Biab w/Beersmith

[illomenbrewery]

I am going to be brewing my next batch in a BIAB method. I have a 15 Gallon cooler as a Mash Tun, and will be doing a no sparge BIAB mash in the cooler. Then I will drain to my kettle and continue brew process. I am new to the BIAB method, I will be buying beersmith before the brewday to help me dial in my method. The question I am wondering is, will beersmith be able to recognize my no-sparge cooler BIAB method so I would get the right amount of water to use to get the right total amount of pre-boil water volume? Or, lets say the pre-boil volume is supposed to be 6.5 gallons, would I just mash with the 6.5 gallons in the cooler, then drain to kettle? I would assume that I would get less than 6.5 gallons after mashing tho.

Thanks for all of the help.


(here is a video I found of the same process I would use)

 

[TexasWine]

No need to buy Beersmith to figure out your volumes. Use one of the free online calculators. I used this one last time and my volumes were spot on.

http://pricelessbrewing.github.io

But if you're looking for an electronic way to record recipes and the activities of your brew day, you may want to buy some software. I prefer Brewers Friend personally, and found Beersmith to be overly complicated.

 

[BroStefan]

I BIAB and use BeerSmith for planning and record keeping. You do have to spend some time with it to set it up for your system. The key is to find the box in the Mash menu that says "BIAB." (Away from my computer so can't recall the exact wording.)

The other key is your boil off rate, but you'd need that for any calculation.

I like BeerSmith lot but if all you need is volume calculated it is WAY more solution then the problem requires. Use one of the online calculators instead.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[illomenbrewery]

Thanks for the reply. I like having my equipment setup and building recipes through software. I also like that i can record my process/notes directly on there. I just saw that people had some issues before with brew in a bag, and since I am pretty much mashing un-conventional, "BIAB" mashing, just wanted to make sure I did not have to input anything else or change anything in the software. Right now I have my setup as a BIAB "full body".

 

[LLBeanJ]

BeerSmith will work fine for what you're trying to do. You will have to modify some of the settings to match your equipment, but that's going to be true for anyone who uses it, regardless of methods. In all actuality, what you're doing isn't really BIAB since you're mashing in a cooler and draining the wort, rather than mashing in the kettle and pulling the grain bag. It's a no-sparge traditional MLT process. Regardless of the process, however, BeerSmith can handle pretty much whatever you throw at it without too much trouble.

 

[illomenbrewery]

Thanks LbeanJ.... Yea I figured it would be the same as all-grain no-sparge, the only difference was a bag instead of a false bottom. I am still new to BeerSmith, so trying to learn the ins and outs.

 

[C-Rider]

BeerSmith will work fine for what you're trying to do. You will have to modify some of the settings to match your equipment, but that's going to be true for anyone who uses it, regardless of methods. In all actuality, what you're doing isn't really BIAB since you're mashing in a cooler and draining the wort, rather than mashing in the kettle and pulling the grain bag. .

I disagree. It sure looks like BIAB to me. Lots of folks mash in coolers w/a grain bag of one sort or another. I never heard that you had to put the bag in the boil kettle for it to be BIAB. What's the diff how you drain the wort as long as the grain is in a bag? I'm sure the guy in the video lifted the bag once most of the wort had drained it was light enough to lift w/o a pulley.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I suppose it's a matter of opinion. To me, the entire premise behind BIAB is that you mash and boil in the same vessel, with the lauter taking place by removing the bag of grains and leaving the wort behind. If you're mashing in another vessel and draining off the wort into a kettle, that's not really the BIAB process, it's a traditional MLT process simply due to the fact that you are employing a mash/lauter tun AND a brew kettle. Yes, either way, there is a bag involved, but the employment of a bag for the mash/lauter is not really what sets BIAB apart from traditional MLT, it's the fact that there is no separate mash/lauter tun employed. Once you add a dedicated mash/lauter tun to the process, it doesn't matter how you filter the wort from the grain (manifold, false bottom, cloth bag), IMO it's no longer BIAB.