kgb_operative
Member
Ok, so if I bottle condition instead of force carbing should I be cold-crashing to keep the cloud settled out better as I move to the mixing tank?
Why BIAB?
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even cold crashing doesn't drop all the yeast out.
starrfish
Well-Known Member
I suggested cold crashing with gel to a buddy in NJ who has an extra fridge, he said it worked well, but I didn't see the beer or taste it. I don't have the fridge space to try it.
jmhart
Well-Known Member
You can cold crash to drop out most of the yeast, but it won't get rid of all of it...just put bottles in the fridge for a day or two before cracking them open. They'll be clear of yeast then.
kgb_operative
Member
Sounds awesome, I've got a RyePA on deck that I am dying to get to. I'll try this procedure when I've got the space to ferment it!
kable
Well-Known Member
I was concerned with the cloudy wort and all the trub but it compacted down and cleared up nicely. I just threw my bottles into the fridge a couple of days before serving.
Sounds like this will for me on most of my brews, and if I want to build something heavier I can just sparge in my secondary 24 qt kettle. Has anyone had a problem with excessively cloudy beers tho? It seems that my first running from the sparge are always really cloudy and I've been thinking that might be a problem since you're not using the grain bed to clarify the wort.
Thanks for the info!
i'm a total n0ob and my very first BIAB was crystal clear.
McTarnamins
Well-Known Member
Wrong, I'm bringing Huge-Automated-Bling to BIAB.
I'm building an automated BIAB rig that will do huge batches, will have automation, and gives me my BLING. This 2 vessel system can either do 2 seperate 5 gallon batches or a Huge 10 gallon batch. Concepts and pics attached. Should be done soon.
Google Sketchup of the rig
Almost there!!!
very nice... but when people say big batches aren't suited for BIAB generally I take that to mean 20 gallons or larger..now take your design and use a couple keggles and pump out 20 gallons..Hmmmm
starrfish
Well-Known Member
with a 5 gallon bucket set up I did up to 12 lbs of grain with a false bottom and a paint strainer bag. I've upped my game to a 10 gallon cooler and a cpvc manifold. In the smaller system IF I got a stuck sparge I just lifted the bag. I have some bigger bags now which I'm trying the one pot method (with very good results). Plan on doing the same with the 10 gallon and manifold, just bigger bag. stuck? just lift! unless slits in manifold get clogged... then there could be a problem but there is over 100 and most of the course material that usually clogs a system will be contained by the bag.. and I like mashing thin, which the 10 gallon allows me to do. can't wait to try it. next batch is a 11lb biab single vessel (brew pot) hefe
after that i'll be doing a good size circa 1840 porter in 10 gallon mash tun (Maiden Voyage)
after that i'll be doing a good size circa 1840 porter in 10 gallon mash tun (Maiden Voyage)
lylo said:
I have a 30 quart (7.5 gallon) propane turkey fryer that I purchased from Canadian Tire. I would have to check one of the BIAB calculators but I think the biggest BIAB batch you can brew with a 7.5 gallon kettle would be between 3 or 4 gallons unless you do a dunk sparge in another container. I did just that with a modified Centennial Blonde last weekend.
That said, my brewing buddy and I bought a 68 quart (16.9 gallon) kettle which we use with the propane heater that came with our turkey fryer. The heater has no problem boiling water in the larger kettle. We can do 8 gallon BIAB batches in this kettle or 10 gallon batches with a dunk sparge. And we'll be doing that this weekend with an Oatmeal Stout this weekend.
kgb_operative
Member
Have you tried BIAB batch sparging with your 30 qt setup, or did you just skip straight to the big kettle? I am curious as I would prefer not to by a new kettle just to BIAB with bigger grain bills when I could just as easily use current equipment for a more traditional AG setup.
I see Walmart has 36 qt.fryers,would this work?Where did you find the 68 qt. pot.Its too bad everyone won't use metric for brewing.There is quite a difference between our old Imp. gallons and qts and what our American freinds are using.
jaginger
Well-Known Member
You can batch sparge with the 30 qt. I've done several 5 gal brews this way. You just need another decent sized pot to heat the sparge water while you're mashing in the 30 qt.
paraordnance
Well-Known Member
there is lots of nice brew pots 40 qt & 60 qt in Real Canadian Wholesale in Red Deer, they are aluminium but only cost $50 and $70. I use aluminium pot myself and love it. You definatelly want at least 40 qt brew kettle for 5.5 gal BIAB batches.
Some people are into gear, so they get all the gear.
For me personally (trying hard not to be preachy), there's much less thrill in doing something with Maximum Gear. It almost stops being a hobby for me at that point.
I do "BIAB" sort of. I don't take second runnings. I use a $70 60 qt. kettle from Smart & Final. I let my wort cool outside in a sealed bag. I've never had a problem with haze and never had a spoiled batch. I think my beer is good.
I am of the belief that the thing I can do to improve the quality of my AG brews the most is to improve the precision of the temperature and the even distribution of heat on my kettle. I'm working on an Arduino project to help me do that.
For me personally (trying hard not to be preachy), there's much less thrill in doing something with Maximum Gear. It almost stops being a hobby for me at that point.
I do "BIAB" sort of. I don't take second runnings. I use a $70 60 qt. kettle from Smart & Final. I let my wort cool outside in a sealed bag. I've never had a problem with haze and never had a spoiled batch. I think my beer is good.
I am of the belief that the thing I can do to improve the quality of my AG brews the most is to improve the precision of the temperature and the even distribution of heat on my kettle. I'm working on an Arduino project to help me do that.
Or you can just take a reading, see where you are and only make the amount of beer that you're aiming for and chuck the grain and save the money and time you'd spend taking more runnings and spend it on more grain (it would get you quite a bit). (=
It's quick, it's easy, it's cheap, it's effective. When it was below zero outside, I could do a small batch on the kitchen stove, chill it in the sink and still have the same qualities as doing it out on the deck in the cold wind.
Since it is so quick, I could do 2 batches in the time most of the traditional all grain people are reporting and still have the 5 gallons that most of them do.:rockin:
+1
I did my 1st BIAB a few weeks ago, and it was MUCH quicker than a full on all-grain day. I didn't have to lug out my stand, keggles or pumps. I only used 1 burner, and that was just so I could bring the boil to the garage after sparging-my stove doesn't boil multiple gallons on the stove very easily.
I had 2 motives for doing a BIAB - I was brewing by myself(I don't have wheels on my stand, and its heavy), and it was cold outside so I just wanted minimal boiling/equipment in the garage.
I used a regular nylon bag when I did it so I got a TON of trub, but I filtered a lot of it out using a mesh bag over the auto-siphon, when transferring to the carboy.
It was a very quick brew day, and I honestly look forward to doing another BIAB when I get my voile fabric for a good bag. I don't know that I'd go over 5g though, because the bag gets HEAVY!! That was probably the only downside to the whole thing.
kgb_operative said:
I'm pretty new at this. My friend and I just started brewing two months ago. I'm not even sure I understand how to batch sparge with BIAB. I'll look it up.
I can easily pull off a 5.5 or 6 gallon BIAB batch with the 7.5 gallon kettle. I just need to hold back 2 gallons of water in a smaller kettle and dunk the bag after the mash. I preheat the dunking water on my stove to 170 degrees but I understand some people dunk the bag in cold water with no noticeable loss in efficiency compared to hot water.
I did this last Friday and overshot my post-boil gravity by 0.005. But this was also due to poor temperature monitoring during the mash and boiling just a little too long. (Note to self - drink less while brewing.) I also have a suspicion that milling might be the biggest factor in BIAB efficiency. I don't see any reason not to finely mill your grain with BIAB. Stuck sparges are not issue and whatever gets through the bag can be left in the kettle or will settle in the fermenter.
The reason I moved to the 16.9 gallon kettle was so my friend and I could brew 8 gallon batches without sparging or 11 gallon batches with a dunk sparge, then split the wort. With no-chill containers, we can each take home a batch of 4 to 5.5 gallons and pitch the yeast the next day. We can test different hops or other additions in each batch.
that is what was referred to as a batch sparge BIAB... also called dunking
lylo said:
Canadian Tire has 32 and 64 liter aluminum stockpots. I think they are marketed as canning pots. They are a little squat in shape with a large diameter so you need to be very aware of your evaporation rate.
My friend and I use metric exclusively when brewing. I only convert to other units when conversing online.
kgb_operative
Member
Ok, so I manged to pick up a couple 5g plastic buckets for a couple bucks a pop, and tried a batch of O Flannagain's standard BIAB-style. I gotta say, it went fast; setup-to-cleanup was under three hours. That, and I didn't have to deal with any stuck sparges, vorlauf, pumps, or piping. I think that the next step would be to try a bigger beer (like that that Imperial IPA I've been eyeing.... 
) and see if it's still this easy using my secondary kettle as a sparge.
Much appreciation for the technique, guys and gals!
) and see if it's still this easy using my secondary kettle as a sparge.Much appreciation for the technique, guys and gals!
BenjaminR
Well-Known Member
I too thought all grain was going to require more equip but all I added was a MLT built from a coleman cooler, T-ball valve, and a SS mesh false side. Which cost me around $40.
Then of course I built a wort chiller and bought a grain mill, then a motor for the mill etc. etc. etc.....
Then of course I built a wort chiller and bought a grain mill, then a motor for the mill etc. etc. etc.....
and you also needed a HLT... so for $6 I was doing all grain BIAB.. and spending the extra money on grain, hops and yeast..
paraordnance
Well-Known Member
Canadian Tire has blue Reliance water containers with spigot holding 5 gal. Works perfect for me! Holds hot wort, very little headspace, easy to clean, cheap and easy to handle. Under $20 I think
Time-Travelers
Well-Known Member
sounds the same as mine from a boating/rv store $20
$20
EoinMag
Well-Known Member
So are you happy with BIAB then?
I was planning on using that exact container but settled on the green Reliance 6 gallon container shaped like a gas can instead because it was all they had in stock. Works fine and I think the shape is more convenient than the round containers. I was worried about the seal on the vent cap but if you squeeze the container to create a vacuum it all seems very secure. I only store the wort for a day or two before I pitch the yeast.
jaginger
Well-Known Member
I don't believe i understand. Getting more runnings costs me perhaps a nickel (if we want to be precise, but it's effectively zero), b/c it's putting another 2 gals of water on the stove still it hits 180 degrees. It costs me about 2 minutes, b/c that's how much of my time it takes to move the bag from one pot to another, stir, let sit for 10 minutes (while i do other stuff), and then dump that pot into my boil kettle.
And then i get more beer. For 2 mins and a nickel. Which won't buy me much grain.
jjones17
Well-Known Member
your post is good - except, you do not need to start with your full volume in your mash if that is what u mean. top up!
BenjaminR
Well-Known Member
Never done it. I went full all grain.
As it was mentioned you also need HLT pot which I happened to already have. But any 40 quart stock pot will work for that.
So in actuality there are 2 needed items I apologize, but both can be had for under $70.
I'm not positive either full all grain vs BIAB have so much of a difference.
Has anyone done a side by side comparison?
first of all... BIAB is a full all grain method.. its just not a traditional 3 vessel method. second.. since BIAB is a full all grain method, why would there be any difference in the beer they make?
BIAB isn't an inferior way of brewing..its just a different way of getting to the same goal. BIAB produces clear beers just like a traditional 3v setup. BIAB produces beers full of flavor just like a 3v setup. BIAB produces award winning beers just like a 3v setup. It just does it with minimal equipment and start up cost.
kable
Well-Known Member
jjones17 said:
This point was my next research task. So, mashing with a lower volume (because of equipment size limitations) and then topping off later will not change much? Obviously this changes the grain to water ratio, which is kind of ignored with BIAB (I assume). Does this affect much except for max gravity extraction?
So I assume I would then look into some type of bucket sparge method and top off with this sparge water. Normally I haven't sparged with BIAB, but may as well since I need to top off for these bigger beers in my smaller pot.
kable
Well-Known Member
Mysticmead said:
And in a lot less time!
kable
Well-Known Member
BenjaminR said:
You do not need an HLT pot. The only extra equipment I have beyond extract brewing is a $5 bag.
My friend that has been doing traditional 3 tier all-grain, did a BIAB of his house APA and after seeing the cloudy wort he was sceptical. Then after kegging and bottling he was pleasantly surprised that it cleared up like normal. He felt the only difference was the process.
that right there is why most people see BIAB as inferior. we don't recirculate until we get clear wort and then collect the clear runoff. cloudy or clear it's all the same. it all clears up in the primary (if ya leave it long enough) or in the keg/bottle.
jjones17
Well-Known Member
As previously said, BIAB IS all grain - the only thing that varies is the number of brewing pots used. Making beer is simple: Covert starches to sugar, boil, hop as recipe requires, cool, pitch healthy yeast. Whether doing this in a bag or in your piss stained underwear, it all works the same.
And yes - I have done a side by side comparison: BIAB takes 1 hour or more less time than doing the traditional 3 vessel method. Thats about it. The wort is more cloudy, however does clear as normal.
EoinMag
Well-Known Member
I'm not so sure about lack of clarity, here's a shot of the lager I did yesterday post boil.
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