Partial mash, small batch

[flymanor]

Hey all,

I'm reasonably new to the brewing game and have a query about all grain. I have been doing kit and kilo, and fresh wort brews for a little while now, and want to have more control of my brewing. I have a 19L big W pot, and was hoping to do the BIAB method using this pot.
Can i use 3/4 of the ingredients (of a 20L batch) to get a 15L wort?
What would you recommend as a good start out brew?

Thanks

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

You can (as in the proportions will be fine), but you'll be pushing to get 15L from a 19L pot - as you need some headspace to prevent boilovers.

I have done it, but it does require you to stagger the sparge (which isn't necessarily the BIAB-way). And then possibly over boil (or do a high gravity boil) and dilute back (so your software needs to calculate dilutions - especially hop dilutions - get brewmate, it's free and does the trick).

I currently (and have done so for a few years) use 2 x 19L big W pots and use a bucket in bucket lauter. There's a thread on it with pics (and near the end - videos) as to how I go about it. Works well, and I have pushed it to 38L with a combination of things (staggered sparge, over-gravity boil).

 

[flymanor]

thanks Goomba,

What would be the best size brew to do in this pot, to minimise any boil over, and allow for evapotation? 13L
What do you mean by "stagger the sparge?"

My plan was to take remove the grain bag after 60 min, and drain into a bucket. Though your lauter seems perfectly simple and adequate to do this. Would this work?

I am happy doing smaller batches as i don't drink that much, though with tastier brews who knows?!
Will hopefully look at a larger vessel or 3 when i get better and i can convince the wife. you can only hide so much.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

thanks Goomba,

What would be the best size brew to do in this pot, to minimise any boil over, and allow for evapotation? 13L
What do you mean by "stagger the sparge?"

My plan was to take remove the grain bag after 60 min, and drain into a bucket. Though your lauter seems perfectly simple and adequate to do this. Would this work?

I am happy doing smaller batches as i don't drink that much, though with tastier brews who knows?!
Will hopefully look at a larger vessel or 3 when i get better and i can convince the wife. you can only hide so much.

I reckon 14L tops for safe, if you're doing true no-sparge BIAB.

I stagger the sparge by heating sparge water and (once the grain beds down in the lauter) adding the sparge runnings into the kettle gradually (aka, as the original wort and first sparge runnings reduce from the boil, I add some more - this avoids boilovers). Once the final sparge runnings are in, I start my 60/90 minute boil. I end up with a little more caramelisation in the pot (that's not a bad thing IMO) and it takes longer, but does give me the ability to do larger amounts of beer on smaller equipment.

The lauter is a more traditional method of separating the grains and liquor. The BIAB does this also and is case of 'necessity is the mother of all inventions" for a single vessel system. As mine is multiple vessel, the bag isn't the method I choose. Though I did start out doing that.

My method was an adaption of Nick_JD's stovetop thread, combined with ghetto 3V. I generally do 25L batches and have squeezed 38L out of it.

And it means I don't have to lift, pulley, hog-tie or do a dance around the bag to get it out.

The smaller batches are a great learning method, and good for experimental batches. But it does drive you nuts doing a 3hr+ brew day for a dozen or so tallies.

 

[damoninja]

Got another smaller pot you can boil part of it in? Until I upgraded to a 40L and ring burner I was doing 3 smaller pots on the stove.

Worked just fine, just not quite as convenient.

 

[manticle]

Have a look at maxi-biab. There's threads here somewhere - if you select google by clicking the first orange section in the search bar (right of the bar - by default it says forums or this topic but there is a drop down menu) you should be able to find something.

 

[manticle]

Here we go

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/index.php?s=7afbea98f91edc6451daf90eb32ac437&app=googlecse#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=maxi biab