Is 29 quarts too small for a 5 gallon BIAB?

[jmtonkin]

I recently purchased a 29 quart pot for my propane burner, and now I'm wondering if that is going to be large enough for a 5 gallon BIAB batch.

For those who have used the BIAB, what are your thoughts?


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[LLBeanJ]

It'll work for your average brews with 60 minute boils, but for bigger grain bills and most 90 min boils, you'll need to do a sparge.

 

[CUrchin]

The general wisdom is to go 2 times your batch size, and perhaps a little more.

I do 3.5 gallon batches in a 5 gallon pot. To get away with it I have to sparge to get up to pre-boil volume, otherwise the grains + water will not fit. My limiting factor is really pre-boil volume. I start my boil with 4.25 gallons of wort and boil down to 3.5. I am really pushing it when I do it this way (I push the edge on boilover), and plan to up size soon.

 

[starscream]

i have an 8 gal pot and i normally fight with boilover everytime (and lose) and just this last time i managed to hit 5.25gal in my ferm. thats the one thing i would do over again and go with a 10 gal pot for 5 gal batches.

 

[jmtonkin]

Bummer. Well, it's already ordered, and should be here tomorrow. I guess that is a justifying factor in my debate to start brewing 3 gallon batches.

I don't drink the beer very quickly (I think I enjoy actually brewing more than the drinking of it), and the three gallon batches will let me try multiple varieties and recipes for a lot cheaper!


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