My First BIAB - Didn't Think This Through

[Asator]

Hello all,

With about 8 extract batches under my belt, I've decided to wade into all-grain, using the BIAB method. Long story short, I mucked up.

My kettle is 8 gallons. I ordered a couple of cheap all-grain 5-gallon kits, and planned on halving them into two 2.5 gallon batches. That way, in my mind, if I messed up, I would only have a bad half-batch, and I also would get the invaluable experience of actually doing the procedure rather than simply reading about it.

What I didn't think about, however, was that these kits are just big sacks of all the different grains included in the recipe. They are mixed, sort of, but I don't think that any amount of mixing will distribute half of the ingredients into one batch and half into the second batch.

The way I see it, I have two options. Weigh in on the least bad option please?

1) Mix, mix, mix, mix, mix and hope the specialty grains get somewhat equally distributed between the two batches, or
2) Figure out how to make an 8-gallon kettle work for a 5-gallon BIAB. If you have any pointers, they would be appreciated.

I appreciate your help and input!

 

[TwistedGray]

What if you clamp the bag at the top in a few spots so that the weight doesn't pull it to the bottom? Is there enough water to cover the grain in that situation? Make the entire batch at once and split it off thereafter if you want to split it off still.

 

[parjay]

I think you'll be fine if you sparge. There are calculators all over for figuring how much grain and water you can fit in a kettle. I think you'll be ok, but you might have to be careful with your boil if you only have 1-1.5 gallons of headspace.

 

[Foosier]

You have options.

You can calculate your total water needed for mash and then leave out a couple gallons so that you don't overflow your kettle during mash. For example if you need 7.75 gallons of water you could try mashing in with 5 gallons. the mash will work, it is just thicker. Then after your grain bag is pulled, you can top up the kettle with the remaining 2.75 gallons of water. If you want you can dunk the bag in the remaining water as a "sparge" before adding the remaining. I agree with finding a "Can I mash it" calculator to figure out how much water and grain will fit in your kettle.

The reality is, the process is a bit more forgiving than you think.

 

[bobeer]

If it were me I'd just do the easiest sure way out and split the batch the best you can. You'll learn a lot by getting more biab brews done and you know you wont max out your gear.

How much grain is there total? Unless you're making a big beer you should be able to do a full volume 5 gallon biab mash in an 8 gallon kettle (just lower the grain bag very slowly and stir it into the water as you submerge) but if you're worried about over flowing it just do the mash like normal all grain recipe then sparge up to boil volume. Take your total grain amount in pounds and multiply it by 1.50 quarts. That will give you how much water to mash the grain with. Then you can use a brew calculator to figure your strike temp. Look up biab sparge and you'll see lots of different techniques on how to sparge while biab'ing.

 

[Asator]

The grain bills for the two kits are are 9 and 10 lbs. Smaller beers. I'm guessing I could make it work using the 8 gallon kettle. Thanks for the ideas, fellas.

 

[davidabcd]

I don't do BIAB so keep that in mind. Is free floating the grain in the water totally out of the question for combating the equipment's limitations? Then devise a simple way to remove the grain a little at a time? Just learning something here. Thanks.
Edit: The mixing idea seems plausible.

 

[TechFanMD]

I'm not sure why an 8 gallon kettle wouldn't be enough for a 9 or 10lb grain bill....calculate and just do as much water as you can then 'sparge' top up water through the bag

Splitting a 5gal recipe worth of grains in half to make 2.5 gal isn't really exact either. When doubling (or halving) a desired volume of finished wort, it isn't as simple as just multiplying or dividing the grain bill.

 

[deadwolfbones]

I think you'll be fine with 9 or 10lb in an 8g kettle. I've done up to 7lb in my 6g kettle without issue. No sparge.

Use the priceless brewing calc to be sure.

 

[rhys333]

Hello all,

With about 8 extract batches under my belt, I've decided to wade into all-grain, using the BIAB method. Long story short, I mucked up.

My kettle is 8 gallons. I ordered a couple of cheap all-grain 5-gallon kits, and planned on halving them into two 2.5 gallon batches. That way, in my mind, if I messed up, I would only have a bad half-batch, and I also would get the invaluable experience of actually doing the procedure rather than simply reading about it.

What I didn't think about, however, was that these kits are just big sacks of all the different grains included in the recipe. They are mixed, sort of, but I don't think that any amount of mixing will distribute half of the ingredients into one batch and half into the second batch.

The way I see it, I have two options. Weigh in on the least bad option please?

1) Mix, mix, mix, mix, mix and hope the specialty grains get somewhat equally distributed between the two batches, or
2) Figure out how to make an 8-gallon kettle work for a 5-gallon BIAB. If you have any pointers, they would be appreciated.

I appreciate your help and input!

I would do 2) Figure out how to make an 8-gallon kettle work for a 5-gallon BIAB. It's pretty easy, but I would take a couple extra steps to make sure you have a good product at the end.

First, buy a cheap 5 gallon pot and use it to mash your grains. About 3 gallons of water for a 5-gallon batch works perfectly for a 5-gallon batch, and you can mash indoors on the stove. You'll get almost no heat loss this way. Heat another 3 gallons in your 8-gallon BK and use it for a dunk sparge after your 60 minute mash. Then combine and do the full boil.

Second, I do recommend reading up on water chemistry. It's not as hard as it seems, and will greatly improve the quality of your beer. All you need to get started is RO water and a little calcium chloride. There's an easy guide located here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/a-brewing-water-chemistry-primer.198460/

 

[mongoose33]

I'm not sure why an 8 gallon kettle wouldn't be enough for a 9 or 10lb grain bill....calculate and just do as much water as you can then 'sparge' top up water through the bag

Splitting a 5gal recipe worth of grains in half to make 2.5 gal isn't really exact either. When doubling (or halving) a desired volume of finished wort, it isn't as simple as just multiplying or dividing the grain bill.

I would be surprised if it would work, based on my experience. Typically when I did BIAB I used 7, maybe 7.25 gallons of water. Add 10 pounds of grain to 7.25 gallons of water will take you over an 8-gallon pot's limit, at least at first. After a gallon and a half of water is absorbed, maybe, but initially I would have my doubts.

I like the idea of mashing with, say, 5 gallons, squeezing the bag, then dunk sparging in some sparge water in another vessel. Then squeeze that. It'll work.

 

[Sadu]

In my experience, maxxing out your gear makes for a harder and slower brewday. You have more risk of boilovers, your efficiency may suffer, your burner may struggle with the larger load, just more things to go wrong. It's the last thing you want to be doing if you are just starting out.

I would just mix those grains as best you can and stick to the original plan, which is a good one. You won't get it 100% the same but you will end up close enough. I don't think you mentioned what the recipes are but for an pale ale or similar it would be very unlikely to wreck the brew by unbalancing the specialty malts. If it's a stout or porter then give it an extra good mix as the small amounts of dark malts have a lot of flavor.

 

[madscientist451]

Get a cheap 3-4 gallon pot at Walmart for about $20, or maybe you already have a spaghetti pot.
While at Walmart, pick up 5 gallon food grade bucket for $2, back in the paint department.
BIAB in your big pot, and heat up the sparge water in your cheap pot. Pull the bag when the mash is done, and place it in the bucket, add the sparge water. Crank up the heat under the big pot while you dunk the BIAB bag in the bucket. Eventually, dump the sparge water into the main boil.
Or just get a 5 gallon round cooler, add a spigot and put your BIAB bag in that. You'll figure a way that works for you.

 

[mongoose33]

In my experience, maxxing out your gear makes for a harder and slower brewday. You have more risk of boilovers, your efficiency may suffer, your burner may struggle with the larger load, just more things to go wrong. It's the last thing you want to be doing if you are just starting out.

I would just mix those grains as best you can and stick to the original plan, which is a good one. You won't get it 100% the same but you will end up close enough. I don't think you mentioned what the recipes are but for an pale ale or similar it would be very unlikely to wreck the brew by unbalancing the specialty malts. If it's a stout or porter then give it an extra good mix as the small amounts of dark malts have a lot of flavor.

You know, this makes me change what I think on this. Yeah, OP may not get perfect mixing of the grain, but he'll get pretty close. And since the point was to learn about BIAB, it's the perfect opportunity to do just that. Two beers, very close if not exactly the same, and I can imagine they'll taste great.

 

[Konadog]

The only problem I see with splitting it in half is that the hops don't necessarily scale that way (splitting in half). You may end up with more malt flavor than originally designed for.

I vote for, use as much water as you can in the beginning, and top up with the rest at boil.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I mash full volume, high gravity beers in my 11 gallon pot with 24lb of grain leaving only 1/2 gallon headspace. When I mash in and put the lid on to maintain temps, foam and grain gets on the lid. Once the mash is over and the bag is pulled, the level drops to about 8 gallons so there is tons of headspace for boiling. Use a calculator to determine how much water will fit with the grain and add in the difference after you pull the bag. Dunk sparging it is fine but probably not worth the effort, but I do like to squeeze the bag to get as much out of it as possible. Don't hesitate to use all your kettle's capacity for mashing, the boil volume will be quite a bit lower. Also, don't worry about boiling vigorously, just a gently rolling boil is sufficient and much less likely to boil over.

About mixing and splitting the recipe bag, I wouldn't bother mixing excessively, the difference between two batches will most likely be unnoticeable and both will taste just fine.

Also, WELCOME TO HBT AND WELCOME TO BIAB!!!

 

[rjs3273]

2) Figure out how to make an 8-gallon kettle work for a 5-gallon BIAB. If you have any pointers, they would be appreciated.

I see you posted this week ago so I am probably way too late and the beer is already in the fermentor, but I think you'll be absolutely fine. This weekend is batch 37 for me and all 36 that came before were 5-USgallon BIAB in an 8 US-gallon pot. I mash variously with 3 - 5 gallons of water and the biggest grain bill I did was 16lbs. I lift the grain bag out at the end of the mash into a spare bucket and batch sparge in there so I never have the grain and all the water in the kettle at the same time.

 

[North_of_60]

I used to do 5 gallons BIAB up to 14 lbs of grains in a 7.5 gallon kettle. Just mash with as much water as you dare then sparge the grains with water to bring it up to a safe boil level, 6.5 gallons or so. After the boil, top off again if needed to reach your post boil volume before transferring to the fermenter. I have a 10 gallon kettle now, the beer is no better, it’s just easier.

 

[Kharnynb]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/all-grain-brewing-with-low-a-low-cost-setup.525556/

I used to brew 5 gallon beers in a 7 gallon kettle, it works with one or 2 extra soup kettles for sparge water etc.