1-Gallon BIAB Water Amounts?

[Stigy]

I am getting back into brewing after a long hiatus and want to make sure I have brushed up enough on my reading & memory to start again.

I bought a Brooklyn Brewshop kit and want to do it as a BIAB since I remember using the paint strainer back from Home Depot made the brewing process and cleanup much easier.

According to the BBS instructions (located here) it says use 2 quarts of water for the mash and then use 4 quarts of water for sparge.

If I were to use the BIAB method (without sparging), would I just do 6 quarts of water in the pot for an hour and then just drain the bag over the pot until all the wort was back in the pot? OR am I better off doing 2 quarts of water with the mash (and grains in a bag) then put the bag in a strainer and sparge the grains back into the pot. Is one method preferred over the other (for any particular reasons)?

Anything else I should be reminded of before I give this a shot tomorrow?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ericbw]

I am getting back into brewing after a long hiatus and want to make sure I have brushed up enough on my reading & memory to start again.

I bought a Brooklyn Brewshop kit and want to do it as a BIAB since I remember using the paint strainer back from Home Depot made the brewing process and cleanup much easier.

According to the BBS instructions (located here) it says use 2 quarts of water for the mash and then use 4 quarts of water for sparge.

If I were to use the BIAB method (without sparging), would I just do 6 quarts of water in the pot for an hour and then just drain the bag over the pot until all the wort was back in the pot? OR am I better off doing 2 quarts of water with the mash (and grains in a bag) then put the bag in a strainer and sparge the grains back into the pot. Is one method preferred over the other (for any particular reasons)?

Anything else I should be reminded of before I give this a shot tomorrow?

Thanks in advance!

The way I do the BBS recipes is to mash and sparge with those volumes they give, but using two different pots. Mash in one, then drain the bag over it. Then dunk sparge in the other pot. Then drain it and combine the two pots. It's a little messy that way (when I do it!).

 

[smyrnaquince]

If I were to use the BIAB method (without sparging), would I just do 6 quarts of water in the pot for an hour and then just drain the bag over the pot until all the wort was back in the pot?

Yes. That is the advantage of BIAB. No extra sparge step. No extra pot/vessel needed.

 

[monkeyman1000]

I have been doing the full volume of water and not sparking. You should check out BIABrewer and use their Biabacus. It really helps me hit my water levels. Nice thing is if you know the measurements of your pot, it will tell you how much headspace you should have. In other words, in my pot, if I am supposed to start with 3.45 gallons (which would be a pain in the butt to figure out) I know that all I have to do is fill my pot to 1.5 inches from the top of the pot to reach that amount.

 

[Stigy]

I have been doing the full volume of water and not sparking. You should check out BIABrewer and use their Biabacus. It really helps me hit my water levels. Nice thing is if you know the measurements of your pot, it will tell you how much headspace you should have. In other words, in my pot, if I am supposed to start with 3.45 gallons (which would be a pain in the butt to figure out) I know that all I have to do is fill my pot to 1.5 inches from the top of the pot to reach that amount.

Thanks - will give that a look tonight. Didn't know such thing existed, but that headspace part is really nice.

 

[Calichusetts]

You can start with 6 quarts...you'll be fine. You can start with more if you like. The end volume is the most crucial IMO. Knowing your boil off is important and if you can the volume marks accurate, you can hit the final volume very accurately.

 

[Stigy]

You can start with 6 quarts...you'll be fine. You can start with more if you like. The end volume is the most crucial IMO. Knowing your boil off is important and if you can the volume marks accurate, you can hit the final volume very accurately.

So for my first batch using this kit / method I was thinking of start with 6, and then timing everything exactly and then measuring my final volume to determine boil off.

Is there a boil off calculator that is relatively accurate based on surface area, temperature, etc or it is all unique to your setup?

 

[smyrnaquince]

Is there a boil off calculator that is relatively accurate based on surface area, temperature, etc or it is all unique to your setup?

It is unique to your setup and is mostly related to the surface area of the pot, but somewhat related to the amount of heat you put into it in excess of what is needed to maintain a rolling boil.

Fill your pot with the same amount of water as the wort you intend to boil. Bring it to a rolling boil and keep it there for an hour. Measure the remaining amount of water and you will have a good estimate of your boil-off rate.

Remember that boil-off is in gallons/hour, not in percent of wort.

And yes, do check out the BIABrewer site.

 

[Calichusetts]

So for my first batch using this kit / method I was thinking of start with 6, and then timing everything exactly and then measuring my final volume to determine boil off.

Is there a boil off calculator that is relatively accurate based on surface area, temperature, etc or it is all unique to your setup?

I use a 12-inch lab thermometer that I use when mashing and cooling. Filled my pot in quart intervals and noted where it fell on the thermometer. After a few brews, you will learn you boil off rate and can go from there. I hit my volume almost perfectly. 1.1 in the carboy and just enough for a hydrometer sample.

 

[Stigy]

Thanks for all your help - going to do a boil off test this week and brew this weekend.