BIAB Brewing (with pics)

[wobdee]

What's the take on recirculating the wort back through the bag during mash out before lifting out the bag and squeezing? Would this help clear up the wort or help efficiencies or just a useless step?

 

[wilserbrewer]

What's the take on recirculating the wort back through the bag during mash out before lifting out the bag and squeezing? Would this help clear up the wort or help efficiencies or just a useless step?

IMHO a useless step...the beauty of BIAB is simplicity, why fix it if it aint broke.

 

[mirogster]

+1 Also if You want to 'flush' all the residual sugars left in the mash. It's better to use dunk sparge, or pour few qts of 170'ish water. Those volumes you must take into account at pre vs post boil volume calculations.
Wort can be cleared during whirpool & transfer to the FV.
BIAB is all about simplicity, couln't agree more

 

[mcshaw16]

I made the decision to switch to all grain this year using this method, thanks for all the great info!

I had to upgrade to a bigger pot and propane burner, while I was at it, fitted my new pot with a whirlpool pickup, ball vavle, thermometer, and gauge glass. As of right now, planning to use a large paint strainer bag, my pot came with the boil basket so I won't have to rely on the strength of the bag to hold the grains once removed, is this ok, or should I use something with a tighter mesh?

My first recipe will be EdWorts Haus Pale Ale, probably this Saturday, really looking forward to it! I ordered my grains from NB and asked for a double crush, they said they would attach a note to my order but couldn't guarantee it due to the way the orders are processed. I ordered an extra lb of 2-row incase I only get the single crush.

Thanks again

 

[Mysticmead]

I made the decision to switch to all grain this year using this method, thanks for all the great info!

I had to upgrade to a bigger pot and propane burner, while I was at it, fitted my new pot with a whirlpool pickup, ball vavle, thermometer, and gauge glass. As of right now, planning to use a large paint strainer bag, my pot came with the boil basket so I won't have to rely on the strength of the bag to hold the grains once removed, is this ok, or should I use something with a tighter mesh?

My first recipe will be EdWorts Haus Pale Ale, probably this Saturday, really looking forward to it! I ordered my grains from NB and asked for a double crush, they said they would attach a note to my order but couldn't guarantee it due to the way the orders are processed. I ordered an extra lb of 2-row incase I only get the single crush.

Thanks again

make sure that the thermometer doesn't interfere with the basket or grain bag. Also look at getting a voile bag made or making one yourself. Paint strainers work to get you started, but voile is cheap if you make it your self (mine cost about $3 to make). Other than that. Welcome to BIAB. You're going to make some incredible beers.

 

[johns]

I talked with my guy at the LHBS the other day and mentioned BIAB. I asked him about efficiency and he respond with 45 percent. I was a bit taken back by this, and I know he has brewed more beer then I have, so there is a certain amount of respect there. Then I went on to tell him about the crush and he came back with a finer crush would result in astringency problems. So is it true that astringency comes into play in a finer crush?

Any ideas or comments about this? Thanks in advance

 

[mb82]

I talked with my guy at the LHBS the other day and mentioned BIAB. I asked him about efficiency and he respond with 45 percent. I was a bit taken back by this, and I know he has brewed more beer then I have, so there is a certain amount of respect there. Then I went on to tell him about the crush and he came back with a finer crush would result in astringency problems. So is it true that astringency comes into play in a finer crush?

Any ideas or comments about this? Thanks in advance

All false in my opinion. My LHBS makes my crush to the point of nearly flour and my efficiency is nearly 80% No astringency. Sounds like he wants to sell you on a 3 vessel system.

 

[Mysticmead]

I talked with my guy at the LHBS the other day and mentioned BIAB. I asked him about efficiency and he respond with 45 percent. I was a bit taken back by this, and I know he has brewed more beer then I have, so there is a certain amount of respect there. Then I went on to tell him about the crush and he came back with a finer crush would result in astringency problems. So is it true that astringency comes into play in a finer crush?

Any ideas or comments about this? Thanks in advance

All false in my opinion. My LHBS makes my crush to the point of nearly flour and my efficiency is nearly 80% No astringency. Sounds like he wants to sell you on a 3 vessel system.

unless the guy at your LHBS brews BIAB on a regular basis, then he would NOT be the person to ask. The finer crush will not cause astringency issues, neither will squeezing the bag. I crush my own grains but I crush real fine. I also get 78+%. The LHBS guy was trying to turn you away from BIAB most likely because he had heard it was not as good as traditional 3v.

 

[Antler]

I talked with my guy at the LHBS the other day and mentioned BIAB. I asked him about efficiency and he respond with 45 percent. I was a bit taken back by this, and I know he has brewed more beer then I have, so there is a certain amount of respect there. Then I went on to tell him about the crush and he came back with a finer crush would result in astringency problems. So is it true that astringency comes into play in a finer crush?

Any ideas or comments about this? Thanks in advance

My LHBS guy doesnt sell AG equipment. I stopped listening to him when he told me all grain beer was a whole lot of extra work with the same end results as canned beer kits, and bottling from a keg without filtering is what causes bottle bombs.

 

[johns]

I know another guy that use to own his own LHBS and he always made beer using extract. His reasoning was that it was easier and it cost about the same.

On this site there seems to be to ideologies. On that loves BIAB and the other that swears by a tri vessel system. I am almost certain that the guy I spoke with did not brew often using BIAB. Maybe he did once with poor results. Not really sure why he brought up the subject on astringency. I am almost positive he uses the 3v system.

On a side note, I am convinced on BIAB for going AG. If it does not work then I could always use the equipment for a 3v system. Presently, I do a partial mash and look forward to AG. I still have to get the equipment and will let everyone know how it goes.

 

[Antler]

I know another guy that use to own his own LHBS and he always made beer using extract. His reasoning was that it was easier and it cost about the same.

On this site there seems to be to ideologies. On that loves BIAB and the other that swears by a tri vessel system. I am almost certain that the guy I spoke with did not brew often using BIAB. Maybe he did once with poor results. Not really sure why he brought up the subject on astringency. I am almost positive he uses the 3v system.

On a side note, I am convinced on BIAB for going AG. If it does not work then I could always use the equipment for a 3v system. Presently, I do a partial mash and look forward to AG. I still have to get the equipment and will let everyone know how it goes.

I think your on the right track. I've got nothing against the 3v guys. If that's what they find works best for them then that's great. Personally I love the BIAB style. The only way I'd ever go 3v is if I somehow someday opened a microbrewery.

 

[johns]

ok I just saw this video and I am now wondering why does this guy say 60 percent efficiency. Its around the 2.48 minute mark. I am thinking that the grain was not milled fine enough. Would there be any other reason for this efficiency?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD8jkMEH0_I&feature=player_embedded#at=221

as a side not the controller seems really expensive. Am I wrong or is it a normal price for a controller of this caliber?

 

[OldDirty]

I talked with my guy at the LHBS the other day and mentioned BIAB. I asked him about efficiency and he respond with 45 percent. I was a bit taken back by this, and I know he has brewed more beer then I have, so there is a certain amount of respect there. Then I went on to tell him about the crush and he came back with a finer crush would result in astringency problems. So is it true that astringency comes into play in a finer crush?

Any ideas or comments about this? Thanks in advance

Since you're close to CBW I would venture to guess that those are the fine folks you talked to. Their nice folks and I trust them with grain, yeast and hop recommendations. Outside of that they don't know of which they speak. I've done several BIAB brews and only had efficiency problems with my first batch because I used a small paint strainer bag. Since then I went with a voile bag and my efficiencies are consistently over 80%. As others have noted, the finer the crush the better you are. I get some "flour" when I mill my grains and I never had one issue with astringency. If he'd like I can drop off a beer or three for him and prove him incorrect.

The only other suggestion I can make is to take the leap into BIAB. Don't try to over engineer or over analyze this simple process. It's not Fermi Lab, it's beer brewing.

 

[thughes]

I talked with my guy at the LHBS the other day and mentioned BIAB. I asked him about efficiency and he respond with 45 percent. I was a bit taken back by this, and I know he has brewed more beer then I have, so there is a certain amount of respect there. Then I went on to tell him about the crush and he came back with a finer crush would result in astringency problems. So is it true that astringency comes into play in a finer crush?

Any ideas or comments about this? Thanks in advance

After dialing in my BIAB rig, I have my brewing software configured to use 82% as an efficiency calculation for standard OG beers (1.050-1.060).

Ask the risk of sounding like a broken record: When other folks preach brewing "facts" to you, listen politely and then disregard everything they told you and go try it for yourself.

 

[solbes]

No astringency noticed with a finer crush. You will get more trub in your primary if you have flour from your crush, but a fine mesh voile bag can help get this back under control.

I see efficiencies between 70-90% depending on grain bill size (most grain to least). No recirc during mash for me. It's a simple system.

 

[Mysticmead]

No astringency noticed with a finer crush. You will get more trub in your primary if you have flour from your crush, but a fine mesh voile bag can help get this back under control.

I see efficiencies between 70-90% depending on grain bill size (most grain to least). No recirc during mash for me. It's a simple system.

even trub in primary isn't really a big deal. it all settles out in the end.

 

[OldDirty]

Just finished brewing a Tripel with a 17# grain bill. Mash efficiency was 79%. It took some effort to keep the mash at temp while brewing outside today. I'll share the brewsmith file as soon as I figure out how to do that.

 

[johns]

Today is not that bad, just wait till Monday. I would love to see that that file. 17 lbs in a 15.5 keggle? How big was the brewpot?

 

[OldDirty]

It's BIAB so everything was done in the keggle. I still haven't figured out how to post it but here's what I have....

Type: All Grain
Date: 1/18/2013
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.0 gal
Boil Time: 75 min
Equipment: Keggle (BIAB)
End of Boil Volume 6.0 gal
Final Bottling Volume: 5.25 gal
Est Mash Efficiency 79.0 %


Ingredients
Amt Name
15 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 88.2 %
2 lbs Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 3 11.8 %
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - First Wort 90.0 min Hop 2 6.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Target [11.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 30.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Liberty [4.30 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 5 4.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 6 -
1.0 pkg Belgian Ardennes (Wyeast Labs #3522) [124.21 ml] Yeast 7 -

 

[Antler]

ok I just saw this video and I am now wondering why does this guy say 60 percent efficiency. Its around the 2.48 minute mark. I am thinking that the grain was not milled fine enough. Would there be any other reason for this efficiency?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD8jkMEH0_I&feature=player_embedded#at=221

as a side not the controller seems really expensive. Am I wrong or is it a normal price for a controller of this caliber?

That is pricy for that type of controller. You could build it for much less. I plan on building a setup up very similar to this.
As for the lower efficiency I'm assuming his grain was crushed to same specs as a normal 3v system. I get all my grain double crushed and like others said I have some flour too. My very first AG came out to 78% efficiency.

 

[SiriusStarr]

Today is not that bad, just wait till Monday. I would love to see that that file. 17 lbs in a 15.5 keggle? How big was the brewpot?

I did 20 lb in my 15 gallon kettle last weekend with no problem. Efficiency wasn't that great (72% brewhouse), but that was due to crap tons of hop loss and a temperature issue during the mash. The grain itself fit comfortably.

 

[the_trout]

Did my first BIAB batch over the weekend. Everything went great and while I varied my process a little from what Seven originally posted it did serve as the template for me to follow. Thanks for the write up, its helped take my brewing to the next level.

 

[Forrest-hunters]

Is a 20 gallon pot too big to do 5 gallon batches in still? Worried I wont be able to get the grain all in the strainer if the water is lower? Would like the ability to do both 5 and 10 gallon batches? For 10 gallon batches do i just double grain, hop and yeast amounts? I would probably feremnt in two fermenting buckets still and try different yeast, dry hops, eacking and fruit.

 

[Antler]

Is a 20 gallon pot too big to do 5 gallon batches in still? Worried I wont be able to get the grain all in the strainer if the water is lower? Would like the ability to do both 5 and 10 gallon batches? For 10 gallon batches do i just double grain, hop and yeast amounts? I would probably feremnt in two fermenting buckets still and try different yeast, dry hops, eacking and fruit.

That depends. If you build the pot yourself, install your own thermometer in it you can put it low enough do that it'll work for the lower liquid level. If you buy a complete pot, you may have an issue with the thermometer probe not being low enough.

You don't really need a 20g pot but it would be nicer. I do 5g batches in my 10g Blichmann pot, but would like to do a 10g batch once in a while, so I'll be building a kettle from a 15.5g keg.

On the recipes. Yes of you want to make a 10g batch with a 5g recipe just double the ingredients.

 

[Fordzilla]

Could someone reccomend a good thermometer with a probe? This one just quit on me after about 5 batches. It worked great up until then. I'm not sure if I got the probe wet and didn't realize it or what.

 

[Antler]

Could someone reccomend a good thermometer with a probe? This one just quit on me after about 5 batches. It worked great up until then. I'm not sure if I got the probe wet and didn't realize it or what.

I'd buy a weldless thermometer and install it in the pot.

 

[ColbyJack]

I have been BIAB brewing for about a year now, and have been double milling my grains, as I crack grains at my LHBS. I have been getting an incredible amount of trub in my Keggle, and have thought about using a different fabric for the bag instead of Voile. When I first started extract brewing, I sewed up some muslin bags for my specialty grains, and they worked as good as the mesh crappers my LHBS sells. I wonder if such a tight weave would be beneficial, or if it would hinder the draining process. Any thoughts/experience here?

 

[Fordzilla]

I'd buy a weldless thermometer and install it in the pot.

Any reccomendations? I like the digital type with long probe so it can sit on top of the pot when its wrapped in a blanket mashing. I would possibly consider one like that as long as the probe isnt so long it inrerferes with the bag.

 

[msa8967]

I have been BIAB brewing for about a year now, and have been double milling my grains, as I crack grains at my LHBS. I have been getting an incredible amount of trub in my Keggle, and have thought about using a different fabric for the bag instead of Voile. When I first started extract brewing, I sewed up some muslin bags for my specialty grains, and they worked as good as the mesh crappers my LHBS sells. I wonder if such a tight weave would be beneficial, or if it would hinder the draining process. Any thoughts/experience here?

I recently sewed up BIAB voile bags for my keggle and they worked great. I recommend double stiching the seams with a straight stitch and a zig-zag stitch. This material works better than paint straining bags and mesh material. You can get plenty of material out of one white voile curtain at Walmart for $5-6.

 

[ColbyJack]

Thanks, maybe the voile curtain I have is too porous. I'll shop at walmart for a curtain. Last one I found at Lowe's. I too double stitch my bags, and make them tapered for the drip to be easier to control. The voile I have is almost identical to paint strainer consistency.