BIAB Partigyle Brewing Calculator/Efficiency

[kdw2pd]

Is there a good calculator for BIAB partigyle? I'm having a hard time figuring out how to use Braukaiser's for BIAB. I'm doing 6 gallons of a Pliny-inspired brew (~14.5 lbs 2-row, .6lbs Carapils, .25lbs 45L), and wanted to do a partigyle from the grains to do a 5 gallon pale ale.

Efficiency on my system is typically 68-70%, mashing for 60 minutes, mashing out at 170F, and then squeezing the bag to death.

I was planning on adding 3 or so lbs more 2-row for the partigyle to try to get it to a reasonable gravity. I've been estimating 20% efficiency for the partigyle in BeerSmith, but that's just making up numbers.

What kind of efficiencies do people typically get on their BIAB partigyles?

 

[Iseneye]

Never done one and probably won't. How do you partigyle in BIAB? Standard partigyle is second runnings of the mash. With BIAB you lift the bag so there's no second runnings unless you sparge in which case the sparge will be super weak.

Sorry for answering a question with a question but sort of interested.

 

[doug293cz]

What's your apparent grain absorption when doing BIAB? This is something needed to work the calculations in addition to your boil off rate and post-boil volume.

I recently had a private discussion with another HBT member who was looking at doing a BIAB partigyle, but their conclusion was it wasn't worth the trouble because of the minimal sugar left in the grains after initial run-off.

Brew on

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I'm working on adding it to my calculator right now but I can't figure out how to redo my css from two columns to three columns, something so simple shouldn't be this annoying ..

For now I am only aware of dougs batch sparge simulator. If you can provide us with some info we should be able to do a quick simulation.

Grain bill. Strike volume, sparge volumes. Boil off rate, any loses due to mash tun or wort left in the kettle.

What OG would you like the second beer to be? I should be able to adjust your second strike volume to determine a feasible post boil volume and matching g.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Never done one and probably won't. How do you partigyle in BIAB? Standard partigyle is second runnings of the mash. With BIAB you lift the bag so there's no second runnings unless you sparge in which case the sparge will be super weak.

Sorry for answering a question with a question but sort of interested.

Nailed it. I've been toying with the idea based on the findings of dougs batch sparge simulator. While not as effective as traditional mash tun setups, due to the lower grain absorption, it's still an interesting technique. Worst case instead of 3 gallons of 1.040 wort, you'll get maybe ~2 gallons of 1.030 wort. Numbers are a random shot in the dark, but based on the grain absorption rates and retained sugar numbers it makes some sense.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I would intuitively "wing it", but plan on blending the first and second runnings to adjust gravity of each toward your target.

Or perhaps mash on the thicker end, monitor gravity of the converted mash and add sparge water as a gravity adjustment and let the volumes fall as they may...

As long as your first runnings are over gravity, you can blend back in some second runnings to lower it.

If this failed, I would punt and make it one batch and alter my procedure next try.

That's how I roll.

 

[theseeker4]

I didn't actually do a partigyle brew, but my last brew day on Wed. I made a double IPA, with 9.5 pounds of grain for a 3 gallon batch. I sparge my grain when brewing in a bag, so my "first runnings" from removing the bag and giving it a good squeeze came in at 1.102 (adjusted for temperature, so some error is likely in there), after mashing in with 2.65 gallons and collecting 2.0 gallons, for a grain absorption of 0.068 gallons per pound. I then added another 2.2 gallons of sparge water, mixed it well, and drained, this time squeezing more vigorously to collect a total of 2.4 gallons which came in at 1.032, adjusted for temperature. Now, I am sure there is notable error built in there, since I didn't cool my sample to take a hydrometer reading for either running, but instead used an online conversion calculator. Calculating it out, my first and second running's added points per pound per gallon was 281 points, while my boil gravity, measured on a properly cooled sample, came in at 1.062 for 4.4 gallons giving 273 points, so obviously the online conversion is not perfect (and/or my volume measurements aren't perfect). This does suggest, however, that doing partigyle BIAB is feasible, even if it is too much of a pain to make it worth while.

Hope that added to the conversation.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Interesting input seeker, this shows that it certainly is workable. I feel calculating it accurately would be more difficult than actually doing it.

While I understand and appreciate all the "numbers", I lack the patience, I guess you could call me an ADD brewer lol.

 

[botigol]

I don't have hard numbers with me, but I have done this a few times now. I didn't try to perform a calculation ahead of time for any of the batches, I just brewed my planned beer and then placed the grain bag in a separate pot with ~1.5 gals of hot water, which I left to steep and tried to keep the temp in the 150sF. These original beers would have had OGs in the 1.045 to 1.060 range and the OGs of the second beers weren't far below the originals. My original beers were 5.25 gals into the fermenter and about 1.25 gals into the fermenter for the seconds. So I write this mostly to end with saying 'don't worry and go for it'!

 

[doug293cz]

I didn't actually do a partigyle brew, but my last brew day on Wed. I made a double IPA, with 9.5 pounds of grain for a 3 gallon batch. I sparge my grain when brewing in a bag, so my "first runnings" from removing the bag and giving it a good squeeze came in at 1.102 (adjusted for temperature, so some error is likely in there), after mashing in with 2.65 gallons and collecting 2.0 gallons, for a grain absorption of 0.068 gallons per pound. I then added another 2.2 gallons of sparge water, mixed it well, and drained, this time squeezing more vigorously to collect a total of 2.4 gallons which came in at 1.032, adjusted for temperature. Now, I am sure there is notable error built in there, since I didn't cool my sample to take a hydrometer reading for either running, but instead used an online conversion calculator. Calculating it out, my first and second running's added points per pound per gallon was 281 points, while my boil gravity, measured on a properly cooled sample, came in at 1.062 for 4.4 gallons giving 273 points, so obviously the online conversion is not perfect (and/or my volume measurements aren't perfect). This does suggest, however, that doing partigyle BIAB is feasible, even if it is too much of a pain to make it worth while.

Hope that added to the conversation.

Thanks for the numbers. I played around with them in my lauter simulator, and was able to get pretty good agreement for a conversion efficiency of 90%. My calculated first runnings SG was 1.096, second runnings 1.033, and combined 1.062. I consider these to be acceptable differences considering the likely small errors in the measured volumes and gravities, and gives me more confidence in my simulator.

Brew on