Contemplating 1/2 bbl BIAB

[apache_brew]

Thinking about simplifying my brew day (tired of 8 hour setup/tear down) while up-scaling from 10 to 15 gallon batches. I have access to a 25 gallon pot and a natural gas line from my garage, I just need a new burner and a hoist. My hopes are that with a 20+ gallon strike water volume, I won't have to bother with any fancy mash temp controllers. (I was looking at the Brew Commander in particular)

I'm trying to understand what downsides there would be over conventional all grain. Excessive gunk* in the kettle (hot break/cold break)? Fermentability? Clarity? I'm used to using whirlfoc and biofine and every single beer I've brewed (20+ batches) has been bright after a week in the keg. I mostly brew IPAs and lagers. Any limitations on beer styles?

Cheers

 

[wilserbrewer]

I’ve done about 8-10, 1/2B batches and have concluded that mash temps remain very stable due to the mass of liquor and grist.
Outdoors in a Wisconsin winter may be different, but with reasonable ambient temps, I feel mash temps are very steady for large batch BIAB and implementing sophisticated mash temp control isn’t needed unless you like to play w toys lol....jmo
Cheers

 

[Nubiwan]

Might be ridiculed for this, but whether brewing 3 or 20 gallon batches, what is the major concern with a change of 2, 4 or even 6 degrees, in mash temp? Yes I get the alpha/beta amylase sweet spots, but so what? Does this affect how your beer will taste?

In a cold Canadian winter, a 7-8 gallon batch, with nothing but a blanket and a pillow will stay within a degree or two during a mash. Is my beer hurting because of it? Should I strive to buy a belt to make sure my 153 temp stays stable throughout?

I think it's been documented on brulosophy, that it is difficult to distinguish between many beers, mashed separately at extreme temps (167-147 degrees), resulting in two very unique ABV variants of the same beer. That even with a minor change in mash temp, and resulting ABV difference, few, if any, could tell the difference.

http://brulosophy.com/2018/08/13/mash-temperature-147f-64c-vs-164-73c-exbeeriment-results/
http://brulosophy.com/2016/08/22/th...eme-temperature-variance-exbeeriment-results/

So, can someone give me a good reason why anyone should be concerned a mash temp varies even just 3-4 degrees?

I ask this as a relative newbie been full grain brewing for perhaps a year. I want to know if mash temps fluctuations really makes a difference.

 

[Bobby_M]

25 is a little small unless og is 4.5%
31g is more versatile. You will also benefit from attaching your hoist to a unistrut trolley in a length of unistrut to slide the bag away from the kettle. It will at least 40lbs.

 

[apache_brew]

25 is a little small unless og is 4.5%
31g is more versatile. You will also benefit from attaching your hoist to a unistrut trolley in a length of unistrut to slide the bag away from the kettle. It will at least 40lbs.

I ended up going the rectangular cooler route instead with a 120 qt cooler and a Wilser bag. I've yet to gather all the components and brew with them, but after seeing the success with this method via Bruloshophy and relatively similar arrangement to my current 2 vessel re-circulation approach, I want to give it a try.

PS Bobby, thanks for the great video on the cooler bulkhead tip with the internal reinforcement.