Diluting your wort

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In answer to the OP, it is indeed possible to make All- Grain batches beyond kettle volume and if you're across standard BIAB methods in what ever kettle you have then the method is not really that hard, all that's needed as far as extra equipment goes is a simple bucket for sparging. Nick JD's 20L Stovetop thread is one method, there's also the MaxiBIAB guide on BIABrewer which is in much the same vein.
23L of 1.050 in the fermenter out of a 19L big double ewe kettle is routine, it seems to scale fairly well so a 15L kettle should yield about 18L. The process is volume- limited, so when mashing the kettle must be full, when the boil starts it must be full as well, sparging the mash is utilised to make up additional kettle volume which is lost to grain removal but also earns valuable specific gravity points. Dilution is in the fermenter, this lends some neat features, the process gives you the exact OG at the expense of variable volume, but is dependant on efficiency. I know lots of brewers tear their hair out over missed targets, this method dispenses with most of that pain if the brewer is prepared to accept a few litres either way.
OP's Q1. Not really sure what the question is here. However, when adding any water to a MaxiBIAB before wort hits the fermenter, make sure it does something useful for you (i.e. as either mash or sparge), so don't add plain water to the boil, only to the fermenter as post- boil dilution. Use any water to recover more sugars is my suggestion.
Q2. Certainly don't leave the lid on completely for the boil, however you may be able to rest it partially on the kettle. Want the supposed nasty volatiles to escape during the boil, that won't happen if it is totally enclosed by the lid.
Q3. Yes you can, provided the wort is sufficiently concentrated. There's no free rides with all- grain brewing, it requires a certain mass of dissolved sugars (+ some other fun stuff which makes beer interesting) to reach a particular specific gravity; quite simply if you've mashed a sufficient amount of grain appropriately and extracted the sugars efficiently then it can be diluted to the desired OG. Hops utilisation efficiency does become an issue as far as bittering goes for boiling of wort above 1.050, however in my experience it really isn't worth getting too excited about (seems to be about 10% per 1.010 above 1.050, not really a major drama even with concentrated MaxiBIAB wort).

FWIW, once I'd tailored a recipe to my liking, in a 19 stovetop setting the multiple mashes and boils of the stock BIAB method to get a fermenter full seemed very inefficient to me. That's the challenge that inspired development of MaxiBIAB, I was wanting a full standard fermenter and doing two MiniBIABs in the 19L kettle- my FSM, it was a long, long day and I would've given that up a long time ago were it not for some lateral thinking.

As noted by Stux and stakka82, there is indeed a point of diminishing return with MaxiBIAB, however I've not had that much trouble with >5kg of grain in the 19L kettle, although that's probably approaching the upper limit for practical implementation for your standard/ everyday beer.

And before anyone gets too excited, the very same MaxiBIAB method earned a 1st at AABC last year, so evidently there's no quality issues with it. That's actually tribute to all the hard slog of experimentation and development (ahem- brewing yet more beer?! :D), but also the effort and dedication of fellow brewers advancing the technique. :icon_cheers:
 
Interesting thing with max-BIAB is the liquor to grain ratio is more like that or a traditional 3V mash and then the sparge, means it probably produces worts more like a 3V wort than standard BIAB
 
Stux said:
Interesting thing with max-BIAB is the liquor to grain ratio is more like that or a traditional 3V mash and then the sparge, means it probably produces worts more like a 3V wort than standard BIAB
Yep, an interesting coincedence, but not by design. Whether that makes any tangible difference I'm not willing to speculate, but the method sure does knock out some superb beers. B)
 
Anyone who's struggling to grasp the concept of high-gravity brewing needs to either get a bigger kettle or a bigger brain. :D
 
Nick JD said:
Anyone who's struggling to grasp the concept of high-gravity brewing needs to either get a bigger kettle or a bigger brain. :D
Pay that! :lol:
 

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