BIAB kettle question

[iBimmer]

I have an extract brewing kit which consists of a 5Gal fermenter bucket, 5Gal bottling bucket, 5Gal carboy and 3Gal boiling kettle.
I want to start BIAB and want to be able to utilize equipment mentioned above.
How big batches (in gallons) can I brew with this? Is it possible to steep the grains in the 3Gal kettle, then boil the wort, and when I move it to the fermenter bucket to add water to the 5Gal mark the same way I've been doing extract?
Thanks

 

[SanPancho]

At a somewhat average efficiency and average ABV youd need 10# of grain for 5 gallons. That wont fit in a 3gal kettle.

Kettle is your limiting factor. If you dont want to upsize it, you’re likely limited to about 2 or 3 gallons.

You still might need to add water to get the volume. Hard to say without more details.

 

[iBimmer]

I want to brew a hefeweizen, I want to buy WEYERMANN® PALE WHEAT and WEYERMANN® BOHEMIAN PILSNER, 60/40 ratio, respectively.
It's a big mess in my head of quantities to use of each, how much hops and yeast will be needed for, say, 2 gallons batch...I'm lost

 

[gnor]

Find a recipe first, then scale down to your system. Your batch size is limited by your boil kettle. You may not be able to make a 2 gallons batch with it. Just for boiling wort, you need to factor in your boil off rate, and you can't have 3 gallons of wort to start with because of boil over. You cannot mash in your boil kettle as well, the vol of water and grain is too much for it. You can mash in a bag with your 5 gallons bucket though.

 

[iBimmer]

...You can mash in a bag with your 5 gallons bucket though.

Can you elaborate? If temperature while mashing drops, what do I do, add hot water?

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I've been making BIAB 2.5- 3 gallon batches, you need a larger kettle, the grain will absorb water and you need a grater volume of wort than the amount you want to yield. One way of using a smaller pot is to mash with your kettle nearly full, then dunk sparge in another container even a clean food grade bucket will work. it would be much easier to just get a larger kettle, especially if you want close to five gallons, (5gal fermentors will not give you a 5 gal yield since you want to have some room for krausen and will leave behind a small amount of beer and trub) you can even use a stock pot, steamer pot or canning pot.

 

[gnor]

You need to test and see how much temperature would it drop after 60 minutes mash using hot water only, not with grain.

To keep the bucket warm, you can put the bucket in a tub or a bigger plastic tote which is filled with hot water as well.

Do you get the idea?

 

[deadwolfbones]

I'm brewing 3gal BIAB in a 6gal kettle right now, and I can't go much above 1.060-1.070 without doing a partial mash.

 

[myndflyte]

If you want to do 5 gallon BIAB batches, you'll need at least a 10 gallon pot. My setup consists of a 10 gallon round cooler that I use as my mash tun because it keeps mash temps well and I didn't want to futz with mashing in my pot. My boil pot is 9 gallons and I wish it was bigger. It can get a little hairy as the boil starts trying to make sure it doesn't boil over.

So if you want to do BIAB only in your pot, you'll need at least a 10 gallon pot if you want to do full 5 gallon batches.

 

[iBimmer]

Thanks for suggestions.
I found 10Gal MegaPot 1.2 for $174 shipped, with ball valve and thermometer included.
Is it a good buy for what I want to do?

 

[gnor]

What is your heat source?

 

[iBimmer]

Natural gas stove top​

 

[LittleRiver]

...10Gal MegaPot ...with ball valve and thermometer included...

Definitely get a drain valve.

I opted to not get a kettle mounted thermometer, because the probe can tear the bag when it is lifted out of the kettle (unless you are very careful when you lift the bag, and you never forget to be very careful).

I started with a 15gal kettle for 5gal batches and have never regretted that decision. I never have to worry about boilovers, and if I want to make larger batches I'm set.

 

[gnor]

A 10 gallons kettle may be too big for your kitchen stove top.

What is the batch size you want?

 

[iBimmer]

A 10 gallons kettle may be too big for your kitchen stove top.

What is the batch size you want?

I was aiming at 5 gallon.
The kettle is about 17" high, and my stove top up to the vent is about 20"

 

[gnor]

It is not just the size of the kettle, the total weight with water and grain can be too much for a residential stove top to handle. Besides, power is another concern. For a 5 gallons batch, can your natural gas stove top get to a rolling boil with at least 6.5 gallons of wort in a reasonable time? Most of the people here who are recommending 10 or even 15 gallons kettle, they are using high pressure burner.

 

[soccerdad]

If you decide to get a bigger kettle (I think you should), get 10 gallons if you want 5G batches. 8 gallon kettle is OK if you want to do 3G batches on the stovetop, but you will have more flexibility with 10

 

[iBimmer]

If I skip the 10 gallon kettle and want to use my 3 gallon for now, will that be good for 1 gallon batches?

 

[FloppyKnockers]

If I skip the 10 gallon kettle and want to use my 3 gallon for now, will that be good for 1 gallon batches?

Should be. If a 10-gallon is good for 5, a 2 gallon should be good for 1. When I first started doing BIAB, I had three pots of varying sizes on the stove top to equal a 5-gallon batch. Doing it like that didn't take long for me to pull the trigger on a new kettle and set-up.

 

[Leezer]

I have a 4G kettle and do 2-2.5G biab batches on my gas stovetop. I think your 3G kettle should be fine for one gallon batches. I agree with others that you will have a hard time getting a good boil going on your stovetop with a larger kettle.

 

[iBimmer]

Thanks for all the suggestions and answers.
I have another question that is unrelated to the previous ones, but still related to BIAB.
Since I will do mostly Hefeweissbier and don't have the all-grain system, can I pull out some of the grains from the bag while steeping, cook them in a pan and return then in the bag, to simulate decoction mash?

 

[deadwolfbones]

Where'd you find that MegaPot deal?

 

[iBimmer]

Where'd you find that MegaPot deal?

Midwest supplies, Labor day sale

 

[Griffin495]

If I skip the 10 gallon kettle and want to use my 3 gallon for now, will that be good for 1 gallon batches?

That would work fine. I use a 2.25g pot for my 1 gallon BIAB batches.

 

[wilserbrewer]

If I skip the 10 gallon kettle and want to use my 3 gallon for now, will that be good for 1 gallon batches?

Yes, you can easily do 1 gallon batch in a 3 gallon kettle, and likely could do a 2 gallon batch with a simple sparge.

And even more extreme would be doing a 3 gallon batch in a 3 gallon kettle with a sparge and topping up the fermenter w/ water.

There are work arounds for a small kettle, when and how to use them can be debated...

 

[Saunassa]

I was aiming at 5 gallon.
The kettle is about 17" high, and my stove top up to the vent is about 20"

I used my wife's bayou classic 11 gal on electric cook top. Worked but the pot was so tall that even with fan on water built up on hood during boil and had to be wiped off. Bought 8 gal and will do either 4-5 gal biab or else partial mash.

 

[MaxStout]

You should be able to do a 2 gal batch in the 3 gal kettle. Mash in with part of your water (use a BIAB calculator to determine how much water and grain will fit). After the mash, remove the grain bag and set it in a pasta strainer across the top of the kettle. Do a pour-over sparge--slowly pour the remaining water over the grains and let it drip through into the kettle. Then bring to a boil and continue brewing.