Full Volume BIAB Efficiency

[PersonalBrewer]

Just curious, what's the largest batch you've done in your 15 gal kettle?

Not the guy you asked, nor do I have a Spike kettle

I have a Northern Brewer 15 Gallon Megapot.

Last four batches or so, I have usually put nine and a half gallons into two kegs. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Nine and a half leaves about the right CO2 head space into two kegs. Better than doing the full five/ten gallons, IMO.

I just take a net five gallon recipe, and double it. Due to there being less water, the ABV will be down a little, can add more grains to the bill if you are concerned about it.

I pull the bag out (with rope and pulley), squeeze it pretty well and then sit it on/in a five gallon bucket to drain.

I then add four and a half gallons of very hot water and start boiling.

If you are going to raise the boil level this high, you need to have a needle valve adjustment on the burner and watch it carefully with a water spray bottle handy in the first fifteen minutes to knock down any potential boil over. It will settle down after the first fifteen minutes.

I usually do a ninety minute boil.

After fifteen, twenty minutes or so boiling, I pull the bag and empty it, and put the wort collected in the five gallon bucket in with the rest of the boil. The level will be down a bit by then, and if a little bit of wort is boiled for an hour instead of 90 minutes I don't see that as a problem.

I've done several slightly over thirty lb grain bills this way and they have come out fine. with my setup, I don't believe I would want to try my than about 30/31 lbs of grain.

There is a slight loss in efficiency that I have never calculated. I usually hit my intended Specify Gravities, ABV and volume pretty close into the kegs. Actually, it's harder to nail the volume due to leaving trub in the kettle and fermenter than the ABV.

Works for me, and I'm glad to fill two kegs in one brewing session instead of one and a half.

 

[Andre3000]

My mash/lauter efficiency for full volume BIAB is 83% +/- 1%. I have a planned 9% loss at the end of the process which brings my total efficiency down to 74%. I was getting upwards of 86% to 87% efficiency using the same process, but I had issues with developing good body in my beers. I changed my grind just a bit and tuned it to a slightly lower efficiency which gave me better control of the wort I produced.

On higher gravity recipes, I do a BIAB with a batch sparge. This typically adds around 2% to 3% to my efficiency numbers which keeps my average mash/lauter efficiency right around the 83% mark.

Can you elaborate on how a lower efficiency, I assume from coarser crush, might help develop better body in your beers?

 

[nymtber]

I tend to get 82% and use that to calculate my numbers now. I'm always within one point if gravity!

I use a cereal killer mill, gap set to credit card, mill with a plug in low speed drill.

I'm happy with 82%. Don't see any reason to brew differently!

 

[p4x]

last weekend I did attempt #3 at the fresh squeezed IPA and nailed it. OG was on the money at 1.069

Now I have to consider using a smaller grain bill cause the expected ABV will probably be around 7.4%, at that strength I'm pretty much done after 2 beers haha.

IDK why but after a certain ABV, it hits me a lot harder. I can drink 4-6 6% beers with no problem, but once it starts getting into the high 6's - 7+ I feel like crashing after 2-3 beers. Maybe I'm getting old

Sometimes, I really love to get smashed after 2 or 3 beers, it's very hypnótic xD