda wish that I would have gone with a 15 gallon pot.

+100
This is the same situation i've had. 10 gal. is great for most average OG beers, but too small for big beers. Should have shelled out the cash for 15 gal. Guess i'll add one to my arsenal!! Also, i rigged up a pulley with a boat winch mounted to the wall to raise & hold my bag. Works great & gives you time to clean or prep while it drains.

 

[enkamania]

I have a 15 gallon pot with a fryer basket. When I "squeeze" the grains, I put my fryer basket on a shelf from a mini fridge and push down with a pot lid. I started with a 10 gallon pot and thought it was too tight.

 

[GuyBob]

Great feedback. It sounds like the 15 gallon BK is the way to go. I see Bayou makes some BK. Anyone have a model or type that's better than the other??? Stock pots or their homebrew kettles?? I have a 5 gallon BK and could use this as well if needed. Ive got about 15 beers under my belt since 2013 with extract and just ready for a good efficient way of doing AG. I'm ready for less work and more beer. Aren't we all though?!! My 2 improvements are BK and a better way to cool beer down. I've got the fermentation down and c02. Ready for the more casual brew days!! Here's some pics of my setup thus far. Thanks again for everyone's feedback.





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