1st Biab

[RdeVjun]

Did everyone interested in big colanders see this 40L crab cooker for $100? B)

Sounds good Levin, but if you're going to do a sparge, may as well make it a good sized one and I'd up that volume as much as you can, you really want that stockpot full almost to the brim when you're boiling, in fact you can add some more sparge liquor during the boil and after you've lost some of the initial lot to evaporation.

I do pretty much the same method as yours all the time (dunk- sparged BAIB in a 19L stockpot), usually with that full- sized grainbill too, and you should be able to mash in with the pot about 2/3 full, so about 13L and once you've mashed in, top it right up to the brim with the right temperature water and it will be closer to 14 or 15. After mashing and draining the bag, with the 20L plastic bucket and colander, I'd sparge with 10L of water at 80-85C (start preparing this before the mash is finished). And as mentioned above, keep topping up the boil with this excess sparge liquor, but it should go close to 18L in a 90 minute boil. It is a bit disconcerting having the pot so full, so just keep an eye on it for boilover.

Be sure to thank your GF for the tips and thoughtfulness too, she's worth more than her weight in gold! I do wish mine was as supportive of my hobbies as yours is... :angry:

Edit: Clarity.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

RdeVjun is right Levin

You are mashing at "traditional" rather than BIAB water to grain ratio's, so in order to get anything like a normal level of efficiency, you are going to need to sparge with roughly the same amount of water as in a traditional system. So more sparge water than mash water basically. The less sparge water you use, the less efficiency you get.

BIAB done without a sparge only gets decent efficiency, because it uses very high water to grain ratio's - you aren't using them, so you need to think more like a batch sparge brewer than a BIAB brewer to get the results you are looking for.

Dunk sparge will be your best bet ... pouring water over a colander full of bag will work to an extent, but at the end of the day is a very inefficient way to sparge - so dunk.

 

[Nick JD]

Dunk sparge will be your best bet ... pouring water over a colander full of bag will work to an extent, but at the end of the day is a very inefficient way to sparge - so dunk.

I dunk, when I can be bothered ... which is usually when I've done a big mash of more than 3.5kg in a 19L vessel. I've found the sparge liquor when I do only 2kg mashes is not sweet at all - so I just squeeze, squeeze like I'm tryinta asphyxiate the fecker.

As a +1 to Thirsty's advice, don't be in a hurry with your dunk sparge. I prefer to think of it as a "Soak Sparge". Pour 3L of 80 degree water over the bag (still closed) in the bucket and then walk away for ten minutes at least. I'm guessing, but I think this gives enough time for that hot water to penetrate into the center of the bag and mingle with the residual sugaz, so when you squeeze this your not just squeezing out your water ... it's actually coming with sugaz dissolved in it.

The other day while doing some vacuum composite work I has a eureka moment about placing the BIABag in a sealed plastic bag and then applying vacuum and sucking it all out into my "catch pot". I reckon (disregarding any tannin issues) I could get nearly every last drop of sugary liquid out of the grain at 26"Hg. Every last drop...

 

[levin_ae92]

Thanks Thirsty Boy and Nick,

You're input means alot! I am very aware that my brewing setup is far from ideal I'm more than happy to sparge in a large volume, but am concious of the fact i only have 17ish usable litres for boiling in, plus I'm using a bbq burner and it takes ages to boil that amount of wort!!

 

[Thirsty Boy]

we are talking about different things when we say dunk sparge - Nick used the word pour... there is no "pour" in a dunk sparge.

You have the sparge liquor in another container - you take the bag out of your main vessel, give it a bit of time to drain and a light squeeze just to stop the drips - you put the bag into the vessel with the sparge liquor in it and give it a really good stir up - no need to wait after that, pull the bag, drain/squeeze it out and pour the liquid into your main mash.

You are essentially "using a teabag twice" First cup of tea with the bag is strong - second cup is weak.

Unless you have a proper mash tun, with good draining geometry etc - anything that involves pouring the sparge water over the grain is going to be a bit hit and miss - you want to submerge your grain in sparge water, stir it up to dissolve out the sugars and drain it completely. Either open the bag and stir it properly, or at the very least massage the crap out of the closed bag. You dont wait for the water to penetrate an dissolve out the sugars... you make it penetrate and dissolve the sugarsI don't understand why people are so damn reluctant to stir the bloody mash... it is very very important. Your colander isn't a lautering device, its just an alternative to a skyhook as a way to drain the bag

The 17L boil volume is an issue.. just make less beer. You should be looking at 2-3kg grain bills max.

TB

 

[levin_ae92]

I have no problem with stirring the mash, and did this a couple of times and charted the temp change. As mentioned before, the method is simply because I have no room and no money to do it much better

 

[Thirsty Boy]

sorry - not having any sort of a go at how you did it - It was your first go and fair enough, you could improve, but thats what this thread is for yes? To gather suggestions so you can improve.

I read lot of posts about soaking and waiting and pouring (referring to the sparge step here not the general mash) and -- well -- its all stuff that you can get just by stirring for a minute. Your colander is a great thing - very handy for BIAB, I'm just saying that if you try to use it for sparging in, you will get a less effective result than you could. By all means, after you dunk sparge, then stick the bag in the colander to drain. You have a bucket there in the picture you posted - hot water in there, plonk the bag into the hot water, stir it up, pull it out and sit it in the colander till it stops dripping. Done.

No need to do it any "better" thats the whole point of BIAB, you can do it perfectly well with minimal money and room. Your pot volume is small, so you pay a price for that by having to do extra steps like sparging, topping up etc etc. But that's the only difference - the amount of effort you have to go to and that you will struggle to get a "full batch" even with the extra effort... nothing about the quality of the beer, which should be equal to what you could make with the biggest and fanciest of systems.

 

[Nick JD]

I don't "stir" (how one would do this with only 3L of water in an already well-drained bag is unpossible to my small brain - my word for 3L of water in 4kg of grain would not be "stir", probably "fold-slop-fold").

My grain is milled to a very fine flour. Too much agitation can mean a very cloudy sparge. I try to avoid this.

As always, YMMV and probably does.

Take a hydrometer reading of your sparge techniques and compare them and after a while you'll know what works best for your setup and situation.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

My advice goes with my previous advice - being that with the low LG ratios the OP was using, he should also be using a much larger sparge volume.

And stirring would still help even with just 3L... the better the contact between the liquid and the solid - the better the extraction of sugars. I'm not trying to tell you that you should change anything... just giving general advice about what does and doesn't work well and why; and where the widest part of the target is so a newer brewer can aim for it. If he wants to go for a head shot first time around, no problems, but he's more likely to score a hit if he aims for the body. That sort of thing.

You on the other hand have you sights properly lined up already so there is no need for you to take any notice of my blather at all.

 

[Nick JD]

You on the other hand have you sights properly lined up already so there is no need for you to take any notice of my blather at all.

On the contrary, Thirsty - I'm always listening when you're typing. The main reason I don't stir the dunk is because then I'd have to undo the knot on the noose I use to hang my bag. I'm that lazy.

 

[jkoontz65]

Hi all,

silly me thought I'd attempt to mash a full 4.7kg grain bill in 12L of water in a 19L pot, and my efficiency was only 54% I got an SG of 1040 so added a bit of DME to bring it back up to 1045, so that my 50g of galaxy wouldnt be too over the top. I think next time I might sub 2kg of the base malt for a tin of extract and do a partial instead

Hello to fellow brewers in OZ! I'm attempting to bring the BIAB method to Southern California and need some advice. My first batch achieved 82% efficiency but I think it was a fluke. Since then (4 more batches) I've only got the high 60's. I did change from a 30 liter pot to a 57 liter and I think my trouble is knowing how much water to use. I've seen ratios from 1.5 liters per kg all the way down to 0.4 per kg.

My brew club is skeptical and I know this is a viable method. What's the right formula?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Jim K.

 

[Scruffy]

Hi JimK, welcome dude! And congrats on your first coupla BIAB... Hope you don't mind, but I've created your own thread, saves you treading on this one...Click Here...!

Hopefully, you'll get all the help you need (give me a mo to type something though)...

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Edit extensive post - missed scruffy's ad hoc moderation .. which isn't a bad idea. I have posted an answer, and some useful attachments in the linked to new thread.

Thirsty

 

[levin_ae92]

Haha, my thread, his thread, doesnt bother me This ones probably not going to see much activity anymore anyway!

 

[jkoontz65]

Hi JimK, welcome dude! And congrats on your first coupla BIAB... Hope you don't mind, but I've created your own thread, saves you treading on this one...Click Here...!

Hopefully, you'll get all the help you need (give me a mo to type something though)...

Thanks, Scruffy! and sorry about the faux pas.

 

[levin_ae92]

Bottled today, bitterness was a much due to low fg, but hopefully it will round out ok.

Thanks again everyone (especially Thirsty Boy and NickJD) for the advice, and good luck JimK

 

[levin_ae92]

Number two today, 61% efficiency with a 4.5kg grain bill. Getting better. My next will be a mild with only 3.2kg grain so should be better

 

[superdave]

Number two today, 61% efficiency with a 4.5kg grain bill. Getting better. My next will be a mild with only 3.2kg grain so should be better

Good to see you're improving none-the-less.

My subsequent two AG brews scored a ncie 76% and 70% with my new setup. Followed the advice of adding all water at the start, which required investing in a new 50L pot. Fourth brew was down a little as I was short of time.