All In One Brewery...

[Fingerlickin_B]

couldn't you just pull the grain bag asside and stick in your stick of power with a bit of stirring.

Not really, as I'm contemplating using a pot-in-pot like I do on a smaller scale already...plus pulling the bag aside enough to do that would be nearly impossible (as I'm sure all the BIAB'ers on here would attest to).

Thanks for the input though, it is all very much appreciated :beer:

PZ.

 

[James Squire]

Nope, not missing anything Justin.

Good advice. That will work fine Finger. Even with the bucket in bucket setup. There will be enough water with the grain (if you mash in full volume) that you can use the element to stir the grain from time to time to raise the temp. Just remember not to pull the element out whilst its switched on and to make sure you keep the element moving when it is in the grain.


Good luck and keep us informed.

Cheers,

JS

Edit- Extra advice.

 

[Justin]

couldn't you just pull the grain bag asside and stick in your stick of power with a bit of stirring.

Not really, as I'm contemplating using a pot-in-pot like I do on a smaller scale already...plus pulling the bag aside enough to do that would be nearly impossible (as I'm sure all the BIAB'ers on here would attest to).

Thanks for the input though, it is all very much appreciated :beer:

PZ.

In that case you can just stick the element straight in the mash and stir. Anyway, just an idea as that's what I do (I love the hand held elements, did an entire brew last night with one). I'm sure you'll get it sorted.

Here are some pics from my Classic American Pils/cream ale last night. This is apartment brewing as my full rig is in storage. It ran incredibly smoothy and I was quitely pleased with minimal gear. While not BIAB it's pretty low key anyway.

Getting ready for kick off

Mash resting and getting ready for the sparge:

My HLT:

And the boil:

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Ok, I'm sold on it....thanks guys :beer:

Still might insulate, I can't help myself h34r:

PZ.

 

[therook]

Justin,

How big is your Pot?

rook

 

[PistolPatch]

Finger, I agree with Justin and Sqyre. Forget the insulation for now - it'll only cause you problems. It might even melt! Just stir the mash up (no need to pull bag aside) with your element.

The first 20 minutes of the mash is the most important. If I'm mashing at 66 for 90 minutes I'll only need to give the pot on e burst of heat to maintain temp. A thick-bottomed pot maintains its heat well.

Zizzle's just done a BIAB with an element too. Have a look here

Good to see you going full batch.

Spot ya,
Pat

 

[Justin]

Justin,

How big is your Pot?

rook

19L mate to the brim, that's got about 17L in it boiling ($20 from Big W) it was a replacement for my other 20L pot that got cut up to go in my Dad's smoker h34r: . I was aiming for a 15L post boil batch size (I'm happy with that size at the moment as there is only me drinking it and I'm trying a few different styles atm).

I was pushing the boundaries with the boil volume though. I actually ended up with more volume from my sparge (aiming for 17.7L preboil-that's what I was expecting from my two batch sparges). But I ended up with a few extra litres (so I guess the kitchen kettle isn't a very accurate measure of 2L, I couldn't find the measuring jug ).

As the boil progressed and some of the wort boiled off I added the extra few litres of sparged wort that wouldn't fit in the pot. It only took me maybe 20mins of boiling to get the extra space I needed to get the rest of the wort in there. Plus the hot break and foam was well and truely done. My efficiency was up too (aimed for a conservative 70% but got closer to 85% as a rough preboil estimate) so I ended up with more than I planned. Added an extra 2L of cooled boiled water to the fermenter. With careful placement of the element in the pot you can minimise the violent boil jumping out the side-a nice back up was the fact I boiled in the laundry sink. A pretty good ghetto brew.

It was a good night, I had a heap of fun actually jimmying up this system and squeezing a brew out after work. House was empty to I got into it.

Just to go with PistolPatchs comment, I don't think you'll see too much heat loss over the hour Fingerlickin. It may only need a short burst with the element.

Cheers, Justin

 

[therook]

Thanks justin, so my next question is would a 60 litre pot be able to do a double brew ( 2 x 23 litre )?

rook

 

[Justin]

Thanks justin, so my next question is would a 60 litre pot be able to do a double brew ( 2 x 23 litre )?

rook

It should be. For a 46L batch (2X23L) @ say 15% evapouration rate you're looking around 54L preboil, give or take some. At 10% boil off you have even more head space.

I'd say thats doable, but it might be a little tight. Just need to pay attention and keep a spray bottle of water handy-you can boil over anything if your not careful :blink: . It's good to have good heat control if you're doing tight boils (ie. gas would be better than a fixed wattage element), just so if needed you can tone the boil down a little if it gets too exciting or your nerves wont hold out.

I think most people seem to grab the 80L pots just for the extra comfort factor as they aren't much more expensive than the 60L. But you should be able to do it fine.

 

[AndrewQLD]

Justin is spot on in the above post, 80lt would be the safer option. Boilovers are messy and dangerous and can happen in an instant.
Also, it is not often you hear of a brewer downsizing their pots there're usually upsizing to as big as they can get.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Well I kegged my latest effort yesterday and put a glass of it in the fridge to cool, tasted it later in the day.

Yet another watery failure! :angry:

Went to the HBS for more grain3kg of it this time.
2kg Munich & 1kg Pilsener for an 11 litre batch.

Wish me luck :lol:

PZ.

 

[PistolPatch]

Finger, we need to get you sorted mate. I'm trying to find how many kgs you used on your last batch? 2.5 - 3kg would be just about right.

I'm thinking that you may have a dodgy thermometer and that it's reading high. Don't brew again until you can check your thermometer against another at mash temp.

I can't see anything you've done wrong. A big pot will make things easier as you won't have to sparge either.

Mmmmm. Once you get things going right, you might be able to do a high octane brew and top those watery buggers up.

Spot ya,
Pat

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Finger, we need to get you sorted mate. I'm trying to find how many kgs you used on your last batch? 2.5 - 3kg would be just about right.

I'm thinking that you may have a dodgy thermometer and that it's reading high. Don't brew again until you can check your thermometer against another at mash temp.

I can't see anything you've done wrong. A big pot will make things easier as you won't have to sparge either.

Mmmmm. Once you get things going right, you might be able to do a high octane brew and top those watery buggers up.

Spot ya,
Pat

Yeah good idea Pat, tonight I'll be testing my thermometer with ice and boiling water.

This time I'll be doing things a bit differently too B)
3kg of grain,
16 litres of water,
Expected losses of 3L to mash and 2L to boil leaving me with 11L of undiluted wort,
NO SPARGE.

You know how I lost my sample tube? Well now I can't even find the hydrometer! :lol:

Man, if the thermometer is out then all should be ok and this one will work h34r:

PZ.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Just picked up a dial faced stick thermometer from Big W with a clearly marked 66deg for $6.78...bargain

I'll check it reads correctly before use though :lol:

PZ.

 

[PistolPatch]

I've had a bit more of a think...

If my memory serves me correctly, you can't do full volume brewing and are therefore having to sparge as well because of your small pot size. This could lead to 2 problems. One - the sugars mightn't be being rinsed from the grain well enough during the mash. Two - your sparging method may not be rinsing the sugar from the grains well enough either.

To work this out though, you'll need to take a hydrometer reading. Until you find your test tube or buy another just use a jug or something and then tip it back into the kettle when you're finished. Do the same for your OG as well. Just no rinse the jug first. I think some figures are needed before the real source of the problem can be found.

Be interesting to hear the stats.

Cheers
Pat

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Well, I scored a hydrometer this arvo and found a suitable "sample tube"...another small flower vase :lol:

Mash water almost up to strike temp.

It's brew time.........again! B)

PZ.

p.s. I just checked the thermometer I've used the last two times...reads 52 @ a true temp of 58...think we've found the problem :super:

oh, and the cheapy from Big W? Right on the money

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Chilling in the sink with some ice now.

Using the ProMash Temperature Correction Calculator this one goes as such;
Post-mash gravity: 1.056
Post-boil gravity: 1.074

The numbers predict a good strength beer :huh:

Still smells like to previous failures though :blink:

Next payday if all goes well Im shelling out $ for the rest of the gear to go full batches, but if this one fails Im lost as to where Ive gone wrong! h34r:

PZ.

 

[PistolPatch]

Well that's good news on the thermometer and the numbers.

Doesn't sound like you're too keen on the smell though. Does it taste OK?

Maybe there's someone local that can have a taste and put your mind to rest?

Finger, my fingers are crossed for you

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Krausen this morning...another good sign

Did I mention that I only ended up with about 6-7 litres of wort in the fermenter? :lol:

PZ.

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

Well, still fermenting away like a monster and the thick krausen isn't showing signs it'll be dropping any time soon

No doubt this'll be a good'n...and bloody strong according to ProMash

*edit* - Last AG using this gear (but might keep it for partials)

I'll hopefully be doing full batches within about 1 & 1/2 weeks...just ordered everything I need...except a bag :lol:

PZ.