First Biab

[Tomokka]

Hey all!

I have finally got all of my equipment for my first AG brew and i am going to go the biab route. I still havent ordered the grain or the hops and i am missing also the biab bag itself. I have a few questions i would like to get cleared up before i make the final purchases.

First questions is about the biab bag.

Originally i was going to buy the bag from my local homebrew store but they have run out and i have to say i am not liking how they price these bags (15 euros for a piece of fabric ). Now i have been thinking of just going to the fabric store and buying it myself. As i understand the fabric called polyester voile is supposed to be quite good material for a biab bag, but i am not sure how big the holes in the bag should be? Is there actually some agreed measurement for the holes in the bag, so that i could just walk in the store and ask them to bring me this fabric with these excat holes?

Also i am not sure how much fabric i should buy? I am hoping that i dont have to sew the fabric at all and instead just buy enough so it fits my kettle nicely. The question i have is how much fabric do i need? Should the fabric be so big that it covers all the walls in my kettle or should it be smaller?

The second question is in relation to my equipment and the first recipe i am going to try. As my first brew i am going to make Edworst house pale ale, but i am not sure how to scale the recipe for my equipment. I have a brewferm pro kettle that is 27 liters big. The batch size in the recipe is about 21 liters and i think it would be impossible for me to make that much beer with my kettle. I have been trying to play around with beersmith 2 trial to try to get the right measurements, but with out knowing what my effiency is going to be it seems really hard. I was wondering could you guys recommend some measurements that i could use so that i can replicate this recipe for my system?

 

[RM-MN]

You'll want a piece of material large enough to line the pot so that the grains are free to move around and not be constricted. The exact weave probably isn't really important. You might find it easier to get a paint strainer bag than to mess with the cloth.

I've seen quite a few people struggle with Beersmith. I think it is a great tool to use when you have some experience but for the first time all grain brewer it is confusing. You might be better served by this tool as it is designed for BIAB brewing. http://pricelessbrewing.github.io/

Make sure that you change to the metric side of the calculator. The change is a simple click link at the top.

 

[steelsoldier77]

In regards to the fabric, from what I'm told, the fabric isn't too important, you could even take an old t-shirt and sew the sleeves and head-hole shut and use that. I wish someone had told me that before I went and bought fabric and paid someone to sew me a bag that ended up too small anyways...anyways that's my experience with BIAB. I would much rather buy the bag, because 15 euros is less than what I ended up spending.

 

[Tomokka]

You'll want a piece of material large enough to line the pot so that the grains are free to move around and not be constricted. The exact weave probably isn't really important. You might find it easier to get a paint strainer bag than to mess with the cloth.

I've seen quite a few people struggle with Beersmith. I think it is a great tool to use when you have some experience but for the first time all grain brewer it is confusing. You might be better served by this tool as it is designed for BIAB brewing. http://pricelessbrewing.github.io/

Make sure that you change to the metric side of the calculator. The change is a simple click link at the top.

Thanks for the reply!

The tool you posted for me seemed really simple and usefull, but i have a few questions about it.

I entered as my batch size 17 liters.

I kept the grain bill the same as in the original recipe at 4.7 kilos since i am pretty sure my efficiency wont be as high as in the original recipe.

As results the program gave me:

Total water needed: 25.46 liters
Strike temp: 66,89 Celcius
Total Volume loss : 8,5 liters

The results are probably affected by the fact that i have no idea what to enter into many of the options in the program like boil-off rate or trub loss so i kept them in their original values. I also dont think i will be sparging so i entered 0 as value in that field. Regardless I dont think my 27 liter kettle can hold 25,46 liters of water with 4,7 kilos of grain.

Should I aim for a smaller batch size, less grain or something else?

 

[phug]

Keep your grain bill and use however much of the 24 litres or whatever in your mash. And then either sparge with the remainder of the water, or top up with it after. Keep in mind that your efficiency will be impacted


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Tomokka]

Keep your grain bill and use however much of the 24 litres or whatever in your mash. And then either sparge with the remainder of the water, or top up with it after. Keep in mind that your efficiency will be impacted


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

If i sparge with the rest of the water will it still negatively impact my efficiency or is it just if i top off with the rest of the water?

Is there like a good way to do a sparge with very limited equipment? I only have my brewkettle and one 15 liter pot.

 

[RM-MN]

If i sparge with the rest of the water will it still negatively impact my efficiency or is it just if i top off with the rest of the water?

Is there like a good way to do a sparge with very limited equipment? I only have my brewkettle and one 15 liter pot.

Unfortunately, sparging will likely increase your efficiency. Too bad about that, what will you do with stronger beer?

Topping off will reduce your efficiency since you would be diluting the beer. Not too bad a thing but even a small sparge would be better.:rockin:

Sparging is simply rinsing out the excess sugars that didn't come out when you drained the bag. If you have a colander or an oven rack that will fit across your pot you can use any pot or pitcher and pour water over that bag of grains and get some more sugars. I use cold tap water and it increases my brewhouse efficiency by 5% or more.

 

[Tomokka]

Thanks to all for the help

So after playing around with beersmith and priceless brew in a bag calculator, i need around 23 liters of water in the mash. According to beersmith the mashtun should be able to hold the water plus 4,36 kilos of grain, but i am a bit skeptical. Should i lower the water in the mashtun and then use the rest as sparge water? Like 19 liters in mashtun and then sparge with 4 liters?

Also do people on the forum recommend doing mashout?

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks to all for the help

So after playing around with beersmith and priceless brew in a bag calculator, i need around 23 liters of water in the mash. According to beersmith the mashtun should be able to hold the water plus 4,36 kilos of grain, but i am a bit skeptical. Should i lower the water in the mashtun and then use the rest as sparge water? Like 19 liters in mashtun and then sparge with 4 liters?

Also do people on the forum recommend doing mashout?

I'd try this batch with the lower amount of water and then do a sparge. With this one done, you'll know if you want to use more for the next batch. You'll also know how much you boil off so you'll have more information for the next batch.

Lots of people do a mashout without knowing why. They've read that you should do a mashout so they do but a mashout is only needed if you are fly sparging because for that your grains are kept in the water for the entire time of the fly sparging which could be nearly an hour. Without the mashout that wort would become very fermentable as the beta amylase would keep working.

You'll be doing this batch BIAB and there really is no way to fly sparge with that so you don't need a mashout. When the mash is done, you'll pull the bag and start heating the wort collected. That will take the place of the mashout as your grains will no longer be in the water and will soon be hot enough to denature the enzymes anyway.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Thanks for the reply!

The tool you posted for me seemed really simple and usefull, but i have a few questions about it.

I entered as my batch size 17 liters.

I kept the grain bill the same as in the original recipe at 4.7 kilos since i am pretty sure my efficiency wont be as high as in the original recipe.

As results the program gave me:

Total water needed: 25.46 liters
Strike temp: 66,89 Celcius
Total Volume loss : 8,5 liters

The results are probably affected by the fact that i have no idea what to enter into many of the options in the program like boil-off rate or trub loss so i kept them in their original values. I also dont think i will be sparging so i entered 0 as value in that field. Regardless I dont think my 27 liter kettle can hold 25,46 liters of water with 4,7 kilos of grain.

Should I aim for a smaller batch size, less grain or something else?

I would just sparge. If you set sparge to 0 but don't use all the water or grain, yout strike and mash temp will not be accurate.

Alternatively you could lower your batch size.


Rmmn gave good advice. I have checked the metric calculator in a bit, I'll work on it Wednesday and make sure everything is accurate still. I know I've corrected mash volume and added some features since the last time.

 

[Tomokka]

So when you do biab there isnt a rule about the water/grain ratio or it isnt as important as when you do a normal mash?

I was thinking of doing the sparge so that i get a grill on top of a bucket and put the bag of grains there to drain. Then i heat the sparge water in a kettle and poor it gently on top of the bag and let it drip in the bucket. After thats done i will add it to the boil kettle. Should i also dip the bag in the sparge water or is it enough just to poor the water on top and then squeeze?

 

[rupert130]

So when you do biab there isnt a rule about the water/grain ratio or it isnt as important as when you do a normal mash?

I was thinking of doing the sparge so that i get a grill on top of a bucket and put the bag of grains there to drain. Then i heat the sparge water in a kettle and poor it gently on top of the bag and let it drip in the bucket. After thats done i will add it to the boil kettle. Should i also dip the bag in the sparge water or is it enough just to poor the water on top and then squeeze?

Either method will work. You could try each and see what results in better efficiency. You may find it more convenient to simply put the bag in your sparge water rather than pouring it over.

 

[RM-MN]

So when you do biab there isnt a rule about the water/grain ratio or it isnt as important as when you do a normal mash?

I was thinking of doing the sparge so that i get a grill on top of a bucket and put the bag of grains there to drain. Then i heat the sparge water in a kettle and poor it gently on top of the bag and let it drip in the bucket. After thats done i will add it to the boil kettle. Should i also dip the bag in the sparge water or is it enough just to poor the water on top and then squeeze?

The water to grain ratio isn't very important in either case but when you do a mash in the tun, you need to get enough water in there to get the grains mixed well and not so much that you cannot sparge although some people do no sparge brewing in a mash tun too.

Instead of putting the grill on top the bucket, why not put it on top of the pot that has the wort in it if you have the room. That way you won't have a bucket to clean afterwards. You'll also be able to see how much to sparge to get your proper pre-boil amount since you can see the level of the wort increase as you add the sparge water. Remember to quit adding sparge water before you reach the final amount wanted because you will be able to squeeze some wort from the bag when you are done sparging.

 

[Tomokka]

Thanks again for your help!

Will probably put an order in today for the grains and the bag. The last thing that worries me a bit is if i manage to burn my bag. I have a brewferm pro 27 litre kettle that uses a thermostat to regulate heat. I havent really tried it yet, but i think that the heating element is fired on at least a few times during the mash so that the temperature stays at the right number. I was wondering do i need to put something in the bottom to keep the bag from burning or is it just bad luck if the bag happens to burn?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Easiest solution is to not fire the element during the mash, but just wrap the pot in a blanket.

I would not energize a heating element unless you are stirring the mash constantly, or have a false bottom.


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Tomokka]

The water to grain ratio isn't very important in either case but when you do a mash in the tun, you need to get enough water in there to get the grains mixed well and not so much that you cannot sparge although some people do no sparge brewing in a mash tun too.

Instead of putting the grill on top the bucket, why not put it on top of the pot that has the wort in it if you have the room. That way you won't have a bucket to clean afterwards. You'll also be able to see how much to sparge to get your proper pre-boil amount since you can see the level of the wort increase as you add the sparge water. Remember to quit adding sparge water before you reach the final amount wanted because you will be able to squeeze some wort from the bag when you are done sparging.

Maybe a dumb guestion, but how do you know how much wort you have in the kettle after mash? I dont really have any indicators on the kettle itself only my fermenter.

 

[wtaylor3]

Maybe a dumb guestion, but how do you know how much wort you have in the kettle after mash? I dont really have any indicators on the kettle itself only my fermenter.

I have heard of people putting in a known amount of water and making appropriate marks either on kettle itself or on the stir spoon for reference on brew day

 

[RM-MN]

Maybe a dumb guestion, but how do you know how much wort you have in the kettle after mash? I dont really have any indicators on the kettle itself only my fermenter.

I use a tape measure. I know how high the pot is and I know how much it holds at that height. It's pretty easy to measure and calculate or measure and just estimate if you aren't terribly concerned at total accuracy. I usually eyeball the wort and measure on the outside but as long as you are measuring before the boil you'll kill any bacteria added by the tape measure.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Maybe a dumb guestion, but how do you know how much wort you have in the kettle after mash? I dont really have any indicators on the kettle itself only my fermenter.

I have an aluminum ruler I use. My kettles a straight walled cylinder, so volume of a cylinder then solve for height.

 

[Tomokka]

Thanks for all your help!

I think i have almost everything settled so far when it come the process itself. The one thing i was wondering is how the recipe fits with my plans of no-chilling the wort. I dont own a wort chiller so my only method of cooling the wort is leaving it in the kettle and then when it gets cool enough pouring it into the fermenter to cool untill pitching temp. I have a few questions related to no-chill:

1. Should i adapt the hop additions for the longer cooling period?

2. I am not sure yet how i am going to get 20 liters of near boiling wort into my air tight plastic fermenter with out some serious risk. Is it possible to just leave it in my stainless steel kettle overnight or does it do something to the metal of the kettle?

One thing I was still wondering that doesn't really relate to my first BIAB batch is the future upgrading of my system. I usually like quite strong beers from 8 %-10% alcohol and was wondering is the biab method with a 27 liter kettle too small to make those kinds of brews? Should i at some point upgrade to a 10 gallon picknic cooler mashtun and then just boil the wort in my 27 liter kettle?

 

[soccerdad]

I think you are talking about a "modified no chill" if you plan to pitch the next day into cooled wort.

I say modified because some of the original Aussie no chillers were 'packaging' boiled wort into airtight containers that might sit for days, weeks or even months before pitching and starting fermentation.

Chilling overnight in the kettle easy - and I would just use the kettle. If you just let it sit on a counter or stove top, you might only get to 75 or 80 F. So if you can fit the kettle in a sink, run a gallon of cold water in there before you hit the sack, and throw a tray or 2 of ice cubes in that. It will get you below 70 in most cases.

Oh - I also put plastic wrap over the kettle just to limit the airspace between kettle and lid. That airspace might allow for faster cooling, but the snakes, possums, warlocks and fruit bats in your kitchen have an easier time getting in.

 

[Tomokka]

I think you are talking about a "modified no chill" if you plan to pitch the next day into cooled wort.

I say modified because some of the original Aussie no chillers were 'packaging' boiled wort into airtight containers that might sit for days, weeks or even months before pitching and starting fermentation.

Chilling overnight in the kettle easy - and I would just use the kettle. If you just let it sit on a counter or stove top, you might only get to 75 or 80 F. So if you can fit the kettle in a sink, run a gallon of cold water in there before you hit the sack, and throw a tray or 2 of ice cubes in that. It will get you below 70 in most cases.

Oh - I also put plastic wrap over the kettle just to limit the airspace between kettle and lid. That airspace might allow for faster cooling, but the snakes, possums, warlocks and fruit bats in your kitchen have an easier time getting in.

Ok. So the wort cant really harm the stainless steel kettle even after many hours?

 

[m00ps]

For what its worth, I've found full-volume methods is much much easier for BIAB. So for a 5gal batch you'd need maybe 7 gal in the pot to account for evaporation and the grains sucking up. I've got a thermometer on my kettle and just use it as the mash tun. You'll need to dial in your water amounts and what setting on your stove will keep the mash stable but its so so so easy once you get the rhythm

And to your last question. The wort could stay in the kettle for days. The only thing that would happen is it would get infected if bacteria gets in. But make sure you get it to below 70 for pitching or you're asking for off flavors

 

[TexasWine]

2. I am not sure yet how i am going to get 20 liters of near boiling wort into my air tight plastic fermenter with out some serious risk. Is it possible to just leave it in my stainless steel kettle overnight or does it do something to the metal of the kettle?

I'd suggest transferring the hot wort directly to your fermenter with a pitcher that has a handle. Once the kettle is empty enough you can then just tip it up and dump the entire contents into the fermenter. Affix the lid and use an s air lock so you don't suck anything back and just let it sit until you get to pitching temp.

That's the method I use and my beer tastes great. And it gives me a little more peace of mind that my beer is in an air tight container while it's cooling and something has to get past my airlock to get into my beer.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I'd suggest transferring the hot wort directly to your fermenter with a pitcher that has a handle. Once the kettle is empty enough you can then just tip it up and dump the entire contents into the fermenter. Affix the lid and use an s air lock so you don't suck anything back and just let it sit until you get to pitching temp.

That's the method I use and my beer tastes great. And it gives me a little more peace of mind that my beer is in an air tight container while it's cooling and something has to get past my airlock to get into my beer.

Good idea, any thoughts on scooping it out with a small saucepan? I think it's probably like 3 qt or there abouts. It's stainless, so should be easy to clean and sanitize, and scratch proof, and is food safe at boiling.

 

[TexasWine]

Good idea, any thoughts on scooping it out with a small saucepan? I think it's probably like 3 qt or there abouts. It's stainless, so should be easy to clean and sanitize, and scratch proof, and is food safe at boiling.

A saucepan would work great too. Honestly, there shouldn't be a need to sanitize it. Just clean it good. The wort should be just below boiling temp and will be plenty hot to kill off any potential bugs, and it won't cool off for some time.

 

[wilserbrewer]

So in order to avoid the worries of "potential" infection present in the 1/2 cup of air sucked back in the kettle during an overnight chill, we are going to ladle near boiling wort to the fermenter? Ok have at it.

If you have the opportunity, do a little reading on "cool ships" and how they were used for cooling wort, basically they put the wort in large flat shallow vats and left the windows open overnight.

Just my opinion, but all this worrying will make you old before your time.

Do what makes ya happy....cheers!


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[pricelessbrewing]

So in order to avoid the worries of "potential" infection present in the 1/2 cup of air sucked back in the kettle during an overnight chill, we are going to ladle near boiling wort to the fermenter? Ok have at it.

If you have the opportunity, do a little reading on "cool ships" and how they were used for cooling wort, basically they put the wort in large flat shallow vats and left the windows open overnight.

Just my opinion, but all this worrying will make you old before your time.

Do what makes ya happy....cheers!


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

The only no chill I've done was lifted and poured into the fermenter after the boil. I know I will not ve doing thaf again.

Whether I leave it in the kettle for a day or two, then siphoned into the fermenter or scoop out of the kettle I haven't decided. I'll probably leave in the kettle though unless the swmbo gets mad I blocked the stovetop off.

Another reason he wanted to scoop into the primary was to sanitize the fermenter. Which seems valid to me. But I probably won't be doing it, I'm lazy enough to put a lid on it and call it a day.

 

[Tomokka]

When you are scooping near boiling wort dont you have to worry about oxidation? I always thought you need to mix air in the wort only when your just about to pitch the yeast in.

 

[TexasWine]

I believe you're referring to hot side aeration. There's lot of debate on that topic. All the evidence I've seen, and experienced first hand with my own beer, indicates it's either not a problem or is a myth and doesn't exist at all.

 

[Tomokka]

I havent done many brews but I have read a lot about homebrewing in different forums and sites and I have come to the conclusion that nothing is certain in this hobby . Many of the things i've read from Palmer or BYO site that are presented as iron rules of homebrewing seem to be quite controversial in practise.

 

[RM-MN]

I havent done many brews but I have read a lot about homebrewing in different forums and sites and I have come to the conclusion that nothing is certain in this hobby . Many of the things i've read from Palmer or BYO site that are presented as iron rules of homebrewing seem to be quite controversial in practise.

Some of us want to push the limits and are willing to sacrifice a batch of beer to find out just what the limits are. I've been around for quite a while and have noticed that even having a PhD at the end of your name doesn't mean you know everything and maybe not everything even in the field of study where you received your PhD.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I have found that sometimes PHD's make rules for things they feel may happen that actually never do.

One PhD Geotechnical engineer I deal with couldn't find his way out of a box. I have found it easier to just have him come to the office, as he can't seem to find the bridge on his own.



Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Tomokka]

So i got my grains and my hops yesterday, but the site i ordered from ran out of the yeast i wanted, so they are going to sent a replacement for friday.

I am trying to brew Edworts haus pale ale, but its not going to be an exact copy since i couldnt get all the ingredients the recipe required.

So my ingredients are:

4 kg (8,8 lb) of Pale ale EBC 5
1 kg (2,2 lb) of Vienna
300 grams ( 0,66 lb) of CAREHELL

For hops i couldnt get cascade so I instead went with Amarillo (7,9%) and the yeast is most like going to be US-05 unless the the site i ordered from gets a new shipment of Danstar nottingham by today.

What i would like is a little help in adjusting this recipe and ingredients to my equipment.

Like i said earlier i have a 27 liter pot that uses a thermostat to keep the mashing temp stable. I am going to put a metal collander in the bottom so that the bag doesnt get burned while the heat is on.

I am going to mash the grains in 67 degress celcius (about 152-153 fahrenheit). What i am wondering is how many liiters of water do i mash the grains in? According to http://pricelessbrewing.github.io/Metric if i want the batch size to be 18 liters I would require 22,07 liters of water to mash the grains. I was also thinking of using 6 liters of water to sparge the grain with. According to the calculator this would put my pre boil volume at 24,34 liters which seems quite a lot in a 27 liter pot. I havent experienced a boil over but i guess with these volumes it would be pretty close.

You can also see that i have a bit more grains than the original recipe requires since this is my first biab and i am worried that the efficiency might not be as high as i hope. Does this extra grain effect the mashing process somehow?

And finally my hops. According to the recipe Hops are added at 60 mins (30 grams) , 30 mins (15 grams), 15 mins (7,5 grams) and 5 mins (7,5 grams).

Since i dont have a chiller i am going the no-chill route and leave the wort in the kettle and siphon it to the fermenter when it gets cool enough. I was thinking of using the no-chill hop schedule i have found on this site which would mean a hop schedule of 40 mins, 10 minutes, FHW 30 minutes and dry hopping. I was wondering how is FHW actually done? Is it done while i still have 30 minutes of mash to go or have i understood it wrong? Also i have hop pellets and since i dont know if the original recipe was done with pellets i was wondering should i adjust the ammounts?

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[RM-MN]

Since you have to make all the substitutions you are no longer brewing Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale, but a new recipe. That isn't all bad, in fact, I do it often and enjoy the beer I make. I like the flavor I get from Cascade hops but I also like Amarillo. Either yeast you mentioned will make similar beers being a clean fermenting yeast. Do try to keep the temperature of the fermenter down during the first 3 to 5 days. The yeasts you mentioned will give you off flavors if fermented too warm. Try to keep the fermenter in the near 15.5C. Too low and the yeast will go dormant, too high and you get weird flavors. You can use a temperature controlled refrigerator or put the fermenter in a tub of water and add ice to that to maintain the temperature.

As you boil your wort you lose water to steam. Since the calculator calls for 23L in a 27L pot you are right to worry but you don't have to put it all in at once. Save out your sparge wort and let the pot boil for perhaps 30 minutes before you add it. That should keep you from having a boil over and it will still give the late addition time to boil off DMS.

Of more concern is the no-chill. You get bittering from hops by boiling them and to maximize this they need nearly an hour long boil. That long boil drives off the aromatic oils so to preserve these, we put some of the hops in later so they aren't boiled as long. Unfortunately, when you don't chill, the wort stays hot for a long time and the hops you added later lose the aromatics and add to bitterness. It's a difficult balance to get the flavor and aroma from hops when you don't chill.

If you have a large tub that can hold water, put water in it so that it will be near the level of your wort in the boil pot when the pot is set in it. That large amount of cool water will bring the temperature of the wort down fairly quickly. You might have to exchange the water in the tub as it gets too warm, either by dumping some of it out or by continuously running a hose into it and letting the hotter water spill out. You can also increase the temperature drop by adding ice to the water in the tub.

 

[Tomokka]

Since you have to make all the substitutions you are no longer brewing Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale, but a new recipe. That isn't all bad, in fact, I do it often and enjoy the beer I make. I like the flavor I get from Cascade hops but I also like Amarillo. Either yeast you mentioned will make similar beers being a clean fermenting yeast. Do try to keep the temperature of the fermenter down during the first 3 to 5 days. The yeasts you mentioned will give you off flavors if fermented too warm. Try to keep the fermenter in the near 15.5C. Too low and the yeast will go dormant, too high and you get weird flavors. You can use a temperature controlled refrigerator or put the fermenter in a tub of water and add ice to that to maintain the temperature.

As you boil your wort you lose water to steam. Since the calculator calls for 23L in a 27L pot you are right to worry but you don't have to put it all in at once. Save out your sparge wort and let the pot boil for perhaps 30 minutes before you add it. That should keep you from having a boil over and it will still give the late addition time to boil off DMS.

Of more concern is the no-chill. You get bittering from hops by boiling them and to maximize this they need nearly an hour long boil. That long boil drives off the aromatic oils so to preserve these, we put some of the hops in later so they aren't boiled as long. Unfortunately, when you don't chill, the wort stays hot for a long time and the hops you added later lose the aromatics and add to bitterness. It's a difficult balance to get the flavor and aroma from hops when you don't chill.

If you have a large tub that can hold water, put water in it so that it will be near the level of your wort in the boil pot when the pot is set in it. That large amount of cool water will bring the temperature of the wort down fairly quickly. You might have to exchange the water in the tub as it gets too warm, either by dumping some of it out or by continuously running a hose into it and letting the hotter water spill out. You can also increase the temperature drop by adding ice to the water in the tub.

Thanks for yor answer.

Unfortunately i wont be hitting that fermentation temperature since i dont have a fridge that could fit my fermenter. The only place i have room is the basement which has a temperature between 18-22 celcius.

The problem with trying to cool the wort is that the kettle i use has all the electric components in the bottom so its impossible to cool the wort in cold water while its still in the kettle. I would have to get the hot wort out into the fermenter somehow and then put that fermenter inside another fermenter that is filled with water and ice.

 

[TexasWine]

It's a difficult balance to get the flavor and aroma from hops when you don't chill.

Not sure I totally agree with this. After a bad experience trying to chill my first extract batch, I haven't chilled since . And I've never had a problem getting the flavor and aroma I was shooting for.

I'm still pretty new to brewing so I don't know any special tricks nor do I make any adjustments to my hop schedules due to no chilling. I just dump it right into the fermenter and a few weeks later I have really tasty beer (and aromatic ) beer.

Not trying to be combative, but no chill really has simplified my process tremendously and I haven't seen any ill effects.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for yor answer.

Unfortunately i wont be hitting that fermentation temperature since i dont have a fridge that could fit my fermenter. The only place i have room is the basement which has a temperature between 18-22 celcius.

The problem with trying to cool the wort is that the kettle i use has all the electric components in the bottom so its impossible to cool the wort in cold water while its still in the kettle. I would have to get the hot wort out into the fermenter somehow and then put that fermenter inside another fermenter that is filled with water and ice.

OK, we'll roll with that. With no-chill, start your boil with the plan to boil for 60 minutes. Don't add your first hop until the wort has boiled for 15 minutes, making that a 45 minute hop addition. Keep delaying the additional hops for that same 15 minutes and add your final hop after the wort has cooled to near 80C.

I've only tried first wort hopping once with BIAB. That was the only time I was unable to control my heat to avoid a boil over. After cleaning my stove top once, I decided not to try that again. YMMV

I bring the wort to a boil and watch so that it doesn't boil over because when it first comes to a boil there will be a huge amount of foam (hot break) which will subside within a couple minutes of the start of the boil. That's when I usually add my first hops.

 

[madscientist451]

I usually brew late in the day then set my brew kettle on the back porch and the cool night air chills it just fine by morning. I then siphon off the wort from the trub that has settled out. Some just dump it all in trub and all, don't know which is better.
I don't know if your electric kettle will scorch your brew bag, but I found the bag in a kettle method to be messy and a hassle to keep the temp close to where I wanted it. I got a round cooler and now do a modified BIAB by just putting the bag in a cooler, mash , then do two batch sparges.

 

[Tomokka]

Ok hopefully today i can get my first AG brew on the way. I wanted to still list the steps here so the people with more knowledge than me can point out if something is wrong.

1. I was thinking of mashing 5,3 kilos of grain in 20 liters of water in my 27 liter kettle.
Is it too much water for that much grain?

2. After mashing, using about 6 liters of sparge water to rinse the sugars in my fermenter. If the kettle is too full after the mash i will boil some water off before adding the sparge wort

3. Letting the wort cool in the kettle / fermenter.
I forgot to mention that my kettle has a prefitted tap on it, so I could basically poor the hot wort in my air tight fermenter for exemple when it hits 80 degrees celcius. I guess the benefit would be less chance of an infection with the downside being the possiblity of hot side aeration. Which option would you guys pick?

Thanks again for you help