1 bbl biab

[erichsmith]

I have a 45 gallon stainless pot with a drain tube on the bottom and double walled. It was a stew pot from a church that wanted to downsize so I got their old pot. I do all grain now using two pots and an Igloo mash tun. I want to step it up a bit but don't want to purchase another pot (HLT) and larger mash tun. What do I need to make a bag for 1bbl brewing? One of my home brew buddies SWMBO is a seamstress and can make what ever I need but I don't know what material is best or even the shape needed. I'm also not worried about weight as I will use an engine hoist to pull the bag out of the pot. Any help would be great.

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

At a mash thickness of 1.3qt/lb you can mash around 110lbs of grain in that 45 gallon kettle.
Grain absorption of about .1/gal/lb leaves about 34 gallons or so pre-boil. So right at your 1BBL goal.

Get a quality voile bag is a good bet. I've done 60 lbs and a winch with no problem in a 25 gallon system. 110 is a jump from there, but the bag stays proportionally stronger the larger it gets.

I want to see it done, mine is about the biggest I've seen anyone attempt!

 

[erichsmith]

Where can I find a Voile bag that size or the material to make one?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I'd be happy to sew you a bag for a fair price.
What is the kettle diameter and height?

Let me know and I'll gladly PM you a price.

Thanks
Wilser

 

[trboyden]

Try this site, the guy is a vendor on here.

 

[erichsmith]

Got a bag today from Atlantic Brew Supply $10. Will brew in Jan.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Sounds good, please take a few pics, love to see a 1B BIAB !!!

 

[erichsmith]

I'll be sure to post pics of my first brew day with it.

 

[signpost]

This is definitely something I'd like to see. Make sure you get some good pics.

 

[PGEduardo]

Would you get higher efficiency/greater ease of use with multiple smaller bags? Just a thought...

 

[Weezy]

I remember reading some threads on the Aussie forums a while ago on some very big batches. I believe multiple bags were used.

 

[ArcLight]

I'm curious about this too. As a BIABer, I wonder what the upper end is.
I think by not being able to squeeze the last highly concentrated dregs, you may lose a few points of efficiency.

Will you dunk sparge?
OR pour some water through the sack, just to extract a little more sugar?

Good luck in any case.

 

[erichsmith]

I've never brewed BIAB so I'm not sure how I will sparge. My LHBS guy said on a batch that size I may find the need to use some extracts. Once I pick the bag up I plan on giving it a shot and see what happens.

 

[saarizero]

I have made a 1/2 barrel brew in a bag system. I love how fast it is to clean as its only one vessel. It is a masterpiece of Hillbilly Engineering, but gave me an excuse for an engine hoist and easily allows me to make half barrels. So far I have tried IPA, Stouts, Wheat Beers, and Belgian Ales and all turned out great. Had to experiment with milling the grains and had to run them through the twice to get the O.G.. After a few tweaks to the recipes I have made some amazing beer on this thing. And you don't need to double bag due to the boiler insert.

 

[Morrey]

I've never brewed BIAB so I'm not sure how I will sparge. My LHBS guy said on a batch that size I may find the need to use some extracts. Once I pick the bag up I plan on giving it a shot and see what happens.

Once you finish the 1 barrel BIAB, will you be so kind to post your BH efficiency % before you add any malt extracts for OG adjustment? Getting decent efficiency may come down to sparging in some manner or another which I never do for 5.5G batches since I am a bag squeezer. I did an 11G BIAB batch and was several efficiency points lower with my same grind and all else being the same as a 5.5G recipe, just scaled double. Its got to be something related to not sparging and not getting all the available sugars out of the grains. I'd love to hear more when you finish...thanks!

 

[Morrey]

I have made a 1/2 barrel brew in a bag system. I love how fast it is to clean as its only one vessel. It is a masterpiece of Hillbilly Engineering, but gave me an excuse for an engine hoist and easily allows me to make half barrels. So far I have tried IPA, Stouts, Wheat Beers, and Belgian Ales and all turned out great. Had to experiment with milling the grains and had to run them through the twice to get the O.G.. After a few tweaks to the recipes I have made some amazing beer on this thing. And you don't need to double bag due to the boiler insert.

With your solid setup, you could find some sort of flat plate and press down on your grain bed to get almost all wort out of the grains. You'd have plenty of strength with the steamer basket to mash downward and for sure the engine hoist will support that force. You may already be doing this.....

 

[kh54s10]

Once you finish the 1 barrel BIAB, will you be so kind to post your BH efficiency % before you add any malt extracts for OG adjustment? Getting decent efficiency may come down to sparging in some manner or another which I never do for 5.5G batches since I am a bag squeezer. I did an 11G BIAB batch and was several efficiency points lower with my same grind and all else being the same as a 5.5G recipe, just scaled double. Its got to be something related to not sparging and not getting all the available sugars out of the grains. I'd love to hear more when you finish...thanks!

You may get an answer but did you notice the reply you quoted was from 2013? He was last on the forum on March 5.

 

[Morrey]

You may get an answer but did you notice the reply you quoted was from 2013? He was last on the forum on March 5.

Glad you mentioned this. Interesting that I have found old threads (some less than a year old) with a member trying something or other and would report back but never did. I've posted and/or PM'd them for results and never heard back as they seemingly disappeared from the forum. Maybe folks get fired up at first, then get the info they need and vanish. Not sure but seems many do come and go. Thanks for pointing out the date.

On a positive note...he has had plenty of time to do his BIAB 1 barrel batch!

 

[RedlegEd]

I'm curious about this too. As a BIABer, I wonder what the upper end is.
I think by not being able to squeeze the last highly concentrated dregs, you may lose a few points of efficiency.

Will you dunk sparge?
OR pour some water through the sack, just to extract a little more sugar?

Good luck in any case.

Glad you mentioned this. Interesting that I have found old threads (some less than a year old) with a member trying something or other and would report back but never did. I've posted and/or PM'd them for results and never heard back as they seemingly disappeared from the forum. Maybe folks get fired up at first, then get the info they need and vanish. Not sure but seems many do come and go. Thanks for pointing out the date.

On a positive note...he has had plenty of time to do his BIAB 1 barrel batch!

Hi. Just as a point of reference, Brülosophy did an Exbeeriment in conjunction with House of Pendragon Brewing and they did a 2bbl BIAB batch using a @WilserBrewer bag. Ed


http://brulosophy.com/2016/04/04/si...-brudragon-collaboration-exbeeriment-results/

 

[saarizero]

That is amazing! I am glad people are up scaling it. It is so much easier in a single vessel with similar results. I have recommended it to many people I know as it makes the brew day a lot less time consuming to clean one vs 3 vessels. I work as an engineer so when I do get to brew I want to be able to do it quick as I have a million other things I need to do around the house. Also, For my set-up I do use smash down the grains as well as Lauter them a few times during the mash to ensure I get the most out of them. Also have a rain barrel I re-use the water that goes through my wort chiller. Trying to be somewhat sustainable at least...

 

[tmendick]

Colorado Brewing Supply does 5BBL, granted its a metal "Bag" buts it's still BIAB-ish

 

[Morrey]

Hi. Just as a point of reference, Brülosophy did an Exbeeriment in conjunction with House of Pendragon Brewing and they did a 2bbl BIAB batch using a @WilserBrewer bag. Ed


http://brulosophy.com/2016/04/04/si...-brudragon-collaboration-exbeeriment-results/

Ed, while not the focal point of this Brulosophy exbeeriment, I am amazed at the strength of Wilsers BIAB bag. My 5G batches are usually in the range of 10# of dry grains and much heavier when fully soaked. Goodness, we are talking a pile of dry grains and obviously much more when wet. I couldn't see the top of their chain hoist but Wilser's bag seemed to have a drawstring....not sewn in loops. WOW.

I have debated step mashing with BIAB but still ponder the benefits from the extra hour it would take over single infusion mashing. If the exbeeriment yields the results "I don't think I could tell the difference if they swapped out my sample", I am not sure if it would make enough difference to try a step. A friend, however, says his step mashed product is much more clear with less trub than single infusion.

 

[RedlegEd]

Ed, while not the focal point of this Brulosophy exbeeriment, I am amazed at the strength of Wilsers BIAB bag. My 5G batches are usually in the range of 10# of dry grains and much heavier when fully soaked. Goodness, we are talking 125# of dry grains which may be a couple of hundred #'s when wet. I couldn't see the top of their chain hoist but Wilser's bag seemed to have a drawstring....not sewn in loops. WOW.

I have debated step mashing with BIAB but still ponder the benefits from the extra hour it would take over single infusion mashing. If the exbeeriment yields the results "I don't think I could tell the difference if they swapped out my sample", I am not sure if it would make enough difference to try a step. A friend, however, says his step mashed product is much more clear with less trub than single infusion.

+1 to the quality of his products. I've switched over to Grainfather, mostly for the ease and smaller footprint, so I'm not doing much BIAB anymore. I found your comments about step mashing to be interesting. @Gavic_C speaks pretty highly of doing step mashes. Granted, doing it in a Grainfather or BIAB pot should be easier when you can apply heat directly to the mash, but I've not found enough improvement in flavor/quality to justify the additional time spent doing it. I don't doubt your friend's assertion his wort is clearer, so I defer to the Brülosophy exbeeriment that shows no correlation to clear wort and final product. It just doesn't seem to be worth the effort. Ed

 

[Morrey]

+1 to the quality of his products. I've switched over to Grainfather, mostly for the ease and smaller footprint, so I'm not doing much BIAB anymore. I found your comments about step mashing to be interesting. @Gavic_C speaks pretty highly of doing step mashes. Granted, doing it in a Grainfather or BIAB pot should be easier when you can apply heat directly to the mash, but I've not found enough improvement in flavor/quality to justify the additional time spent doing it. I don't doubt your friend's assertion his wort is clearer, so I defer to the Brülosophy exbeeriment that shows no correlation to clear wort and final product. It just doesn't seem to be worth the effort. Ed

For what its worth, I do take a great deal of credence in Brulosophy's tests and exbeeriments. I feel they do things that make good sense to us as home brewers, and the results prove valuable points we all tend to ponder over. Maybe if I did a single infusion simultaneously with a step mash with identical recipes, and really can tell a difference, I'd be sold. Always keeping options open but not necessarily wanting to create extra steps and time for no benefit.

I was looking at a Grainfather last week and the LHBS owner mentioned the new one I was looking at had a wifi or Bluetooth control. I bet this would get the attention of the Techies who rode the fence on a big purchase like this. If I didn't have a 20x30 building (with exposed rafters) functioning as my brewcave, I'd probably already have a Grainfather.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Ed, while not the focal point of this Brulosophy exbeeriment, I am amazed at the strength of Wilsers BIAB bag. My 5G batches are usually in the range of 10# of dry grains and much heavier when fully soaked. Goodness, we are talking a pile of dry grains and obviously much more when wet. I couldn't see the top of their chain hoist but Wilser's bag seemed to have a drawstring....not sewn in loops. WOW.

Morrey,

To give you a little history, this idea of a 145 gallon BIAB w/ 285 grain bills was a little more well planned than appears. The story starts several years ago when I tested a regular 10-15 gallon bag up with 120 lbs of weights to see how strong the voile and seams actually were.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=384445

This seemed encouraging, and I thought 50 gallon BIAB was a big deal and started to fill orders at that level. Along the way I also noticed that as batch size increased, the bags were becoming much, much larger.

Fast forward a year or so and Tommy from Pendragon contacts me and he wants to try a 145 gallon BIAB. Story below...the key again being as the batch size increases the bag size increases and becomes stronger thru increased size of the bag. The photo of Tommy doughing in the 145 G kettle doesn't do the scale justice, Tommy must be a big guy, as the bag is almost like the size of twin sheets sewed together. lol
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=483965

Regarding lifting the huge bag, Some of the bags have a bull-tape poly webbing drawstring that is 1800 lb break strength for the drawstring. Or another method is to tie the poly webbing in a loop, and cinch the bag by wrapping the loop a couple times around the gathered bag as shown here...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=623808

Regarding handles stitched to the bag, I'm not a fan of stitched handles as the handle strapping is only as strong as the fabric it is stitched to, and poly voile is not strong enough for concentrated loads. I feel a drawstring that applies the load to the entire top of the bag is stronger and a better arrangement than four attachment points stitched to the bag....
JMO's

Regarding step mashing, I recall several years ago Brukaiser / Kal Troester did a bunch of experiments and concluded that with today's well modified malts conducting step mashes was of little to no benefit. Being a lazy, goal oriented brewer with selective hearing, I kind of shut the book on step mashing at that point.

 

[akthor]

I have built a 1bbl EBIAB. Uses a CO Brewing pot and SS mesh basket, 2 5500w elements and a Hosehead Controller. I also have 2 - 1 bbl SS Brewtech fermenters with FTS kits and a DIY glycol chiller system. I am finishing up my brew stand\hoist then after cleaning and passifying and testing I can start brewing. I had some major health issues last Xmas and just as I recover from those the father in law had knee replacement surgery so I'm behind schedule.

As soon as everything is ready I will do a full write up with pics.

 

[Morrey]

Your bags continue to amaze all of us brewers who use them, Wilser! I read somewhere this week that a fellow had done something like 50 batches with one of your bags and it was like new...maybe a tad bit stained.... but that's it! I may have used your hop sock that many times and we are talking a full rolling boil an hour each time. Amazing craftsmanship.

We had chatted recently about BIAB vs 3 Vessel brewing. You made a good point saying BIAB removes the grains from the wort, 3 V removes the wort from the grain. Reference Step Mashing: Maybe when something becomes familiar albeit it a superior product, we become bored and want to try something new. BUT, if a new or modified process has no benefit AND creates additional time and work, what is the use of changing?

I know you are going to say because I'm lazy...but I don't believe that. I cant imagine you settling for anything second best.