BIAB help

[dukesbb37]

OK so i wanna go all-grain but dont have any of the equipment and I really liked the idea of BIAB.

I usually do 3 gallon batches anyways so stovetop is ok. My worry is that the 4" probe on the thermometer of the brewpot will puncture the bag...

My LHBS told me that I could heat up my water to 160ish... drain it into a bottling bucket, and then throw my grains in the bag, drop them in the bucket, and snap the lid on and leave it for an hour and a half, then lift the bag, and drain out of the bottling spigot back into my pot and start the boil....

I dont know if i like the sound of hot liquid sitting in a bottling bucket for over an hour... can someone chime in?

 

[lylo]

Many of us have probes in the kettle,just be careful when stirring or lifting the bag.They are generally a lot tougher than some think.

 

[dukesbb37]

How do you guys keep the bag from touching the bottom... especially in a 3 gallon batch its kinda hard.

 

[djfriesen]

How do you guys keep the bag from touching the bottom... especially in a 3 gallon batch its kinda hard.

I bring my water up to required temps, dump the grain in and immediately remove from direct heat. I bring the kettle inside, wrap it in a few blankets, and let it sit for an hour to an hour and a half. I find that using my infusion calculator, I might lose a degree over an hour sitting at room temps. If you're really worried, you can pick up one of those collapsing steamer baskets or find a basket that will nest inside your pot. My pot came with a perforated layer that fits in the pot, about 2 inches off the bottom (it's a tamale pot) but I haven't used that since my first time. It didn;t seem to be necessary.

 

[dukesbb37]

i just used the bucket method... dumped my grains in the bag and then the water over top fo them and let it sit about an hour and 15 minutes. With the lid on, bobbing the bag up and down every 10-15 minutes or so. I lost 40 degrees! the bag was sitting in 120 degree water by the end of the hour!!!

Also found out that my immersion chiller wont fit in my pot anymore since I installed the weldless thermometer... im gonna have to find a different method.

 

[kh54s10]

If you have a pot that will fit in your oven you can preheat that to your mash temperature then after adding the grain to the water put the pot in the oven to keep the temperature stable.

 

[ODI3]

I do 5 gallon biab on stovetop, mash at 160-170 and have never had any problems with bag scorching.

Easiest way to brew on stovetop is to get a pair of 5 gallon aluminum pots. I think mine were like 20 each here in canada. In usa they are probably even less expensive.

I just posted a writeup on my stovetop biab method, maybe something in here helps

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/5-gal-apartment-stovetop-biab-319562/

 

[dukesbb37]

Do you guys think that boiling wort would melt a gatorade cooler?

Im thinking about heating up my water, dumping into a the cooler so i wont lose heat... then dumping the wort into the pot for the boil, and then dumping the boiled wort back into my gatorade cooler with the immersion chiller in it to cool it down.

 

[djfriesen]

i just used the bucket method... dumped my grains in the bag and then the water over top fo them and let it sit about an hour and 15 minutes. With the lid on, bobbing the bag up and down every 10-15 minutes or so. I lost 40 degrees! the bag was sitting in 120 degree water by the end of the hour!!!

Also found out that my immersion chiller wont fit in my pot anymore since I installed the weldless thermometer... im gonna have to find a different method.

Are you mashing in a platic bucket or am I misunderstanding you? If you're mashing in a pot, then you need to find a way to insulate it. 40° over 75 minutes is way too much heat loss.

I put my grainbag in my pot before I heat it up, then I heat the mash water. Once it's at temp, I kill the flame, pour in the grain, stir the crap out of it, put the lid on and put inside on the entryway rug, wrap it up in a blanket/sleeping bag, and go do something else for 60-90 minutes. During the last 15 minutes of the mash, I heat the remainder of my volume up to a mash-out appropriate temp, pull my grainbag out, drop it in the second pot (ya I know, not really true BIAB, but it works for me), and leave it there for 10-15 minutes as a makeshift mashout.

While this is happening, I start heating my wort up to boiling temps. Once 10-15 minutes have passed, I start draining my grainbag, so I have gotten the proper volume as the "first runnings" are reaching 190° or so. If the boil starts earlier, it's not that big of deal, I just add the "second runnings" to the boiling wort.

 

[copyright1997]

i just used the bucket method... dumped my grains in the bag and then the water over top fo them and let it sit about an hour and 15 minutes. With the lid on, bobbing the bag up and down every 10-15 minutes or so. I lost 40 degrees! the bag was sitting in 120 degree water by the end of the hour!!!

Also found out that my immersion chiller wont fit in my pot anymore since I installed the weldless thermometer... im gonna have to find a different method.

1. Don't use a plastic bucket, use your bk or another pot.
2. Make sure it isn't sitting on the ground.
3. Don't keep opening it, leave it alone and covered.

I usually do my mash in a pot on my stove. Heat water in it to 165 or so. Put in grain bag, over handles in pot. Add grains a few cups at a time and stir to ensure no clumps. When all grains are added, put the lid on and leave it alone. Start heating the batch spare water on the next burner, this will help keep the stove area a bit warmer. Works fine.

Yesterday, I did a batch with another couple of brewers away from my house. I wanted to show them the method so instead if a pot on the stove I used a 5 gallon igloo round cooler. Heated a gallon of water to a near boil, and used this to heat up the cooler. Heated strike water to 168, as the recipe called for infusion at 154. Tossed the initial gallon, added the stoke water. Then added the grain bag and then the grains, again stirring as I added grains to avoid clumps. When all added, put the lid on and we put the round cooler up on another bucket to get it off the cold cement floor. Covered with a coat. After 1 hour, the cooler was still within 2 degrees of the starting temperature, and that was in 40 degree weather. My efficiency was around, maybe over 70%.

 

[torbanac]

Not sure where the probe is as I don't own a pot with one. I have a 5 gallon pot that I do 2.5 BIAB batches that I mash on the stove and boil outside. I use a collapsable vegetable steamer opened all the way up on the bottom of the pot. I trimmed the legs off mine a little
to get more room for grain in the pot. I can fire up the stove if lose too much heat but it is usually close to full to the top so the volume holds the heat and an old beach towel keeps it steady for 80 minutes. I open and stir it every 20 min.

 

[dukesbb37]

Thanks for all the help, but can someone let me know if the gatorade cooler method will work? I know it will hold the 170 degree water, im more worried about the boiling wort going back in the gatorade cooler to get chilled down.

 

[brewbobaggins]

I do a similar process to most of you (mash/boil all in the kettle on the stove--standard BIAB). Regarding the probe, I wouldn't worry about it at all, unless it's as sharp as a steak knife. I do the same, and I'm just really careful about how I stir within the bag, and when I lift the bag in/out of the pot. And I don't use a false bottom or anything--just place the bag on the bottom of the pot and let 'er fly! Never had any scorching issues.

Additionally, phrases like "heat it up to 165 or so" is a bit unsettling. Alpha amylase maxes out at 160F, and beta will be denatured pretty quickly at that temp. If you're mashing above 160F (heck, even above 155F), you'll end up with a a lot of unfermentables in your wort. Sweet, thick, sticky, kinda gross beer.

I would just google "boiling water gatorade cooler" to figure that issue out.

 

[copyright1997]

Thanks for all the help, but can someone let me know if the gatorade cooler method will work? I know it will hold the 170 degree water, im more worried about the boiling wort going back in the gatorade cooler to get chilled down.

Why would you put boiling wort back into the gatorade cooler....just chill it right in the BK. You want to reduce the temperature to pitch temperature as quickly as possible, not put it in an insulated cooler. To answer your specific question, I think there is a good chance of cracking the plastic if you pore boiling wort into the cooler.

Additionally, phrases like "heat it up to 165 or so" is a bit unsettling. Alpha amylase maxes out at 160F, and beta will be denatured pretty quickly at that temp. If you're mashing above 160F (heck, even above 155F), you'll end up with a a lot of unfermentables in your wort. Sweet, thick, sticky, kinda gross beer.

I would just google "boiling water gatorade cooler" to figure that issue out.

I don't see where anyone said to "heat it up to 165 of so". What I said was that you heat your strike water to the temperature (165 or so) needed that when added to the 70 degree (or whatever) grains, you achieve the proper mash temperature. The exact temperature depends on the amount of water, the amount of grain and it's starting temperature, and the intended mash temperature. Software like BeerSmith will do the calculation for you.

As an aside, Lagunitas IPA has a suggested mash temperature of 158-160, and it is not a thick, sticky, kinda gross beer. (I myself like maltier beers, but try to stay around 154 or so.)

 

[brewbobaggins]

Why would you put boiling wort back into the gatorade cooler....just chill it right in the BK. You want to reduce the temperature to pitch temperature as quickly as possible, not put it in an insulated cooler. To answer your specific question, I think there is a good chance of cracking the plastic if you pore boiling wort into the cooler.

I don't see where anyone said to "heat it up to 165 of so". What I said was that you heat your strike water to the temperature (165 or so) needed that when added to the 70 degree (or whatever) grains, you achieve the proper mash temperature. The exact temperature depends on the amount of water, the amount of grain and it's starting temperature, and the intended mash temperature. Software like BeerSmith will do the calculation for you.

As an aside, Lagunitas IPA has a suggested mash temperature of 158-160, and it is not a thick, sticky, kinda gross beer. (I myself like maltier beers, but try to stay around 154 or so.)

Ah, gotcha. Must have misinterpreted you.

ODI3 said he mashed at temps way too high, but strike water makes more sense.