3-in-1 "Boil Kettle, Jacketed Chiller, Conical Fermenter" by Brewha

Williams 728
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hgearle said:
Secondly. Is squeezing the grain bag a good idea???... I read that you can squeeze hop bags to get the liquid out of them, but you should NOT squeeze grain bags.[/url]
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I am not fond of squeezing grains, despite it being common practice. I stray from practices of many other commercial brewers and I wouldn't expect it to be any different in the homebrewing community. When I'm done with my mash my sightglass is crystal clear (assuming no dark malts), and I fly sparge avoiding the grains from becoming disturbed. I don't care for the cloudiness of the product when the grain bed is pressed.

On a personal level, if I feel the need to squeeze my grist it means I am making too small a batch.
 
So I guess I would like some feedback as to how you all are brewing in the BIAC. For my hoppy IPA's, I usually do a 11 gallon batch with about 33 pounds of grain and 18.25 gallons of water adding 3 lbs of rice hulls (Efficiency is only about 61%).

My mash is usually 1 hour (power 27%) and I stir about 3 times (15 minute intervals), then set the temp controller to 40% and raise the temp to 170F to mash out. It takes about 12 minutes to get to 170F and I let it stay there 10 minutes. I then raise the colander to so the mash drains into the kettle, increase the flow on the pump to keep the wort a few inches above the grain bed, and sparge for 20-30 minutes.

As the kettle is draining after the sparge, I turn the pump off and raise the temp on the controller to 195F with power 100%. So now the mash tun is draining and the temp on the wort is increasing towards the boil. Once it hits 195F, I roll the BIAC out the door of my basement to boil outside.

Does this sound somewhat like what you all do when brewing with the BIAC?

Is anybody adding the crystal/dark malts at the end of the mash, during the sparge rather than including them in the full mash?

I attended the BYO brew camp this month and had a full day class with Chris White, founder of White Labs, for a yeast class. There were two big take aways for me. One...we need to use a zinc enhancer for our yeast like his Servomyces for yeast health. Yea...I know what you are thinking...he wants to sell more of this, but I also took a full day class with Aston Lewis, aka the BYO Mr. Wizard, and he said the same thing. We are not adding enough zinc to our fermentation's, even with yeast nutrient.

Secondly, Dr White said that we are way under aerating out wort before pitching our yeast (and it is very difficult to over aerate he said) and said that you should aerate for 2 minutes with 100% Oxygen for a 5 gallon batch and 4 minutes for a 10 gallon batch. I have been doing 1:30 with 100% O2 for an 11 gallon batch which is too little.

Any how, I know there is a lot of experienced BIAC brewers out there and would like to know what you think. Thanks.
 
Hey guys, I don't know if anyone has seen this or not, so I'll post it. I was watching a youtube video about the Spike Brewing conical. The guy showed a gas manifold that fits the 1.5" port. It is inexpensive and I think can be used with a BIAC to (CAREFULLY) transfer under pressure. I have had very good success transferring by gravity but would prefer pressure. I abandoned the transfer hose that came with mine the first time I used it but maybe this will change that.
https://spikebrewing.com/collections/conical-accessories/products/gas-manifold

This is the YT Vid I watched: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GV9zPixtbA[/ame]
 
I've been using the ball-valve post and pressure relief valve that Nathan sells to do pressure transfers for the past two years. In fact, I go a step further than this video by purging the keg with CO2 and keeping the lid on during transfers, using the keg valve for pressure relief.

Personally, I wouldn't use this Spike part without a calibrated pressure relief in the other port.
 
hgearle said:
So I guess I would like some feedback as to how you all are brewing in the BIAC. For my hoppy IPA's, I usually do a 11 gallon batch with about 33 pounds of grain and 18.25 gallons of water adding 3 lbs of rice hulls (Efficiency is only about 61%).

My mash is usually 1 hour (power 27%) and I stir about 3 times (15 minute intervals), then set the temp controller to 40% and raise the temp to 170F to mash out. It takes about 12 minutes to get to 170F and I let it stay there 10 minutes. I then raise the colander to so the mash drains into the kettle, increase the flow on the pump to keep the wort a few inches above the grain bed, and sparge for 20-30 minutes.

As the kettle is draining after the sparge, I turn the pump off and raise the temp on the controller to 195F with power 100%. So now the mash tun is draining and the temp on the wort is increasing towards the boil. Once it hits 195F, I roll the BIAC out the door of my basement to boil outside.

Does this sound somewhat like what you all do when brewing with the BIAC?

Is anybody adding the crystal/dark malts at the end of the mash, during the sparge rather than including them in the full mash?

I attended the BYO brew camp this month and had a full day class with Chris White, founder of White Labs, for a yeast class. There were two big take aways for me. One...we need to use a zinc enhancer for our yeast like his Servomyces for yeast health. Yea...I know what you are thinking...he wants to sell more of this, but I also took a full day class with Aston Lewis, aka the BYO Mr. Wizard, and he said the same thing. We are not adding enough zinc to our fermentation's, even with yeast nutrient.

Secondly, Dr White said that we are way under aerating out wort before pitching our yeast (and it is very difficult to over aerate he said) and said that you should aerate for 2 minutes with 100% Oxygen for a 5 gallon batch and 4 minutes for a 10 gallon batch. I have been doing 1:30 with 100% O2 for an 11 gallon batch which is too little.

Any how, I know there is a lot of experienced BIAC brewers out there and would like to know what you think. Thanks.
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My brew day is pretty similar.

Often I have a second person helping pour the grain into the colander; one to pour, the other to stir during the pour. This method really reduces the potential for dough balls to form. Some immediate stirring occurs once the pour is done but that is the only time I stir the mash. No rice hulls used. More and more I've been brewing 15 gallon batches so my grain bill is somewhat greater than your 11 gallon recipe. Mash for an hour without disturbing it then (after raising the colander) open the bottom valve to empty sediment from the mash in order to avoid a clogged pump. Attach the pump to the bottom valve and sparge until clear. A couple gallons or so of hot water is added to completely rinse the grain bed for the 15 gallon recipes. Boil for an hour and follow hop additions schedule. Similar temps as the OP throughout.

I've read a few posts here that note an issue with the colander. I'm curious as to what the issue is. Is it the crush? Additional stirring? I've not had an issue with the ales I primarily brew and I've had great efficiency and great beer.
 
I've been brewing on my BIAC for almost 2 years now, so I'll respond inline with my experiences.

hgearle said:
So I guess I would like some feedback as to how you all are brewing in the BIAC. For my hoppy IPA's, I usually do a 11 gallon batch with about 33 pounds of grain and 18.25 gallons of water adding 3 lbs of rice hulls (Efficiency is only about 61%).
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I've never used rice hulls and I usually get around 75% mash efficiency.

My mash is usually 1 hour (power 27%) and I stir about 3 times (15 minute intervals), then set the temp controller to 40% and raise the temp to 170F to mash out. It takes about 12 minutes to get to 170F and I let it stay there 10 minutes. I then raise the colander to so the mash drains into the kettle, increase the flow on the pump to keep the wort a few inches above the grain bed, and sparge for 20-30 minutes.
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I also mash for an hour, stirring only at the beginning of the mash. Your controller powers are comparable to mine at the given times of the mash. I let the mash rest for about 10 minutes after doughing in, then I slowly recirculate for the remainder of the mash. I typically do not sparge, and I don't recirculate any wort after lifting the mash basket.

As the kettle is draining after the sparge, I turn the pump off and raise the temp on the controller to 195F with power 100%. So now the mash tun is draining and the temp on the wort is increasing towards the boil. Once it hits 195F, I roll the BIAC out the door of my basement to boil outside.
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Same here, although I have a vent fan that I like to use if the weather is nasty out.

Does this sound somewhat like what you all do when brewing with the BIAC?

Is anybody adding the crystal/dark malts at the end of the mash, during the sparge rather than including them in the full mash?
Click to expand...
I sometimes add dark malts in the last 10 minutes of the mash, but crystal malts have always been added for the full duration.

I attended the BYO brew camp this month and had a full day class with Chris White, founder of White Labs, for a yeast class. There were two big take aways for me. One...we need to use a zinc enhancer for our yeast like his Servomyces for yeast health. Yea...I know what you are thinking...he wants to sell more of this, but I also took a full day class with Aston Lewis, aka the BYO Mr. Wizard, and he said the same thing. We are not adding enough zinc to our fermentation's, even with yeast nutrient.

Secondly, Dr White said that we are way under aerating out wort before pitching our yeast (and it is very difficult to over aerate he said) and said that you should aerate for 2 minutes with 100% Oxygen for a 5 gallon batch and 4 minutes for a 10 gallon batch. I have been doing 1:30 with 100% O2 for an 11 gallon batch which is too little.

Any how, I know there is a lot of experienced BIAC brewers out there and would like to know what you think. Thanks.
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I can't make any comment on the zinc other than I use the Wyeast nutrient and have never had issues with incomplete fermentation. I agree with the oxygenation piece, although without a flow meter on the O2 just timing the flow can give inconsistent results. For 10 gallons, I push 600cc/min of O2 for 6-10min depending on gravity, higher gravity getting more time. Overall I've been very happy with my purchase, though I wish I would have waited a few months and gotten a 4in1. The quality of my beers has improved quite a bit, and more importantly, I've been able to automate more and leave the system unattended while brewing which gives me more time to spend with my kids.

Joe
 
hgearle said:
(Efficiency is only about 61%).
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Lots to consider. First thing with low modification I look at is water. Have you had it tested yet? If you are on well water, pulling in winter and summer gives an idea of your aquifer at low and high periods. If you are on municipal they may be drawing from multiple wells like mine and you are kinda stuck guessing. I have gone to RO water for my brews for consistency because my tap also has an unreasonable amount of bicarbonate so this is mainly to avoid low mash efficiency.

Second, are you using a thermal compound on your temp probe in the thermowell of the BIAC?

Third, I recirculate the whole mash period with a float valve and a stainless manifold to evenly distribute the return so you get no channeling in the grain bed. The goal is to maximize flow-through and not create any dry pockets. I found the return out a single hose created dunes in my grain bed that clearly altered flow-through.

Do you have a pH meter? I recommend one and keeping up with care. Calcium ions will help facilitate the mash conversion, but pH will also improve enzyme activity. Calcium based salt additions with lactic/citric acid additions for adjustment will zero in your consistency.

Do you check your gravity with a refractometer before mash-out? There's no harm in extending your mash time 20-30 minutes to overcome water issues or slow modification.

Lastly, White is correct that zinc is a critical component to yeast health. The B vitamins in dead yeast are also useful when they cannibalize. I use servomyces or expired dry yeast in my boils and starters along with yeast nutrient which provides a nitrogen source.

O2 is a trickier for a homebrewer. We would need to quantify the concentration of oxygen in the system in order which would require a pricey regulator with a flow counter. You can get a little less than halfway there with ambient oxygenation and a decent whirlpool treatment during the cooling process. Oxygenation bursts don't stack equivalently (2 minues for 5 gallons, 4 minutes for 10) I don't believe. Not only will solubility be a variable but the headspace concentration of oxygen will also affect quantities as all will be picked up by the yeast within minutes of pitching.
 
Thank you xico, JBBrewing2 and RiverCityBrewer for the detailed responses. No problems with water. I use Bru'n Water spreadsheet and generally use about 70% RO and the rest Chicago city filtered, which has been tested by Ward Labs. My low efficiency mostly has to do with doing 1.079OG batches with 18.25 gallons of water with 34 pounds of grain and 3 pounds of rice hulls (higher gravity with a very thick mash). If you subtract the 5 gallons under the mash tun, the mash is quite thick. I generally hit my pre-boil gravity pretty close.

Nathan said that I only needed to put the thermal compound on once when assembling the temp probe. I have never disassembled the temp probe, but do remove the entire assembly each batch to clean it. I have a 2 foot long ThermoWorks thermometer that I can measure all the way to the bottom of the mash tun so I know the temp of the mash. Temp variations can be 4 degrees in a thick mash, but are less in a thinner one. Since I started conditioning my grain, milling at 35mm, and using one pound of rice hulls per 10 gallons of grain, my temperature variation and re-circulation have improved.

I have two PH meters that I calibrate. Using Bru'n Water, my numbers are usually very close. And I do check the PH during the mash and use a refractometer to make sure the gravity is reaching my pre-boil target.
 
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hgearle said:
Thank you xico, JBBrewing2 and RiverCityBrewer for the detailed responses. No problems with water. I use Bru'n Water spreadsheet and generally use about 70% RO and the rest Chicago city filtered, which has been tested by Ward Labs. My low efficiency mostly has to do with doing 1.079OG batches with 18.25 gallons of water with 34 pounds of grain and 3 pounds of rice hulls (higher gravity with a very thick mash). If you subtract the 5 gallons under the mash tun, the mash is quite thick. I generally hit my pre-boil gravity pretty close.
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I've found the mash too thick for higher gravity brews as well. I typically brew ~1.065 IPA's, and found my efficiency would take a hit on those beers due to the thicker mash. Efficiency on my lower gravity beers was fine.

I recently sold my mash colander, and I'm going back to a traditional mash tun. One added benefit is that I can use the mash tun for both my Large BIAC & 1.5bbl BIAC..
 
I use Beersmith for my recipe formulation and I have been quoting my brew house efficiency vs. mash efficiency. My mash efficiency for my higher gravity brews has been about 67%. Gotta admit, that even though my efficiency is seeming low, I hit the numbers I expect and the beers I brew are delicious! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
 
Sounds like you are doing everything right so I suspect you are correct that the thick mash is the likely issue. One consideration and something I use with high flaked grain grists is to switch in some base malt with 6 row. This will bump your enzymatic activity and improve modification rates. Also, if you bump your calcium ion content it will aid the amylase enzyme further. Two variables that might be worth experimenting with.

If people are off, enjoy your break all!
 
That's very kind to say, please let us know how things improve.
 
My post boil (OG) gravity was always measured with both a hydrometer and a refractometer. I always liked the refractometer reading because it always was higher than the hydrometer reading, but my belief was that the hydrometer was more accurate than the hydrometer (so it is the one I used). Turns out that the refractometer reading was correct and the hydrometer was 3 points low. I did a calibration on the hydrometer with distilled water at 60F and was disappointed that it had been lying to me!

With my last batch, I sparged for 20 minutes and picked up a few gravity point. Add this to my UN-calibrated hydrometer, and my efficiency isn't as bad as I thought is was. Regardless of the numbers, I am drinking THE most delicious IPA's ever. Had a family/friend get together recently and did a blind taste test with 2 of my brews and Three Floyds Zombie Dust from the bottle. I simply asked that 8 participants choose the beer they like the best and put them in order with their 3 opaque cups. Only 1 person chose the Zombie Dust over my brews and it was a person that doesn't usually drink IPA's. The BIAC is an awesome way to make delicious beer!

Additionally, when I was in the full day class last month with Dr. Chris White at the BYO Brew Camp, he stated that some trub was actually good for the yeast. One of my concerns with the BIAC was that there was trub still in the conical while fermenting, so now it something I don't worry about. I usually dump about 3/4 of a gallon of trub before aerating and pitching my yeast and I feel that what is left is good for my fermentation.
 
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Not really a BIAC topic but....I just tried out the clear beer draught system (http://www.clearbeerdraughtsystem.com) where you get rid of the corny output tube draining from the bottom of the keg, and siphon from the top of the fluid in the keg. Gotta say...it is amazing! To try it out, I had 1.75 gallons extra from my 11 gallon batch, put it in a 3 gallon corny, added one ounce of hops (no bag), and let is sit for a week. Chilled and carbonated it, and 8 days later I poured out 1/3 glass and dumped it. The next pour was crystal clear as if it was 2 weeks later. I usually have to pour out several pints to get to the clarity that I had right off the bat from pouring from the top of the keg...makes sense. The system is a bit pricey, but for me it is worth it. I am tired of pouring my brew down the drain waiting for a clear pour. This first glass was crystal clear! PS. I don't know the owner of the system and have never communicated with him. Cheers!
 
For anyone interested in using a steam condenser like in this thread, I did a water test and attached it to a lid port on the 3in1. Even though the lid did not make a perfect seal as I did not clamp it in place, it reliably pulled the steam through the condenser and left me with a steam free brewing space. I typically boil at 65-75% power (5500w element) for a 10 gallon batch, and my water test yielded a very vigorous boil (may even be too hard) at 40% power with the lid in place. I'm going to perform a few more tests before I commit a batch, but just wanted to give a heads up if anyone else was interested in the concept that it most definitely works with the BIAC.

Joe
 
Has anyone tried to whirlpool post boil through the bottom of the cone and through a Stout style racking arm aimed slightly up at the racking port? Not sure if it would be pulling too close to the outlet to form a good enough whirlpool. Both conicals are filled up so can't test right now.
 
cuda6pak said:
Has anyone tried to whirlpool post boil through the bottom of the cone and through a Stout style racking arm aimed slightly up at the racking port? Not sure if it would be pulling too close to the outlet to form a good enough whirlpool. Both conicals are filled up so can't test right now.
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Yep, sure do. I angle the racking arm up maybe 15-20 degrees and it gets a pretty good movement going. Seems to work well to speed up chilling a bit too.
 
Has anyone thought of or tried an alternative heating source, through the conical jacket? e.g. hot air into the jacket, hot oil into the jacket, etc
 
I would be cautious with adding anything into the jacket @itivino other than non flammable and abundant water. Air is not a good way to transfer heat compared to the liquid inside which means your difference in temps would have to be very intense. Controlling oven temp heat and its needed ventilation at your conical sounds dangerous and wildly difficult to control.

Hot oil would solve the heat transfer issue but leave you with the risk of pressurizing a material that can well exceed the temperature of boiling water but also is volatile with flame or water and sticks to things. If I can say so without offending this sounds like a truly bad idea.

What would you be hoping for by replacing the near-100% efficiency of an element in your wort?
 
@cuda6pak
I have used the whirlpool method you mentioned and it works well. Like @RiverCityBrewer mentioned it cuts down on cooling time quite a bit. If you are willing to spring for it down the road, I had one of the good brewing Tri-clover folk make a whirlpool arm for me that inceased the flow, with an elbow bend and that gets the whole thing churning. It clamps onto one of the lid ports so the other can feed the hops.
 
xico said:
I would be cautious with adding anything into the jacket @itivino other than non flammable and abundant water. Air is not a good way to transfer heat compared to the liquid inside which means your difference in temps would have to be very intense. Controlling oven temp heat and its needed ventilation at your conical sounds dangerous and wildly difficult to control.

Hot oil would solve the heat transfer issue but leave you with the risk of pressurizing a material that can well exceed the temperature of boiling water but also is volatile with flame or water and sticks to things. If I can say so without offending this sounds like a truly bad idea.

What would you be hoping for by replacing the near-100% efficiency of an element in your wort?
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The main thinking was from looking at indirect fire systems (a few links below to the probrewer forums below talk about it) which look to be a forced air heater firing into a firebox below a kettle, heating both the bottom and sides with a pseudo jacket. One post mentions firing into a stainless coil like you'd have inside a hot liquor tank, which seems like a boiler setup.

Vs. heating elements, the main advantage would be less cleaning. With the Brewha BIAC, in a 3bbl+ system, you'd need lots of elements in each vessel that would be tied up during fermentation vs. a somewhat more portable/mobile heating system.


http://discussions.probrewer.com/sh...ment)-to-buy-for-a-1-5-BBL-system-on-a-budget
Post #8
http://discussions.probrewer.com/showthread.php?10731-BrewHouse-Direct-Fire-or-Steam
http://discussions.probrewer.com/showthread.php?51519-forced-air-vs-jet-burners-fire-boxes-etc
http://discussions.probrewer.com/showthread.php?1477-Blank-sheet-of-paper
 
For those of you with the rotating TC racking arms installed in the rack port, I assumed you replaced the gaskets with high temp silicon? Anybody have a link to the correct part?

TC15rackingarm-2.jpg
 
Actually I never thought about it... I assumed the sealing orings were BUNA-N or EPDM. The flange gasket is teflon. Mine has been in use for over a year and I haven't had any issues.
 
I didn't think much about it until I was installing it and figured it was just regular rubber since it is for a fermentor and not necessarily a high temp application. Figured better safe than sorry.

FWIW my Brewers hardware conical looks to have similar o-rings and I transfer over straight after the boil and cool in there, haven't noticed any ill effects from it.
 
Hi All, first post :) Haven't pulled the trigger, but I'm shopping around for a nano-brew setup and am considering 2 or 3 large (90L) biacs in the bottom of my barn for as a pilot set-up...this way I could do multiple brews in one day, as rapidly as a two vessel system, while enjoying the sanitation, ease of cleaning benefits of the biac, and having conicals to ferment in.

But there must be draw backs, one of which may be the amount of grain you can mash in. Really curious about what kind of high OG brews people are pulling on this system? any others?

Some people have touched on this:

NHBrews said:
I'm planning to brew a KBS clone to put into a 15gal whiskey barrel I'm getting. My grain bill will be 50lbs+ based on my expectations for lower efficiency (target OG is 1.092)

I was wondering what is the maximum grain bill anyone has used in a Medium BIAC? BREWHA website says 35lbs, but I have gone over 30lbs for a 10gal batch and still had plenty of extra space in the colander. This is my first time going for a 15gal batch. I have an old BIAB set up that I could do a separate mash in, but would prefer not to have the extra setup/clean up.
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Winger22 said:
I've done 35 pounds and it was pretty full. You could do 50 lbs + if you pull the basket up and do a sparge after.
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Any feedback would be appreciated,

Cheers.
 
I'm just going to point out that biab type systems may work ok for home brewing but you will find very few single vessel systems in the actual for profit situations for a reason and That because they are simply not as efficient.
Or as consistent I believe.
To that said every start up and brewery I've visited said the started too small.. for that reason alone I would not consider anything smaller than 3 Barrel any type of system for anything but a very small town or rural area.
 
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augiedoggy said:
I'm just going to point out that biab type systems may work ok for home brewing but you will find very few single vessel systems in the actual for profit situations for a reason and That because they are simply not as efficient.
Or as consistent I believe.
To that said every start up and brewery I've visited said the started too small.. for that reason alone I would not consider anything smaller than 3 Barrel any type of system for anything but a very small town or rural area.
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I didn't mention that the system I'm considering would function as a pilot setup to supply on-farm events for now (weddings etc) that consume about 40-60L a week... In two to three years a new building + nanobrewery / cidery may be in the works... So are the 3bbl biacs not a good idea? poor efficiency? And is consistency an issue with the system?

I think there could be cost advantages with time saving with the biac as well...the youtube video of 3dogs brew make the system sound great but I've just started my research on systems, so my opinion may change!

Cheers.
 
If Baics we're truly a cost-effective solution you would see them being used in Nano breweries across the country I myself haven't seen them being realistically used anywhere besides in Homebrewing which is why I went in another Direction. That being said maybe there's some situations where they make sense that I am unaware of because it generally lower efficiency would drive me away from considering the solution. In fast out of all the Nano breweries I visited across New York State I've never seen even one consider such a simplified all-in-one compromise solution... And that's really all it is.
Pat said I think someone considering a 60 L system is not really considering the future and they're realistic aspect of what they may need in the changes involved in scaling those recipes up to something that could be used on a different system with with much more efficiencies. Even at that small of a volume and all-in-one system just simply does not make sense because you tie up your fermenter at the same time as your brew and boil kettles which realistically ties or system down to such a small system that even many homebrewers would be frustrated with the limitations
 
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JB_Brewing2 said:
Not sure about "old" but my medium has always been the 16 gallon just like the one advertised. Large has always been 24 gallon. What am I missing???

https://brewhaequipment.com/products/biac-all-in-one-brewing-system-package
Click to expand...

Cut and pasted from an email I received from Nathan......
ps. about a year ago we changed the naming as we added a new 60L/16gal size and called it 'Medium', so the 24gal/90L is now the 'Large' -- a little confusing for existing customers I know, I apologize, but the nomenclature seemed simplest this way going forward.

Additionally, he said that uploading images on his site should be up and running in a week or so. UPDATE...He said you can now upload images.
 
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hgearle said:
Cut and pasted from an email I received from Nathan......
ps. about a year ago we changed the naming as we added a new 60L/16gal size and called it 'Medium', so the 24gal/90L is now the 'Large' -- a little confusing for existing customers I know, I apologize, but the nomenclature seemed simplest this way going forward.

Additionally, he said that uploading images on his site should be up and running in a week or so.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks. That must have occurred about three years ago as I've always known the medium as a 16 gallon BIAC.
 
JB_Brewing2 said:
My brew day is pretty similar.

Often I have a second person helping pour the grain into the colander; one to pour, the other to stir during the pour. This method really reduces the potential for dough balls to form. Some immediate stirring occurs once the pour is done but that is the only time I stir the mash. No rice hulls used. More and more I've been brewing 15 gallon batches so my grain bill is somewhat greater than your 11 gallon recipe. Mash for an hour without disturbing it then (after raising the colander) open the bottom valve to empty sediment from the mash in order to avoid a clogged pump. Attach the pump to the bottom valve and sparge until clear. A couple gallons or so of hot water is added to completely rinse the grain bed for the 15 gallon recipes. Boil for an hour and follow hop additions schedule. Similar temps as the OP throughout.

I've read a few posts here that note an issue with the colander. I'm curious as to what the issue is. Is it the crush? Additional stirring? I've not had an issue with the ales I primarily brew and I've had great efficiency and great beer.
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Hi JB. I have a question about your sparge. If you are sparging until clear then I guess you have very little solids after the fermentation, and so, there may be some beer that is below the racking port on your Brewha. Do you have some beer that sits below the racking port? And if so, how do you recover that?

My experience with clogging the pump, as you alluded to, was so bad in my first batch that it has discouraged me from using the pump to sparge again. I do a manual vorlauf of sorts by draining into a 2 liter measuring cup and pouring that into the colander, repeatedly until "clear". After fermentation I still have an amount of, let's call it slurry, that seems to always amount to a volume reaches just under the racking port.
 
ron8 said:
Hi JB. I have a question about your sparge. If you are sparging until clear then I guess you have very little solids after the fermentation, and so, there may be some beer that is below the racking port on your Brewha. Do you have some beer that sits below the racking port? And if so, how do you recover that?

My experience with clogging the pump, as you alluded to, was so bad in my first batch that it has discouraged me from using the pump to sparge again. I do a manual vorlauf of sorts by draining into a 2 liter measuring cup and pouring that into the colander, repeatedly until "clear". After fermentation I still have an amount of, let's call it slurry, that seems to always amount to a volume reaches just under the racking port.
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You were more inventive than I when my first use of the BIAC resulted in a clogged pump. I thought it was the bottom valve that was clogged. Checked the pump and it was solid grain packed on the impeller. Since then I've been dumping a full large plastic cup and immediately connecting the hose and starting the pump. Maybe you should give a try again; lot easier than transferring smaller amounts.

Regarding solids, I use the stock and the hop baskets from Brewha so I have some fine particulates (grain and hop debris) that flocculate down to the cone. Hence, clearing the valve before attaching the pump hose.

And...Yes, I do have a small amount of beer below the racking valve but it is such a small amount (a quart, maybe two?) I don't spend the time to recover it. I usually dump trub well before the end of fermentation and harvest yeast prior to transferring to kegs and cold crashing. Hope this helps!
 
So sad to see that this thread is dying, because I know ya'll are making amazing beer in the BIAC. Anybody interested in posting the recipes they love because brewing in the BIAC is different than the way most people brew?
 

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