I want to start BIAB but I a Noob and don't know what I'm doing!!

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htims05

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I've brewed and extract kit - no issues there, I'm now converting to Kegging and BIAB...

I have a 8g kettle and plan to do 5g batches...but my questions are around brew day.

How do I know what temperatures and for how long to boil things for, when and how long to add ingredients, etc? The extract kit was simple...it had a sheet that told you exactly what to do.

For BIAB though I'm struggling to know what my steps are after researching this forum and the interwebs...I get the concept, but the specifics is what I'm looking for and I understand that would be different for each recipe....does brewsmith software give me all this information (Note: I'm not going to be making my own recipes just yet).
 
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The easiest way to start is to get all grain kits. It'll come with instructions just like the extract kit. I did about 3 all grain kits when I moved from extract to BIAB, and then I bought bulk ingredients and put them together myself.

If you go to Morebeer and look at their kits, almost all of them will have a picture of the recipe with the amount of each ingredient, when to add hops, etc.

What style of beers do you plan on making first? And do you have a grain mill, or will you be buying the grains already milled?
 
A few things. (I assume you already have a bag)
  • Grind the malt pretty fine; some flour and dust is okay. You'll get better efficiency with a fine grind and with BIAB you don't really have to worry about a stuck sparge.
  • You want to mash at about 150 degrees. Your software will probably tell you what temperature the water needs to be (maybe 158?) when you add the grain; the grain will drop the temperature. I said 150 because that will work if you miss by a few degrees either direction. Once you get a little experience with your equipment you will be able to hit 148 or 152 or 154; whatever the recipe calls for. If you end up way off, turn on the heat to warm it up, or add some cold water or a little ice to cool it.
  • The conversion might be done in 15 minutes, but give it at least 45 minutes to develop and extract all the flavors. 60 minutes is a really good mash time. Since most of the conversion was done at the beginning, don't worry if your temperature drifts down. (but it won't drift much because of the high volume of water.
That's all I got for now.
 
I'll probably start with some ales and IPA's. I don't have a mill so I'll have to buy them pre-milled - I hear to have them milled as fine as possible (not sure if my local homebrew supply has grains and/or can mill for me)

I have an 8gallon kettle - it's probably more like 9.5 if the water was filled to the brim. When Looking at morebeer's site under the all grain recipe kits (I don't see any dedicated BIAB like some other sites)....I'm not finding recipe specific instructions...just generic all-grain instructions.
 
z-bob said:
A few things. (I assume you already have a bag)
  • Grind the malt pretty fine; some flour and dust is okay. You'll get better efficiency with a fine grind and with BIAB you don't really have to worry about a stuck sparge.
  • You want to mash at about 150 degrees. Your software will probably tell you what temperature the water needs to be (maybe 158?) when you add the grain; the grain will drop the temperature. I said 150 because that will work if you miss by a few degrees either direction. Once you get a little experience with your equipment you will be able to hit 148 or 152 or 154; whatever the recipe calls for. If you end up way off, turn on the heat to warm it up, or add some cold water or a little ice to cool it.
  • The conversion might be done in 15 minutes, but give it at least 45 minutes to develop and extract all the flavors. 60 minutes is a really good mash time. Since most of the conversion was done at the beginning, don't worry if your temperature drifts down. (but it won't drift much because of the high volume of water.
That's all I got for now.
Click to expand...

Thanks this is helpful!
 
I thought you said you had a 15 gallon kettle. I use an 8 gallon kettle for 4 gallon batches. I think I could do 5 gallons but it might be tight.

As far as milling the grain, get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Commercial-Manual-Grinder-Hopper/dp/B00JZZKLHI I use an ancient Corona mill that looks almost just like that my dad bought 50 years ago. The Corona brand costs a little more; don't know if it's worth it. The mill will pay for itself by allowing you to buy 50 pound bags of grain, cheap.
 
z-bob said:
I thought you said you had a 15 gallon kettle. I use an 8 gallon kettle for 4 gallon batches. I think I could do 5 gallons but it might be tight.

As far as milling the grain, get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Commercial-Manual-Grinder-Hopper/dp/B00JZZKLHI I use an ancient Corona mill that looks almost just like that my dad bought 50 years ago. The Corona brand costs a little more; don't know if it's worth it. The mill will pay for itself by allowing you to buy 50 pound bags of grain, cheap.
Click to expand...

I thought I did I just went and looked it’s only 8. Editing my original now
 
htims05 said:
So in the extract kit I topped the wort off to get to 5 gallons. Why don’t you do that for biab?
Click to expand...

You can. But the more water you use, the better the extraction, and also the more stable the temperature will be. To do 5 gallons in an 8 gallon kettle, you probably won't be able to fit 6+ gallons of water and all the grain for a full-volume mash. Don't worry about it. Mash with maybe 4 or 5 gallons, pull the grain bag out after it drains and put it in a bucket and add the rest of your hot water. Let that sit for 10 minutes (stirring occasionally), drain it again and squeeze it out, then add these "second runnings" to your kettle (which can be heating up to a boil while you do the dunk sparge)

Something else I forgot about. If your water will make good extract beer it will make good all-grain beer but it might need some help. Unless you are just really lucky, you will most likely need to at least adjust the pH by adding some acid malt or lactic acid (etc) See if you can get a water chemistry report from your water supplier. A lot of brewers don't even try to use their tapwater and buy reverse osmosis (RO) water. It's pretty cheap buying it in bulk at grocery store water dispensers.
 
htims05 said:
How do I know what temperatures and for how long to boil things for, when and how long to add ingredients, etc?
Click to expand...

Basically, that’s the beauty of homebrewing. It’s all up to you. However, if you follow a recipe it will give you key pieces of information you need such as grain bill, hop or or boil additions, yeast, etc.

The grain bill will state how much of each type of grain you need if you used their system. Most recipes will give the OG (original gravity) and SRM or EBC (color) of the finished beer to help you adjust the grain bill to your system. Z-Bob has you covered on crush and temp (above).

The hop bill and schedule will provide the type and qty of hops used and when to add them into the boil. The IBU of the finished beer will also be provided in most recipes to help you adjust to your system, the hops you have vs what they used, etc.

Likewise, most recipes will give qty and schedule of when to add other boil additions (spices, sugars, kettle finings, etc) to the boil.

Because each system and how it is used is slightly different from brewery to brewery, and the variations in hop strength of availability year to year, a properly setup software program can help make the required adjustments to your system when using a recipe from another source.
 
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htims05 said:
I'll probably start with some ales and IPA's. I don't have a mill so I'll have to buy them pre-milled - I hear to have them milled as fine as possible (not sure if my local homebrew supply has grains and/or can mill for me)

I have an 8gallon kettle - it's probably more like 9.5 if the water was filled to the brim. When Looking at morebeer's site under the all grain recipe kits (I don't see any dedicated BIAB like some other sites)....I'm not finding recipe specific instructions...just generic all-grain instructions.
Click to expand...

If you click on a specific all-grain kit, in the pictures, the last picture is usually the recipe sheet. You have to buy the kit to see the back of that page, where it has the mash temperature, but it gives good guidelines on the ingredients and hop schedule.

If your kettle is 9.5 gallons, that should suffice - although it'll be a little tight. I used a 9.5 gallon kettle for about 30 or so batches - 20 extract and 10 BIAB - and it was doable.

Another option is to go to Northern Brewers, where they have free shipping on $40 orders and 15% off right now. Search for 'Conundrum session IPA' (which is sort of like Founders All Day IPA) and 'Dead Ringer' (which is like Bell's Two Hearted). Those are good IPA kits to get started. If you scroll down on the pages, you'll see a recipe sheet with full instructions.

I'd also recommend getting a grain mill if you plan on doing all-grain going forward. I bought a Cereal Killer mill for under $90 shipped (after a routine coupon code) and it's been great.
 
and for the bag - i've heard people using the paint strainers from HD and LOW....I have some of those from a project before and they don't fit my kettle - the opening is much wider than a 5 gallon bucket - it's probably about 14" or so.

What are people using for bags - I see them on the brew supply sites but seems pretty pricy at $25 per bag - unless they are reusable?
 
Rather than top off, you may want to do a 'batch sparge' step to get your full volume for the boil. Hold back one to one and a half gallons in a 5 gallon BPA free bucket. Mash with a comfortable amount of grain and water as determined by your 8 G kettle. When mash is done, drain bag back into kettle and then 'dunk sparge' into the bucket. This can be messy so drain as much as you can before moving the bag. The water in the bucket can be any temp - you are just giving the grains a final rinse. After a good rinse and stir, drain the bag again. Add all of that water back into the kettle. I hope that makes sense.
 
Can your stove boil 6.5 gallons of water? That's something else you should test before going too far. If not, there are ways to work around that.

I use a Wilser bag. I sent in the measurements of my kettle and received my bag in the mail so quickly, I must have a standard size that he keeps a few in stock all the time (there was no time to sew a custom bag and get it to me that fast) It works great. When I was using a 22 quart canner for a kettle, I used paint bags and they worked okay, but like you they don't fit my larger kettle. I still use paint bags to strain out the hops and some of the hot break crap when draining the kettle into my fermenter. (I ferment in a bucket for a week, then transfer to a carboy)
 
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If you are using city water or water that as otherwise been chlorinated for sanitary reasons you will need to put a half a campden tablet in your mash water.
 
z-bob said:
Can your stove boil 6.5 gallons of water? That's something else you should test before going too far. If not, there are ways to work around that.
Click to expand...

Probably I have an induction range (like my stove is full induction, not electric coil or gas)- but I've never tried. I don't brew inside - I have a blichman burner that I've been brewing with. It has boiled the full 8 gallon kettle in about 45 min (we had a water main break for about a week so I had to boil water for a while...)
 
htims05 said:
Looks like a good bag there - I like helping the small business owners. That said are the bags reusable or do I have to get a new bag every time I brew a batch?
Click to expand...

They are reusable over and over. Should last until your dog chews it up. Just don't forget to wash it or you'll have little mildew spots on it (don't ask me how I know this) At least the dog hasn't gotten to mine yet.

Even the paint bags are reusable a half dozen times or so before they start to rip -- if they fit your kettle.
 
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z-bob said:
They are reusable over and over. Should last until your dog chews it up. Just don't forget to wash it or you'll have little mildew spots on it (don't ask me how I know this) At least the dog hasn't gotten to mine yet.

Even the paint bags are reusable a half dozen times or so before they start to rip -- if they fit your kettle.
Click to expand...

Wash in like PBW or Dawn dish soap? --- sorry for all the questions - your responses are very helpful, greatly appreciated.
 
I rinse mine, then throw it in the washing machine with a mixed load; warm water no bleach. I don't put it in the dryer. Hand washing with dish soap should be fine too.
 
There was a thread I had thought I had bookmarked that I referenced quite a bit this past year when starting BIAB. I can't seem to find it right now though. Plenty of pictures and instructions, I believe he was doing a partial mash, but it was incredibly useful nonetheless. Can't remember the threads name, but the pictures had a very long haired dude in it, probably from several years back.
 
htims05 said:
I've brewed and extract kit - no issues there, I'm now converting to Kegging and BIAB...

I have a 8g kettle and plan to do 5g batches...but my questions are around brew day.

How do I know what temperatures and for how long to boil things for, when and how long to add ingredients, etc? The extract kit was simple...it had a sheet that told you exactly what to do.

For BIAB though I'm struggling to know what my steps are after researching this forum and the interwebs...I get the concept, but the specifics is what I'm looking for and I understand that would be different for each recipe....does brewsmith software give me all this information (Note: I'm not going to be making my own recipes just yet).
Click to expand...
If you are looking for a step by step in the timing of your BIAB, I would suggest investing in Beersmith. The recipes you can get will give you information on temps, ingredients, and when to use them; along with boil times.
 
CWHeadley said:
If you are looking for a step by step in the timing of your BIAB, I would suggest investing in Beersmith. The recipes you can get will give you information on temps, ingredients, and when to use them; along with boil times.
Click to expand...

I did my first biab 2 weeks ago. I used BrewFather app. Worked great just like you said beersmith does (I looked at beersmith but it was to much for me)
 
You know, you don't HAVE to do five gallon batches. You can do anything in between. I do two to three gallons at a time. Stove has no problem boiling this. Smaller amounts of everything to have to handle

You can buy a five gallon all grain kit and split it into whatever batch sizes you want. Pimp each fraction with some different hops, additional grain, or different yeast to get more variety.

As I go through this quantity faster I get to brew more often, the fun part!

Nothing like having a whole FIVE GALLONS of something you don't really like but feel like you MUST drink. If it is good beer great but, after three gallons of it you're probably going to be tired of it and only TWO more gallons to go!

All the Best,
D. White
 
htims05 said:
I did my first biab 2 weeks ago. I used BrewFather app. Worked great just like you said beersmith does (I looked at beersmith but it was to much for me)
Click to expand...

Great! If you still have questions...when I make the switch to BIAB a year ago, I thought some of this guys videos were quite good: He follows a pretty simple process with a batch sparge.
 
htims05 said:
I'll probably start with some ales and IPA's. I don't have a mill so I'll have to buy them pre-milled - I hear to have them milled as fine as possible (not sure if my local homebrew supply has grains and/or can mill for me)

I have an 8gallon kettle - it's probably more like 9.5 if the water was filled to the brim. When Looking at morebeer's site under the all grain recipe kits (I don't see any dedicated BIAB like some other sites)....I'm not finding recipe specific instructions...just generic all-grain instructions.
Click to expand...

I would have thought an 8 gallon (or 9.5 gallon) kettle might be a bit tricky for full volume BIAB mashing. In my 20 gallon kettle, I'm usually mashing in with 8.5 gallons of water, so the mash volume might be a problem in a smaller kettle. Did you have any trouble with kettle volume?
 
I wouldn't do a 5 gallon batch the first time.
Just 10 litres or so, sorry 2.5 to 3 gallon....
It's much easier to work with smaller amounts and you'll learn so much doing this the first time....
I started with a small all grain kit (7-8 litres).
After that I went to 4-5 gallon with own recipe and own milling etc, and this second batch was much better than the first.

Make notes!
Write out what you need to do and keep that list close, and mark any deviations.
Weigh out the hops and other additives beforehand
I almost forgot the last hop addition....
 
Immocles said:
There was a thread I had thought I had bookmarked that I referenced quite a bit this past year when starting BIAB. I can't seem to find it right now though. Plenty of pictures and instructions, I believe he was doing a partial mash, but it was incredibly useful nonetheless. Can't remember the threads name, but the pictures had a very long haired dude in it, probably from several years back.
Click to expand...

This? The pics are no longer available tho and he's not posted since Feb 2018, but he did a couple really nice posts with pics on stove top partial mash brewing which could easily be a BIAB tutorial, just eliminate the DME.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/easy-partial-mash-brewing-with-pics.75231/
 
Always get a bigger kettle than you think you will need. Try to leave at least two inches or more of space between wort and the top of kettle before the boil. I do 6 gallon batches with my 10 gallon kettle but it is very close to the top. I wish that I would have purchased a 15 gallon kettle. Also, make sure your bag fits your kettle. Put something in the bottom of the kettle to prevent the bag from being scorched/melted. I use a wire rack with a stainless lid on top of that as a buffer. One more thing, aluminum kettles are the best in my opinion.
 
balrog said:
I just looked and the pics are there in that link. ? Maybe it's a sunspot thing.
Click to expand...

It may be the browser and blockers set to "paranoid" level I tend to use, too. Pinterest and IMGur links get tinkered with in order for me to see pics, so I wouldn't be surprised his older pics aren't viewable for me.
 

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