Minimum kettle for Induction BIAB

[elreplica]

Hey...I have a really nice Brewers Beast kettle that I use for induction extract brewing...want to try BIAB (I have a pimped out Grainfather G30 with camlocks and various David Heath suggested upgrades) and thought BIAB would be another "exbeerience" to add to my repertoire...It is an 8 gallon w/o a false bottom - just a bazooka screen - so I was wondering if I could pull off a 5 USG (19 liter) bag brew...not wanting anything too high end but smallish (around 10 lbs.) of rather lawnmower style beers. Thoughts? PS - I believe Josh Weikert (Craft Beer & Brewing ) suggested it was possible but I also hear a lot of naysaying...

 

[RM-MN]

Yes it is possible but you may not have enough room for all the water plus the grains. I'd suggest you make a smaller batch like 4 gallons or hold back some water and make a 5 gallon batch, using the remaining water for a pour over or dunk sparge to get to the proper preboil volume. You'll also need to be watching for a possible boil over as the wort approaches boil. I use a wire whisk to stir down the foam to avoid it going over the rim.

 

[GrowleyMonster]

Why not start with about a 3.5 gallon batch, and see how much unused capacity you have during the entire process? 5 gallons in 8 will be pretty limiting. Should work if you are careful and attentive, but I would start smaller and see how it goes, just to be safe, me. Good luck with it, whichever way you go.

 

[agentbud]

^ agree. 5 gal batch in a 8 gal kettle is begging for a boil over. If you try it, don't take your eyes off it.

 

[doug293cz]

You can't do a full volume mash (i.e. no-sparge) of a 5 gal batch with a 10 lb grain bill in an 8 gal kettle. The mash volume (strike water volume + grain volume) exceeds the kettle volume. If you add a sparge step, either dunk or pour-over, it can be done. Pre-boil volume will be about 6.5 gal, so have to watch like a hawk to avoid boil-overs.

I'd also worry about the bazooka screen snagging or wearing holes in the bag.

Brew on

 

[Geezer-Glide]

I use an induction heater on some large kettles. Be sure to check the weight capacity of the heater. When I went shopping for mine I found most would not support 5 gallons of wort or water (~ 42 lps) plus the container weight.

 

[Geezer-Glide]

I use an induction heater on some large kettles. Be sure to check the weight capacity of the heater. When I went shopping for mine I found most would not support 5 gallons of wort or water on 120 volt models. At the time I wanted the 120v to try in our kitchen before committing. After use I am going to bite the bullet and pull in a 240 v line and kick the the gas range to the curb. I love the induction burner.

 

[Geezer-Glide]

Sorry for the partial double post. Don’t have the foggiest idea of what I did wrong this time.