Biab first timer

[HopFart]

So I have all the equipment for a five gallon batch but my apartment sent a letter saying if they even see a propane tank you will violate your lease. So I was going to try some small biab batches in the kitchen and wanted to start with 1 gallons to see how the turn out. How big of a pot do I need for this? Also if I put in a 5 gallon Carboy will I have problems due to oxygen? Any tips would also be very much appreciated thanks guys

 

[fstfrd00]

I brew 1 gallon on the stove. I have a 12qt stock pot, its big enough for BIAB recipes. Any smaller and you risking boilover. Pretty sure you'll be fine in a 5gal carboy.

 

[Gavin C]

1 gallon batch. a 2 gallon pot or larger would be all you need. You could work with smaller but why bother.

pick up a 2 gallon bucket from HD or Lowes in the paint section. They have lids that have a good seal. Easy to drill a hole for a bung and airlock. I wouldn't ferment 1 gallon in a 5 gallon craboy.

Depending on the stove strength you may be a bit limited on batch size. But 5 gallons is arbitray largely dictated by the fact that many brewers use 5 gallon kegs to serve from. Any recipe can be scaled to any batch size.

I think most stoves could cope with a boil of 3ish gallons of wort (2.5 gallon batch) but starting with 1 gallon is a very reasoned approach. If using dry yeast dont use it all and keep it for the next tasty brew.

Best of luck

 

[1977Brewer]

Test run your big kettle on your stove. I was convinced mine wouldn't hack it until I tried. It got ~7.5 gallons of wort from 154 to boiling in 20 minutes, kept a nice rolling boil at about 80% power too. Clock it from room temp to 160 or so for strike water, and from 160 to boil.

 

[adamdillabo]

I've been doing 2.5-3 gallon batches on my stove in a 5 gallon kettle. Doing bigger may be easier depending on the size of your pot. You want as little headspace during your mash to make keeping a constant temp.

 

[HopFart]

So if I use dry yeast should I only use half a bag?

 

[HopFart]

So if I use dry yeast should I only use half a bag?

 

[Gavin C]

So if I use dry yeast should I only use half a bag?

For 1 gallon batch yes. 1/2 an 11g sachet of dry yeast would be more than adequate for a 1 gallon batch.

 

[doverox]

I've been doing 2.5-3 gallon batches on my stove in a 5 gallon kettle is. Doing bigger may be easier depending on the size of your pot. You want as little headspace during your mash to make keeping a constant temp.

I can tell you firsthand what a challenge trying to keep consistent temps for a 1 gallon batch in a 5 gallon kettle. I made that mistake once and learned the hard way.
My sweet spot volume seems to be a 3.5 gallon (into fermenter) batch but if you are using recipes and don't constantly want to have to scale to an odd size, try 2.5.

Hope you end up loving BIAB as much as I do!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

I'm going to suggest you go to the subforum under All-grain brewing, the BIAB forum, and read the stickies there, and check the posts from @owly055, @texaswine, @wilserbrewer and @RM-MN . Small batch BIAB is perfect for situations like yours. Oh, and 3-gallon carboys for 2.5 gallon batches could be just what you need!

 

[Brew_G]

Good advice by BIB above on browsing the BIAB forum.

Agreed that 2.5-gallon BIAB may be your sweet spot; however, plenty of folks (me included) do 5-gallon BIAB batches indoors on the kitchen stove. It all depends on the stove.

That said, starting off with 1-gallon batches to dial things in is a great way to start. Good luck!

 

[HopFart]

Thank guys