Buying a large BIAB pot.

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Hoploader

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Hi guys new to all this after only 7 extract and partials. I'm looking at going all grain and thinking of getting a pot big enough for triple batch. Main reasons are both time saving and lowering my delivery or fuel costs to 1/3 of what they'd be otherwise.

1. Is doing a triple batch a silly plan? Would double be smarter overall?. I'm thinking of cubing and fermenting 3 separate batches which allows different yeasts, dry hopping so not all the same.

2. The 2 pots I'm looking at mainly are a 100ltr cheeky peak sandwich base at $410, and the extremely expensive Blichmann 114ltr G2 at $875. There's one from SS Brewtech that lies between them but the biggest is 76ltr and I don't believe that's big enough for triple batch. Now I'm sure the cheaper one is way better value, but as I'm aiming to buy once, buy right I'm just after a more experienced view on how valuable the blichmanns feature set is. If the features are genuinely worth having I may just spend the extra up front, but my unknowledgeable brain is leaning to thinking it's a bit of a bmw vs Subaru type deal where a lot of the $$ are for the badge. It does look the ducks guts though lol.. Is the sight glass a great feature or more a cleaning nightmare? Is the valve on it great? Supposedly great flow which I'm not really looking at for biab right now but it looks great to clean. The heat proof handles are neat but hardly a deal sealer. The lid handle design looks very handy but not really worth $$. Would you think stainless quality/thickness/durability be similar? And how useful is the variable pitch thermometer? I'm thinking that while a good idea it's just a matter of bending over Is accuracy likely to be similar?

3. Is this correct size for triple batch, and is it to big to do a single batch when necessary?

Sorry for long winded post. Hard to get my head around so much and trying to get it right.
 
I do 14kg grain bills in BIAB bags and they don't last too long. They get stretched out and end up with little holes. Something to take into consideration.
 
Ahh ok, nice point. Hadn't thought about bag strength. My idea of triple batch might have been 18kgs. Even double would be around 12kg, though I'd have to risk that.
Thanks bud.
 
No worries. I think we've actually pushed it a little more than 14kg from memory doing double batches of big beers. You'll want to invest in some kind of pulley system or something too.
 
If your looking at doing triple batches you would definitely need something around the 100ltr mark or maybe a touch more. With this sort of system QLDKEV would probably be the best person to give some advice, maybe you can look up his rig.

The other thought is do you have a really big esky? You could mash in that and move the wort over, sort of negates the need to lift 18kg of wet grain plus the strength of the bag/ material.

Have you checked out craftbrewer for pots?
 
Thanks guys, really showing up all the things I hadn't even considered. I'll look into pulleys, eskys (which I dont have) and Craft Brewer. Glad I didnt take a stab in the dark and used you guys experience

Cheers
 
I've got one of the Craftbrewer 70L pots. It's decent for the money.
 
To be honest, if you're going to be new to AG - unless you don't enjoy brewing or are time poor, why jump into triple batches?

I have the ability to do double batches, but even after 3-years and being extremely time poor (two jobs and a family) I enjoy brewing so much that I only ever brew single batches, unless I'm brewing with another brewer.

Losses to trub will be greater doing single batches on a bigger system, giving you less total brew house efficiency - more waste, and just more room needed to house your brewery.

Nothing wrong with the triple batch system with different dry hopping regime and yeast selection that you've posed, just expect to brew 1/3 less often.

FYI, I've been using a 70L CraftBrewer pot since I started, been happy with it and only now am I going to upgrade to either a SS BrewTech 76L or a Blichmann.

Just my 2c.
 
beer keeps well, wort not so much. I would look at making a larger volume of beer and storing that, rather than storing the wort. That said, wort can be stored and people do it.

You can make a single, double or tripple in a CB 100L pot. It is decent quality and could last a lifetime or be sold for little loss.

Personally I think brewing larger batches is the way to go. Same cleaning and time for more beer, sounds like a winner to me. I started on 10L batches to learn and understand the processes. I learned a lot and was reminded of some things like, I dont like cleaning and have little time.

Have a look at QLDKev's rig like tahoose suggested. I scaled up the design and do double batches and am extremely happy with the result.
 
Spiesy said:
To be honest, if you're going to be new to AG - unless you don't enjoy brewing or are time poor, why jump into triple batches?

I have the ability to do double batches, but even after 3-years and being extremely time poor (two jobs and a family) I enjoy brewing so much that I only ever brew single batches, unless I'm brewing with another brewer.

Losses to trub will be greater doing single batches on a bigger system, giving you less total brew house efficiency - more waste, and just more room needed to house your brewery.

Nothing wrong with the triple batch system with different dry hopping regime and yeast selection that you've posed, just expect to brew 1/3 less often.

FYI, I've been using a 70L CraftBrewer pot since I started, been happy with it and only now am I going to upgrade to either a SS BrewTech 76L or a Blichmann.

Just my 2c.
Wanna sell me your 70l when the time comes? :)
 
Thanks guys, I started looking through the brew rig thread last night and saw QLDKEVS rig though he said it was about to change and haven't got to it yet. I'm wondering whether to go more towards a 76litre setup now due to some replies. I wasn't planning on jumping straight to triple batches as I don't even have recipes down pat yet let alone the process but was aiming to scale up as I got confident.
Yep I'm definitely not a big fan of cleaning! A double batch into a 60ltr fermenter would make sense, though I'm still bottling and that's a lot of bottles sigh....
 
Hoploader said:
Thanks guys, I started looking through the brew rig thread last night and saw QLDKEVS rig though he said it was about to change and haven't got to it yet. I'm wondering whether to go more towards a 76litre setup now due to some replies. I wasn't planning on jumping straight to triple batches as I don't even have recipes down pat yet let alone the process but was aiming to scale up as I got confident.
Yep I'm definitely not a big fan of cleaning! A double batch into a 60ltr fermenter would make sense, though I'm still bottling and that's a lot of bottles sigh....
If you hate cleaning, and I'd imagine we all do, kegging is your best mate!
 
Yeah that would suck, I agree with some of these points and disagree with others. I'd say go for the big setup if your budget allows as you'll save that money later on.

However I would say get 10 or so AG brews under your belt doing 20-25ltr batches if you do find something that you love you can then scale it to do a double or a triple.

Hope this helps, at the end of the day it is whatever your comfortable with, what you want to get out of it and what suits your lifestyle.
 
Yep I've figured that out well and truly, the endless bottles are driving me crazy, just figure getting the beer right first is priority 1. I'm thinking my thermocouple or controller I'm using ATM is incorrect as I'm getting overly sweet beer so going to try dropping mash temp from 67 to maybe 65 on this batch to see where that gets me.
 
Obviously your kids are angels or either still in the "cute" stage or the "flown the nest" stage. I cherish the time when I can get down to the garage and clean several dozen bottles. With the aid of a beer or more it can be stretched to an all day job if your smart about it!

I don't want to start a flame campaign nor am I trolling, so I'll state right up front that SS is best. But when I was smarter and less confident about my non-existent skills, I wanted to start with bigger BIABs etc and looked for a suitable big pot. Finding it hard to justify the cost of quality SS at that time, I went to the local specialist kitchen/chef supply store and got a Chef Inon brand 60 litre aluminium stock pot for (guessing) $130. They had bigger ones too and I think it worked out about an extra $20 for each additional 20 litres.

They are very sturdy and a piece of cake to add ball vaves etc to and pimp up as much as you'd like. They are very long lasting and it's still being used for the hot water. The only problem was it did have a bit of a problem with boil over (when used as a kettle) with double batches for 90 min boils at hot break time (when I progressed to 3V).

But you could at least consider it as a slighty more inexpensive option in the BIAB part of your learning curve. And when that's behind you, you can still always find a use for it so it's not a lost investment.

Just a thought. I'll shut up now.
 
Spiesy said:
If you hate cleaning, and I'd imagine we all do, kegging is your best mate!
Sorry to hijack the thread, but this'll probably help the OP as well as me:

It seems 99% of long-term brewers sing the praises of kegging. I'm wondering whether it's feasible for me (in a small apartment, without much spare fridge space).

I also tend to only drink a longneck or two in a session. I had considered getting 5L mini kegs, but even at that smallish volume I'd need a mate to come over and help me polish it off. Unless ..., is it possible to carb, open & drink some, then leave for a week or 2 and then re-carb it and it'll still be fine? IE: How long could I keep (a mini) keg for once I've started drinking from it?

Also, I'm assuming getting the perfect carbonation levels is easier in a keg than in a bottle??? (particularly with lower-carbed beers like English bitters etc? In bottles I often find I've slightly under carbed and a head doesn't form. Even though I'm happy with how carbed it is, it's not aesthetically pleasing to the eye to have a headless beer).

So basically, I guess I'm seeking ideas/inspiration. If I never had to clean 30 bottles at a time ever again I'd be a happy man.
 

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