3-in-1 "Boil Kettle, Jacketed Chiller, Conical Fermenter" by Brewha

[JB_Brewing2]

Pipeline is dry due to vacation and our house sitter's thirst. I want to get a stainless fermenter and have an accurate heating solution for a 15 gallon fermenter. My brew shop (garage) is unheated except for on days when I brew. Temps range from 75F in summer to 38F in winter. My thought was to see if I can get a 16 gallon fermenter with a 120V heating element which I could plug into a temp controller and have power to the element controlled by something like the digital power controller with the rheostat. I currently ferment ales in my medium BIAC with the power box setting at 3% and it seems to work well. Anybody have any advice or experience with this? Nathan suggested the best way would be to buy another BIAC however that expense would probably lead to divorce. I'm trying to avoid a heated ferm chamber build too.

 

[limulus]

I have never brewed more than 10gal. I kept two SS Brewtech Brewbuckets and a Speidel fermenter. The little stainless brewbuckets are conical and if I brew multiple batches I transfer into them and use my fermentation cabinet which is temp controlled by an A/C unit and small heater or even a light bulb. I have never used the element in my BIAC to heat the fermentation. I use my old 10gal cooler/mash vessel as an HLT. It is heated with a bucket heater and a temp controller. I keep it around 72F and then use the probe and electric valve assembly in the BIAC fermenter to circulate warm water through the jacket when the temp falls below 68F. I also have a second Chugger pump that I use for that duty.

 

[xico]

Hello again. I have been getting acquainted with Beersmith and its equipment profile section. Has anyone dialed in a profile they wouldn't mind sharing? I either find myself with a volume or gravity discrepancy. I was hoping to have a 60 and 90 minute boil profile. Since the BIAC is so different from other systems out there I don't think the tutorials I've researched seem to apply.

Thanks again in advance!

 

[OneManBrewery]

Hello all, I'm wanting to go electric and love the concept of the BIAC. I would like to hear your thoughts on small vs medium. I don't see myself ever going over 5 gallons, but a max 10 lb grain bill seems confining to me...

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

Hello all, I'm wanting to go electric and love the concept of the BIAC. I would like to hear your thoughts on small vs medium. I don't see myself ever going over 5 gallons, but a max 10 lb grain bill seems confining to me...

I have a medium and typically brew 10 gallon batches. I agree that the 10lb limit on the small is confining... by my math on a 5 gallon batch it puts you at around 1.055 max gravity depending on efficiency. If you wanted to go higher gravity, I guess your options would be to make a little less volume or supplement with LME/DME. I went with the medium since I usually did 10+ gal batches, but still liked the idea of being able to make a smaller high gravity batch... I haven't done it, but I still like the idea that I can. I have also found as I have used it that I can push the limits of capacity and not have any spills, so you might actually be able to get a few extra pounds in there. I think if you do decide to go with either the small or medium that you will not be disappointed. I have a bad back, and the other day my wife even commented on how happy and pain free I looked, even when I finished brewing. With my old system, finishing up a brew meant a few vicodin and going to bed.

 

[OneManBrewery]

Thanks for the feedback RiverCity. I'm still weighing my options. I guess it would be great to have the possibility to do 10 gallons but the cost is substantially more.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

The full BIAC is pretty much turnkey... I didn't need most of the gear it came with as I already had a pump, controller, panel, etc and I put together my own heating element/enclosure. All I ordered was the 3in1 and the mash colander. You could do the same and save some cash if you don't mind the DIY part.

 

[xico]

Hello all, I'm wanting to go electric and love the concept of the BIAC. I would like to hear your thoughts on small vs medium. I don't see myself ever going over 5 gallons, but a max 10 lb grain bill seems confining to me...

Though I have had some challenges dialing in the system (I'm only 4 brews in) I am very happy with the medium. I generally brew 8 - 10 gallon batches that I can split for dry hopping and yeast experimentation. The room for brewing 15 gallons leaves space to grow without upgrading the system via overhaul.

edit:

Oh, and be ready to either need a brew companion or invest in a pulley system for your grain with the medium!

 

[OneManBrewery]

That's what I was afraid of and I read somewhere you'll need a 10 foot ceiling in your brew space?

Any more feedback from the small BIAC owners?

 

[jeffcosgrove]

I bought a cheap block and tackle 7 pulley system on Amazon and just measured it from the bottom of the hook to my floor. It is 6'9" and I use Brewhas cables to connect to my mash tun. I don't have any problem pulling the mash tun out by myself with this setup. I have a medium.

 

[nackedei]

That's what I was afraid of and I read somewhere you'll need a 10 foot ceiling in your brew space?

Any more feedback from the small BIAC owners?

I have a medium, and you'll be fine with an 8 foot ceiling. It's not nearly as big as you'd think.

You will, as another poster states, need a rig or some help. I make sure my wife's going to be around come mash out, as that's the only point where I need any help. We can get it out without a problem, though if she were any shorter (she's 5'8") I think it would be dicey.

 

[hgearle]

Everything I have read about getting the Brewha BIAC seems amazing. I am about to pull the trigger on getting the medium conical with glycol chiller. Is their anybody out there that would tell me NOT to do it? I have read lots of pros, but are there any cons (besides price)?

I usually brew 5 gallon IPAs. Does anybody brew a 10 gallon batch and then put 5 gallons in a carboy to pitch a different yeast and dry hop differently? It would be nice to have to somewhat different beers from one batch since it is only me drinking it. Cheers, Harold

 

[limulus]

Everything I have read about getting the Brewha BIAC seems amazing. I am about to pull the trigger on getting the medium conical with glycol chiller. Is their anybody out there that would tell me NOT to do it? I have read lots of pros, but are there any cons (besides price)?

I usually brew 5 gallon IPAs. Does anybody brew a 10 gallon batch and then put 5 gallons in a carboy to pitch a different yeast and dry hop differently? It would be nice to have to somewhat different beers from one batch since it is only me drinking it. Cheers, Harold

If you buy the medium and want to brew 5gal batches, make sure you don't run the element dry like I did. Nathan told me to try bending my element down a little to lessen the risk. My replacement element was bought from a different source and is a little shorter so it works much better for 5gal batches. I also bent it down just a little and it is also all stainless just like the original.

If you are trying to decide on options, I would say forget about the kegging attachment. I just use a regular piece of 1/2" silicone hose lowered into my keg and it works great. Get the vacuum release valve.

As far as racking into carboys, I have split a 10gal batch and changed yeast and dry hops. I also use SSBrewtech BrewBuckets all the time when I want to brew another batch soon.

I bought a glycol unit from Rapids Wholesale and it has been great. But now, I need warm water so I use a cooler with a bucket heater and a temp controller to keep it several degrees warmer than my fermentation temp. Then the electric valve assembly does the rest. Some people use the element on a very low setting to keep their beer warm in winter.

 

[JB_Brewing2]

Everything I have read about getting the Brewha BIAC seems amazing. I am about to pull the trigger on getting the medium conical with glycol chiller. Is their anybody out there that would tell me NOT to do it? I have read lots of pros, but are there any cons (besides price)?

I usually brew 5 gallon IPAs. Does anybody brew a 10 gallon batch and then put 5 gallons in a carboy to pitch a different yeast and dry hop differently? It would be nice to have to somewhat different beers from one batch since it is only me drinking it. Cheers, Harold

I'm more than pleased with my medium BIAC. I haven't used glass for a long time but you could certainly do that. Rack 5 gallons over after chilling using the throttled-down chugger pump that comes with it. I've only been brewing 10 gallon batches of tasty ales.

 

[OneManBrewery]

Everything I have read about getting the Brewha BIAC seems amazing. I am about to pull the trigger on getting the medium conical with glycol chiller. Is their anybody out there that would tell me NOT to do it? I have read lots of pros, but are there any cons (besides price?)

I've pretty much decided as well, after relentlessly bugging Nathan with questions.

Limulus, what about the water regulator accessory?

 

[limulus]

I've pretty much decided as well, after relentlessly bugging Nathan with questions.

Limulus, what about the water regulator accessory?

I bought the same model water regulator Nathan sells from an RV dealer. I used it once or twice and found that my water pressure must not be strong enough to hurt anything. I don't use it now and I use my outdoor water to cool down to 100F in summer and then switch to glycol. I can run my water at full force but you may have explosive water pressure. I would not even consider buying it without the vacuum valve. If you saw the thread with the collapsed unit, you can see what can happen. Also, I recommend that you check the ports on the jacket to make sure there is no black flux. Mine and someone else had that stuff still in the port. I got it out easily with no issues. I posted that earlier in this thread. I definitely suggest getting a hoist of some sort. No matter how fit you are, it is awkward lifting a very heavy load of wet grain.

I also strongly recommend that you keep good notes on your first few brews. Then make yourself an SOP to follow. That way you'll not have any problems like a pump clogged with grain or getting burned because you took off the wrong Triclamp. Yeah, I did that. Now I have a 3-hole binder with an easy to follow SOP for every step from connecting everything to installing the valves, to filling with water, to purging grain out the bottom valve into a small bucket (so I don't clog my pump), etc, etc.

 

[limulus]

Well, I just looked at the Brewha site and it appears the basic accessory package seems to have everything you need. I already had an aeration stone and I simply lower it down through a top port.

 

[cuda6pak]

Agree with everything said by limulus.

Keg racking hose is good in theory, but will get clogged easily with loose pellet dry hops even after cold crashing. I just use a 1/2" silicon hose now. It's also 10x faster.

I also don't use a water pressure regulator but would not advise against it, it is a safe bet and all water pressures will vary. Also check the unit for black gunk. Mine had just a little that came out in the first cycle through, but no big chunks.

The vacuum relief valve is a definite must-have, I need to order one myself.

I brewed about 8 batches before I got sick of asking my girlfriend to help lift it out, you cannot simply lift it out yourself. Bought a harbor freight hoist mounted to the ceiling (pics earlier in thread) and have absolute loved it.

I use an Aquarium Chiller instead of glycol (pics earlier in thread). I like it because it has built in heating and can keep the constant circulating temp between +/- 0.5* F.

If you are in a very warm climate you may want to consider the neoprene jacket - you will lose a lot of cooling power in a warm humid garage and it will sweat pretty bad when cold crashing. I've also since insulated all my hoses coming to/from the jacket which has helped quite a bit. I put a stainless dog bowl underneath the bottom when cold crashing in warm weather (it's in my garage).

And yes only put rice hulls in the mash tun AFTER you have put all the grain in. Made that mistake once and a clogged pump AND bottom port hole were a mess.

Speaking of valves either upgrade and get the bigger valves he sells or get Butterfly valves. I got 316L butterfly valves from Glacier.

One thing that I will add is the hose float would be a nice addition. I actually brought the idea up to Nathan and gave him a source for the product. When recirculating if you leave the short hose on the rim it will create channeling on the side that the wort runs down the hardest on (you will see when you drain the mash completely). And I have not had perfect luck with just laying lighter&longer un-reinforced silicon hose on top of the mash as sometimes you can't see the wort recirculating underneath it and occasionaly with a pretty sticky mash you may have to run the recirc so low that it will actually quit recirculating.

 

[JB_Brewing2]

I'm fortunate to be on northern high-pressure municipal water and use the Brewha valve without a chilling unit. May not be needed but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Both limulus and cudapak offer good advice. I have the keg racking hose which is slooooww and will be using the method cudapak mentioned on the next brew. I usually use whole leaf hops and the last time a few escaped during the boil and plugged the pump shortly thereafter.

X3 on the pressure relief valve and a winch. My winch is attached to barn door track from McMaster-Carr. Works like a charm to raise the colander and slide it over to the utility sink.

The only problem I've had with the valves is one had a slight leak (maybe operator error) and the upper valve on the cone plugs sometimes. To correct the plugged valve, I put a little CO2 pressure in a keg connected to the valve with the keg transfer hose and open the valve to allow the CO2 to enter the BIAC. Just some minor stuff that you'll sort out after a couple of brews.

 

[limulus]

I forgot about the butterfly valves. I also bought valves from Glacier Tanks. I only use them on the two lower ports. I continue to use the ball valves everywhere else. The multi-piece ball valves are really nice and better than any ball valve I ever used in my previous brewing equipment. But they are not easy to reassemble if you take one apart. I don't disassemble them now and really only use them on the jacket and the lid for wort recirculation. The ball valves are also great to control pump flow

You'll definitely find the overall quality of the entire system to be better than any homebrew equipment you've ever seen. It will take you a couple of brews to figure out the best water to grain ratio. I also think it is a good idea to use something between your grain and the perforated bottom of the mash tun. You'll get much better flow. I bought a separate 2-piece false bottom that helped a lot but you could just carefully spread a mesh grain bag out over the bottom. I'm thinking about getting a piece of fine stainless mesh and cutting a circle that will fit inside the mash tun. I think I probably stir too vigorously too deeply and that causes my clogged mash tun.

 

[cuda6pak]

^Forgot to clarify I also use the butterfly for the bottom two bottom two ports also. The stock ball valves work great for throttling the pump and for entering the jacket.

 

[brianpedersen]

... The multi-piece ball valves are really nice and better than any ball valve I ever used in my previous brewing equipment. But they are not easy to reassemble if you take one apart. I don't disassemble them now and really only use them on the jacket and the lid for wort recirculation. ...

I also found them hard to reassemble, until I watched this video: http://brewhaequipment.com/blogs/brewinfo/34988929-best-type-of-valve-for-brewing-beer

Now I find it quite easy

/Brian

 

[limulus]

I also found them hard to reassemble, until I watched this video: http://brewhaequipment.com/blogs/brewinfo/34988929-best-type-of-valve-for-brewing-beer

Now I find it quite easy

/Brian

For some reason, I have one that still gives me problems. I'll have to watch the video again.

 

[hgearle]

So....do you guys think I need a chiller???
I live in Chicago where the city water is very cold in the winter, and warms to about 60F in the summer. My brew setup is in my basement where the temps are comfortable even in the summer. If it is over 83F outside (about 70 in the basement), then the a/c is on. I have never even heard of a glycol chiller until last week when I found and thought about getting the Brewha BIAC. Should I get just the medium BIAC, or should I get the chiller too. I almost exclusively brew IPA's (so no lagers).
This has been a great thread to become educated about the BIAC.
Thanks,,,Harold

 

[JB_Brewing2]

So....do you guys think I need a chiller???
I live in Chicago where the city water is very cold in the winter, and warms to about 60F in the summer. My brew setup is in my basement where the temps are comfortable even in the summer. If it is over 83F outside (about 70 in the basement), then the a/c is on. I have never even heard of a glycol chiller until last week when I found and thought about getting the Brewha BIAC. Should I get just the medium BIAC, or should I get the chiller too. I almost exclusively brew IPA's (so no lagers).
This has been a great thread to become educated about the BIAC.
Thanks,,,Harold

I brew mostly IPA's and am located just a little north and east of you. Our tap water temp is in the 50's and chills 10 gallons nicely without additional equipment. However, a chiller would not use as much water unless some method of recycling was incorporated. The winter temps in my garage/workshop drop down to the low 40's so heating is more of a concern for fermentation. The digital controller is set at 3% with the temp controller set at the target fermentation temp. This has worked well with no discernible deleterious effects on the brews. Don't hesitate on getting the medium and if the budget allows, go for the chiller. The increase in improvement of quality in my brews has been more than pleasing even without the chiller.

 

[nackedei]

So....do you guys think I need a chiller???
I live in Chicago where the city water is very cold in the winter, and warms to about 60F in the summer. My brew setup is in my basement where the temps are comfortable even in the summer. If it is over 83F outside (about 70 in the basement), then the a/c is on. I have never even heard of a glycol chiller until last week when I found and thought about getting the Brewha BIAC. Should I get just the medium BIAC, or should I get the chiller too. I almost exclusively brew IPA's (so no lagers).
This has been a great thread to become educated about the BIAC.
Thanks,,,Harold

Once the mass of fermenting wort in the Brewha is at a given temp, keeping it there is easy, even with only marginally cooler water. So your only real issue is dropping it down post-boil.

And given that, the cost of a chiller isn't going to be worth it in your case (in my opinion). You have two months or so where you would benefit from one, and only then to improve your efficiency in post-boil chill. If you can stand fermenting at 70f for a couple months (doing lower gravity/session IPAs, picking a yeast strain that doesn't go crazy warmer, discovering how awesome saisons are, etc.), you'll be fine with the 60f municipal water during that time.

Alternatively you could follow my (and brewers of yore's) lead: I'm in the South, and my groundwater is 75-80f in the summer. I just follow the seasons. Come summer, I don't brew. Helps I travel a lot during the summer, but I find that it also makes me really excited for that first temperate weather come October. Of course, for you, summer isn't 4-5 months!

 

[mdime]

For some reason, I have one that still gives me problems. I'll have to watch the video again.

I just did my first batch on my BIAC and noticed the day after that the valve on my racking port was very slowly leaking. By taking the valve handle off and loosening the central clamp a little I was able to reposition the gasket just enough to stop the leak without losing any precious wort. This is the first system I've had with the tri-clover fittings and I'm think my tendency is to over-tighten a little. I don't think it's a problem for normal fittings but with the valves I think it might cause problems when the gaskets are not exactly aligned to the handle.

BTW, my first impression of the BIAC is that it was one of the easiest brew sessions I've had in a while. I'm now waiting impatiently for the first batch to finish so I can start the next.

 

[limulus]

I just did my first batch on my BIAC and noticed the day after that the valve on my racking port was very slowly leaking. By taking the valve handle off and loosening the central clamp a little I was able to reposition the gasket just enough to stop the leak without losing any precious wort. This is the first system I've had with the tri-clover fittings and I'm think my tendency is to over-tighten a little. I don't think it's a problem for normal fittings but with the valves I think it might cause problems when the gaskets are not exactly aligned to the handle.

BTW, my first impression of the BIAC is that it was one of the easiest brew sessions I've had in a while. I'm now waiting impatiently for the first batch to finish so I can start the next.

Yeah, you don't need to tighten TC clamps beyond finger tight. I have been using butterfly valves for quite a while now. I still use my ball valves on the jacket and on one of the vents in the lid.

 

[nackedei]

[Hop issue: thoughts?]

I've got probably a dozen brews under my belt with my medium BIAC, and yesterday's was the first PITA brew. Wanted to hear other people's thoughts.

The goal was a giant hopstand/whirlpool charge for all bittering/flavor: 5oz of hop pellets in at 205f, another 6oz at 180f. Let sit for ~45 mins total, then crash cool, let settle, remove break/hops. Naturally I plugged the hell out of the bottom port. Pushing O2 up didn't help, had to eventually open the top and use a sanitized stainless steel racking can to break everything up. Lost a lot of wort, of course.

I need a better system if I want to do giant hop monsters, and while I have two of the hop cylinders, they don't hold enough and aren't as helpful for post-boil additions. In a "normal" system a whirlpool and careful siphon solves the problem well enough. Thoughts?

 

[Jimmy82]

[Hop issue: thoughts?]

I've got probably a dozen brews under my belt with my medium BIAC, and yesterday's was the first PITA brew. Wanted to hear other people's thoughts.

The goal was a giant hopstand/whirlpool charge for all bittering/flavor: 5oz of hop pellets in at 205f, another 6oz at 180f. Let sit for ~45 mins total, then crash cool, let settle, remove break/hops. Naturally I plugged the hell out of the bottom port. Pushing O2 up didn't help, had to eventually open the top and use a sanitized stainless steel racking can to break everything up. Lost a lot of wort, of course.

I need a better system if I want to do giant hop monsters, and while I have two of the hop cylinders, they don't hold enough and aren't as helpful for post-boil additions. In a "normal" system a whirlpool and careful siphon solves the problem well enough. Thoughts?

My IPA uses 1lb at flameout, and it's possible to do a whirlpool with that (though it's more of a PITA than it's worth).

You need to start the whirlpool before adding the hops, and keep the flow fairly slow. If you go to fast it just sucks all of the hops into the hose and clogs everything it up. The 1.5" opening on the bottom of the conical is enough if you get the hops distributed evenly throughout the wort using the method I describe above...the issue is the pump/hose/barbs. The barbs on the 1/2" tubing has too small of an opening and will clog before the 1.5" TC opening.

I've been contemplating upsizing my hose for something that can easily handle the flow of that amount of hops - the chugger would then become the largest restriction in the loop.

 

[limulus]

I just don't know how you can put in a big late hop addition without clogging a 1.5" valve. I use hop bags and stainless steel tea infuser balls. Look up jumbo or large stainless tea infuser on Amazon. I have a couple of those. They have short chains on them so I use a length of stainless wire to lower them into the brew. They also work well for dry hopping.

I have these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FCMCMO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[mdime]

Since I'm posting on this thread again, I'll post my newest addition. My recent brew was an IPA and my mash colander drained very slowly. The perforated bottom was clogged. I looked for a slotted bottom that would fit over that and I think I may have found the perfect solution. I got this at Adventures in Homebrewing. It is a 2-piece design and fit right into the bottom of my medium mash colander. I plan to brew this weekend or early next week.

Did this false bottom help with the slow draining?

I did my second brew on the BIAC last weekend (8.5 gallons of imperial porter) and it was VERY slow. Luckily I noticed and adjusted the pump output to compensate so as not to go below the level of the heating element. Even so, it took close to an hour to drain after mashout and killed all of my time savings.

I suppose increasing the gap on my mill is another option. I've been milling with the same .035" gap that I've always used.

 

[limulus]

Yeah, it helped me. I think a lot of it is the grain bill and the crush. I think a nice stainless screen placed over the perforated bottom would be perfect. I used a really large grain bag once that also worked quite well but I don't think my efficiency was as good with the grain all compressed inside a bag.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

Did this false bottom help with the slow draining?

I did my second brew on the BIAC last weekend (8.5 gallons of imperial porter) and it was VERY slow. Luckily I noticed and adjusted the pump output to compensate so as not to go below the level of the heating element. Even so, it took close to an hour to drain after mashout and killed all of my time savings.

I suppose increasing the gap on my mill is another option. I've been milling with the same .035" gap that I've always used.

I started with .035 gap as well and have eventually opened it up a bit over time with better results. Last batch I used a .050 gap and conditioned the grain and was able to recirc a bit faster and never had it stick. I thought mash efficiency would suffer with a coarser crush, but much to my surprise my efficiency went up 2 points. All I can figure is that I was able to turn over the wort more times and that might have increased my efficiency? Next time I might try a .055 and see what happens.

 

[mdime]

Thanks for the info. It looks like a courser crush is definitely the first thing to try.

 

[OneManBrewery]

All of you have been a great resource. My BIAC will hopefully be in the mail soon.

 

[limulus]

All of you have been a great resource. My BIAC will hopefully be in the mail soon.

Congratulations. I assume they still ship via a freight carrier. Be sure you are home when it is delivered. I'm not sure what size you purchased, but the medium comes in two large wooden crates and you'll need to be home for the delivery.

 

[mdime]

If it's a residential delivery be sure to tell the freight company that when they call to schedule delivery. It was probably just this particular driver, but after driving from LA to San Diego, he told me he didn't have a dolly to get the crates from the truck to my garage because he thought it was a business delivery. Luckily I had one otherwise he would've been SOL.

 

[JB_Brewing2]

All of you have been a great resource. My BIAC will hopefully be in the mail soon.

I spoke with Nathan before mine was delivered and asked to pick it up at the trucker's loading dock. Got a discount for doing that and it was more convenient for me instead of waiting around for the truck to come. You might consider it if you have a van or pick up available to you. I did this for a medium BIAC which came in two crates.

 

[JB_Brewing2]

Just finished kegging my 10th batch and used the 1/2" silicone hose as cudapak suggested for kegging. Used the chugger pump with the short larger diameter hose provided and connected the sanitized silicone hose with a tri-clamp to the chugger. Free end of the sanitized silicone run to the bottom of the keg. It took me less time to fill both kegs than what it took previously to fill less than half a keg. Talk about cutting down on the time needed for kegging! I'm sure my keg racking hose will be collecting dust now.