Whats The Biggest Biab Batch Possible?

[ekul]

Hi Everyone,
With uni coming up i may not have as much time to brew, so i'm thinking about buying a massive pot to do bigger batches. I currently do double batches with my 80L pot, but i was thinking a 140L pot or bigger. I nochill everything so if i could do a quadruple batch once a month or so that would be great.

Will the limiting factor be the seams in the bag? Should a single, circular piece of voille be used? (Thisis what i do currently)

I was also thinking that drilling holes in my 80L pot and lining that with a bag could be sweet, and then use a pulley system to pull it out. Where i live there is a block and tackle that is designed for dressing a beast, its rated at 5 ton. So whatever my bag weighs i'll be able to handle it.

I also have a really good burner, apparently its good enough to boil a 44 gallon drum with ease. When i bought it i got the big one so that i could upgrade to any size pot i wanted, i kned one day i'd get lazy enough that i'd want to do big batches.

So whats the biggest batch possible with biab? Also if you have pics that would be great, just cause i would like to see some massive biab systems.

And what do you think i can push out of a 140L pot? I know i could do 3 easy, but would 4 or 5 be possible?

thanks all

 

[bignath]

Cool. Even though im a 3V brewer, i can't wait to see some of the responses you get......Have thought about adding to my flexibility by getting an urn and bag so i can automate things a little easier. I don't get into the whole 3v vs BIAB, but would be interested to ADD to my brewing techniques, and the idea of being able to do a huge one - well, who in their right mind wouldn't want to do that?

cheers,

Nath

 

[warra48]

Does it all have to be in one bag?

Can you use, say, 3 bags in the one pot? Would be easier to lift out and drain than one huge one.

 

[Nick JD]

Uni student without time to brew?

I've never done anything remotely that huge but have a feeling you might be reaching the edge of strength of the voile lifting out that much grain - a weakness or a tiny tear could end in a hot splashing disaster. Could you have a voile lined basket that took the weight?

 

[ekul]

Does it all have to be in one bag?

Can you use, say, 3 bags in the one pot? Would be easier to lift out and drain than one huge one.

thats exactly the kind of thinking i'm looking for! Have you tried this? I wonder if that would work.


Nick- Lol, i work as well as go to uni. They have me on 6 days a week at the moment, and when uni starts i'll be working whenever i'm not at uni. So my free time is going to be limited. Even at the moment it would be great if i didn't spend my day off over the top of a big pot of boiling wort (Thats not to say that i don't like spending my day off day bent over a big boiling pot of wort!).


I'm surprised this topic hasn't been discussed before. I did a pretty extensive search and the biggest batch i found was a guy doing kits. 9 kits n kilos in a 44 gallon drum! But nothing for biab. I have the capacity to ferment 3 fermenters at once, so maybe the 140L pot and triple batches may be the go.

 

[WarmBeer]

Hi Everyone,
With uni coming up i may not have as much time to brew, so i'm thinking about buying a massive pot to do bigger batches. I currently do double batches with my 80L pot, but i was thinking a 140L pot or bigger. I nochill everything so if i could do a quadruple batch once a month or so that would be great.

Did you ever think that maybe 23 litres of beer a week is not healthy while also studying?

Not judging, just sayin...

 

[husky]

lots of people to help you drink it at uni

 

[manticle]

Did you ever think that maybe 23 litres of beer a week is not healthy while also studying?

No. Never occurred to me.



Studying isn't very healthy though.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Think of swiss voile (or suva voile if you're a Lincraft shopper) in the same way you might think of a large poly tank. I have a 40,000 litre plastic rainwater tank that is more than strong enough to hold its full capacity of water. That is not because the plastic is hugely strong, but because the weight of the water and the force it exerts is spread over a large area of plastic. The same is true of a BIAB bag. I've lifted 15kg (dry weight) of grain in my single-stitched bag and done nearly one hundred brews in it over the years. There is not even the slightest hint of stress apparent.

Last year, I lined a basket press with swiss voile (and polyhessian) and compressed it and some fruit with an 8 tonne hydraulic press. Both fabrics exploded, but the 40x3mm steel strap I made the basket rings out of deformed as well.

Does any of this mean that I could lift my car in my BIAB bag? No. But, I reckon I could lift my car with my BIAB bag.

In the really large batch situation, I might find some neutral-colour polyhessian to make an outer bag for the voile bag. Still sounds a bit unwieldy to me, though.

Mash in the 80litre and boil in the big pot? Change to a slightly more high-brow uni?

 

[argon]

With an 80L pot i would expect you'd be able to do a triple batch (57L packaged) of something at around 1050OG with 15kg of grain. Just look at post boil dilution. With 140L you'd be able to do a quad (76L packaged) 1050OG with 20kg, but it'd be reasonably difficult to get the grain out easily.

I used to do double batches via BIAB in a 50L pot. But it got to be a bit of a pain lifting out the bag laden with alot of grain. I was brewing over gravity and then post boil dilution. Worked ok but i noted that the bigger my grain bill became (relative to pot size) the lower my efficiency would become. Eventually gets to a point where you can't do it with any reasonable efficiency at all.

I still do double batches in a 50L mash tun and 50L kettle with post boil dilution. But i no longer BIAB. The simplicity of my 3V system allows me to do just about any grain bill size/OG i want without worrying about my proportional relationship in the mash tun and my batch size. I also don't have to lift out 15+kg of wet grain in one go relying on the bag not to split.

For example, I have planned a triple batch (57L packaged) of bo pils with my efficiency at 75% and 1048OG i only need 12.1kg... but that's with a 22L post boil dilution.

So anything can be done... you've just got to realise the limitations/issues of over gravity... no matter what process you employ

 

[brett mccluskey]

Did you ever think that maybe 23 litres of beer a week is not healthy while also studying?

Not judging, just sayin...

If he's an 'arts' student,it won't matter too much .....What did the arts student say to the science student?.... "Would you like fries with that?"

 

[Harry Volting]

Isn't it funny how the collective mind works with a little creative lubrication.
I've had 2 poorly constructed large bags fail with spectacular results. Both had seam failures because I tried to put too much grain in the one bag. History has shown that the best bags are mum-sewn bags.
Only successful large scale result was with 2 bags in the one vessel (keggle with a false bottom) larger bag designed to fit the volume of the keggle and smaller bag same diameter containing specialty grains placed inside the main bag on top of the base malt. What a hassle. Much less work to form a BIAB collective and brew in several smaller urns on the one day. (try putting a 3V system in the back of a Mazda 3. )
My tip would be to check the brew day location electrical supply and limit one urn per electrical circuit if you can. Go you good thing.
Harry

 

[brett mccluskey]

Isn't it funny how the collective mind works with a little creative lubrication.
I've had 2 poorly constructed large bags fail with spectacular results. Both had seam failures because I tried to put too much grain in the one bag. History has shown that the best bags are mum-sewn bags.
Only successful large scale result was with 2 bags in the one vessel (keggle with a false bottom) larger bag designed to fit the volume of the keggle and smaller bag same diameter containing specialty grains placed inside the main bag on top of the base malt. What a hassle. Much less work to form a BIAB collective and brew in several smaller urns on the one day. (try putting a 3V system in the back of a Mazda 3. )
My tip would be to check the brew day location electrical supply and limit one urn per electrical circuit if you can. Go you good thing.
Harry

just curious as to what people are using to sew their bags with ie: cotton? :beer:

 

[Harry Volting]

Open the Kimono...
My mum swears by (what looks to me) like a light fishing line so it's probably nylon.
My failed bags were sewn with cotton.
I've repaired burst seams with dental floss and the rest of the bag seams failed while the floss stayed in place.
I've spent more time than I care to admit playing with voil bags before I realised that there were others doing the same thing etc etc.
My 'best bag' is a Spotlight so-called-swiss-voil mum-sewn with nylon and a round base. 30 litre urn 3 hour brew 'day'.
Hope this helps.
Harry

 

[Steve@PMF82]

I sew mine with 100% polyester thread

 

[manticle]

I'm surprised this topic hasn't been discussed before. I did a pretty extensive search and the biggest batch i found was a guy doing kits. 9 kits n kilos in a 44 gallon drum! But nothing for biab. I have the capacity to ferment 3 fermenters at once, so maybe the 140L pot and triple batches may be the go.

Pretty sure QLDKev is a BIABer and is setting himself up with a 100L+ system (120 or 140 boil pot from memory).

 

[kymba]

the missus is half way through sewing up my new bag for my new 98L pot

like you i was scared to lift 3 or 4 batches of wet grain without reinforcement, so i chased down some 25mm wide polyester webbing and had her sew it around the sides of my new bag. all the lifting will be done via the webbing, so hopefully the voile holds out!?

the concept is like...



oh and i (get her to) sew the bag with poly thread used for making jeans. you need to use a leather needle to use this stuff as it pretty thick

cheers

kymba

 

[Bizier]

I have done some triple batches of lower OG (say 1.040ish) beer BIAB in a 100L kettle. It is pushing it, but it can be done fine. The prick of a thing was that at the time, there was nothing to hang a hoist for my bag off.

 

[Acasta]

Biab bags can be made from steel mesh pretty easy, i remember seeing a thread on it. Ill have a look.

Edit: yeah here it is. http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=49696

You could make a big one of these. May make it easier then a bag.

 

[Goofinder]

Why does it need to be a bag? All BIAB is is a really thin mash where you take the grain out of the liquor rather than the liquor out of the grain as you would in a 3V system.

You just need a way to lift the grain out (and lift all the grain out which is where swiss voille comes in handy). A bucket, pot, whatever lined with some swiss voille would do the job as then it's not the fabric/stitching/whatever taking the strain.