Burglar's big electric brew in a bag build (bbebiabb)

[lordbeermestrength]

2.46 qts/lb seems really thin. Was that intentional?

 

[wyzazz]

2.46 qts/lb seems really thin. Was that intentional?

If you're doing a "No Sparge" beer you essentially mash with your full volume of liquid needed for the beer, hence the thin mash.

 

[burglar]

2.46 qts/lb seems really thin. Was that intentional?

At this point we are still "following the examples the teacher puts up on the blackboard." We're mindless brewing sheep. But learning.

 

[wyzazz]

A thin mash won't cause you any issues, heck take a look at the brutus 20 or the Speidel Braumeister.

 

[jhollist]

Burglar,

Sounds like a picture perfect BIAB efforts (except the chilling screw-up. Your not the first to do that!). FWIW 80% is not unheard of with BIAB, but that mostly depends on the crush. Since you don't have the problem of a stuck sparge with BIAB, you can crush really fine and bump the efficiency. Some have reported 85% and higher!! I routinely get in the low 70's.

Can't wait to hear how your other BIABs turn out. I do that exclusively now (after several years of a typical three vessel cooler mash tun set up) and am in the process of converting to electric now. I have just now started collecting parts and my electrician is scheduled for Tuesday to talk 30amp GFCI with me!

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[studmonk3y]

Yea crush the hell out of the grain and you can easily get 80+ efficiency with BIAB. Look into "no chill" and then you'll have a super easy and quick brew day.

 

[burglar]

Yea crush the hell out of the grain and you can easily get 80+ efficiency with BIAB. Look into "no chill" and then you'll have a super easy and quick brew day.

So in the future I should ask my LHBS for a fine crush?

BTW, they recommended we add some microwaved LME right to the fermenters to boost the gravity back up to the right level to save the beer.

 

[wyzazz]

You might ask them to double-crush your grain, but since you're brewing All-Grain now I'd recommend purchasing a mill. I use a Corona Mill and get 83% almost every time.

Adding LME/DME will certainly help things, I'd dissolve it in as little boiling water as possible and drop it in to the fermenter.

 

[burglar]

2nd batch went off smoother (IPA w/ belgian yeast and candy sugar).

Two process changes:
1. After mashout, we sparged with ~2 gal of hot tap water (~140°F)
2. Wife (who is smarter than me) folded the bag over itself before squeezing the grains, which worked way better.

We measured slightly over 80% efficiency, this time letting the wort in the hydrometer cool instead of relying on a conversion calc. This time I feel way more confident in that number, and am ecstatic.

The biggest issue with this system is heating the mash evenly. The basket acts as a pretty good heat shield. Even with vigorous stirring and a bit of basket shimmying it's tough to change the temp of the mash, so single step is really our only choice right now. Perhaps that recirc upgrade is in our future.

It was only the two of us this time, so I had to lift the basket myself. If anyone plans on doing this type of system, and doing 10 gallon batches, I'm going to say some sort of pulley system is a necessity. The bag I made drains very slow, so you're basically lifting the full volume of water along with the grain. I'd say ~100lbs, depending on what you're doing. When I figure out our lifting setup, I'll post it.

As a side note, this time I remembered to tighten the wort chiller clamps and we ended up with the correct volume. I guess this technically is then our first true all grain batch.

 

[brewmcq]

Burglar... thanks for the updates... you have built pretty much exactly what I am in the planning stages of building.

As for lifting, I am planning on using a boat winch like the one below. Whether or not I make it into a block and tackle sort of rig is yet unknown, but it will be a good start.

Congrats on a couple of successful brew days!

 

[burglar]

Perfect! I think I'll make a drop in crossbar right at hood height and throw one of those on there. Once the grains drain, it's pretty easy to lift with one person, so I can just slide it out.

That way I can remove the winch during the boil so it doesn't get steamed to death.

My only worry is if I left enough room. When I decided on the stand height I specifically was trying to leave room for a pulley system, but I'm not sure if the winch crank handle will clear.

 

[brewmcq]

Yeah.. you have quite the tight squeeze in there.

I suppose worst case scenario you could add the drop-in crossbar with a pulley on it and maybe mount the winch somewhere on the ceiling..?

 

[legaleagle37]

this will be dependent on various size variables of course, but if you're still dealing with the immersion chiller fit issue try spacing the bottom ring or two of your chiller (however many will fit between the element and bottom) by a distance equal to the height of the element. Insert the chiller at and angle and hook the lower rings under the element. It looked like you had plenty of room.

Quick fix to at least get as much as possible submerged until you figure something else out

 

[burglar]

That is a most excellent suggestion. Thanks.

 

[Cosper123]

Hell you've got all those fancy buttons already why not spend a bit more for an electric wench then you don't have to hand crank

 

[burglar]

Hell you've got all those fancy buttons already why not spend a bit more for an electric wench then you don't have to hand crank

Wonder if I could slide this expense past my wife?

 

[shortyjacobs]

Wonder if I could slide this expense past my wife?

If you have an old car/boat battery hanging around, you can get away with one of these for cheaper:
http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-lb-capacity-remote-control-utility-winch-92860.html

Look at the invisible sculpture link in my signature...I use that exact winch, it's frickin' AWESOME. On a single charge, my 11 year old worn out car battery that got too weak to start my car will run that winch for about a year before I have to juice it again.

 

[jeffmeh]

This looks great. I do have a barrage of questions, as I am looking to do something similar.

How many holes did you drill in the kettle, and for what purposes? Obviously, 1 for the electric element, 1 for the drain, and 1 for the return through the lid. Did you drill a separate one for the sight glass, or is that on the same port as the drain? Did you drill another for the thermocouple probe, or do you just drop that in from the top? If you were to drill and permanently install the thermocouple probe, would there be enough clearance for the basket? If so, where would be the ideal place for the thermocouple? Similarly, would a whirlpool port with a 90deg street elbow, inside the kettle, just below the five gallon mark, leave enough clearance for the basket? What do you think of the idea of having an additional bottom center drain, also valved and teed into the pump inlet, and a clean-in-place spray ball that could be attached to the return port in the lid?

I am thinking about going with the same kettle when I go electric BIAB, and want to (1)recirculate the mash from the top, (2) whirlpool to get a trub cone, (3) drain the wort with a side pickup tube, (4) heat with a 5500W element, (5) use a thermocouple and PID to control the heat, (6) have a sight glass, (7) have a center drain, flush with the bottom, for clean-in-place, and (8) have a sprayball at the top for clean-in-place.

 

[burglar]

We currently have no drain. Only two holes so far - 1 for the element, the other for the brewhardware.com sightglass w/ temp probe threads.

Post boil we chill with an immersion chiller, then use an autosiphon to rack into primary. The stand is built purposely just high enough to do this.

The highest part in there is the element. I have it as low as you can go using Kal's setup - the junction box almost touches the ground. I also adjusted the legs on the basket for maybe only 3mm of clearance from it. That gives somewhere around 3.5 gallons of dead space. Quite a bit, but we are going to try a 5.5gal AG batch on Sunday anyways. Wish us luck.

The rounded portion of the kettle ends only maybe 1/2" up the side. There is plenty of room to put in a dip tube without a height issue. As far as a street elbow at the 5 gallon mark, I think you'd run into clearance issues between the basket and pot. It fits relatively tight. You'd need something really low profile, or to mount it below the 3 gallon mark.

If I did it again, I would put the thermocouple 90° or 180° from the element. I have to be careful when I lift because I'll catch a basket leg under the probe or element easily the way I have it now - maybe only a 15° window. I have marks on the two I align to prevent it.

If you recirculate, I'd think about putting the temp probe on the recirc line. You'd get great response.

I don't really see the need for CIP, although I do like the idea. Once we put the wort into primary, I just unplug the kettle and RTD, tip it over the washtub, and rinse it out. It's big, but not heavy, and Kal's mounting technique is very sturdy for those inevitable bumps. It takes maybe two minutes. Nothing burns to the bottom like with gas, so cleanup is stupid easy.

Recirculation is our next step. Right now the whole process is just so simple, and the beer is tasting great, so I'm in no rush to change it.

 

[jeffmeh]

Thanks for the response. I am happy with my current BIAB system (15 gal pot and propane) so it certainly is more "want" than "need." I'm really just brainstorming at this point and collecting ideas. On paper, all the bells and whistles are cheap.

It sounds like the clearance between the basket and the kettle is such that everything sticking into the pot needs to be either below the kettle or removable (e.g., recirculation return through the lid). I might forego the basket in that case, although I would still have to be careful not to create hazards to snag the bag.

I think you will be fine on a 5.5 gal batch. At least on my current system, I would likely start with around 8.5 gallons for that, so there would still be 5 gallons or so in contact with the grain. Of course, if you were recirculating, you would not care as much about the volume below the basket.