1st BIAB - splitting a 10g batch?

[Pole]

I've been thinking about trying to make a 10g batch for my first attempt, and splitting the wort into two 6.5g buckets. I came about this idea because we really like sours, but I don't necessarily want to wait 9-12 months to try my first brew.

I found the Tart of Darkness thread and the (5g) recipe below:

Grain:
10 lbs American Pale
1 lb Crystal 60L
1 lb Flaked Oats
8 oz Black Roasted
6 oz Chocolate

Hops:
.5 oz Czech Saaz (60 minutes)

Also includes:
1 Whirfloc tablet
4 oz corn sugar

(I plan to plug this into Beersmith and scale it to 10g, but I haven't bought the software yet.)

Naturally, I have a few questions that I'm hope to hear some feedback on:

1. Can I do a grain bill this large (~25 lbs) in a 15g pot with a 5g paint strainer bag (or 2 bags if necessary)? (Rackers.org calc says it'll take up 10.21g of space at 1.25 qt/lb.)

2. Will that recipe make a good stout for the non-sour half of the batch?

3. If so, which yeast should I use for the non-sour half? (The sour half will use roselaire, and both buckets will be in the same fermentation chamber, so yeast will need to have a similar fermentation temp range.)

4. Thoughts on the corn sugar? When is this added?

5. Am I crazy for taking on a project of this size this quickly?

6. Anyone have recipe ideas for doing a similar project with a brown/sour-brown or red/Flanders red down the road?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I've been thinking about trying to make a 10g batch for my first attempt, and splitting the wort into two 6.5g buckets. I came about this idea because we really like sours, but I don't necessarily want to wait 9-12 months to try my first brew.

I found the Tart of Darkness thread and the (5g) recipe below:

Grain:
10 lbs American Pale
1 lb Crystal 60L
1 lb Flaked Oats
8 oz Black Roasted
6 oz Chocolate

Hops:
.5 oz Czech Saaz (60 minutes)

Also includes:
1 Whirfloc tablet
4 oz corn sugar

(I plan to plug this into Beersmith and scale it to 10g, but I haven't bought the software yet.)

Naturally, I have a few questions that I'm hope to hear some feedback on:

1. Can I do a grain bill this large (~25 lbs) in a 15g pot with a 5g paint strainer bag (or 2 bags if necessary)? (Rackers.org calc says it'll take up 10.21g of space at 1.25 qt/lb.)

2. Will that recipe make a good stout for the non-sour half of the batch?

3. If so, which yeast should I use for the non-sour half? (The sour half will use roselaire, and both buckets will be in the same fermentation chamber, so yeast will need to have a similar fermentation temp range.)

4. Thoughts on the corn sugar? When is this added?

5. Am I crazy for taking on a project of this size this quickly?

6. Anyone have recipe ideas for doing a similar project with a brown/sour-brown or red/Flanders red down the road?

1. No and no, unless you sparge and use multiple paint bags then maybe, you will likely need to saprge say 6-7 gallons just guessing.
2. Maybe sorry IDK
3. WTH try S04
4. Given your other parameters, the corn sugar addition timing doesnt really matter
5. Some or most would say YES
6. Brew your first batch without trying to look so far down the road, your not even off the sidewalk yet...cheers!

Sorry if some of the tone above appears off, just trying to help. That being said, I admire your ambition and will be cheering for you from the sidelines.

 

[Pole]

1. No and no, unless you sparge and use multiple paint bags then maybe, you will likely need to saprge say 6-7 gallons just guessing.
2. Maybe sorry IDK
3. WTH try S04
4. Given your other parameters, the corn sugar addition timing doesnt really matter
5. Some or most would say YES
6. Brew your first batch without trying to look so far down the road, your not even off the sidewalk yet...cheers!

Sorry if some of the tone above appears off, just trying to help. That being said, I admire your ambition and will be cheering for you from the sidelines.

No off-tone at all!

If the capacity is really the limiting factor, then it's probably not worth the extra effort/steps with no guarantee the results will pay off.

We'll revisit #6 after I get a few batches done.

 

[wilserbrewer]

There is a video around that shows a guy doing 10 gal with several paint strainer bags using a 15 gallon keg.

He makes it simple and mashes in the pot and maxes out volume up to the rim.
Then he simply removes the grain bags one at a time and cold sparges each bag with a garden hose rinsing the grains. After the rinsing of each bag he has around 13 gallons preboil.

This is certainly doable, just a little aggressive for a first batch.

Search for the vid...something like easy 10 gal biab?

 

[wilserbrewer]

You could also dunk sparge rinse each grain bag in a five gallon bucket and add that back to your kettle.

 

[1MadScientist]

1. Can i do a grain bill this large (~25 lbs) in a 15g pot with a 5g paint strainer bag (or 2 bags if necessary)? (rackers.org calc says it'll take up 10.21g of space at 1.25 qt/lb.)

No not with those bags. With one proper sized bag you can. You can expect a 1.83 qt/lb liquor to grain ratio for the mash. You would need to withhold 2 gallons and then add that water as a pre-boil addition.

 

[Pole]

Thanks fellas. I should probably get to know my gear and process first. May still tackle this idea after I get a few batches done and read a bit more on brewing sours

 

[Nhurianek]

I have done numerous 10 gallon biab brews in a keggle (15.5 g) without any issues. I got my bag from Wislerbrew and couldn't be happier. Just finished a 10 gallon funkin punkin brew. You might need to do a sparge to get to your correct preboil volume. Give it a go, worst case you likely still made beer.

 

[smellie_hippie]

I was just thinking of this same process, but from the reverse angle.

I want to brew a 10 Gal Brown Ale, and split it into two separate batches. I was thinking of making one of them a sour brown (probably adding a can of cherries) on top of Roeselare, but doing the other a a straight up brown ale.

I was browsing the brown ale recipe lists, and they all look pretty doable. I just don't know what might happen with randomly changing up the yeast profile so dramatically.

Any thoughts?