cgriffith
Well-Known Member
I got back into brewing last year after a 25 year break. I didn't want to just go out and purchase a bunch of equipment; also my wife would get pissed if I did. After doing much research and connecting the dots, I went with a BIAB, No Chill, Ferment in Kettle (FIK) approach; a.k.a. "BIABNCFIK". I am posting a rough idea of my setup in case there are others out there who are looking for an easy and affordable way to get into this hobby.
Supplies
1) 6 gal "gasone" SS pot from Amazon: ~$70
2) SS sanitary ball value: ~$20
3) stepper drill bit; which ended up being a real POS: ~$10
4) Silicone tubing and silcone caulk for kettle lid seal: ~$10
5) 5-gal paint stirrer from Lowes: ~$10
Pros:
1) I do the whole process(boil to bottle) in one stainless steal pot making clean up easy and storage nice.
2) I feel more confident about sanitation since the only time I open the seal is to pitch yeast. As a microbiologist I have very good sanitary technique.
3) total cost less than $150. Only hobby I know where after 6-7 brews, my setup has actually paid for itself.
4) As I drink my "super bowl galaxy IPA" that is my best brew yet, I feel this setup is completely capable of making great beers.
Cons:
1) I only brew 3 gal batches with this setup. I am fine with that, but others might want larger. Scaling up is doable but cost would higher for kettle.
2) I have not been able to successfully harvest yeast because at end of bottling kettle contains roughly 2 quarts of trub/yeast mix which seem to not be separable.
3) Soot. The first few batches resulted in large amounts of soot on kettle which is messy when moving to/from resting place. I have since coated my kettle with dish soap prior to boil and found a way to wipe most of it off before moving indoors.
4) equipment tied up for two weeks. This is not an issue for me as I would never have time to brew more than once in a two week period anyways, but could be for others.
Some of the points of technique worth mentioning.
1) A few minutes before flame out, I clean and chemical sanitize lid and seal. Then I place on boiling kettle for a few minutes to further heat sanitize.
2) At flame out, I use the paint stirrer attached to drill to whip up the hot wort(for 60 sec) aerating it while it is still relatively hot and still in sanitary range.
3) I have cooled the kettle in my sink, which takes more than an hour, or just let sit over night. I have not noticed any difference in final product with either method.
4) On bottling day, I use domino dots(approx 2.4g per cube, one per bottle) for priming. I have never had an issue with under-carbination.
5) I stop bottling when I hit the trub.
Most of what I have brewed has been IPAs and I look forward to trying other styles. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions, or if your interested in more detail.
Supplies
1) 6 gal "gasone" SS pot from Amazon: ~$70
2) SS sanitary ball value: ~$20
3) stepper drill bit; which ended up being a real POS: ~$10
4) Silicone tubing and silcone caulk for kettle lid seal: ~$10
5) 5-gal paint stirrer from Lowes: ~$10
Pros:
1) I do the whole process(boil to bottle) in one stainless steal pot making clean up easy and storage nice.
2) I feel more confident about sanitation since the only time I open the seal is to pitch yeast. As a microbiologist I have very good sanitary technique.
3) total cost less than $150. Only hobby I know where after 6-7 brews, my setup has actually paid for itself.
4) As I drink my "super bowl galaxy IPA" that is my best brew yet, I feel this setup is completely capable of making great beers.
Cons:
1) I only brew 3 gal batches with this setup. I am fine with that, but others might want larger. Scaling up is doable but cost would higher for kettle.
2) I have not been able to successfully harvest yeast because at end of bottling kettle contains roughly 2 quarts of trub/yeast mix which seem to not be separable.
3) Soot. The first few batches resulted in large amounts of soot on kettle which is messy when moving to/from resting place. I have since coated my kettle with dish soap prior to boil and found a way to wipe most of it off before moving indoors.
4) equipment tied up for two weeks. This is not an issue for me as I would never have time to brew more than once in a two week period anyways, but could be for others.
Some of the points of technique worth mentioning.
1) A few minutes before flame out, I clean and chemical sanitize lid and seal. Then I place on boiling kettle for a few minutes to further heat sanitize.
2) At flame out, I use the paint stirrer attached to drill to whip up the hot wort(for 60 sec) aerating it while it is still relatively hot and still in sanitary range.
3) I have cooled the kettle in my sink, which takes more than an hour, or just let sit over night. I have not noticed any difference in final product with either method.
4) On bottling day, I use domino dots(approx 2.4g per cube, one per bottle) for priming. I have never had an issue with under-carbination.
5) I stop bottling when I hit the trub.
Most of what I have brewed has been IPAs and I look forward to trying other styles. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions, or if your interested in more detail.
