BIAB Brewing (with pics)

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makisupapolice14 said:
So when he says 75% brew house efficiency is he actually referring to mash efficiency? Is this the efficiency biab brewers usually refer to when they mention efficiency?
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Brewhouse efficiency will equal mash efficiency if everything in the boil kettle gets dumped in the fermenter. For those who leave trub in the BK, brewhouse efficiency is less than mash efficiency. However, when it comes to packaged efficiency, it doesn't much matter if you leave the trub in the bottom of the BK or fermenter, you lose that volume either way. Comparing brewhouse efficiency without specifying the trub disposition is meaningless. Comparing mash efficiency or packaged efficiency is always unambiguous.

Since most brewers are interested in how well you/they did getting the sugars from the grain into the BK, comparing mash efficiency makes the most sense. What a brewer's trub losses are is much less interesting (usually.)

Brew on :mug:
 
Here's my COFI Style eBIAB Kettle. It's using a Bayou Classic 1144 with heating elements using Disintegr8or's design. I'm using a Wilserbrewer bag and pulley. I bring in a ladder and put it on top of the stove to hoist the bag out when done with the mash.

I cut a bunch of holes in the sides of the Bayou-Classic basket using a jigsaw to increase flow, but I've still got to decrease the pump's flow with a ball valve on the outlet to let wort drain through the mash.

COFI Style eBIAB.jpg


Basket.jpg


COFI Part.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DANNERx0 said:
I cut a bunch of holes in the sides of the Bayou-Classic basket using a jigsaw to increase flow, but I've still got to decrease the pump's flow with a ball valve on the outlet to let wort drain through the mash.
Click to expand...

That's really smart! I recently switched grain bags to a finer mesh, and with the new bag/steamer basket combo I typically get at least one clogged bag per brew day. Only question: are the holes too big? I'm just worried that the bag will put too much outward pressure against the larger holes, risking a ripped bag.

I've been thinking about enlarging half of the holes with a step bit, but after my last brew day (used 4 lbs of rye) cutting out larger sections might be called for.
 
eulipion2 said:
Only question: are the holes too big? I'm just worried that the bag will put too much outward pressure against the larger holes, risking a ripped bag.
Click to expand...

I was a bit concerned about ripping the bag after cutting the holes so I used a grinder (actually a dremel with a grinder bit) to remove all the burrs and made the edges pretty smooth. I've done only 2 brews with this setup, but I haven't seen snags on the bag.
 
I just recently started biab I did a hefenveisen and a smash beer with 2 row and willamette hops mashed at 158 and 154 on hefenveisen I did not burn the bag and wen I was done and put them into fermenter s there was a lot of grain in the fermenter it has settled out a little but the smash beer is very dirty water looking does biab do this normally I have a trub of like 3 inches on bottom of 6.5 gallon carboy and it was gray colored wen fermenting. It is now somewhat yellow orange color? I have a 10 gallon blichman g2 pot of used a nylon jd Carlsen bag?
 
Give your beer plenty of time in the fermenter for the trub to settle out. Impatience is the bane of brewers.

Get a bag from @wilserbrewer . They are a finer weave than generic BIAB bags, and will not let as many small grits thru. The wort will still be cloudy, but the trub should settle in the fermenter to about a 1" - 1.5" thick layer.

Brew on :mug:
 
IMO the LD Carlson bag is too coarse, a polyester voile bag is much finer and will yield cleaner wort.

Edit
Guess I'm late to the party....thanks for the plug Doug
 
It's great to see all of the different BIAB systems and options out there whether its basic and simple or has all the bells and whistles but to me, the BrewBoss is as "set it and forget it" as it gets if you brew big or small batches and its fully customizable to brew anything you like. Sure its not cheap but for what it does with regards to automation, its unmatched and much less expensive than other similar systems. I don't even know of a system that's as automated as the BrewBoss is. From reading a lot about some BAIB systems I know there are comments from "Old School" three tier guys (I used to be one of them) that think they are either not customizable or not enough but I cant think of something it really cant do that I didn't do with my 3 tier keggle system.

I can even just grab the tablet and go in the house if I want to because its wireless and I can still monitor my brew session. It prompts you along the way as little or as much as you like. I have the "Hops Boss" auto feeder so I never have to watch a clock for hop additions. It just drops the hop additions when they are due. Strike temps were and are always exact right out of the box. About the only time I have to tend to it during the session it to remove the mesh basket and open or close a valve here and there. I even have an electric hoist built into my rolling "brew cart" so I never have to lift anything by hand. I also pump the wort right into my conical which is already in my temperature controlled upright freezer and then force via Co2 into my kegs which are already in my keezer so the only things I ever lift are a empty conical or keg.

It's great to see some very nice BIAB systems coming out and gaining popularity. When BIAB started popping up years ago, I thought that there's no way that type of process can make better beer than my system. I was wrong. I made some really good beer in my old system but my new system makes the best beer I have ever made and I have many people say its the best beer they've tasted anywhere. Here's my old system I built and the new system bought. I'll never go back.....

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Amarillo/Galaxy saison with wheat and rye.

My process is pretty simple:
1. Get water up to strike temp
2. Add bag and any salts/acid
3. Dough in
4. Wrap kettle in a roll of jacketed duct insulation
5. Check temp/stir every 20 mins, add heat as appropriate
6. Drain and squeeze bag over a cake rack into a bucket until I get my pre-boil gravity
7. On to the boil
8. Dump spent grain into garden/bushes/hop plants

Tightened up my grain mill and hit 78% with this batch, which is a bit higher than I was getting my last few brews (was closer to 70%). Will get a solid 7.5% saison out of it. Gives me an excuse to bump up my dry hop (as if I needed much of an excuse).

View attachment 1468683579748.jpg
 
ibrewmyown said:
It's great to see all of the different BIAB systems and options out there whether its basic and simple or has all the bells and whistles but to me, the BrewBoss is as "set it and forget it" as it gets if you brew big or small batches and its fully customizable to brew anything you like. Sure its not cheap but for what it does with regards to automation, its unmatched and much less expensive than other similar systems. I don't even know of a system that's as automated as the BrewBoss is. From reading a lot about some BAIB systems I know there are comments from "Old School" three tier guys (I used to be one of them) that think they are either not customizable or not enough but I cant think of something it really cant do that I didn't do with my 3 tier keggle system.

I can even just grab the tablet and go in the house if I want to because its wireless and I can still monitor my brew session. It prompts you along the way as little or as much as you like. I have the "Hops Boss" auto feeder so I never have to watch a clock for hop additions. It just drops the hop additions when they are due. Strike temps were and are always exact right out of the box. About the only time I have to tend to it during the session it to remove the mesh basket and open or close a valve here and there. I even have an electric hoist built into my rolling "brew cart" so I never have to lift anything by hand. I also pump the wort right into my conical which is already in my temperature controlled upright freezer and then force via Co2 into my kegs which are already in my keezer so the only things I ever lift are a empty conical or keg.

It's great to see some very nice BIAB systems coming out and gaining popularity. When BIAB started popping up years ago, I thought that there's no way that type of process can make better beer than my system. I was wrong. I made some really good beer in my old system but my new system makes the best beer I have ever made and I have many people say its the best beer they've tasted anywhere. Here's my old system I built and the new system bought. I'll never go back.....
Click to expand...


Bravo. I need a table for mine that is more permanent. I did not buy the coffee system but just recently bought a basket from arbofab, should be here next week! I also didn't buy the hops boss but might in the future. I will say it takes a bit of programming to get everything just right but not bad once you figure it out.
 
Circulating through plate chiller at end of boil -- managed to get through a brew session without a spill or other mishap!

IMG_1710.JPG
 
What is a realistic, real-world batch size for doing BIAB using a 5.5 gallon kettle?
I'm currently using a Picobrew Pico and I'm finding that the 1.25 gallon batch size to be too limiting, so I'm thinking about making the jump to BIAB.
I'm limited to brewing in my kitchen on a 10 year old gas range, so I'm thinking that a 5-6 gallon kettle is all I'll be able to fit at the moment.
 
VagueSkunk said:
What is a realistic, real-world batch size for doing BIAB using a 5.5 gallon kettle?
I'm currently using a Picobrew Pico and I'm finding that the 1.25 gallon batch size to be too limiting, so I'm thinking about making the jump to BIAB.
I'm limited to brewing in my kitchen on a 10 year old gas range, so I'm thinking that a 5-6 gallon kettle is all I'll be able to fit at the moment.
Click to expand...

I would say 2.5 - 3 gal is reasonable. You might be able to do a bit more if you don't mind adding a sparging step.

Brew on :mug:
 
Only been brewing a few months now. I never even considered BIAB. It seemed unorthodox from everything I initially read and I was set on doing extract for a while until I at least had the finances and space to invest in a full traditional system. After spending more time on these forums, the BIAB cult on here had me intrigued so I checked out this sticky. I was blown away by how simpler it seemed. I already had everything. I had already bought a 10 gallon kettle in anticipation for future batches, along with a good propane burner for the possibility of my girl getting fed up with my stovetop boils and making me brew off site, and even a corona mill which I figured would work perfectly for a fine grain crush. I recorded the steps from the initial post, bought a rope pully, gloves for squeezing, a high quality bag, and even the clasps from brewinabag.com on Sunday and it arrived by Wednesday. Bought an eye screw, velcro, and insulation wrap from Home Depot all last week. Popped my all-grain cherry this past Friday brewing up a Rauchbier Lager in anticipation for some future spring/summer grilling. Went beautifully all to the tune of 77.2% efficiency (I think if I squeezed it more I could've been on the cusp of 80%). As I'm writing this now she's fermenting beautifully to the tune of a weak motorboat.
 
Awesome thread. I was always intrigued by the concept, but I was never entirely clear on how it worked. Pretty sure my first all grain attempt will be BIAB now.
 
In a few weeks, I'm going to take the leap into true BIAB. I've used a low quality bag in the past in my beverage cooler mash tun, but I'm not going o count those.

So a few weeks ago I ordered a Wilser bag, and yesterday I ordered a Cereal Killer mill as I don't trust the crush at my local store. Next I'm going to get some reflectix to insulate my BK (I think we tossed all our old towels, blankets, comforters and sleeping bags in our last move).

My fermentation chamber only holds one fermenter at a time, and that's ok with me, but right now its holding a Witbier that I brewed for my wife's upcoming birthday that I'm bottling this weekend. and I have on hand the ingredients to brew the 15 minute boil pale ale that I found on this site and have been meaning to do forever, so that's on deck next, but as soon as that clears, I'm ready to dive in. Just got to figure out what that brew is going to be.

Quick question, for those that crush their own grains, how fine do you crush them. I think I read 0.35 or maybe adjust it using a credit card? Does that seem right?
 
Griffin495 said:
Quick question, for those that crush their own grains, how fine do you crush them. I think I read 0.35 or maybe adjust it using a credit card? Does that seem right?
Click to expand...

I'll assume you meant 0.035". 0.35" would be too wide, and .35mm would pretty much make flour. Am I correct in my assumption?

My Barley Crusher is set at around 0.026", and I get a very fine crush with some flour. I average about 73-75% efficiency with a single crush on an "average" strength brew.

That said, I've read of people going both wider and narrower, so you might want to experiment.
 
My bad. Yes, 0.035. My recollection was hazy, but now I see that the CK is adjustable from 0.025 to 0.100". I just didn't know how fine I should go.
 
Griffin495 said:
My bad. Yes, 0.035. My recollection was hazy, but now I see that the CK is adjustable from 0.025 to 0.100". I just didn't know how fine I should go.
Click to expand...

.035" would probably be just fine. It's certainly a good starting point. As long as all the kernels are crushed and you get relatively consistent efficiency from brew to brew it's fine. If you want to (try to) increase efficiency narrow the gap.

I think the knurling on my BC is starting to wear, so I'm seeing some uncrushed grains on the first pass, so I occasionally double-mill the grain. Since your mill is new, and presumably free of defect that shouldn't be a problem for you, so a single pass should be fine.
 
I was thinking of doing Northern Brewer's bourbon Barrel Porter for my first BIAB. It was one of the first beers I did (although it was an extract with steeping grains) and I still have 2 bottles left that have aged just over 3 years. But with the primary and secondary fermenters and aging it, I'm starting to think I'd rather do something with a quicker turnaround. Something light to drink this summer, but I'm having a mental block on coming up with something. The problem is I've already got a pale ale and an Irish red in bottles ready to drink, a Witbier that I am bottling this weekend and a 15 minute extract pale ale that I'm brewing next week. So PA is out, wit or hefe is out, what's something light and refreshing and not too hoppy for summer?
 
Well, since this is my first attempt at BIAB, I decided to brew a cheap beer. Printed out the Speckled Heifer recipe from NB and took it down to my local store and got all the ingredients. $17.71 out the door vs NB $19.21 + their $7.99 S/H I think they charge. I've brewed their extract kit for it with steeping grains so I have a ballpark of what it should taste like and its not bad and should be a good beer to drink this summer when we start hitting 100+ temps. I did up the 2 row from 7.5 lbs to 8 lbs just in case I have poor efficiency and according to what I put in Brewer's Friend that only puts me at 4.47% ABV with a 70% efficiency (if I entered everything correctly). Now I'm just waiting on my Cereal Killer mill to arrive as well as next Friday which will be my brew day.
 
Likely best to wash any food use product....would you wash a new beer glass before you filled it?

Well anyways maybe this will help....

Preparation for use.

Hand wash the bag in very warm water and a detergent. Triple rinse with hot water to remove all traces of detergent and then hang to dry. The bag will dry very quickly when hung. - THERE IS NO NEED TO TWIST. DO NOT PLACE IN A CLOTHES DRYER.

I would guesss most users don't bother as the bags as delivered appear very clean and pristine, but when you ask you always get the conservative answer.

Hope this helps cheers!
 
wilserbrewer said:
Preparation for use.

Hand wash the bag in very warm water and a detergent. Triple rinse with hot water to remove all traces of detergent and then hang to dry. The bag will dry very quickly when hung. - THERE IS NO NEED TO TWIST. DO NOT PLACE IN A CLOTHES DRYER.
Click to expand...
Haha, sounds like a typical CYA answer from a manufacturer. ;)
Which is exactly what I did with mine so many years ago. Well....because he said I should.

Now after too many brew days to count with my Wilser bag.
I shake the snot out of it after dumping the spent grains, rinse it in the kitchen sink till it looks.......well good enough, then shake the snot out of it again before hanging it up to dry (watch out, the cord will get you).
My Wilser bag looks like a old Civil War bandage and makes fantastic beer.
 
Overkill, but effective.









Actually, I'd worry about what might fall off of that rig into the BK.

Brew on :mug:
 

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