Biab Brewer Register

[Wardhog]

Why not?? Going traditional?

Gone traditional.

I went that way because I want the option of big beers. I'm a big bloke, but I can't lift 10+kg of wet grain, hover and wait for the drips to stop, and I have nothing to attach a hook to.
Don't get me wrong, I haven't spurned BIAB, it's just I could not see a workable solution to doing big beers with it.

 

[malbur]

Name......... Brews........... are you still BIABing?........Volume

Pistol Patch............. 55..............Yes............................1381lt Changed to BIAB
FNQ Bunyip............. 42..............Yes.......................... 1067lt
SpillsMostOfIt........... 52 ............Yes!.......................... 926lt Mixed methods.
Hashie......................43.............Yes.............. ............ 1,245lt No chill
MaxT........................5...............No............................. 11lt
PJ............................1............... Will be........................ 23lt No Chill.
jimmysuperlative......21..............Yes........................... 475L No Chill
Thirstyboy............... 14..............Yes......................... app 170L Mixed methods
Wardhog..................1.................?............................... 23lt
Phonos....................4.................Yes............................ 88lt Partial
Beer Man.................15...............Yes.......................... 375lt no chill, no problems
DK..........................10...............Yes.........................app 20lt No Chill all the way!
Adam......................2.................No............................. 46lt
Blackbock................6.................No............................ 180lt No Chill
Zizzle......................7.................No............................ 16lt No Chill/Electric
Phrak......................6.................Yes.......................... 175lt No Chill for all
Deaves.................. 6..................No...........................app 140lt ..All Chilled
Kingy.....................21................yes............................ 566litres no chillin!
Murcluf....................1.................Will be........................ 11lt
Patobeermonster......9.................yes............................ 165lt
Harry_Rmbler..........9..................yes............................ 287lt
MVZOOM.................5..................yep............................ 120lt/Electric / Bag / No chill. Breakin' all the rules
Eric8......................8...................yes............................ 185N.C. for me
joecast....................8..................yup............................. 154lt
black forest man......2..................yes............................. 40lt
Rod.........................2.................yes............................. ??????
Malty Cultural..........8..................yes............................ 150lt
W_W_W_Hahn.........2..................Yes............................ 23lt Electric
kevnlis....................6..................yes...................... 140L No Chill
hairofthedog..........10...................yes..............................200
SDJ........................1..................."kin oath".......................480lt BIAB no chill biggrin.gif
amita.............. .......1...................yes..............................23lt
wally.......................1...................yes.............................
sathid....................2....................yes............................ 41L
65bellett.................3....................yes..........................37.5
Katie&Lloyd............12...................yes...........................338L chilled
tomtoro..................2..................yes......................100L.......
chilled with immersion chiller
mikelinz ................4................... YES .....................168l ..........no chill
captaincleanoff.......3....................yes.............................60l chilled
massatomic............3...................yes.............................57L
tredog...................1...................Yes...................5L..........C
hilled
wambesi................6....................Yes....................110.....no chill
Moray....................2..................Yes....................84L....Chille
d/ 1/2 no chill
Durgarth...............9..................yes....................198l.....No chill
hop_alot...............2.................yes.....................35L........no chill
Reg......................3.................yes.....................69L.......No chill
Hanzie..................3.................yes.....................90L........Ele
ctric no chill
K&k......................1.................yes.....................23lt and no-chill
Stowaway.............1.................yes......................25Lt.....Ice Bath Chilled.
Reviled.................10..................definately..............200Lt......N
o-chill
Gilbrew.................2....................yes.....................46lt.
Cocko...................8...................Yep......................231L No chill
Beer Belly..............1...................yes......................23Lt Cold Water Bath
drtomc..................1...................yes......................23L No chill
feelncede...............4...................yes......................102L total 2 water bath 2 no Chill
Chad_UWA.............2...................yes..........................46L
Hanzie...................4..................yes....................130L electric no chill.
Damian44..............2...................yes.....................56....no-chill
Sumo.....................1..................Yes......................23.....no-c
Stuffa...................1..................Yep.......................22L ...Ice bath
Malbur...................2..................Yes.......................46L electric 1 chill 1 no-chill

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Gone traditional.

I went that way because I want the option of big beers. I'm a big bloke, but I can't lift 10+kg of wet grain, hover and wait for the drips to stop, and I have nothing to attach a hook to.
Don't get me wrong, I haven't spurned BIAB, it's just I could not see a workable solution to doing big beers with it.

A not insurmountable problem, but I see your point. If you are doing big beers or double batches.. the skyhook becomes - if not strictly necessary - at least very very desirable. No hook makes brewer a sad boy.

Nothing wrong with traditional brewing - if BIAB got you into AG and sent you down the road towards a mash-tun... it has nobly served one of its main goals in life. To be a gateway drug for grain brewing.

I salute a BIAB brother who chooses to plow a different field. May your crops be fruitful and your loins moist... or something like that anyway.

Brew strong however you do it.

TB

 

[Wardhog]

A not insurmountable problem, but I see your point. If you are doing big beers or double batches.. the skyhook becomes - if not strictly necessary - at least very very desirable. No hook makes brewer a sad boy.

Nothing wrong with traditional brewing - if BIAB got you into AG and sent you down the road towards a mash-tun... it has nobly served one of its main goals in life. To be a gateway drug for grain brewing.

I salute a BIAB brother who chooses to plow a different field. May your crops be fruitful and your loins moist... or something like that anyway.

Brew strong however you do it.

TB

Plus, I wanted more stainless steel brewing equipment to fill up my shed.

BIAB was a good way to get into AG, I'm grateful for it, and still see it as a valid means of producing good wort. It just doesn't scale up well in my eyes.

And leave my loins out of this. <shudder>

 

[reviled]

Galaxy is yummy...

Equal amounts of each.....

I did my Anzac Pale Ale yesterday

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry382093

 

[Katherine]

Should be ready around the same time as the Planet Of The Grapes.... Shame we cant compare!

 

[wambesi]

Updating the WIKI instead of here (not both!)

Ok Guys, after a few chats on here and talking to Pat it seems the wiki article would be best now to record the brew details.
It allows a better and neater layout than here and is also quicker to find.

For those who do not know how to get there:

1. Click "articles" up the top to load the articles page
2. Check if it is in the "recently updated", if so click it and then choose "edit" at the bottom of the article to put your amendments in.
3. If it's not there click the "Experienced & Technical Brewing Discussions" link in the Categories section and then edit it from there.

If anyone doesn't think it's a good idea let me know, but otherwise let's try and update the wiki only and not both, doubling up otherwise!

This thread should still be used though, just like we have been (minus the register).
Throw in the recipe names, details, etc so everyone can still know, just keep the actual register in the wiki.

On behalf of Pat (and myself) a big congrats to those in the last few weeks who have started their journeys in the AG and BIAB worlds, keep up the excellent work and keep passing on your details. Ask all the questions you can and leave all the comments you can, it all helps especially those who want to venture into AG but are just not sure...I know I was, it looked all too hard until I discovered BIAB and have since found out AG is dead easy!

Also cheers to Daemon for setting up the wiki, bloody fine job there.

Keep it up guys. :icon_cheers:

 

[reviled]

Should be ready around the same time as the Planet Of The Grapes.... Shame we cant compare!

If you were closer than WA maybe, but I can see it now, "thatll be $43.50 (or some other ridiculous price) to post that single bottle sir" <_<

 

[mash head]

As some one about to enter the world of AG brewing the art of brewing in a bag looks far less complicated than traditional methods and in setting up far cheeper so i am sure that my first go at all grain will be in a bag as soon as I make one.

 

[reviled]

As some one about to enter the world of AG brewing the art of brewing in a bag looks far less complicated than traditional methods and in setting up far cheeper so i am sure that my first go at all grain will be in a bag as soon as I make one.

Good man, do it, take the plunge! You definately wont regret it :icon_cheers:

I recently took all of my BIAB gear round to a mates (who has a traditional 3 vessel set up) and we each did a brew with our own gear... The big difference was, he would need a flat deck truck to move his gear, whereas I piled all of my gear into my little 4 door sedan and drove away with a cube full of wort :super:

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

When Thirsty Boy and I have done the BIAB demos at G&G, we usually transported ourselves and all the brewing kit in my Smart Car - and that is with a 75litre pot and a No Chill Cube. Try doing that with a multi-vessel brew-rig.

Yesterday saw my second brew in the new *dedicated* brewery. I had a 4-ring gas burner plumbed into a 45kg gas cylinder due to my new-found lack of electricity and it works just fine. At the end of the boil, hot wort gets drained into a No Chill Cube and tractored up to an open concrete water tank for Dunk-Chilling. What used to be a fancy-schmancy designer refrigerator in Collingwood is now a capacious fermenting fridge in Shepherds Flat. A Craftbrewer tempmate and a light globe in a couple of dogfood tins completes the system. A gas fridge on the back verandah chills my new kegging setup.

My bag failed yesterday. I was giving it a final squeeze before taking it off the skyhook and emptying as the drawstring broke and the whole shebang fell back into the wort, which was now nearly boiling. The splash resulted in a couple of mild skin burns for me and a new, lived-in aroma for the brewery. I must replace the carpet in there with lino...

I had a big loop of elastic which I used to resuspend the bag and continue brewing, but as well as a timely reminder for all to check the state of your bag frequently, it might give me enough reason to construct a bag to my newest design.

 

[amita]

[
My bag failed yesterday. I was giving it a final squeeze before taking it off the skyhook and emptying as the drawstring broke and the whole shebang fell back into the wort, which was now nearly boiling. The splash resulted in a couple of mild skin burns for me and a new, lived-in aroma for the brewery. I must replace the carpet in there with lino...



for this reason I purchased a crabcooker insert and line this with my bag, no problems and no strain on my back.
works a treat, I have one for the 40 liter vessel and a 80 liter one with insert.
the hoist and sliding track slide it onto my ssbench to cool of before it goes to the chooks

happy with it,

cheers amita

 

[Bribie G]

My bag failed yesterday. I was giving it a final squeeze before taking it off the skyhook and emptying as the drawstring broke

I don't put stress on the drawstring itself, although the bag does have a drawstring I gather it up and 'throttle' it with a good old hangmans noose and hoist it - perfect tight fit.

the hoist and sliding track slide it onto my ssbench to cool of before it goes to the chooks

happy with it,

cheers amita

Mate where did you get that double hoist from? did you buy it as is or make it yourself from a couple of single pulleys? I want a double pulley job but can't buy it anywhere. I currently have a single one made with a cheap awning pulley but it's clunky and can't get good control.

 

[joecast]

hope the burns heal quickly spills.

i always set my bag in/over a separate pot before squeezing. that way if the bag fails i only lose a couple of litres of wort if any. then i pour the extra run off from the separate pot back into the keg while it heats to a boil.

please practice safe brewing this holiday season everyone

edit. while im here...

got v2 of my english bitter in primary. used 60g roast barley for color instead of crystal this time. same base of marris otter and hops were styrian goldings and target. bubbling has slowed right down so tossed in some dry hops of the same variety and waiting another few days before kegging. should be drinking by christmas!

 

[amita]

Mate where did you get that double hoist from? did you buy it as is or make it yourself from a couple of single pulleys? I want a double pulley job but can't buy it anywhere. I currently have a single one made with a cheap awning pulley but it's clunky and can't get good control.


went to bunnings and got the bits of the shelf............if all fails you could try a marine shop?its just galvanised stuff, want that expensive but man it works a treat......

good luck with your upgrade

cheers amita

 

[katzke]

I guess it is time to put my name on the list.


Had our brew club Christmas party last night.

Brought a bottle of my 4th all grain beer done with the BIAB method.

Got very good comments on it and one person even liked it enough to ask for the recipe.

This was also the first beer I kegged. I filled it with a picnic tap that I shoved a piece of broken racking cane into, no stopper. Just turned down the CO2 to about 1 pound and burped the keg. Note to self, do not leave the bottle in the freezer too long or it ices up and foams.

 

[Hashie]

Glad to hear all is well in the new brewery Spills. Albeit with minor burns

Just as an aside, I always lift my bag by throttling it with a couple of hitches from the lifting rope. I wouldn't trust draw strings.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Thinking about the drawstring break for a while, it's interesting that the thing has survived 40+ brews before breaking, including some quite large grain bills. I suspect it was a combination of ill-treatment and (as climbers will probably guess) it broke at the knot, which was the weakest part of the whole fiasco. I always tie the excess string around the bag so I am not lifting through the stitching of the drawstring 'tunnel' (can't think of the proper term).

I'll be upgrading the drawstring diameter for the next baggie, but I think the most interesting part of the whole tale is that the voile and the stitching have stood up to the rigors of all that brewing/abuse happily. I'm also going to modify my squeeze technique. (I gave up the DunkSparge (tm) a while ago for all but the highest gravity beers because it is just too much effort when you're as lazy as I am).

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I'm glad you burned yourself - you with your nice new dedicated brewery, and your damn simple no swearing required brewing technique... its about time something bad happened to you in order to balance out the brewing universe.

Hope your windmill falls over and crushes your brewery

Goddamned bearded hippy

 

[flattop]

There is a large hardware chain that sell double pulleys, green and red logo and hammer symbol.... Otherwise Sailing tackle shops sell stainless ones for half a mortgage