4 gallon kettle BIAB

[SkagitNScandi]

I am still brewing extract recipes with specialty grains on the stove top with a 4 gallon kettle. Id like to start BIAB brewing but I am struggling to find info about my pot size and still accomplishing 5 and 5.5 gallon (in carboy) batches.

Most recipes Ive done lately I have started with 3 and 3.5 gallons in the kettle, cooled, and topped off the carboy to get to either 5 or 5.5 gal with tap water that is roughly 65-70 degrees before pitching and storing the carboy to ferment.

I would like to avoid purchasing a new kettle (plus i dont think my stove space can handle larger)

Would I be able to top off my kettle with sparge water or tap water to get the kettle to 3 or 3.5 gallons before boil and then top off the carboy? Or is it super necessary to boil the entire 5 gallon amount i wish to ferment?

 

[BobBailey]

For BIAB you should have a kettle that's twice your batch size. A bit bigger is even better. I use a 14 gallon kettle and do 5.5 gallon batches.

 

[RM-MN]

I am still brewing extract recipes with specialty grains on the stove top with a 4 gallon kettle. Id like to start BIAB brewing but I am struggling to find info about my pot size and still accomplishing 5 and 5.5 gallon (in carboy) batches.

Most recipes Ive done lately I have started with 3 and 3.5 gallons in the kettle, cooled, and topped off the carboy to get to either 5 or 5.5 gal with tap water that is roughly 65-70 degrees before pitching and storing the carboy to ferment.

I would like to avoid purchasing a new kettle (plus i dont think my stove space can handle larger)

Would I be able to top off my kettle with sparge water or tap water to get the kettle to 3 or 3.5 gallons before boil and then top off the carboy? Or is it super necessary to boil the entire 5 gallon amount i wish to ferment?

This is what I do for a 3 gallon batch but I start with a 5 gallon pot and don't top off to get more wort. You will end up with some weak beer if you try to get to a 5 gallon batch with just using your 4 gallon kettle and sparging as much as you can, then topping off unless you add some more fermentables by adding some extract. You simply cannot make a strong enough wort with your 4 gallon kettle to allow you to just top off. There is a limit to the amount of grains plus strike water in that size pot and as you push the limits with adding more grains your efficiency will go down.

The batch I made today I was pushing the limit for the grains in my 5 gallon pot and managed to get a 1.055 wort with sparging. Then I added nearly a pound of DME to raise that to get a much higher OG for an imperial oatmeal stout.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I have a 15 gallon kettle which I use to make 5 gallon batches. But I also have a 4 gallon kettle which I've recently begun to use for 1 to 1.5 gallon batches. IMO you should consider using your 4 gallon kettle and just brew smaller batches more often. The last eight weeks of this year I'll have brewed four different beers using my 4 gallon kettle.

 

[SkagitNScandi]

I’ve always been under the impression too much head space is a bad thing in the carboy. Even though My first homebrew was a 2.5 gal stout in a 5 gallon carboy.

Am I ok to ferment a 2.5 gallon batch of BIAB beer in a 5 or even a 6 gallon carboy?

 

[SkagitNScandi]

What if I build a mash tun out of a cooler?

Is it possible to switch from extract (partial mash) to all grain with my 4 gallon stock pot?

I’m trying to cut costs because DME and LME are expensive. I’m also trying to avoid buying a propane burner and larger kettle. Beer on a budget.

 

[RM-MN]

I’ve always been under the impression too much head space is a bad thing in the carboy. Even though My first homebrew was a 2.5 gal stout in a 5 gallon carboy.

Am I ok to ferment a 2.5 gallon batch of BIAB beer in a 5 or even a 6 gallon carboy?

First we need to define how much headspace is too much. Check out the headspace that Sierra Nevada has,
https://firstwefeast.com/drink/2014...-fermenting-at-sierra-nevada-is-amazing-video

What if I build a mash tun out of a cooler?

That will help but you still have the limitation of the size of your boil kettle. I can make 3 gallons of beer with a 5 gallon kettle and that is only because I have learned to control the foam at the beginning of the boil and have the kettle filled to within 1/2 inch of the rim. Your 4 gallon kettle will limit you to 2 1/2 gallons at the very limit.