Whats The Biggest Biab Batch Possible?

[MHB]

HA! Yeah.... I'm sure it's awesome but it is pretty bat-shit-crazy-looking Have there been many people who've bought them?

hmmm.... yep, an electric pallet jack or forklift is all you'd need - then again, a second vessel and a pump might also do the same trick

The 50 L model is selling its arse off; right now we are waiting for production to catch up with demand. The 50 Braumeister model works so well with no-chill that its the model most people are settling on.
When the AUD was in the toilet they were costing about $5K for the 50 L model (thats what mine cost me) now at ~$4K they are seriously good value and Ive sold about a dozen in the last twelve months. I realise its not going to be everyones first choice and that $4K isnt cheap, but if youre looking for high-end semiautomatic systems its to my mind about the best value out there.
MHB

 

[DanRayner]

dan it takes all the fun out of a brewday if you cant drive a forklift

true, I should probably find an excuse to drive one around my garage brewery, maybe move my fridges around just for the hell of it?

Engine hoist...

That is a seriously fucked-up looking BIAB bag!

The 50 L model is selling its arse off; right now we are waiting for production to catch up with demand. The 50 Braumeister model works so well with no-chill that its the model most people are settling on.
When the AUD was in the toilet they were costing about $5K for the 50 L model (thats what mine cost me) now at ~$4K they are seriously good value and Ive sold about a dozen in the last twelve months. I realise its not going to be everyones first choice and that $4K isnt cheap, but if youre looking for high-end semiautomatic systems its to my mind about the best value out there.
MHB

Fantastic news Mark, glad to hear people are jumping in at the high-end! In other news, I sent a mate to your shop a few months ago; Al had just got back from OS (Switzerland), moved to Newcastle and was keen to set up - hope he's been in to get supplies...

cheers,

Dan

 

[MHB]

If we are talking about a Geology lecture at UNc, then yes, him and his wife.
Mark

 

[DanRayner]

Ah cool - he's a top bloke

 

[geoffd]

Have just read the thread quickly so maybe this has already been covered, but have you got the adequate BTU's to get your superbatch to a rolling boil?

worse comes to worse I guess you could build a furnace outside with some bricks & boil on firewood, also need a steel plate to block flame if nearing a boil over. also I presume you have enough fermenters & long enough syphon for transfer or a tap on the pot.

just throuwing about some ideas, there is more to be thought through than the size of the pot. good luck (to tour liver) if you can do it

 

[argon]

I can do triple batches 60L with my 50L pot

You should be able to do a quad batch with 80L fairly easily

The only real problem is lifting the bag. Lifting straps and a block and tackle seem the way to go.

Look into Maxi-BIAB

So are you just doing a sparge and a big post boil top up then??

Used to do that with double batch BIAB in 50L... successful but a bit of a PITA

 

[stux]

So are you just doing a sparge and a big post boil top up then??

Used to do that with double batch BIAB in 50L... successful but a bit of a PITA

Top up with sparge and water addition pre-boil

Top up as high as you can go with boiling water before end-of-boil/whirlpool, so you dilute kettle trub

Transfer to cubes

Dilute in fermenter to desired OG

I designed a spreadsheet to calculate it all, and help with the process, http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=595

...

Its not that bad, because you don't actually have to measure anything just fill up as high as you dare to go at various points, and all that really matters is your initial fermenter gravity reading, then you dilute to OG.

Still working out how to calculate the IBUs properly

...

As an example,

I fill my 40x40 50L pot to 4cm for mash, 8cm for boil and 2cm for end-of-boil

13KG of Grain at 75% (I get 83-85% most of the time) should get me 57L of packaged beer (3 kegs)

L:G ratio would be 3.48:1

If I do get 75% efficiency, I would have

40L of liquor at start-of-boil at 1.075

if I get 80% efficiency it would be 1.080

...

End of boil I should have 48L of wort, at 1.063 for 75%, or 1.067 for 80%

I would transfer between 45 and 47L of wort

45L at 1.063 would be 60L in the fermeter at 1.048,

47L at 1.067 would be 65L

 

[ekul]

Have just read the thread quickly so maybe this has already been covered, but have you got the adequate BTU's to get your superbatch to a rolling boil?

worse comes to worse I guess you could build a furnace outside with some bricks & boil on firewood, also need a steel plate to block flame if nearing a boil over. also I presume you have enough fermenters & long enough syphon for transfer or a tap on the pot.

just throuwing about some ideas, there is more to be thought through than the size of the pot. good luck (to tour liver) if you can do it

Yep. When i first started biab i started with a single ring burner. This was a pita so i got a triple ring burner, this was barely better so i bought the biggest mongolian i could find, a 32 jet beast. It will boil a 44 gallond rum if i wanted to (which i do, just got to work out the rest )

 

[argon]

Top up with sparge and water addition pre-boil

Top up as high as you can go with boiling water before end-of-boil/whirlpool, so you dilute kettle trub

Transfer to cubes

Dilute in fermenter to desired OG

I designed a spreadsheet to calculate it all, and help with the process, http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=595

...

Its not that bad, because you don't actually have to measure anything just fill up as high as you dare to go at various points, and all that really matters is your initial fermenter gravity reading, then you dilute to OG.

Still working out how to calculate the IBUs properly

...

As an example,

I fill my 40x40 50L pot to 4cm for mash, 8cm for boil and 2cm for end-of-boil

13KG of Grain at 75% (I get 83-85% most of the time) should get me 57L of packaged beer (3 kegs)

L:G ratio would be 3.48:1

If I do get 75% efficiency, I would have

40L of liquor at start-of-boil at 1.075

if I get 80% efficiency it would be 1.080

...

End of boil I should have 48L of wort, at 1.063 for 75%, or 1.067 for 80%

I would transfer between 45 and 47L of wort

45L at 1.063 would be 60L in the fermeter at 1.048,

47L at 1.067 would be 65L

ahh nice one... :icon_cheers: i do double batches with a small top up post boil. Either into cube or into fermenter. My pre-boil is typically 41L for 34L into cubes... it's touch and go for the first 15mins or so watching for boilovers. I like the idea of topping up at the end of boil though. Something i think i might do now that i've bought myself a refractometer and can adjust on the fly a bit quicker.

Might do a triple batch (57L) Bo Pils soon... should be fun. I've worked that out to be a post boil top up of 22L

 

[stux]

My pre-boil is typically 41L for 34L into cubes... it's touch and go for the first 15mins or so watching for boilovers

Yup, that's why I allow a different max volume for start of boil, compared to end of boil. It is touch and go with 41L in a 50L pot at the beginning, but by the end of the boil, it has settled down a lot, and my logic is, that a boiling water addition before the flameout/whirlpool can't really do any harm, and as long as you allow enough headspace for the whirlpool, you should be good.

Just for giggles I just worked out a 25KG batch into this 120L pot (55x49cm)

129L in the fermenter, L:G ratio of 4.28

Assuming 83% efficiency, target end of boil is 111L at 1.057

Into fermenter is 129L at 1.048

Which is not even pushing anything, except the ability to raise the wet grain without a calamity.

...

And,

25KG of Base + 5KG of other = 30KG, which gives you L:G of 3:1 with 173L into the fermenter at 75% efficiency, time for a 200L fermenter

 

[ekul]

I'm actualy thinking that it may be easier/cheaper to have a side by side system. So two pots instead of one big one.

I already have 2 pots, one 67L one and an 80L one. The 67L one is JUST big enough for a double, if the grain bill isn't too big (coopers pale ale clone is perfect). I have a50L pot there too, so if i don't feel up to a quadruple i can still knock out a triple fairly easily

The heats sources here are a 32 jet mongolian and a 3 ring burner. Apparently if i drill out the jets on the 3 ring and put it on a high pressure reg it will boil a double batch easy, i know someone up here who has done that.

I'm thinking of getting an old hills hoist and reinforcing it with steel and whacking some pulleys on it, so i can move my bags around with ease.

Either that or adding a bar above the brew stand with a roller. With the roller i could hoist the bag up, slide it to the left and dump it in the sparge bucket. This would make my brewstand less portable, unless i make it so it bolts together.

It all depends what i can find at the tip MIght pop in there tomorrow.



EDITED TO ADD - Keep the ideas coming though guys, i'm enjoying reading them.

 

[QldKev]

I'm actualy thinking that it may be easier/cheaper to have a side by side system. So two pots instead of one big one.

I already have 2 pots, one 67L one and an 80L one. The 67L one is JUST big enough for a double, if the grain bill isn't too big (coopers pale ale clone is perfect). I have a50L pot there too, so if i don't feel up to a quadruple i can still knock out a triple fairly easily

The heats sources here are a 32 jet mongolian and a 3 ring burner. Apparently if i drill out the jets on the 3 ring and put it on a high pressure reg it will boil a double batch easy, i know someone up here who has done that.

I'm thinking of getting an old hills hoist and reinforcing it with steel and whacking some pulleys on it, so i can move my bags around with ease.

Either that or adding a bar above the brew stand with a roller. With the roller i could hoist the bag up, slide it to the left and dump it in the sparge bucket. This would make my brewstand less portable, unless i make it so it bolts together.

It all depends what i can find at the tip MIght pop in there tomorrow.



EDITED TO ADD - Keep the ideas coming though guys, i'm enjoying reading them.

Come around Sunday, I'm thinking of trying a quad batch using 2 bags in the one pot.

QldKev

 

[stux]

I boiled 40-45L the other day with a 2 ring burner on BeerBelly's Medium Pressure Variable Reg the other day...

That was for a double batch munich dunkel (OG 1.052)

I think it was 10-15 mins to get from mashout to violent boil.

Quite respectable.

I had taken to the burner with a 2.5mm drill bit to clean out all the holes, but not to actually increase the size of the bore.

My italian burner is on its way

 

[nosco]

Reviving an old thread coz I saw this.

http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3578

?couldnt post the pic?

 

[Danscraftbeer]

^ Since there is no follow up pics I suspect fail?

Oops it does link to more, my bad. Seems they finished the brew. I just don't like that raised thin sack of hot heavy mash etc.
Too scary and possibly messy. Ignore my anti biab remarks.... -_-

 

[QldKev]

I did a couple of 112l batches in the 140l pot before finishing my 3v. Ekul enjoyed the big sized biab brewday and started it. He is still doing it to date.

 

[Matplat]

I saw on brulosophy the dis a batch with a micro brewery who were doing either 200 or 500l batches with biab, I dare say the bags weren't made from swiss voile from spotlight....

 

[yankinoz]

If I had a commercial brewery, I'd wish I could junk my lauter tun and go BIAB. Whatever the water to grain ratio, sparge or no-sparge, decoct or not, BIAB is the better design. Maybe with the advances in carbon and other fibres, one or more bags will be the rule in the biggest mashes.

 

[Matplat]

You could split up the weight of a big mash by using nested bags (like russian dolls).... checked that exbmt on brulosophy, they were 2bbl (200l I think?) batches each done with a mega biab bag.