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I have a cheap 20L SS pot and just do half batch stovetop brewing, been wondering if there's any cheap/easy methods I could supplement this. I am debating buying a big 8gallon pot and creating a heatstick.

Wondering what you gents do that don't have a patio/garage.

Do you mean by supplement to increase batch size? Good question if that's the case, and I think I can help you- I do 23-24L batches regularly in my 19L stockpot, so you don't need a bigger one at all.

1. Stockpot must be full to the brim at mashing, use about 4.5kg.
2. Sparge in a 10 or 15L bucket, top up evaporation losses during the boil.
3. Over- gravity boil
4. Post- boil dilution
5. Profit

If you're already doing the stovetop BIAB brewing then the only extra equipment you'll need is the bucket to sparge in. It sounds complex but really is not that different to MiniBIAB. I have a guide in the works, hopefully it will be presentable soon...

Would a proper sparge really allow me to add another 2gallons post boil? I'd be afraid of too diluted since I'm so far hitting my SG dead on.

No, not quite- sparge liquor MUST be boiled and I wouldn't add any after 15 minutes from the end of the boil to be sure it gets sanitised, there's also other processes at work (caramelisation etc) which make it important to get it in there as soon as possible.

If you're talking about plain water though, then yes indeed! I'll quite often add 7 L or 8 L of water to about 16 L of concentrated wort and that's the reason why this works- it is quite concentrated compared to ordinary BIAB, and closer to conventional 3V mashing. You could do it without the sparge, i.e. as per an ordinary BIAB, but it would be sacrificing about 25% of the available sugars, or most likely more, so would need a much heavier grainbill. So, I'm not talking your standard no- sparge/ full- volume BIAB, but about sparging the full- sized grainbill for an over- gravity boil and post- boil dilution and this is how I get bigger batches out of the smaller kettle _efficiently_.

With this method, I'm actually not that concerned about SG or volume targets, the reason is that with the post- boil dilute and with it all the fartarsing around with both volume and concentration targets along the way can be discarded in one fell swoop. I don't really care what the first runnings SG is, nor the sparge/s SG (but I always measure them, I'm a bit geeky- can you tell?), no, the only values I really need concern myself with are post- boil SG and volume, plus the target SG. Then I just need to calculate the amount of water to add:
Actual SG/ Target SG * Actual Volume = Final Volume
Then: Final Volume - Actual Volume = Amount of water to add!
SGs such as 1.055 are expressed as 55 in the formula, so imagine I have 17 L of 1.078 and want to dilute to 1.055:
78 / 55 * 17 L = 24.1 L
Then 24.1 L - 17 L = about 7 L water to add. Obviously this assumes no losses to trub...

If I exercised some discipline and focussed on finishing the guide I'm presently working on, all would become clear!

So how much grains do you aim for?

My biggest recipe so far was 6.26 lb and I mashed in as much water as could fit, basically, like the BIAB guide. I think about 17.4 L. Then I did a small dunk sparge, but it was hard because I don't have a secondary pot big enough to fit them. Then dumped my sparge-runnings into the kettle and went along boiling like usual. My start of boil was filled to the brim with just enough space for no boil overs, so lets say roughly 19-19.5 out of my 20L pot? Then boil for an hour, and I always seem to hit my SG perfectly. I'll have to start calculating efficiency and see where Im at.

So how much more grain could I fit into my 20L pot during mash? It seems like I'd need quite a bit more grain if I am to get a wort concentrated enough for 7L dilution. And obviously I'd have to look for a another pot for sparging. But at that point it almost seems like there's no point in running BIAB over conventional designs with how cheap a water-cooler MLT can be built for.

I've mashed 5.5 kg , but usually just 4.75 kg . 1st runnings usually around 10 L of 1.080, 1st sparge about 5 L of 1.050, second sparge 5L of 1.040. I add the excess sparge to the boil after evaporation takes care of about 3 L and usually end up with 17 L of 1.075 - 1.080, dilute as above. And any left over sparge goes into yeast starters!

Yes, one other container for sparging, 10 L bucket is OK for 19L stockpot, but a 15 L nappy bucket is OK too! Another small container (I use a 4L plastic salad bowl) is handy to place the bag in while emptying the sparge out, but not absolutely necessary.

Much cheaper than a conventional mash tun, for sure! More to come, just got today's boil about to start!

I used to brew with my 70 L pot on a 3 ring burner inside near my kitchen window . There was always a good breeze blowing through that apartment .

In my current apartment, I have been known to brew with the above equipment in my bathroom with the exhaust fan on. Condensation drops kept falling on my head though .

The above is naughty and should not be done by anyone .

Mini-BIABs and Electric Urn brewing has come a long way thanks to blokes like Ralph and Beachbum so they would be the way to go.

The main thing when brewing in an apartment is to get rid of anything unnecessary. I got rid of my old girlfriend and now have 3 fridges in my apartment and two brew rigs.

Perfect!


PP

You must have a big bed PP

Haha PP!

Yeah I'm looking into how I want to up my gear. Might make a heatstick and buy a 10 gallon pot. I just can't decide on what I want to do. But I do know I want to get off of stovetop and mini batches.

It would have probably been okay if she stayed in bed but she kept moving about . Anytime I thought, "I can whack a fridge there, two seconds later there she'd be, in her nurse's uniform. It was pretty distracting.

Now I use the other side of the bed to warm up smack packs of yeast so all is good.


PP

iijakii: Just missed your post. My old girlfriend used to love the stovetop .

Damn nurse's uniforms and their distractiness

Hmm, now to find a quality 10gal pot.

I'll probably make a beefy heatstick and unplug my electric stove and use that. I'll have to check tonight before going ahead with the plans, but I'm assuming it's 220v 50amp

Ok, talked it over with my pops and I'm just going to brew in his garage on propane instead of going the heatsick idea in my apartment.

Now to find a quality 10gal pot .

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-106 ... 622&sr=8-5

Just sprung for that. Now deciding if I want to install an electric heating element in it or go propane and brew at my Pop's place and just carry it home in a nochill cube.

Pretty excited \m/

Nice pot at a nice price, you'll knock out some good brews with that

I'd say go gas, but then I get my gas for free

You guys over the pond get so much brewing gear cheap, that pot would probably cost us around about AU$300 , not to mention all the other brewing gear I've looked up, shipping is what kills us.
I thinks gas would be better 'cause I read that the heating times of electric elements are a fair bit slower, but I guess you'll choose whats best for your situation.
Good Luck

Great to see things moving forward iijakii ,

That's a good size pot you have chosen. I think the 62 L will do single batches well and doubles without too much trouble. Excellent!

One thing I noticed was the total weight of the package (2 lb which = 1 kg) might indicate a very thin walled and bottomed pot. This is probably an error as I can't imagine any 60lt pot weighing as little as 1 kg!

If it is light, this is not a worry, it just means that heat will transfer quicker. In other words, if you had a really hot burner, it might burn your bag more easily and you may need to apply heat a bit more often during the mash than with a thick bottomed pot. These things are not a negative, just things to keep an eye one. (With thick-bottomed pots, you often over-shoot mash temps!)

If it is a thin-bottomed pot, if using gas, choose a burner that will apply heat to the maximum area of the base of the pot. I am guessing a 3 ring camping burner would do well but I am unsure if diameter measurements from one three ring burner to another are consistent. I would avoid a burner though that throws a focussed or concentrated flame - these aren't much good for brewing anyway so no loss there.

We'll look forward to you bringing your kettle to life
PP

Yeah it's a solid pot, I've heard great things. I'm sure that's an error. Apparently it's made from 304 grade SS and pretty durable.

I haven't picked out a burner yet. I'm anxious to brew 5 and 10 gallon batches. Want to hear a crappy thing? I bought 2x 5gal no-chill cubes just the week before, now I'm wishing I had done the 6 gal!! I don't want to use my buckets for primary, heh. And of course my better bottle is only 5 gal as well. Really need/want a 6gal better bottle >_<

Oh ya, it's a nice big/heavy pot. The UPS label says 18 lbs but I bet the box is 5lb of that, lol.

The sides are very thick, bottom is pretty OK. I'd prefer it thicker, but it's not wobbly or anything so it's still great. Can't wait to cook with it. I'm gonna need to buy a mash paddle and hopefully my bag fits >_<

Ended up buying a weldless spigot from bargainfittings.com and the SP10 burner off of Amazon (Prime, free ship wooh). Now I just need to grab a high temp hose to transfer into my nochill winpacks and I'll be ready to start brewing! Hoping I can grab the hosing local to save on shipping.

I'm going to do a 8 or 9 gallon batch (Since my better bottle and winpacks are all 5gal) and probably stagger fermentation by a couple weeks due to me using a water/ice bath to control temps and only having room for one carboy.

Getting close now Jak, before you know it you'll be brewing the best beer ever.

For your hose needs, I'd recommend using silicone hose, It takes the heat no problems and it's what I use.

Cheers

Cheers to my last stovetop brew! Made an American IPA, one in the cup was a Dead Guy Ale clone.




Here's my new boil kettle! I'll use that old 20qt stovetop one for dunk sparging and what not.

Might be getting a chest freezer too :p

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... ockType=G9

Who's the new proud owner of this guy? :D

Congratz mate, all coming together nicely!

Not sure if that last link quite works, I guess it is something good though?! Oh wait, now its working, sorry, my bad...

Oh hey, be careful, you might miss stovetop brewing- it keeps amazing me with results like I had on the weekend: 87% efficiency which means in the end there's actually too much wort in the fermenter! (I use excess for yeast starters.)
Recipe, adapted MiniBIAB to MaxiBIAB(C) for a 25L batch in the 19L stockpot.