BIAB Brewing (with pics)

[lumpy5oh]

Not big. I have a keggle and propane burner i'll sell (probably get around $300). I definitely wnat to do full batches (5.5 gallons) and definitely want to do all grain (BIAB).

Ideally, i'd like to figure something out ahead of time so that I don't buy something and have to resell etc. That seems to be the brewer's dilemma

If you have a keggle and burner already all you need is a bag. Your keggle is plenty big enough to get 5.5 gal VIF.

 

[Walzenbrew]

If you have a keggle and burner already all you need is a bag. Your keggle is plenty big enough to get 5.5 gal VIF.

My issue is that I moved to an apartment that doesn't allow outside burners. So I can only brew indoors, my keggle is too big for my kitchen stove.

I'm thinking a 15 gal kettle that can fit on my stove so I have plenty room for high gravity brews if I need to in the future.

 

[jtratcliff]

Make sure you measure your stove top clearance. My 10g tamale steamer fits with no trouble. My 15 g tamale steamer just barely clears the microwave hood. It's so close I can't use it.

 

[The_Bishop]

The stove's capacity to boil a kettle that big is an issue, too.

 

[jtratcliff]

The stove's capacity to boil a kettle that big is an issue, too.

True dat! Getting up to mash temps and then up to a boil after pulling my bag (booyah!) is the longest part of my brew day . My kettle is wide enough that sits mostly over 2 burners, so that helps some.

You can always supplement with a heatstick, though. I've been torn between buying one and DIYing one. I might check into Bobby_M's new offering, however.

 

[Walzenbrew]

True dat! Getting up to mash temps and then up to a boil after pulling my bag (booyah!) is the longest part of my brew day . My kettle is wide enough that sits mostly over 2 burners, so that helps some.

You can always supplement with a heatstick, though. I've been torn between buying one and DIYing one. I might check into Bobby_M's new offering, however.

I'm definitely going to get a heatstick if the stove isn't powerful enough. The clearance is actually pretty high. Since I already have a 5g kettle, I might go with a nicer 10gal kettle for space.

I don't see myself making any particularly high OG beers or any 10 gallon batches.

 

[ericfine50]

Love this thread.

 

[lumpy5oh]

I'm definitely going to get a heatstick if the stove isn't powerful enough. The clearance is actually pretty high. Since I already have a 5g kettle, I might go with a nicer 10gal kettle for space.

I don't see myself making any particularly high OG beers or any 10 gallon batches.

If you can afford a 15 gal kettle; I would go with that. I find that even doing only 5 gal batches I need 9 gal of water. You will need to be quite careful with the 10 gal pot but the 15 will be just the right size to fit grain and water and no worries of boil over.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Concord makes a 50 qt (12.5 gallon) stainless that's a nice between size.

 

[ReverseMonk]

Concord makes a 50 qt (12.5 gallon) stainless that's a nice between size.

Do you have a link for that? I've been looking for something that size without success. Would love to know where to find that...

 

[Bobb25]

Google is my friend:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G5L0RFG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Merry Christmas,...Bob

 

[wilserbrewer]

That is a nice pot! The tri clad bottom isn't really needed IMHO.

Cheaper options on Ebay

cheapest but thinner than below pots..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONCORD-Hom...26571056?pt=Cookware&var=&hash=item20edae3730

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Polishe...15126841?pt=Cookware&var=&hash=item20db1df439

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONCORD-Sta...06351809?pt=Cookware&var=&hash=item20da980ec1

 

[malboa]

What size batch of biab can you get away with a beginner 6.5 kettle?

 

[msa8967]

What size batch of biab can you get away with a beginner 6.5 kettle?

2.5 to 3 gallons would be safe for that size.

 

[malboa]

Great, thanks. Other than using beersmith, what good calculators are available for determining malt / batch size?

 

[RM-MN]

What size batch of biab can you get away with a beginner 6.5 kettle?

I can make a 5 gallon batch in a 7 1/2 gallon pot. That doesn't necessarily mean that you can. I would try a 4 gallon in a 6 1/2 gallon pot but I would be really careful when the wort approached boil as it would be really likely to boil over.

 

[MMJfan]

I can make a 5 gallon batch in a 7 1/2 gallon pot. That doesn't necessarily mean that you can. I would try a 4 gallon in a 6 1/2 gallon pot but I would be really careful when the wort approached boil as it would be really likely to boil over.

I too can squeeze out 5 gallon batches with my 7 1/2 gal. pot.

 

[Walzenbrew]

I can't recommend enough the 15 gal Megapot 1.2 from Northern Brewer. I have no scientific proof but I think the tri clad bottom helps heat up better. I use it across 2 burners on my stove.

 

[fun4stuff]

STEP 2: Heat water

Mash temperature for this batch is 152-degrees F.
Strike temperature is 160-degrees F.

View attachment 22034

Add 7.5 gallons of water to boil kettle and heat to the required strike temperature

While heating the water, lower basket into kettle so it heats up as well

Sorry, I know this is a newb question but above the recipe says "Mash In: 60 Minutes with 7.50 gal of water @ 159.3 F "

But here you say its 152. What's With the discrepancy? Am I missing something?

 

[btbnl]

Sorry, I know this is a newb question but above the recipe says "Mash In: 60 Minutes with 7.50 gal of water @ 159.3 F "

But here you say its 152. What's With the discrepancy? Am I missing something?

Adding the grain cools the water from 160F to 152F.

 

[Seven]

Sorry, I know this is a newb question but above the recipe says "Mash In: 60 Minutes with 7.50 gal of water @ 159.3 F "

But here you say its 152. What's With the discrepancy? Am I missing something?

You can also use a strike temperature calculator, like this one. It will give you the exact temperature for your strike water depending on your ambient/grain temperature where you are.

Hope this helps.

 

[malboa]

Or sparge with the two gallons. It's often mentioned that BIAB is no sparge, but damn it's pretty easy to pour the extra two gallons back through the bag while it rests on a grate over top of the kettle while heating to boil.

Do these additional 2 gallons take into account the water that would be absorbed by the grain during sparging? I.E., would you need more than 2 gallons of sparge water to remain with the 2 gallons you need to then add to the boil kettle?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Do these additional 2 gallons take into account the water that would be absorbed by the grain during sparging? I.E., would you need more than 2 gallons of sparge water to remain with the 2 gallons you need to then add to the boil kettle?

The grain will not absorb any more water, if you sparge 2 gallons, you should get 2 gallons through the bag and in your kettle. I have found the simplest way is to merely sparge to you desired preboil volume. By marking volumes on your brew spoon, you will have a dip stick that you can measure volumes in the kettle, just keep sparging until you reach desired PB volume.

 

[Bosh]

nm...

 

[AnOldUR]

Quite a while back, I bought a bag from wilserbrewer. At the time, it was going to be an attempt at controlling hops in my boil. Found something else that worked well for that and never used the bag.

So, just because I could, I did a BIAB today. (Actually still have 70 minutes of boil left, but the mash is over.) Not going to give up my three vessel system, but it was a fun change.

Mashed 16.5 lbs of grain in 8 gallons of water on an induction hob, recirculating the whole time. Pulled the bag after 60 minutes and dunked it in 5 gallon of water in my old aluminum pot. Tea bagged it for a short time and hung it from a tree to drain.

Didn't take a pre-boil gravity, so still unsure of efficiency. It's a simple summer wheat (45% wheat, 45% Pils, 10% sugar, all Citra hopped), so it'll be hard to screw up.

Sure, I'll do it again!

Time for a beer while waiting for the boil to end. Happy Mother's Day!

edit to say:
Hit 75% efficiency using my standard grind. Down about 5 points from three vessel, but exactly what I had planned for in BeerSmith. Good brewday!

 

[GQT]

This is an extremely interesting and informative thread, and thanks to all who contributed to it.
But guys it is totally impossible to read through all nearly 200 pages!
Would it be possible that the thread patrons somehow make a digest, like BIABer's crash course, or a list of Must Read posts, and make it sticky, or put it in the beginning of the thread?
I'd love to read it all but...
Thank you!

 

[makisupapolice14]

STEP 6: Measure results

Taking a gravity reading at this point will allow you to determine your brewhouse efficiency.

Take a pre-boil specific gravity measurement using a hydrometer or refractometer.

Record how much wort you collected in your kettle.

View attachment 22047

I used the calculator here to determine my efficiency: Brewer's Friend

According to this calculator, my brewhouse efficiency for this batch is 75.53%.

Not too shabby!

Wouldn't this actually refer to conversion efficiency vs brew house efficiency? At least that's how I think I'm reading it according to the brewers friend efficiency calculator

 

[doug293cz]

Wouldn't this actually refer to conversion efficiency vs brew house efficiency? At least that's how I think I'm reading it according to the brewers friend efficiency calculator

Pre-boil volume and SG allow you to calculate mash efficiency.

Mash Efficiency = Conversion Efficiency * Lauter Efficiency.​

Conversion efficiency is how much of the potential sugar you actually created in the mash. Lauter efficiency is how much of the sugar created in the mash made it into the boil kettle. If you want to measure conversion efficiency, use the method here.

Brew on

 

[makisupapolice14]

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?

 

[fuzzy2133]

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?

This will help with the different terms and the good news it applies to all forms of brewing all grain.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/10/26/brewhouse-efficiency-for-all-grain-beer-brewing/