The Trials Of Big Batch Biab

[kymba]

so i finally pulled the finger out and put my new 98L christmas pot to use on the weekend. on saturday i made an outmeal stout - initially it was to be a single batch, but being half cut doing some pythagoras i miscalculated my req'd water volume; by over 2x. i realised this after the first mash looked like a lot, so i cracked another batch, reheated it back to 67 and left it for another hour.

I go to pull the bag out of the pot - no fkn chance! 12kg grain plus water = me nearly shitting my pants. Down to the hardware i go, grab a hardwood bearer, angle brackets, bolts, etc. and tool around for the next 45 minutes single handedly mounting my 'sky beam'

so a few chains, bit of rope and a ratched strap = mission successful



the rest of the day went well, apart from being about 4 hours longer than anticipated. Sunday i decided to a bigger batch of mid strength / mild - was aiming for 60L total, but i think i'm a few litres short, oh well.

while the batch was mashing it was off to oldmates off ebay to pick up a new fermenting fridge after the other one karked it last week. here is the new fridge with the 100 odd litres of wort. I just pitched some S04 in the stout and will pitch the milds with some 05 tomorrow after work



heres a better shot of the skybeam



might get some unistrut and screw that to the bottom of the beam so i can get some gantry action!


kymba

 

[ekul]

That fridge is exactly the setup i want for my next fridge. And (un?)luckily for me, the one i currently have seems to be on the way out.

 

[kymba]

That fridge is exactly the setup i want for my next fridge. And (un?)luckily for me, the one i currently have seems to be on the way out.

yeah and best thing is the angle of the element means the condensation drips down to a little drip channel & outlet thing at the back - no dripping inside the fridge...something that really shat me about the other fridge

 

[RdeVjun]

That's one awesome 'seat of the pants' BIAB brewday, but the fridge-full of fermenting cubes is a sight to behold! :beerbang:

 

[kymba]

yeah it was hectic, a few swear words were had - especially when some wood shavings made it into the pot

just realised i forgot the kopperfloc in both batches...i'm good at that

hope the fridge copes with the heat of the 5 ferments

 

[pants]

Great effort - back for more the very next day!

I like the bag - it looks very strong. Did you build that too?

 

[QldKev]

BIG BIAB rocks!

That bag looks great, I was going to make one the same for mine, but got slack and ended up using 2 bags in the pot. Even 2 bags with 10kg grain each end up heavy. Have you got a design for that bag?

Are you fermenting in those cubes/jerry cans?



QldKev

 

[kymba]

I like the bag - it looks very strong. Did you build that too?

Have you got a design for that bag?

thanks, yeah i got the missus to build the bag. it has 4 lengths of 25mm webbing sewn the whole ways around. i might get her to put one around the seam where the base meets the sides. the webbing is finished off with some side release buckles - i used a speedy stitcher for this as the machine couldn't go through 2 layers of webbing

Are you fermenting in those cubes/jerry cans?

yep