Brew In A Bucket Why Not Indeed

[gregs]

Dribbles already owns two electric urns so if he adds an esky or maybe a 50l keg thingy he would save a lot of stuffing around. Bloody embarrassment he is to all AHB members.

 

[Bribie G]

I've gone for a new false bottom strategy using a Woolies Strainer and a grain bag, which I've posted on Nala's Thread today.

If this works then I won't be using my false bottom in this method but may keep it for my other "lauter tun" method where it works very well.

 

[McFeast]

I've gone for a new false bottom strategy using a Woolies Strainer and a grain bag, which I've posted on Nala's Thread today.

If this works then I won't be using my false bottom in this method but may keep it for my other "lauter tun" method where it works very well.

So its been a couple of weeks, now what is the best method with the bucket? (and construction)

 

[Bribie G]

Damn your avatar looks great, could murder a burger right now.


Yes the Woolies strainer wrapped in a sock is the way to go IMHO - all the advantages of BIAB including the entry cost, plus the ability to form a true grain bed.


As a postscript, on my other thread (brewery cleanout) I have sold the SS false bottom etc. Last week RdeVjun came down for a brewday whilst on holiday and we did the Urn plus Lauter Tun with fly sparging method to do a RIS.
Mate we were shellshocked at the end of the day, brewday took around 8 hours with both of us slaving like ma Midnight Train ****** homies.
But you have to experiment

System wars settled AFIAC

edit that should be AFAIAC

 

[rotten]

A proper 3V system Bribieg would have done in 4 hrs, that's half the time, including waiting for sparge water etc :super:

 

[thelastspud]

So I read this as it was all happening but you did lots of experiments, a bit of this a bit of that.
Now that your happy and finished would you mind spelling out the whole definitive Bribie bucket urn method.

 

[Bribie G]

A proper 3V system Bribieg would have done in 4 hrs, that's half the time, including waiting for sparge water etc :super:

What's "proper" about 3v?


No need to post about Bucket in Urn
Same as BIAB, just a "solid- sided bag" with a false bottom. Easy to work out :icon_cheers:

 

[Dazza88]

Ahhh, to buy a cb biab bag or get a handy pail for my new 70l pot?

I wonder if Ross will start selling buckets with holes in them or buckets with kettle elements in them?

 

[thelastspud]

Sparge?
recirc ?
besides you post about everything

 

[1974Alby]

asked this in Nala's thread but got no response...anyone see any issues doing BIABucket in a Keggle with a burner rather than in an urn??

My main concern would be that the bucket wouldnt get the same circulation of water compared to a voile bag ..would this limit the extraction of sugars from the grain ?...apparently it doesnt in an urn, but a keggle is a different kettle of wort.

 

[maxymoo]

BIABathtub?

 

[Bribie G]

Keggle should be ok, provided you could get a big enough bucket, otherwise you'd have a fairly thick mash in the bucket surrounded by dilute wort outside the bucket, unless you fit a pump and recirc during the mash itself.

One advantage of the bucket is that with a bigger beer, you can hoist the bucket up and sparge with a few litres of very hot water, sort of like a mini fly sparge, to get the goodness out of the grain. More effective (because you now have a proper grain bed) and less messy than the "dunk sparge" that a lot of guys do with BIAB. Then boil for a bit longer to bring the wort back down to where it would have been without the sparge.

 

[1974Alby]

, otherwise you'd have a fairly thick mash in the bucket surrounded by dilute wort outside the bucket, unless you fit a pump and recirc during the mash itself.

yeah, that was my concern...could this be overcome by a bit of manual recirculation?,,ie using a jug/5L bucket every ten minutes or so? I suppose this is likely to result in loss of mash temp, then requiring a blast from the burner, leading to a melted bucket...

I like the idea of the bucket providing a compact grain bed through which to circulate and sparge, resulting in clearer beer than delivered by BIABag...but I have a keggle and want to use it and cant justify purchase of an urn...

The problem is more challenging as my keggle is not straight sided, it has a narrower an opening to fit a BigW stock pot lid, so cannot fit in a big bucket that would maximise grain contact with wort....perhaps I should just get some braid for my 80L tropikool esky and move to a 2v system...or just continue with a bag and no recirulating/sparging.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

ahh - a mistake there

"resulting in clearer beer..."

which it wont - it will result in clearer pre-boil wort which is not even close to the same thing.

IMO, better to move to a more traditional multi (2, 3, 4 etc) system or just stick with the bag. The only major difference will be a few percentage points of total system efficiency due to less kettle trub.

 

[Bribie G]

Yes, it's all about the trub in my case, and the rather unpleasant experience of sumo-wrestling the bag, otherwise I would have just stuck with the bag . Also when I get a pump, step mashes will be a cinch.

 

[1974Alby]

ok, so the bucket will give clearer pre-boil wort ......which will result in less trub post boil?

resulting in a higher efficiency as more wort is transferred to the fermenter (ie less trub left behind in the kettle). Have I got that right?

So if I stick with a Bag, I probably get better extraction of sugars in the mash (compared to a bucket in a keggle) but lose a bit more wort to trub when filling the fermenter..swings and roundabouts. Might look at a 2v system later as I have a fine esky for it, but trying to keep things simple and avoid the need for more equipment (to buy and use and clean) and processes (to stuff up).

 

[stux]

ok, so the bucket will give clearer pre-boil wort ......which will result in less trub post boil?

resulting in a higher efficiency as more wort is transferred to the fermenter (ie less trub left behind in the kettle). Have I got that right?

So if I stick with a Bag, I probably get better extraction of sugars in the mash (compared to a bucket in a keggle) but lose a bit more wort to trub when filling the fermenter..swings and roundabouts. Might look at a 2v system later as I have a fine esky for it, but trying to keep things simple and avoid the need for more equipment (to buy and use and clean) and processes (to stuff up).

The bag should result in less grain absorption, which will mean more lautering efficiency, which should mean a greater Into Kettle efficiency

Swings and Roundabouts.

I would say, the only real reason to go BIABucket is if you don't like handling a wet bag. Me, I just raise the bag on a pulley, give it a good squeeze with some heavy duty gloves and let it drip for the first 20 minutes or so of the boil.

Then I swing it into a bucket... for disposal later

With the BIABucket, the grain is already in the bucket

 

[Bribie G]

And you can do the BribieBucketPressinator trick as well :icon_cheers:

(top bucket full of water)

 

[stux]

And you can do the BribieBucketPressinator trick as well :icon_cheers:

(top bucket full of water)

View attachment 49523

Now you've added 2 more vessels and a draining rack

Mash Press

Have your worked out your absorption when using the Pressinator?

 

[MarkBastard]

IMO, better to move to a more traditional multi (2, 3, 4 etc) system or just stick with the bag. The only major difference will be a few percentage points of total system efficiency due to less kettle trub.

What benefit does a flexible bag have over a bucket with a mesh bottom? Other than sticking with convention.

If you count a skyhook / pully system, or the bucket you dump your bag into, or the door knock you tie your bag to for draining as part of your BIAB system (which you should to be fair), and compare it to using a bucket to hold the grain, I think you get a fairer comparison.

Anyway I'm over BIAB, bags are a pain in the arse, and I'm testing out this bucket method this weekend so I guess I'll know what I prefer soon enough.