G'day guys been ages since I've posted! I do BIAB in a 30 litre boiler usually end up with around 21 litres. To get more beer can I add few more amount of each grain then top up boiler prior to boil to make more volume pre boil therefore end up with more in the end?
Adding volume to BIAB
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troopa
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You sure can.
You can use trial and error or grab Beersmith or other software if your not already using it to help calculate your needs and track them. The biggest issue you will come across is figuring out what your new efficiency will be. It will drop depending on your grain/water ratio and your process, you will have to adjust to compensate. Remembering also that if you are already mashing in near ta the max of your pot, when you add more grain to the mix you will have less water making efficiency even worse.
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I almost always do double batches now in a 60L pot aiming for a higher gravity (2 x 17L batches) that get no chilled in smaller cubes. When im ready i tip into my fermenters and add another 3-5L of water depending on what gravity i am after. I have adjusted efficiency, utilisation, boil off rates and as well bitterness/flavour additions to compensate for this.
Hope that kinda helps.
You can use trial and error or grab Beersmith or other software if your not already using it to help calculate your needs and track them. The biggest issue you will come across is figuring out what your new efficiency will be. It will drop depending on your grain/water ratio and your process, you will have to adjust to compensate. Remembering also that if you are already mashing in near ta the max of your pot, when you add more grain to the mix you will have less water making efficiency even worse.
.
I almost always do double batches now in a 60L pot aiming for a higher gravity (2 x 17L batches) that get no chilled in smaller cubes. When im ready i tip into my fermenters and add another 3-5L of water depending on what gravity i am after. I have adjusted efficiency, utilisation, boil off rates and as well bitterness/flavour additions to compensate for this.
Hope that kinda helps.
gone brewing
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Hi. I also have a 30L urn and I do this all the time. I mash in with 19L, have around 16L after the bag is pulled up and then I put the bag and grain in a 19L Big W stockpot with around 7L of hot water. I figure that since I am adding water to the wort before the boil I might as well use that water for a small batch sparge. So I then have about 26L at the start of the boil. My aim is to fill a 20L cube at the end of the boil so I will add water during the boil to get about 24.5L in my urn at the end.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
RdeVjun
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You might find this useful: http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=352
That's the original MaxiBIAB guide, a method that allows for brewing a volume of beer in excess of the kettle volume in just one batch and would probably suit your particular circumstances quite well.
My advice is to mash with the kettle full to the brim and then use any water which is added to the kettle for constructive purposes, i.e. as a sparge. Adding plain water to the boil is rather wasteful of an excellent opportunity to return efficiency to an acceptable level in often challenging circumstances, however once you have your boiled concentrated wort in the cube, then you would dilute it back to your desired SG. Although, in your case with a 30L kettle you might not have to consider dilution in the fermenter.
I'd also advise ignoring the ill- considered sparge hysteria which seems to crop up from time to time on the subject of MaxiBIAB, invariably it overlooks the limited kettle volume issue, while it echoes of religious dogma.
HTH!
That's the original MaxiBIAB guide, a method that allows for brewing a volume of beer in excess of the kettle volume in just one batch and would probably suit your particular circumstances quite well.
My advice is to mash with the kettle full to the brim and then use any water which is added to the kettle for constructive purposes, i.e. as a sparge. Adding plain water to the boil is rather wasteful of an excellent opportunity to return efficiency to an acceptable level in often challenging circumstances, however once you have your boiled concentrated wort in the cube, then you would dilute it back to your desired SG. Although, in your case with a 30L kettle you might not have to consider dilution in the fermenter.
I'd also advise ignoring the ill- considered sparge hysteria which seems to crop up from time to time on the subject of MaxiBIAB, invariably it overlooks the limited kettle volume issue, while it echoes of religious dogma.
HTH!
I do full volume BIAB in a 40L urn, but over the summer I've done a sort of maxi BIAB myself to stretch a single brew length to fill two kegs, with the help of a tin of something appropriate to the recipe, for example Coopers Cerveza.
So it was something like three quarters AG and one quarter da tin and 5.5% ABV was quite doable.
With a sparge it worked out very well indeed, I didn't need to dilute post boil and and the method kept the kegs filled over the summer ... I only have one fermentation fridge but I do have a 60L fermenter.
As RdeV suggests, mash right up to the top of the boiler.
So it was something like three quarters AG and one quarter da tin and 5.5% ABV was quite doable.
With a sparge it worked out very well indeed, I didn't need to dilute post boil and and the method kept the kegs filled over the summer ... I only have one fermentation fridge but I do have a 60L fermenter.
As RdeV suggests, mash right up to the top of the boiler.
RdeVjun
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Hear hear Bribie, that's economical use of a brewday without blowing a valve and earning a double batch for minimal added effort. I'd guess around 8kg of grain and a tin of joy?
And there's no harm whatsoever in da tin, that won't compromise the beer quality at all- ye olde partial mash has made some of my most memorable beers.
And there's no harm whatsoever in da tin, that won't compromise the beer quality at all- ye olde partial mash has made some of my most memorable beers.
Edd
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A great thread, answered a lot of my lurking questions. I have a 30L pot and think I lost some efficiency first time round by topping up with plain water.
It makes much more sense, after reading this, to use the additional water required (calculated from Brewers Friend) to dunk sparge the bag in a seperate vessel (30 litre fermenting bucket most likely) and then add gradually throughout the boil. Should bring me a lot closer to the mark.
It makes much more sense, after reading this, to use the additional water required (calculated from Brewers Friend) to dunk sparge the bag in a seperate vessel (30 litre fermenting bucket most likely) and then add gradually throughout the boil. Should bring me a lot closer to the mark.
rossbaker
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This is exactly what I'm hoping to do, albeit on a slightly larger scale to try and squeeze 34l (2 x 17l cubes) from my 50 litre keggle. I'll be trying something similar to the method Argon has posted a while back. To make it work in beersmith I changed my equipment profile to include 10l of top up water for the kettle. Hopefully it works.!
Just a bit of an update as the thread has been bumped.
Specifically, for anyone doing "bronzed brews" old Australian recipes with the use of a fair amount of sugar, I've been doing mine in a 20L urn and getting a full keg length out by using boiling water to top up before transferring to my two 10L cubes.
For example the Tooheys 1913 Standard Pale Ale recipe for a 20L length only calls for 2.25 kg of grain which is more than doable in a smaller urn.
Hitting gravities and efficiencies as far as the wort is concerned, but actually need to cut back on ingredients next time as the Melbourne Ale Yeast is so attenuative that I was getting 5.5% beers instead of 4.8%.
Specifically, for anyone doing "bronzed brews" old Australian recipes with the use of a fair amount of sugar, I've been doing mine in a 20L urn and getting a full keg length out by using boiling water to top up before transferring to my two 10L cubes.
For example the Tooheys 1913 Standard Pale Ale recipe for a 20L length only calls for 2.25 kg of grain which is more than doable in a smaller urn.
Hitting gravities and efficiencies as far as the wort is concerned, but actually need to cut back on ingredients next time as the Melbourne Ale Yeast is so attenuative that I was getting 5.5% beers instead of 4.8%.
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