BIAB in an urn for partial Mash?

[Brewsta]

G'day all,

i really want to take the plunge into AG, but i have a few limiting factors that are holding me back. Time, expense & freight costs of grain, (time being the biggest constraint).

I really need to do 3x full batches at once on brew day so i am only brewing one day a month & kegging on another, that's all i have time for.

I've looked at Biab in an urn which seems ideal except only one batch. i could buy 3x of them but getting up there in price & could be hard to manage?

So what i was thinking of doing was 1x full batch of BIAB in an urn as a partial over 3x batches, does anyone currently do this & can you give me some tips on how you go about it.

and before i go down this road, i haver never tasted a partial & i can only imagine it will be an improvement over all extract brewing, can you reassure me that i will be happy before taking this step?

Thx!

 

[Bribie G]

I've done all that a few times.
I have a 60L fermenter and during the summer, when I only had one fermenting fridge until recently, I would do a full BIAB batch and use bland kits such as Coopers Cerveza to stretch it out as a filler for two kegs - I still have the 40L mark on the side of the fermenter.

This could easily be extended to a three-keg brew, you'd need to do a strongish AG recipe and adjust to around 32L at the end of the boil then drain off into 3 no chill cubes of 10L each (heaps of them at Bunnings). They're the little ones in the photo.



What styles do you like? The system is really good for American pale ales because you can cover any kit "twang" with abundant crystal malts, dry hopping etc. Even so I've made some passable lagers that way, definitely nothing I'd enter in comps but great lawnmowers.

 

[Mozz]

My BIAB pot holds just over 50L. I have brewed an over gravity 50L then adjusted with sterilised water to 60L to do a triple batch. The problem I had doing a triple batch is that it gets too heavy to move the fermenter by hand which leads to more problems.
I think once you go AG you'll be trying to dump the extracts.
BIAB combined with no chill is pretty efficient time wise.
I have a similar problem in Darwin getting grain. Shop around for bags of grain. There is some variation in freight costs.

My system includes a burner, brew pot with temp gauge and tap, a BIAB bag, a little hand winch and a small pump to circulate the wort during the mash. Couldn't be cheaper or more efficient. You don't have to circulate the wort at mash but it allows you to precisely control temps and filters the wort. If you use a hop bag or spider during the boil you can end up with virtually no trub in the kettle.

 

[Brewsta]

thanks guys,
you've given me something to think about….my staple would be APA's but i do like to experiment with GA's, AA's, DA's and the odd choc porter.

i like the idea of your set up Mozz and you are probably right, partials might be short lived for me...

i think i'll do some more research before making a decision, for my next brew I think i might try a small partial or maybe a small AG batch on the stove to get a feel & taste for it. That should help me decide.
cheers!