Is This Kettle Big Enough for BIAB?

[DrumForHire]

A while ago I inherited some used equipment, including this older Megapot. View attachment 1457279664646.jpg I've been thinking about transitioning to BIAB, and I'm wondering if it is big enough to handle the full volume. I've calculate the measurements and it is 8 gallons right up to the rim. I usually do 5 gallons into fermenter, but could do some smaller batches too. I also brew in a one-bedroom apartment, so I'm planning on putting it over the two burners on my gas stove for the mash. I figure if there's a problem with getting it to boil afterwards I can transfer it to my smaller 5 gallon kettle that I normally use for extract brewing. So, am I crazy? This is the equipment I'm dealing with, so any suggestions are helpful.

 

[TX_Brewing]

You might have to top up with some water, but I bet you can do BIAB with that pot. Probably not higher gravity beers, but you could always use malt extract if needed in those cases.

 

[JohnSand]

Yes, it is big enough. I have done 5 gallon batches in a five gallon kettle, I still do when brewing indoors. I do not mash full volume, but use about 3.5 gallons to mash. The pot goes in the oven on warm, or stays on top with a cooler bag over it to maintain temp. When I pull the bag, it goes into a colander in a pasta pot to drain. The wort starts heating toward boil. I squeeze the bag by pushing down on it with a plate. That wort gets added in. Then I pour/dunk a gallon of sparge water over the bag. Stir and squeeze again. After the hot break, add the sparged wort as practical. If your stove can boil it, go ahead and add it all, even sparge again with another gallon. That's still only 5.5 gallons total, will not boil over an 8 gallon pot if you are careful. As the wort boils down, I keep topping off. Because my pot is only 5gal, I top off again at the start of cooling, and in the fermenter after testing gravity. This may sound complicated, but it's not. Some will criticize doing a partial boil with grain, but it is standard practice for extract. Since you are close to full volume, hops adjustments are not necessary, but a brewing calculator like Brewer's Friend can help you make those changes based on volume.
When squeezing the bag, make sure the sparge pot is on a counter- you can loosen your sink by pushing hard.

 

[McKnuckle]

I do full volume BIAB in a More Beer 8 gal kettle just like that one, but usually only 3 gallon batches on an induction cooktop. It still has plenty more room for water/grain, but if I brew a full 5 gallons I switch to my 44 qt Bayou kettle and move outside with propane for the extra boiling power.

I brew smaller batches as a general practice, so the 8 gal is my main kettle.

 

[SanPancho]

If you don't mind dirtying another pot you could pull grains and dunk sparge in second pot, then use that as top off. Little bump in efficiency and gets you to full volume if you can't mash full volume due to grain bill size.

 

[xRapture]

If you don't mind dirtying another pot you could pull grains and dunk sparge in second pot, then use that as top off. Little bump in efficiency and gets you to full volume if you can't mash full volume due to grain bill size.

I've got the same 8G pot as OP. This is how I plan on doing my next batch. Fill the 8G kettle with enough water to leave room for the ~14lb of grain. The other ~2G will go in another pot for a dunk sparge.

 

[DoctorMemory]

It'll be a challenge, but I'll bet you can do it. My first thought was that you won't have enough wort after mashing to wind up with five gallons after your boil-off losses, but considering you'll be boiling on a stove you'll probably be able to control the boil-off pretty effectively. A dunk sparge will help as well, at the cost of washing up another pot. Overall, I think you're good to go!

 

[SanPancho]

not to mention you can always boil up to a higher gravity and then dilute down to intended OG with a gallon of distilled water from the fridge. speeds up your chilling too.

 

[JohnSand]

What I really love about this thread is that not one person said "No, buy a bigger kettle. You can't make good beer unless you do as I do."
Nice work.

 

[tagillis]

I do full wort boils in my 8 gallon kettle. Lately I've been biab mashing in the 8 gallon and sparging in a 2nd pot, then combining the wort once near boiling. I find it helps me heat the wort up faster since I can make use of a second 10k btu burner on my stove top.

 

[tagillis]

I agree, JohnSand. Great call out!

 

[RM-MN]

Since you intend to brew this BIAB and since the bag allows you to use grains that are finely milled you can do the full volume mash. What you will have to do is check your brewhouse efficiency expected for the recipe and then adjust for a brewhouse efficiency of about 80% which should take less grains. That will leave you with just enough room to make it for a batch with an expected ABV of 5 to 5.5%.

Most all grain recipes are designed for ~70% efficiency.

 

[RdeVjun]

I'm not sure if your stove will boil that kettle when its nearly full of liquor, but if not then I'd consider using an immersion heater to supplement it.
Apart from that you should be good to go, while I agree that its refreshing not to hear the continual 'get a bigger kettle'... Often the constraints of apartment and stovetop brewing are overlooked in the rush to pipe up.
FWIW, the Mini- and Maxi- BIAB guides on biabrewer should be helpful as they're intended for stovetop brewing (but I'm the author of them so I have a vested interest of course).
Hope that helps!

 

[juszaias]

The thing I love about brewing the most is that everyone has their own set up and style. I personally did opt for the bigger pot, but I also purchased a couple of 15.5 ga sanke kegs that I'm turning into fermentors. I'm not trying to jack the thread but there is a lot of good advice here.

 

[DrumForHire]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Today was brew day, and it went pretty well. I was able to fit 6 gallons of water in with 11 lbs of grain. Hit the numbers alright. I did give the bag a good squeeze while bringing the wort to a boil. Ended with just below 5 gallons at the end of boil. My biggest problem was with trub. There was an incredible amount in the bottom of the kettle post-boild. I use a plate chiller with a pump connected to the ball valve, and I recirculated this time. When I pumped into the fermenter I sucked as much as I dared out of the kettle, and ended up with 4 gallons of wort in the fermenter, with the largest amount of trub I've seen in the bottom. And there was still a large amount left in the kettle. Is this common with BIAB? I'm thinking I might end up investing in a screen for the valve. Even with my extract brews I'm a little paranoid with trub running through my plate chiller, so it would add some peace of mind anyway. Thoughts?

 

[JohnSand]

Yes, it's not uncommon to have plenty of trub with BIAB. At least I often do, partly from the crush. I just pour it in the fermenter, it will settle with everything else. I understand that you don't want to clog your chiller. Maybe run clear wort through the chiller, then chill the rest in an ice bath? Any time you try a new system, it takes a while to refine your process.

 

[Desertbrewer]

I have been using a 7.5 gallon kettle, mashing with 5 gallons and doing a 1 gallon fly sparge, and getting 75% efficiency. Haven't tried double milling yet as I've been pretty happy with this method. I don't get as much trub as it sounds like you do.

What about doing a dunk or fly sparge to get your volume up to about 6.5gallons pre-boil?

 

[McKnuckle]

About the trub - it depends what the trub is. There should not be an inordinate amount of grain particles. If so, your bag is not doing a good job, or you are crushing excessively to flour. There can and should be as much hops and break material as any other method, though, and there is no issue sending that stuff through a chiller.

You can keep hops contained in a bag or canister, but there will be no victory over break material. Even though it looks fluffy and voluminous, it's actually comprised of extremely fine particles and can't be effectively filtered.

A screen will get clogged with pellet hop trub. It will not block break trub. And unless it is finer than your bag, it will not stop grain particles. So... no point in a screen IMHO, unless you use leaf hops.

 

[PADave]

What are you using for a bag?

 

[DrumForHire]

About the trub - it depends what the trub is. There should not be an inordinate amount of grain particles. If so, your bag is not doing a good job, or you are crushing excessively to flour. There can and should be as much hops and break material as any other method, though, and there is no issue sending that stuff through a chiller.

You can keep hops contained in a bag or canister, but there will be no victory over break material. Even though it looks fluffy and voluminous, it's actually comprised of extremely fine particles and can't be effectively filtered.

A screen will get clogged with pellet hop trub. It will not block break trub. And unless it is finer than your bag, it will not stop grain particles. So... no point in a screen IMHO, unless you use leaf hops.

I think it's mostly break material. It was very fine, and no real risk of hop material since i use muslin bags for hops. So, understanding that the break material is very fine, is it OK to just send it all through the plate chiller?