Double batch Biab

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Crusty

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Brewing single batch beers with the urn is fantastic but I am starting to look at the possibility of doing double batches & the urn won't cut the mustard. I'm looking at getting a 100lt stainless stock pot & just double batch Biab in that. I looked at the option of going back to recirculating on a bigger system but, been there done that & it's just too costly at this point in time. I would really just like to keep everything as simple as possible, as I am doing now. I'm very happy with the beers from the urn so find no need to change anything except the batch size.
My usual batch size is 23lt & an efficiency of 80% with around 5kg of grain. For those that have gone to double batch, what efficiency loss do you think I would expect for a 46lt batch & 10kg of grain?
Cheers
 
My mash efficiency is about 83% but I havnt quiet got my pickup tube in the right spot so I lose a few litres in fear of sucking up excess break material. So efficiency into the fermenter I get 77%. That is 44-46L batches with 10kg grain. Overall it's a small loss in terms of things because you've made double in the same time as a single. My pulley system was actually based off yours also.
 
Midnight Brew said:
My mash efficiency is about 83% but I havnt quiet got my pickup tube in the right spot so I lose a few litres in fear of sucking up excess break material. So efficiency into the fermenter I get 77%. That is 44-46L batches with 10kg grain. Overall it's a small loss in terms of things because you've made double in the same time as a single. My pulley system was actually based off yours also.
I'd be happy in the high 70% range, thanks for the info.
I'd be looking at standard ABV, 4-6% & 10-12kg grain recipes.
I remembered some talk not long ago about efficiency drop due to the higher grist.
I couldn't remember how severe the drop was.
Cheers, MB......................... :beerbang:
 
lol, I wondered how long before you would change again. You always find the "ultimate system" where ever it's brewing systems or keg side and then change it. Not a dig, nothing wrong with trying out new things. :)


Anyway, to directly answer your question. Back when I was BIAB'ing I started with single sized batches (25L). Then I scaled up to double sized batches to reduce the frequency of brewing. Finally when I got my big pot designated for my 3V, I made some quadruple sized BIAB batches, so 100L. I found if I didn't change the procedure, the efficiency did not change. The only time I found a reduction in efficiency was with higher gravity brews. You hear that bigger grain bills means reduced efficiency, but to me it's only bigger grain bills if your vols stay the same resulting in reduced efficiency.


QldKev
 
QldKev said:
lol, I wondered how long before you would change again. You always find the "ultimate system" where ever it's brewing systems or keg side and then change it. Not a dig, nothing wrong with trying out new things. :)


Anyway, to directly answer your question. Back when I was BIAB'ing I started with single sized batches (25L). Then I scaled up to double sized batches to reduce the frequency of brewing. Finally when I got my big pot designated for my 3V, I made some quadruple sized BIAB batches, so 100L. I found if I didn't change the procedure, the efficiency did not change. The only time I found a reduction in efficiency was with higher gravity brews. You hear that bigger grain bills means reduced efficiency, but to me it's only bigger grain bills if your vols stay the same resulting in reduced efficiency.


QldKev
Thanks Kev.
I did consider the 3V option again ( briefly ) but the cost is just too excessive.
The simplicity of Biab is just too good & I really couldn't be arsed spending the next two years ( financial dramas ) trying to grind my way towards doing something like the re circulation system again. Time is a big issue as well & I'm finding myself with less of it so would really like to nail a couple of brews on the one brew day if possible. The kegging setup is sweet & very happy with the Andale taps so that's not going anywhere. If I had the coin, I'd probably consider the 50lt Braumeister but we rent & the 15A supply that it needs would pose a new set of problems. The other drama is if we moved, having to do it all over again in the next house if we get permission. So at this point in time, double batch Biab is what I'm looking at.
With efficiency, you said that if you kept the volumes the same, efficiency should not really change. It will typically fall if you do a 23lt batch at a higher gravity?
My last Pale Ale was 23lt @1.056, 81% efficiency. If I did this one & aimed for 23lt @1.080 for example, the efficiency will taper off due to the higher grain ratio.
 
I run a 98L pot for BIAB.

83% mash efficiency no problem. 90% with sparge.

You can *easily* do a no-sparge double in a 98L pot. I use a Med Pressure adjustable reg with Italian Spiral Burner, and it has plenty of grunt for doing 90L boils.

<insert burner pr0n>
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:6999]

Anyway, when I then scaled up to triple batchs I found I *needed* a sparge. Primarily because I didn't have enough volume to do a full volume mash... which meant lots of top up, which meant loss of efficiency.

I now do a dunk sparge into 20-25L in my 50L pot. Pour the first half back at the beginning of the boil... then the 2nd half half way through the boil.

Its this sparging process which has got me working towards building a 3V/HERMS.

Heh.

I've run the numbers, and a CraftBrewer 100L pot should make a fantastic chassis for a braumeister clone one day ;)

(maybe you should just get yourself a BM50, you can knock out 60L with it...)
 
Thanks Stux.
I was looking at a 100lt pot & just double batching, full volume, no sparge.
I considered the 3V again as like you, the sparge had me thinking. I then thought that I'm heading down the road of complicating things again & I really don't want an extra couple of vessels just to accommodate the extra step to achieve my volumes. It's much easier ( for me ) to do the full volume mash without the sparge.
I've got a Mongolian 32jet burner on a stand here with a standard reg so I'll see how that goes when the time comes.
 
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