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I do BIAB also, but with a simple sparge. My last brew with crushed grain from Morebeer got me 73% efficiency. I usually get close to 80% with my LHBS crush, so it's not perfect but I can live with it.

FI FYI, I do infusion step mashes with my BIAB. I use the infusion calculator in BeerSmith. For simplicity, I tweak the amount of infusion water until it gives me a temp near boiling. Just get the water near boiling and throw it in the mash. I do the same thing for mash out. I usually end up...

More beer has done a good crush on my orders.

Let me know how it comes out.

I look forward to hearing how it comes out.

Wow, this is a blast from the past! Good to hear someone else is giving this a shot. It has become part of my stock summer brew schedule every year. I've brewed it probably 10 times and I've tweaked it a little. Here's my recipe now for a 5 gal batch: 4 lbs US pale malt 2 lbs 8 oz German wheat...

I got mine online. They are small kits from a company called Salifert. Each kit will do 50-100 tests. Aquarium supply places will have it or just try Amazon.

My water varies by season. My town mixes town well water with reservoir water piped in. The mix varies by season - winter vs summer. I did two Wards analyses in different seasons with significantly different results. So now I can just do a quick alkalinity test and calcium test to figure out...

Brew & Wine Hobby is excellent. Thad is very helpful. Also, Phantom Brewing (formerly Beer & Winemaker's Warehouse) on Airport Rd in south Hartford is great and they have a brewery on-site. Bo is very helpful and friendly. Each has its strengths. Both have excellent grain and hops selections...

It is correct that you don't need a starter for dry yeast. Check the cell count on your dry yeast. Most already have a 200b cell count. One pack should be fine for a 1.048 brew. Just hydrate per instructions and you're good to go. As a matter of fact, I occasionally get lazy and just sprinkle...

I do a modified BIAB on my stove top with a 9 gal "tallboy" BK with a turkey basket holding my bag. After mash and mash out, I hoist the basket/bag and pour sparge water through the raised grains into the BK. With this setup I can do up to 16.5 lbs of grain and reach about 1.085 for a 5 gal...

Upstate has the right idea. That method should get you close and then you can confirm and fine tune in the bottling bucket. One correction. There are 16 8oz portions (128 oz per gallon) so use 16 to scale up instead of 32. Let us know how it works out.

A big starter is recommended. You can just pitch multiple yeast packets but the starter gets the yeast active and revved up before pitching into a big beer. Adding sugar in the fermenter after a few days will also amp up the ABV. You can even do small amounts every few days. I also agree with...

A little late to the game but here it is. Mine is based on Yooper's Oktoberfest recipe with some tweaks. Pretty simple. A little darker and maltier than most commercial brews because I prefer that. 40% Pilsner 30% Munich 20% Vienna 10% Caramunich I use Tettnang and Hallertauer hops and Wyeast...

Keep in mind that honey doesn't actually give the brew much of a honey flavor. It almost completely ferments away.

Regardless of where you cold crash, 6-8 hours probably won't help you much. I usually do minimum 24 hrs but 48 hrs is better. Also, I usually only cold crash lighter colored beers that benefit from the clarity. A stout really doesn't need it but it wouldn't hurt it.

What is the ABV? Higher alcohol brews can take longer. Warm it up to 70+F and give it another week or two.

I regularly boil 7 and 8 gallon brews on my glass top range. It depends on the stove. Look up the model number and you can get the specs. One thing that helps me is that my BK is " tallboy" pot. It is taller and narrower than most brew pots. It's only 12 1/2" in diameter. This helps concentrate...

You're absolutely right! I was thinking mesh, not microns.

Perfect! Could be a pale ale or a triple IPA!