jump right into BIAB?

[jpiker]

so i have recently become interested in homebrewing and been reading, and reading, and reading. (lots of time to read when you work a 24hr shift) I've become intrigued with the BIAB method outlined here; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/biab-brewing-pics-233289/
it intrigues me bacause living in south louisiana it's practically required to own a crawfish pot with basket and burner, and people seem to agree that AG makes better beers than extracts
so my questions are this
1: is it unrealistic to jump right in to this method with say tried and true recipies or even the kits like midwest sells? or should i stick to extracts for my first?
2: i'm not sure of the exact size of my pot but is there such thing as too big a pot for say a 5 gallon batch? just in case

i don't drink tons of beer but i do like trying new stuff, and love abita's amber, turbodog, andygator, and lazy magnolia southern pecan and hook and ladder. though i do drink a lot of bud light socially. I feel 5 gallons would be the max i would want to ever attempt

thanks y'all, i'm hoping to give brewing a go this fall/winter as it cools down

 

[solbes]

It's up to you. I personally was glad I had 4 extract batches under my belt before making the jump. It allows you to focus your attention to the boil, the cool down, controlling the fermentation, and most importantly the sanitation. You can make some really good extract brews too if you pitch proper amounts of yeast, you cool down the wort quickly, control the fermentation temps, and have a little patience before consuming your brew.

That being said, if you feel really confident you know what you are doing, I don't think there's a problem with making the jump now. I would detail out all of the steps on paper first so you have a game plan prior to doing it for the first time.

 

[birvine]

I, too, was more comfortable doing extract first - that way I could get a feel for the whole process.

What I might suggest either way is that you follow the recipe to the letter. They are set up a certain way for a reason.

Good luck.

B

 

[flyfisherwes]

I, too, was more comfortable doing extract first - that way I could get a feel for the whole process.

What I might suggest either way is that you follow the recipe to the letter. They are set up a certain way for a reason.

Good luck.

B

I kind of wish I had started with Biab. But I haven't started it yet. I'm about to though. Question though... Are different recipes needed for Biab Vs traditional ag? Or will bibs turn out about the same if the same recipe is used?

 

[Elweydoloco]

In all honesty, I've not done a full extract kit. I started with Mini-mash. Only because that's what the kit I ordered had and it's not exactly that much harder to do.

Here's the thing man you crawfish boil a lot, I do a lot of turkey frying a lot of shrimp boils, crab legs, and so on.

All that being said, you know how your equipment works for you ad how to hold the temp with what liquid. I'm pretty sure like me you can go by sound how high your burner has to be to maintain oil at 350 and water at a roaring boil.

All that being said that's the hardest part as far as key differences to BIAB and extract.

You need to know how to hold your water at 155 degrees give or take a few degrees for your recipe's mash in. Then you'll need Sparge water 170 degrees is normal to pour over the bag or you can get a second pot boil the water you're adding to your mix after mash in and dip the fryer basket into this water to sparge your grains. Or use a collander let the bag drip then pour water over it. There's a few methods.

I would say you could go into BIAB more easily than most because you have the knowledge of the equipment you will be using.

Other than that, the FYIs I can give are

Expect about a 4-6 hour process for your first time if you have no wort chiller and are stirring the pot in a sink with an ice bath and you've not done it before.

Once you get good at it and have a wort chiller and all the equipment you want and not really need, expect 3-4 hours for a BIAB brew.

 

[NYBrewguy]

Jump right into the BIAB method with both feet. Read up on how to keep things clean and sanitary and you will be off to the races. I would suggest checking out youtube for a few BIAB brew sessions. There is a two part video from some guy in canada that brewed a stout that was very helpful. In my humble opinion, brewing is like making iced tea. You can start with 4C powder out of a can and know exactly what you are going to get or you can take a "leap" with a few tea bags, some sugar, maybe some mint or lemon, if you have a few peaches...you see where I am going. Keep in mind that you will need a bigger pot than 5 gallons to brew 5 gallons of BIAB you may want to split between 2 pots then combine later. Thats what I did. Your going to need approx 7 gallons to make 5and you have to take into account for absorbtion and evaporation and have room for the grain. Try it out and dont forget there is no brew police to arrest you if you make a mistake. Just drink it and try again and have fun......

 

[BrewKnurd]

I would start with extract or mini-mash, personally. all grain is not hard, but it does add more things that could go wrong. I feel like for the first couple batches, its best to keep it simple to make sure all of your sanitation and fermentation practices are good before adding the all grain component.

 

[davel57]

I recently started doing BIAB, and if anything it is easier than extract ... except:

1) Thermometers. I hate them. Digitals are not reliable in a warm wet environment. Have more than one thermometer handy so you can double check.

2) With extract you can usually skip the starting gravity reading. With BIAB you really need to measure it. I get about 65% efficiency with a 60 minute mash. Some people claim 75% or better with a 90 minute mash. Have a plan on what to do if the gravity is too low (boil it down, add some extract, just go with it, etc.).

 

[Elweydoloco]

You're the first person I've suggested going into BIAB w/o doing extracts simply because what I stated above you know you're equipment pretty much.

 

[EoinMag]

I started with Kits, moved to extract, then mini-mash with extract and the jump then to full on BIAB was small, but really really worth it.

It's not a lot more involved than extract brewing although that said water chemistry is not the easiest nut to crack but there are short cuts with the right tests and products to an acceptable water profile.

I'd say go for it but be aware that there is a substantial amount to learn in the process of beermaking that is not related to mashing etc.

 

[BetterSense]

Jump right in . I use a 30 qt turkey fryer for biab. In my opinion time supposedly spent learning with extracts is just wasted time than you could have been getting experienced with all grain. In other words if you want drinkable beer with less risk you could start with extract but them again you could also buy beer. If you plan togo all grain eventually you might as well jump in.

 

[EoinMag]

It's not just about risk, there are a lot of processes around beer and the production of the wort is only one of them.

I'd rather an infection after dropping a can of prehopped gloop into a fermenter of water with no boil than an infection after a full mash.

Just my 2c. not that I like infections you understand, but every noob has lots of processes to learn and most of which have nothing to do with wort production.

 

[RyboFlav]

BIAB is super easy. Once you've done it, you'll wonder why you ever considered extract in the first place.

 

[BrewKnurd]

BIAB is super easy. Once you've done it, you'll wonder why you ever considered extract in the first place.

if everything goes right, sure. If you end up with off flavors, you've just further complicated troubleshooting where those flavors came from. There's plenty to learn about from doing extract batches, so in my opinion you're certainly not wasting time to do a couple extract or partial mash brews to start.

I do all grain now, and no, its nto hard. But i certainly don't wonder why I did extract in the first place.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

All grain brewing in any form (BIAB, brutus 10, brutus 20, whatever) is not "scary", nor is it truly complicated. It can be MADE complicated, but think of traditional AG brewing with a sparge like this:

1) Get crushed grains and let sit in hot water for a while
2) Take liquid from grains and put in a different pot
3) Pour hot water over the grains to rinse them
4) Drain rinse water from grain in with the other liquid
5) Boil liquid for about 60 minutes and add some hops in when it starts to boil

That is really all there is to all grain brewing with a sparge. BIAB with no sparge is even simpler.

So in other words, go for it!

I have only ever done all grain with a sparge from the very first batch. Do some more reading, practice good sanitation, and you are good to go!

 

[jpiker]

so i checked out my pots, i have a 7 gal, 10 gal (no markings measured it 2qts at a time), and 20ish gal, didn't feel like measuring it. only the 20ish still has a basket must have lost the 10 while moving. i'm actually leaning back to doing an extract, mostly to hash out a couple things, make sure the equipment will work alright for me, and to be positive i understand some basics. so i'm thinking i just need to collect a few things and as soon as the weather cools off i'll get to it with a full boil extract in the 10 gallon pot. now shooting for my second to be BIAB but we'll see

edit, and thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and experiences