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1. Topics

   1. Do I really need a false bottom?

      by de5m0mike, 15 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      Has anyone ever actually had their polyester bag melt in the pot or is this really just a superstition. For some reason I just don't see it happening. I remember seeing someone boil water in a plastic bottle over an open flame and I think, if that cup didn't burn up, how could my bag melt. I'm not scientist but it seems like as long as the bag is in contact with the water/wart then it couldn't melt. I did some quick looking around and I think the melting point of polyester is something like...

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      Hi Argon, I have a buffalo boiler, I'm considering a fb like that. How do you actually get the dome shape that keeps the crap from getting under the fb? Since the buffalo element is in the centre I can't really have anything sitting tight to the centre but that looks like it'd work fine once the dip tube stopped a few mm above the bottom
      
      Thanks
      
      L
      
      G'day Lars, The false bottom I have in there is domed already. Got it from my LHBS.
      
      Looks like this, i'm pretty sure you'd be able to find...
      22 Replies
      32577 Views
      argon5000
      14 years ago
   2. Help me work out the process for a wee heavy

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      by de5m0mike, 14 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      I'm looking to brew my first big beer using BIAB in the next couple weeks. A 1.093 O.G. Scotch Ale. I've got two 7.5 gallon pots (about 28.3 L) but nothing large enough to do this all true BIAB style. I usually like to mash around 10 pounds (or about 4.5 kg) of grain with about 5 gallons (about 19 L) of water. This usually give me a couple inches of head space in the top of my pot to work with. My new recipe calls for about 15 pounds (about 6.8 kg) of grain and I'm thinking I won't be able to...

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      I transfered this to secondary yesterday. Gravity had dropped to 1.031. ABV so far is 9.6%. I was hopping to hit the 10% mark though. We'll see if more time get's me there or If I'll need to get creative.
      67 Replies
      57100 Views
      de5m0mike
      14 years ago
   3. Leather Pot Insulation

      by de5m0mike, 14 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      I'm thinking about wrapping my pot in leather to help insulate during the mash. I have access to loads of free leather from work. I'm currently using some packing blankets but I don't like how bulky and cumbersome they are. I did a little poking around online and it looks like leather has a pretty good insulation value. I also think it would be pretty easy to cut some pieces to size and wrap them around my pot and hold in place with a belt strap or bungee cord or something. Not to mention the...

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      Yea, make sure it's a good sewing machine. I killed my wife's sewing machine making backpacks and tents. She aint happy.
      19 Replies
      19962 Views
      Ziggybrew
      14 years ago
   4. Beer Alchemy—Batch or Fly Sparge

      by de5m0mike, 14 years ago in Measurement, Mathematics and Records

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      I've been using Beer Alchemy for a little while and I'm trying to get a better understanding of the software and how it works so I can set it up to work better with my BIAB system and the way I brew. Unfortunately it only gives the choice to select Batch Sparge or Fly Sparge . The best I can tell, it doesn't really effect anything other than how the directions are worded when you print off the instructions for a batch.
      
      When choosing Batch Sparge it will say something like:
      Allow the...

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      Sorry Mike, when I saw stux's post above I remembered that you can't adjust it. I should have posted that sorry. Just double-checked on the latest version and it looks like it is still no go. :smoke:
      9 Replies
      11000 Views
      PistolPatch
      14 years ago
   5. Big bag of Rye

      by de5m0mike, 14 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      Almost 1 year ago I brewed my very first BIAB batch of beer. An amber ale with about 18% rye. That particular beer also happened to take a silver medal in a local home brew contest which I was pretty proud of. For this particular recipe, I decided to try to re-brew that recipe only this time I was going to really up the rye and see just how far I could take it. Of course it's not really the same beer anymore but oh well.
      
      Here is the recipe
      
      Expected OG: 1.059
      Expected ABV: 5.9 %
      
      US Rye Malt...

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      Almost forgot, here are a couple pics.
      4 Replies
      5972 Views
      de5m0mike
      14 years ago
   6. Lots of Rye. Do I need rice hulls

      by de5m0mike, 14 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      I'm working on a recipe that is going to be about 40% Rye malt. The last time I brewed this, I had less rye (about 20%) and I added rice hulls. I'm thinking I didn't need them though. What do you think? Should I skip the rice hulls?
      
      BTW, I'm doing something pretty close to the Maxi-Biab method. Boil volume: 6 gallons (22.7 liters). Pot size: 30 liters. Grain bill: about 4.5 kg.

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      Here is the write up on how it went.
      14 Replies
      13419 Views
      de5m0mike
      14 years ago
   7. The long winded story of my first BIAB.

      by de5m0mike, 15 years ago in Brew Day Stories and/or Pics

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      I meant to post about my first BIAB sooner but it took me a while to gather my notes and write everything out in a coherent manner. So anyway, this is the story of my first BIAB.
      
      First off, a little history. I've been brewing extract/steeping grain recipes for about a year and a half and have pretty much wanted to make the move to all-grain from day one. At the advice of a good friend and fellow brewer however, I decided to wait to make the switch and really take some time to understand the...

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      onclick= window.open(this.href);return false; ... ebrew.html
      9 Replies
      11246 Views
      de5m0mike
      15 years ago
   8. What are most common pot sizes. 5 and 10 gallon batches

      by de5m0mike, 15 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      I'm thinking about making up some biab bags and throwing them on ebay so they can be easily available to other brewers. I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on the most common pot sizes that are out there. I'm thinking of making them available in a couple different sizes but would like to figure out what would be best two or three sizes to make so each could fit more than one pot and hopefully cover a broad range of what is out there.
      
      Thanks

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      15 Galons is about 57L
      
      You will have no problems doing a double batch with Maxi BIAB, but it would be a good idea to start with a single batch
      6 Replies
      8964 Views
      stux
      15 years ago
   9. What are you using to insulate your pot?

      by de5m0mike, 15 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      What are you using to insulate your pot and hold temp during mash? I've only done one batch but I used some quilted moving blankets, the kind you would use to protect furniture in a moving van, and it worked really well. Held the temp, to the degree for a 60 min. mash. :thumbs: The only think I didn't like about it was it was kind of clumsy getting it all wrapped up. My ideal system would be something I could leave on the pot, even if I had to turn on the flame for a mash out or something. If...

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      I've been wrestling with leave on insulation for a while too. I have made a large stainless plate with a hole in it roughly 60mm in diameter less than my pot and put that between pot and burner, with the idea that it will be a flame shield. I figured stopping the flame and then using natural fibre (cotton or Wool) it should withstand heat.
      
      My flame shield is only a prototype and is not quite big enough, but it does seem to protect the test insulation (well about 90%), a large heavy cotton...
      14 Replies
      21698 Views
      Mick71
      15 years ago
   10. Sparging. Dipping vs. Pouring

       by de5m0mike, 15 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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       As far as I know, there are two main ways to sparge your grain. The first is by placing the bag in a colander/strainer over your pot ad pouring water through the grain and into your pot. The second way is to take the bag of grain and dip it in a separate bucket of water a few times to rinse it off, and to then add that rinse water to the main wort. What are the advantages and disadvantages of these two methods? Which do you prefer? Is there another method I'm unaware of?
       
       I've yet to actually...

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       Well, I brewed my first batch last Sunday, and it turns out, I didn't need to do either. I had just about enough wort left in my pot after a good squeeze.
       7 Replies
       9921 Views
       de5m0mike
       15 years ago
   11. idea for a better bag

       by de5m0mike, 15 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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       So I stumbled on my daughters butterfly cage in the basement last night and I was struck by the thought that it would make the perfect bag for BIAB. I love how the coiled wire/spring thing holds it open nicely, yet it is completely collapsible. The only problem is that the bottom is not mesh, but I would think someone with the right skills could easily make a bag like this. A removable wire would even make it easy to throw in the wash. Who knows, maybe I'll even give it a shot some time. My...

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       That is one of my favorite parts about brewing — trying to figure out a better way to do something.
       4 Replies
       6514 Views
       de5m0mike
       15 years ago

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