Biab Or Full Ag.. Cant Decide!

[Thirsty Boy]

I dont have temp control via a powered fridge, but I do have a non operational freezer which is insulated to maintain my temps. I also have a brewmate heater for keeing the temps up when required. IMy brew temps remain constant this way. Very rare fluctuation of temps- however I am limited to ales at around 18 degrees.

In my opinion, I have achieved what what i want with extract brewing. Sure some of my techniques can be slightly improved, but i am not trying to win competitions. I am trying to move to AG for both interest as well as improving my brewing skills. I dont think the fact that i dont have an operational fridge should stop me from moving to AG.

I have an old keg which I can cut up and convert into a pot if required for a bigger brew kettle.

I think I will stick with BIAB on the stove top. I have a two ring gas burner which brings the 19 litre pot up without much trouble. I also have an lpg burner which i can use if i need to.

Sorry - I emphasised the fridge option more than I should. Doesn't matter what form it takes, as long as you have fermentation temps control - then all is good and AG is your next logical step.

Its just that I think there are often people who get a bug up their rear about AG - when they are still fermenting in the corner of their sare room at whatever temp nature throws at them. Its not that AG beer wouldn't be an improvement - its about where their dollars would be best spent. They would most definitely be best spent on temp control!!

Yours on the other hand should be thrown into AG - for forth on your quest. Thou shalt not return without a bag of crushed grain and the means to use it

 

[jkirky]

Sorry - I emphasised the fridge option more than I should. Doesn't matter what form it takes, as long as you have fermentation temps control - then all is good and AG is your next logical step.

Its just that I think there are often people who get a bug up their rear about AG - when they are still fermenting in the corner of their sare room at whatever temp nature throws at them. Its not that AG beer wouldn't be an improvement - its about where their dollars would be best spent. They would most definitely be best spent on temp control!!

Yours on the other hand should be thrown into AG - for forth on your quest. Thou shalt not return without a bag of crushed grain and the means to use it

Thanks for the advice...

I have made some mistakes with brewing too high and have experienced the banana'rama so I can appreciate the importance of temp control. I would love an operational fridge but just havent got there yet. I generally dont brew in the wamer months as I find its much easier to keep the temps up than try to keep the temps down.

The "broken" fridge is like a big esky. Once you get the temp right it will hold it their quite well.

I have bought some voile and am just looking for a cheap grinder. I saw noe at coles for $30 but I think i can get one from Big W for cheaper.

I will stick with the 19 litre pot till I get a chance to make a bigger one from an old keg I have lying round...

I have most of the ingredients/ materials needed to have a great AG set up, but between my work and house renovating its hard finding the time to even drink the beer I make, let alone make the stuff! Nonetheless, I am trying to spend more time on my preffered hobby!

 

[argon]

I must say I whole heartedly agree with Thirsty on the temp control issue… it’s the number 1 thing I did to improve the consistency of my brewing. I BIAB and have always been considering the move to a Herms system. Purely for the reason of higher control, having all those bits of equipment and the bling factor. However when I brew I’m always time poor and try and squeeze it in at odd times when there’s not much time at hand. Not that I know, but I get the impression (happy to be corrected/enlightened) that a 3V brew day is a little more involved and more time consuming.

Now I hate cleaning everything… it seems as if half the time of a brew day is taken up in cleaning. I enjoy the fact that I can pretty much hose everything down after a BIAB session and soak it all in Napisan. Plus, there is minimal moving parts and bits a pieces. With a pumped Herms system I’d expect that the fussing about would be a whole lot more involved. Even with a gravity fed 3v it would be more complicated I guess. I’m really not interested in maintaining, cleaning and making things more complicated (again happy to be corrected/enlightened) at the moment.

And I think this is why BIAB fits in with my requirements. If this is you… then I reckon BIAB is the go.

For me it’s like this;
#1 Quality Improvement – Kits and bits to AG
#1 Consistency Improvement – Temp controlled fridge
#1 Enjoyment Improvement – Keg fridge