Reliable BIAB Calculator

[redwing_al]

I'm looking for a good caclulator to help decide how much water to start with for BIAB. I have found two sites who have a decent tool, but the calculation variables come out differently when I enter same data.

which one should I use for my first BIAM this weekend?

1: http://www.simplebiabcalculator.com/
2: http://biabcalculator.com/index.htm

is there another that I should consider using?

Thanks!

 

[rnm410]

Don't forget how much water will be absorbed by grain.

I use beersmith and manually enter my losses, I scale my batches up so that I have extra wort.

 

[FlyDoctor]

Check out the BIABaccus on biabrewerinfo. It's pretty thorough and accurate


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[boydster]

I'm looking for a good caclulator to help decide how much water to start with for BIAB. I have found two sites who have a decent tool, but the calculation variables come out differently when I enter same data.

which one should I use for my first BIAM this weekend?

1: http://www.simplebiabcalculator.com/
2: http://biabcalculator.com/index.htm

is there another that I should consider using?

Thanks!

I use http://www.simplebiabcalculator.com/ and I have been hitting my mash temp and volumes consistently. I'm sure the BIABacus is great, but there is so much detail it asks for.

 

[newnick]

I've been using this one lately and have used both of the ones you linked to.
http://www.copycalc.com/bob/BIAB
They all work well to me after you get an idea of your own system.
For most batches I do now, I just use 7.5 gallons of water and everything is working out fine. The calculators come up with something very close to that, so I round it off. If I was doing a large grain bill I would probably adjust up a little to 8 gallons.

 

[Brewzologist]

I went through the pain of learning Beersmith, and getting it set up for BIAB. For me, it was worth it. Now my recipes, inventory, etc, are all in one place.

Regardless of what tool you use, it's an iterative process to get your brewing process down. As another poster mentioned, keep track of your volumes, losses, gravity, etc to help you refine things as you go forward.

 

[FlyDoctor]

I also honestly don't use any calculator anymore. I know I want 6G at the end of the boil and I always mash with 7.75-8G strike water. Works every time - but I usually brew in the 1.045-56 range.


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[jtratcliff]

I also honestly don't use any calculator anymore. I know I want 6G at the end of the boil and I always mash with 7.75-8G strike water. Works every time - but I usually brew in the 1.045-56 range.

This!

I still use the Mash Wizard in Brewtarget to double check, though. Once you get your equipment profile dialed in, it's pretty accurate.

But like FlyDocter, I usually find I need about the same amount of water each time, So I don't sweat it too much. I usually start with about 6.5 or 7 G in the kettle and 1.5 G in a smaller kettle for a dunk sparge. If I feel my volumes are short after that, I pour a little more water through the grain bag as it's draining over the kettle

 

[MaxStout]

I use Beersmith, it gets me pretty close. Another variable to keep in mind is the kettle proportions. A squatty, wide BK will have more evaporation.

Make a dipstick out of a dowel and calibrate it to your kettle. Pour a gallon jug of water in at a time, make a notch on it, add another gallon, etc. Then take good notes when brewing, noting the levels before and after boil. You can use this empirical date to revisit your calculator settings and make tweaks if necessary.

 

[wilserbrewer]

This!

If I feel my volumes are short after that, I pour a little more water through the grain bag as it's draining over the kettle

I have developed a routine of sparging about 10% of the total water slowly over and through the bag both for efficiency and ease of process. It takes all the guesswork out of the BIAB method and allows you to simply sparge to your preboil volume mark in your brew kettle. I just basicly ballpark my initial strike volume, approximately at finished batch size plus absorption, then typically my pour over sparge is about equal to my boil off volume. Even a cold water pour over sparge will effectively rinse the grains. It's very simple, and once you have done it a time or two it is intuitive!

I also honestly don't use any calculator anymore.

Agreed, the calculators are only as good as the "assumptions" entered, with a little addition / subtraction you can easily get darn close. I feel some get so wrapped up in the software they lose sight of the process a bit....like not checking preboil volume and coming up way short