1st Biab In A Couple Of Weeks, Just Getting Stuff Ready

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Well, i will be doing my first AG in a couple of weeks, recipie i plan to do is this, seems pretty simple and i like a drop of heinekin (providing it comes out close to anything i think)

I pick up my 2 50LT kegs tomorrow morn :icon_cheers: , just have to cut the tops off them and give them a good scrub (thevve been sitting up the back of a shed for about 5 or so years) swiss voile bag will be sown while my dear mother still has her sewing machine out. taps, Cubes and bits n pieces will be aquired on thursday.

My plan is to have everything all good-to-go for when i come home from my holiday.

Will Post Some Pics shortly.... Wish me luck!

 

[Wisey]

You'll be right mate,

my process is still not down pat - but damn I have made some nice beer.

 

[mxd]

I've been getting my stuff ready, been doing some "practice" boils and can't get a decent boil going, so I will try insulation around the urn and see what that is like, otherwise it could be another element added.

good luck

Matt

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Well, got my kegs this morn, 1 is absolutely useless. He recalled trying to make a letterbox with 1,, and lost interest. now has a slot cut in the bottom. I think he can have it back this arvo. The other is cut, deburred, and clean. as soon as i find my usb cable for the camera i'll post some snaps.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

dude - why do you need 2 kegs for BIAB??

The whole point of BIAB is that you only need one pot.

Unless you were planning on doing two side by side brews imultaneously??

You already have all the gear required to start brewing.... now! Get to it.

TB

 

[Bribie G]

Yup skitch em boy, skitch em

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

dude - why do you need 2 kegs for BIAB??

The whole point of BIAB is that you only need one pot.

Unless you were planning on doing two side by side brews imultaneously??

You already have all the gear required to start brewing.... now! Get to it.

TB

I was told i could have both kegs! i dont really care if only one was good (although, if (or when...) i got good i could start doing doubles.....)

I will have the gear to get going tomorrow. will run a few tests before the HOL's first: how long it will take to boil? How long i can hold the mash temp for.... ETC.

PLUS: i dont have the grain/hops yet.... This part makes it a little bit tricky!......

 

[Bribie G]

I was told i could have both kegs! i dont really care if only one was good (although, if (or when...) i got good i could start doing doubles.....)

I will have the gear to get going tomorrow. will run a few tests before the HOL's first: how long it will take to boil? How long i can hold the mash temp for.... ETC.

PLUS: i dont have the grain/hops yet.... This part makes it a little bit tricky!......

Hint: save gas

Wrap keg in old doonah / sleeping bags etc and you should only get around a degree drop in mash temp over an hour and a half, especially with the thermal mass associated with that size batch.

PS re your signature, I wouldn't want any of SWMBO's female friends anywhere near my todger thanks

 

[crundle]

+1 for wrapping the vessel in a doonah after reaching your strike temperature, it will only lose a bit of heat during the 60-90 minutes mash time.

Crundle

 

[big78sam]

Wrap keg in old doonah / sleeping bags etc and you should only get around a degree drop in mash temp over an hour and a half, especially with the thermal mass associated with that size batch.

Is it just me or do others lose more than that? I have a 30L urn that sits on a table which is covered in a sheet of camping mattress for insulation. The urn it wrapped snuggly with a camping mattress cut to exact size (with small incisions for the handles to poke through). The lid is clamped on with another piece of mat cut to size on top. I then place a medium rated sleeping bag over the top and zip it up to reduce the air that can escape, then cover in a doonah and wrap tightly with rope. I lose 2 to 2.5 degrees in the first hour...

 

[bowie in space]

Is it just me or do others lose more than that? I have a 30L urn that sits on a table which is covered in a sheet of camping mattress for insulation. The urn it wrapped snuggly with a camping mattress cut to exact size (with small incisions for the handles to poke through). The lid is clamped on with another piece of mat cut to size on top. I then place a medium rated sleeping bag over the top and zip it up to reduce the air that can escape, then cover in a doonah and wrap tightly with rope. I lose 2 to 2.5 degrees in the first hour...

I find i gain temperature. :blink: Weird I know. I think it's got something to do with my dodgy false bottom, which in fact is a "false" bottom.

Well, actually, I'm playing around with different techniques at the moment. I think I've been getting it slightly wrong in that I heat the strike water then add the grains all at once, whereas I was reading last night that Palmer suggests to put grains in first then slowly add the strike water.

Also, my false bottom sucks. It's just a stainless steel bowl big enough to cover the heating element in the urn. I find I am heating the water in the urn with the false bottom in, then once I get to 69C I add the grains, thinking that will force the water temps down, but now I am thinking that the stainless steel has attracted so much heat that once the lid goes on and it's quickly covered in doonahs are wrapped it continues to rise in temperature. IOn past attempts I have unwrapped the urn, taken the lid off and found it to be 72-75C!!

I'm working my around this problem and last time I brewed it was 66C when I started and 65C at the end of an hour. My gravity was spot on at 1.040. So I thing my key is to hit 66C, then cover instead of going further to 69C.

Next time I'll try putting the grain in first, then adding water.

Bowie

 

[[email protected]]

First of all, im behind three inches of bulletproof glass so don't even think of shooting me for this question! What does BIAB stand for?

 

[Bribie G]

First of all, im behind three inches of bulletproof glass so don't even think of shooting me for this question! What does BIAB stand for?

here 'tis

 

[Yeastie Beastie]

Great to see you are moving to AG,
I made the move after reading this topic Move To All Grain For Thirty Bucks
I basically went to BB and bought a pot and a few kilos of grain and away I went. The beer is damn fantastic.

The move to AG is not as daunting or as expensive as most think. People think it is expensive 'cos they see all these flashy bling rigs on here but don't understand that these guys have been brewing for years and started somewhere too.

I pot and some Voile is all you need assuming you have a stove top.

Food for thought IMO : Do small 9ltr batches (1 doz longnecks), making different styles. The benefits are that you will have a greater variety of beer in your collection but most importantly you will gain experience quicker by doing different styles.

GOOD LUCK.

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

PS re your signature, I wouldn't want any of SWMBO's female friends anywhere near my todger thanks

LOL! Same Here!

Great to see you are moving to AG,
I made the move after reading this topic Move To All Grain For Thirty Bucks

Yup! read and studied the topic and also this one very well.

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Trust me guys, i have photos, just trying to Put them on here. Give us a few mins....

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

:icon_offtopic: Shit! i'd never thought i'd Hijack my own post! But how do you post .JPG Files????? it kept saying wrong TAG or something........

Yes i have searched for "attaching photos" with nothing........ (someone else give it a go pls and tell me if im right or wrong)

 

[geoff_tewierik]

But how do you post .JPG Files????? it kept saying wrong TAG or something........

Host your photos somewhere like photobucket or flickr or even your own file space your ISP gives you and then copy the link into your post using {img}link details{/img}

Just change the squiggly bracket {} for square ones [].

Cheers,

GT

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Ok for the second time heres some pics:

The Fittings:

The Fittings Assembled:

Close-up of the fittings assembled:

The Vessle:

So anyhow, a good couple of hours were spent finding the right gear, bunnings for the tap and most of the fittings, autobarn for the barbed fitting, and petstock for the hose. All cost me a fly-shit under $35 (cos some dip-shit didnt scan the tap )

P.S. Ignore the date..... Stupid Digital Camera!

_W_



EDIT: THANX to thirsty_boy and geoff_tewierik for thier help with this posts
&
Will post some assembled photos of the rig after NEW YEARS!

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

Ok! so now a test run... filled the keg up, keeps the fluid in like a swiss-viole bag ( :lol: )! last time i cheap-out at bunnings!

and here's a close-up:

Well,1hr and 15mins into the practice boil, the water is starting to get hot enough for me to keep my finger in there. but thinks i will run out of gas soon.......
Notice the wet spot on the BBQ near the burner taps? cant complain though.... i got them for the right price HEHEHE.... mite have to shop elsewhere.