kgb_operative
Member
Ok, so if I bottle condition instead of force carbing should I be cold-crashing to keep the cloud settled out better as I move to the mixing tank?
Ok, so if I bottle condition instead of force carbing should I be cold-crashing to keep the cloud settled out better as I move to the mixing tank?
Sounds like this will for me on most of my brews, and if I want to build something heavier I can just sparge in my secondary 24 qt kettle. Has anyone had a problem with excessively cloudy beers tho? It seems that my first running from the sparge are always really cloudy and I've been thinking that might be a problem since you're not using the grain bed to clarify the wort.
Thanks for the info!
The only reason not to go BIAB is if you're:
doing huge batches,
want automation,
have a need for bling.
lylo said:I've been shopping and was hoping a 30qt turkey boiler set up would work and save me hundreds,but it looks like 30qt isn't enough.Are the propane heaters on these units adequate?
I have a 30 quart (7.5 gallon) propane turkey fryer that I purchased from Canadian Tire. I would have to check one of the BIAB calculators but I think the biggest BIAB batch you can brew with a 7.5 gallon kettle would be between 3 or 4 gallons unless you do a dunk sparge in another container. I did just that with a modified Centennial Blonde last weekend.
That said, my brewing buddy and I bought a 68 quart (16.9 gallon) kettle which we use with the propane heater that came with our turkey fryer. The heater has no problem boiling water in the larger kettle. We can do 8 gallon BIAB batches in this kettle or 10 gallon batches with a dunk sparge. And we'll be doing that this weekend with an Oatmeal Stout this weekend.
You can batch sparge with the 30 qt. I've done several 5 gal brews this way. You just need another decent sized pot to heat the sparge water while you're mashing in the 30 qt.Have you tried BIAB batch sparging with your 30 qt setup, or did you just skip straight to the big kettle? I am curious as I would prefer not to by a new kettle just to BIAB with bigger grain bills when I could just as easily use current equipment for a more traditional AG setup.
I see Walmart has 36 qt.fryers,would this work?Where did you find the 68 qt. pot.Its too bad everyone won't use metric for brewing.There is quite a difference between our old Imp. gallons and qts and what our American freinds are using.
You can batch sparge with the 30 qt. I've done several 5 gal brews this way. You just need another decent sized pot to heat the sparge water while you're mashing in the 30 qt.
It's quick, it's easy, it's cheap, it's effective. When it was below zero outside, I could do a small batch on the kitchen stove, chill it in the sink and still have the same qualities as doing it out on the deck in the cold wind.
Since it is so quick, I could do 2 batches in the time most of the traditional all grain people are reporting and still have the 5 gallons that most of them do.:rockin:
kgb_operative said:Have you tried BIAB batch sparging with your 30 qt setup, or did you just skip straight to the big kettle? I am curious as I would prefer not to by a new kettle just to BIAB with bigger grain bills when I could just as easily use current equipment for a more traditional AG setup.
I'm pretty new at this. My friend and I just started brewing two months ago. I'm not even sure I understand how to batch sparge with BIAB. I'll look it up.
I can easily pull off a 5.5 or 6 gallon BIAB batch with the 7.5 gallon kettle. I just need to hold back 2 gallons of water in a smaller kettle and dunk the bag after the mash. I preheat the dunking water on my stove to 170 degrees but I understand some people dunk the bag in cold water with no noticeable loss in efficiency compared to hot water..
lylo said:I see Walmart has 36 qt.fryers,would this work?Where did you find the 68 qt. pot.Its too bad everyone won't use metric for brewing.There is quite a difference between our old Imp. gallons and qts and what our American freinds are using.
Mysticmead said:that is what was referred to as a batch sparge BIAB... also called dunking
I too thought all grain was going to require more equip but all I added was a MLT built from a coleman cooler, T-ball valve, and a SS mesh false side. Which cost me around $40.
Then of course I built a wort chiller and bought a grain mill, then a motor for the mill etc. etc. etc.....
What are most people using for the 5 gal.no chill container/cubes?
I too thought all grain was going to require more equip but all I added was a MLT built from a coleman cooler, T-ball valve, and a SS mesh false side. Which cost me around $40.
Then of course I built a wort chiller and bought a grain mill, then a motor for the mill etc. etc. etc.....
Canadian Tire has blue Reliance water containers with spigot holding 5 gal. Works perfect for me! Holds hot wort, very little headspace, easy to clean, cheap and easy to handle. Under $20 I think
Or you can just take a reading, see where you are and only make the amount of beer that you're aiming for and chuck the grain and save the money and time you'd spend taking more runnings and spend it on more grain (it would get you quite a bit). (=
I do not believe people are doing BIAB because it is thought to be better than the traditional all-grain process, but more of a 'baby step' into all-grain. For some, this is all they will ever need and will not go any further. For others they will slowly start heading toward the traditional methods as they run into corner case limitations.
For me personally, I was doing all extract brews and decided I had started to understand all my variables, ferm temp control etc and was ready to branch out to all-grain but didn't want to add much more time.
With full volume, no sparge, BIAB I just had to spend $5 on the bag and add about 30 mins to my brew day for the full mash (was already steeping specialty grains for 30mins). The only extra clean up is rinsing a bag.
As far as efficiency, it is about the same. Some people who mill their own grain report efficiencies into the 90's because they can just make flour. No such thing as stuck sparges.
The only real limitation is having a big enough brew pot since you need to start with your full volume.
If I focus, using my wort chiller, I can pitch my yeast and be cleaned up in just about 3-3.5 hours.
So are you happy with BIAB then?
Never done it. I went full all grain.
As it was mentioned you also need HLT pot which I happened to already have. But any 40 quart stock pot will work for that.
So in actuality there are 2 needed items I apologize, but both can be had for under $70.
I'm not positive either full all grain vs BIAB have so much of a difference.
Has anyone done a side by side comparison?
jjones17 said:your post is good - except, you do not need to start with your full volume in your mash if that is what u mean. top up!
Mysticmead said:...
BIAB isn't an inferior way of brewing..its just a different way of getting to the same goal. BIAB produces clear beers just like a traditional 3v setup. BIAB produces beers full of flavor just like a 3v setup. BIAB produces award winning beers just like a 3v setup. It just does it with minimal equipment and start up cost.
BenjaminR said:Never done it. I went full all grain.
As it was mentioned you also need HLT pot which I happened to already have. But any 40 quart stock pot will work for that.
So in actuality there are 2 needed items I apologize, but both can be had for under $70.
I'm not positive either full all grain vs BIAB have so much of a difference.
Has anyone done a side by side comparison?
You do not need an HLT pot. The only extra equipment I have beyond extract brewing is a $5 bag.
My friend that has been doing traditional 3 tier all-grain, did a BIAB of his house APA and after seeing the cloudy wort he was sceptical. Then after kegging and bottling he was pleasantly surprised that it cleared up like normal. He felt the only difference was the process.
Never done it. I went full all grain.
As it was mentioned you also need HLT pot which I happened to already have. But any 40 quart stock pot will work for that.
So in actuality there are 2 needed items I apologize, but both can be had for under $70.
I'm not positive either full all grain vs BIAB have so much of a difference.
Has anyone done a side by side comparison?
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