Stove-top BIAB (also known as Mini-BIAB)

1. Uploaded youtube vid of my stove-top mini-BIAB

   16 Replies 25718 Views

   First post by johnaberry, 10 years ago

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   Hi Guys.
   
   After 8 successful Mini-BIAB brews I decided it was time to record my process and upload the result to Youtube.
   
   I'm sure there are a few things I do differently to others but it works for me.
   
   Feel free to take a look and let me know what you think (1st ever vid so a bit basic lol)
   
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   Edited 13th October 2012 to change video

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   I like the video. Just the right amount of information. Also interested in pot size. Looks like a 15 litre fermenter. Could be a 19 litre pot
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   Last post by hammoco
   8 years ago
2. Your Feedback and Questions on A Guide to Mini-BIAB

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   First post by Ralph, 13 years ago

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   Guys,
   it is official- the MiniBIAB guide has left the launch pad!
   
   Many thanks for the constructive feedback and also patience during its genesis, also special thanks to Pat for integrating it into the website and editorial guidance.
   
   Happy to take any questions here, so fire at will!
   
   Also, please have a gander at Beachbum's Electric BIAB , it is a very thorough and helpful guide too, may answer many questions from in here.
   
   Cheers,
   Ralph.

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   Hey Ralph, thanks for making the guide. I've got a 70L kettle and have been doing some large VIF brews lately. I really want to brew more often though so I can test different recipes, so I think that stovetop BIAB is ideal!
   Thanks, Nick.
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   Last post by nicko
   8 years ago
3. A Guide to Mini-BIAB

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   First post by Ralph, 13 years ago

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   BIABrewer Note: All brewers, new and experienced, are encouraged to start new topics in this section provided they have read the below.
   
   A Guide to Mini BIAB
   by Ralph deVoil (Ralph)
   
   This guide describes the making of All- Grain beer with the most basic, domestic kitchen equipment with no complicated processes whatsoever. This is the simplest BIAB anyone could possibly undertake, but it nevertheless has the potential to produce some of the finest beer.
   
   Experienced all-grain brewers should...

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   To provide Feedback or ask Questions on the Guide to Mini-BIAB, please use this thread .
   
   Many thanks to Ralph for providing the above guide. Please use the thread linked above to provide feedback or ask any questions on this guide. Your feedback and questions will help identify if any aspects of the guide need clarification etc., after which Ralph may allow us to use it as an official BIABrewer guide/ADO - fingers crossed.
   
   Thanks so much for spending this time Ralph and sorry we locked the...
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   Last post by BIABrewer
   12 years ago
4. BIABacus scaling recipe question

   7 Replies 19221 Views

   First post by mikeamo, 6 years ago

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   Hi all,
   I'm doing a stovetop 10L brew of a popular recipe I found on Beersmith and just want some feedback to see if I have used the BIABacus to scale the recipe correctly. Here's a link to the Beersmith page:
   
   And here's the BIABacus recipe:
   BIABacus PR1.3T - Bells Two Hearted IPA - Batch A1.xls
   
   Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
   Thanks
   Mike :thumbs:

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   Hi Scott, thanks for the info I'll have to get that book. This will only be my second BIAB so at this stage I don't really know much about yeasts and what flavour changes they can make. Maybe after a few more brews.
   Thanks Mad_Scientist I'll check it out.
   
   Cheers
   Mike :clap:
   7 Replies
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   Last post by mikeamo
   6 years ago
5. Mini-Bag: Final Volume Question, Strike Temp & Boil Time

   5 Replies 11208 Views

   First post by LI Mike D, 6 years ago

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   A few quick questions. I made the Amarillio APA yesterday scaled to a 1 gal final volume (including trub). I brew in a 3 gal Target Tamale pot. The calculator scaled down to 9+ liters, but my pot maxes out at 8 liters/quarts. So I ended up 1 liter/quart short.
   
   1. The recipe calls for a 90 minute boil but hops don't get added until 30 minutes in to the boil? what is the benefit of a 90 minute boil without hops for the first 30 minutes? Why not just do a 60 Minute boil with less water, wouldn't...

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   With lagers, and In Particular - Pilsners - a step mash has been quite helpful and as far as I'm concerned...highly recommended. And at least for my setup, a step mash is easy to do.
   
   3-step mash starts to become a bit of a pain... Most malts are fully modified but the Bohemian floor malted is not fully modified... Wonder if I can skip the protein rest...regardless of the malt not being fully modified? Seems like at least on one of my brews I did...and the beer was still good. Limited...
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   Last post by Scott
   6 years ago
6. asking small batch brewers, how do you save money on yeast?

   10 Replies 25968 Views

   First post by capuchin44, 8 years ago

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   I really like doing small batches. Small batches are super easy (no lifting, clean up is quick and easy) and your brewday can be accomplished on the stove and in the kitchen sink without little to no blood or sweat involved. As long as you have enough small fermentors, there is no limit to how many small batches you could do. Theoretically, I could line a shelf in my closet with small fermentors and have a solid pipeline full of variety at all times. The problem I run into is with yeast. A...

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   I use dry yeast, a new packet for each batch that I do, which is usually a 2-2.5 Gal batch.
   
   Dry yeast is pretty inexpensive but most importantly, I can accurately measure dry yeast for the correct pitching rates.
   
   I tape up the packet of unused dry yeast and put it in the fridge. I just brewed my third small ale batch over the weekend from the same packet I first opened on aug 15th - that's 10 weeks - and the morning after pitching the last batch, I observed fermentation as active as the...
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   Last post by LI Mike D
   6 years ago
7. Heat loss during mash

   5 Replies 12443 Views

   First post by Grim Reality, 8 years ago

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   Hi. I am on the cusp of moving from extract/steeping grains brewing to mini BIAB. One question I have is regarding heat loss from the pot during the mash. I have ordered a 20l stock pot and was wondering how well a vessel that size typically retains mash temperature? Do you need to keep a constant watch on the temp over the 90 minutes and fire up the stove for a couple of minutes every now and again to keep the temp relatively steady? I have watched the short video posted in another thread...

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   Is be giving it a go just with wrapping up the pot with a sleeping bag or yoga mat first.
   
   Losing a few degrees over the course of a 90 minute mash won't make a massive difference.
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   Last post by Contrarian
   7 years ago
8. BIABacus - please check i've got it right

   2 Replies 9217 Views

   First post by brumpj, 8 years ago

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   Hi,
   
   Hope this is ok, couldn't figure out if there was somewhere else to put this.
   
   I have had a go at using BIABacus for the first time. I think it all makes sense apart from the Miscellaneous section, i have put the protofloc and other ingredients in there but the numbers dont seem right...
   
   Thanks in advance, can't wait to try these out!

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   We have spent some time on Greg Hughes-HBB recipes, and I've only worked on 1 of them I believe. We haven't exactly seen a clear trend over many recipes yet, but here is the progress we have made in translating the recipes so far.
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   Last post by Rick
   8 years ago
9. Newbie set-up

   5 Replies 11410 Views

   First post by brumpj, 8 years ago

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   Hi,
   
   Really want to get in to home brewing. Haven't heard great thinks about kits and extract seems expensive, so after much research I feel brew in a bag is my best starting point.
   
   This is the set-up I was thinking about (hopefully not breaching any advertising rules)
   
   And this size/style of kettle
   
   Is this a good setup (excluding the bag of course)
   
   Second part: for mini-BIAB I have noticed most recipes are 40pt so can you do the mash and then top up to wanted level before you boil or...

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   Brumpj, if your Barrel is wood, it will release a bit of Pressure, so, the fill should be very close to full, as the headspace can be 7-10mm
   
   If the Barrel is a Corny Keg, the fill should stay around 25mm or 1 inch below the Gas fill tube.
   
   Also, the 20pt-uk volume will fill 1-case of 24 bottles of US 12oz/354ml beer bottles.
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   Last post by joshua
   8 years ago
10. 8L kettle for 5L packaged volume - Possible?

    10 Replies 16718 Views

    First post by LavaChild, 8 years ago

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    Hello!
    
    First, please let me introduce myself - I am currently a kit brewer (therefore, of course, 5 gallon). This does not suit me because the brew length is too large based on my consumption meaning I brew less frequently and, while still honing my technique, have less-than-ideal brews to drink. The knock on effect is the excitement of variety - the very thing that got me into homebrew - is not something I get with my current brewing given the infrequency with which I brew. The solution that...

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    Dan, there are some options for you to consider there. Some of those links Joshua gave I have never seen before, so I enjoyed reading them anyway!
    
    I know you said cost is not an issue, but I would guess that a larger pot & a sleeping bag would be cheaper & get you to where you want to be quicker. :dunno:
    However, I am going to presume you are hell bent on this 8L pot (do you have a link to it BTW)?
    To me it seems you have 2 options going this route;
    
    1. Reduce VIF to suit a FVV brew that fits...
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    Last post by mally
    8 years ago
11. Confused level 11

    3 Replies 9395 Views

    First post by Snipersunset, 8 years ago

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    My stove can only boil about 18 ltr of water in my 19 ltr pot, but I know I've seen instructions on how to get around 23ltr from a 19ltr pot but can't find it anywhere.
    Can someone please point me in the direction of some instructions to do this, or write out steps here for me please. I know I've seen instructions, but can't find them again!!!
    
    Cheers

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    You might want to read this one Sniper. It's a great post with pics.
    After that you can follow on Your Feedback and Questions
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    Last post by Slavski
    8 years ago
12. Kettle size question

    6 Replies 12230 Views

    First post by Anders_B, 8 years ago

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    I'm just starting to buy the things required to brew my own beer ala BIAB and have a kettle question for you.
    As I probable will make some mistakes and experimenting in the beginning and therefor plan to make something like 9 liters finished beer my first batches.
    After a while I would like to make 18 liters of finished beers to fill a corny keg.
    To be able to make the larger batches I'm thinking a 50 liter kettle will be ok but will there be any downsides of making my smaller batches in this...

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    I would go with your 50 L decision Anders. I use 70 L kettles and I can either single or double batch 19L (5 gal) into a keg with them. You are in the same position as I am divided by two :).
    
    A lot of what Josh mentioned above I would agree with except I don't think brewing a small batch in a large kettle is a problem in our situations. It would be if you left the lid partially on during the boil but not otherwise. A good rolling boil for 90 minutes will see any nasties easily carried out of...
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    8 years ago
13. quick question on boiling temp

    10 Replies 15278 Views

    First post by fluidjuice, 8 years ago

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    Hi all just received all my kit which includes a 50ltr kettle, thought I would do a trial run with water to see how fast and if I could get a boil on my stove top, getting up to mash temp was in the norm and managed to get to boil in about 45mins on my stove top, my digital probe thermometer wouldn't pass 99'c but my glass spirit thermometer said I was hitting 103'c could you please be kind enough to view my YouTube video and tell me if the boil will be sufficient to biab, I couldn't get it to...

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    Ive felt the boil on my buffalo to be a little weak. Uve been trying to come up with all sorts of complicated solutions suvh as making a heatstick or adding an extra element. This is an excellent and simple solution. I cant wait to try it
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    Last post by Lars
    8 years ago
14. bag for a 50 l kettle

    6 Replies 12030 Views

    First post by fluidjuice, 8 years ago

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    I'm looking for a bag to fit a 50 l kettle size is 40cm high by 40 cm diameter, can anyone reccomend a decent bag and where to get it, don't want to spend the earth but don't want cheap either, thanks Dean

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    For what it's worth to other brewers looking for bags. There's a user, Wilserbrewer, on HBT(homebrewtalk) that is a well recognized forum member, helper of fellow BIAB'ers and makes a dang good brew bag.
    
    You can order one of his bags at
    
    They're great quality, I know he's tested them with up to 120lb of free weights, which would be even more strenuous than a real test of grains since the free weights would exert more pressure than the grains would. IE the grains weight would be more evenly...
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    Last post by pricelessbrew
    8 years ago
15. Iam a happy stove top brewer.

    3 Replies 9979 Views

    First post by katandadd, 8 years ago

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    Hi all,
    I am going to do my 12th batch on the stove this weekend and I have to say I am very happy with the results I have been getting. I just brought in some of my last two batches into the office today for my fellow employees to sample, and I received some nice feed back. I have been playing around with the biabicus spreadsheet to increase my batch size for the last few months and found that sparging and toping up the fermenter has worked to get me up to a 19 litre batch size. I have only...

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    I saw this thread a few days ago but didn't have time to reply. Really nice to read things like this and I love joshua's analogy above.
    
    Do an Advanced Search for posts done by me that include the phrase, 'Sweet Liquor Shop'. Go to the oldest result and you'll be able to study the pros and cons of what we now call Full-Volume Variations (FVV) . (Maxi-BIAB was always a term that this site was unhappy with but it took many years to find an alternative that worked and did not convey the wrong...
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    8 years ago
16. A 'sort of' mini BIAB tonight Graff cider.

    7 Replies 13075 Views

    First post by nicko, 8 years ago

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    Hi guys,
    
    I'm doing this recipe tonight
    
    I'm using a hop bag to hold the small amount of grain (micro BIAB), I've converted the recipe to metric measurements, then did a quick calculation to scale it back to ingredients needed per litre, so I can quickly scale it anytime, depending on how much cheap juice I can find!
    
    I have 9.6L of Berri apple juice on hand, so I'll brew that tonight. :thumbs:
    
    No BIABacus, as this is really just a quick fun brew to try. I'll post the scaled recipe etc...

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    Good Day, here is a link on how to sweeten Wine, and not cause carbonation and loss of the sweetness in the bottle or Keg.....
    
    onclick= window.open(this.href);return false; ... tling-time
    
    Thought this may help....
    
    Thanks Joshua.
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    Last post by nicko
    8 years ago
17. Micro-BIAB or 1L batch

    8 Replies 14891 Views

    First post by Doppler, 9 years ago

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    I am looking for a recipe I can do in a 3L pot, 26cm diameter-
    
    I'm a newbie and would like to start a series of experiments doing, having aprox 1L final brew length.
    
    The aim of this experiment are two:
    1) to find a recipe that my mother can do at home and try brewing alone for the first time.
    2) to find an easy recipe I can use as a starting point to several experiments
    
    According to the BIABacus (I'm learning to read it), with 60min boil my mash volume will be of 3.85L which will not fit...

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    Knew I forgot something! Here you go!
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    9 years ago
18. eMini BIAB for smash beers

    1 Replies 7664 Views

    First post by nosco, 9 years ago

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    Hi all,
    I am going to make an electric mini BIAB kettle to make 5lt (into fermentor) or so batches so I can start making smash beers and others experiments so I can start to learn what the hell people are talking about when they talk ingredients. I'll leave questions about smash beers for another post.
    
    I have gone electric so far to keep brewing in the garage away from my young son who loves going through the garage, because he's not allowed in there much. I have a regular kettle element and...

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    Another drawback that I forgot to mention is that I can not chill it in a water/ice bath but since I am no chilling my normal batches it my be a good tester. I might have to find a smaller cube :cool:
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    Last post by nosco
    9 years ago
19. 2 pot attempt (not pretty)

    4 Replies 11309 Views

    First post by sb944, 9 years ago

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    OK, so a little primer. I got 2 Big W 19L pots together, took an AG recipe, scaled it down to 11.5L batches through BIABacus, and got great results. I then did it all again the next night, and added it to the first batch, for a full sized ferment, which is now in the bottle and tasting nice.
    
    The following week, I was getting my ideas together, including building an immersion chiller. It didn't take long, and I still had an hour to kill... I realized I still had some specialty grain 1.25kg and...

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    Brew #3 is done, and will be the last 2 pot attempt for a while if I can avoid it. I did change a couple of things, and this one went much smoother. I wasn't thrilled with mashing with 2 pots and 2 bags, so came up with the idea to use a 2nd fermenter I had to mash in. It is the Coopers DIY one, so was filled with around 27L of water, then about 6kg of grain and one big swiss voille was put in it, virtually full at that point. Insulated it up, the mash went perfectly well. I heated one of my...
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    Last post by sb944
    9 years ago
20. 1st BIAB tonight

    10 Replies 16627 Views

    First post by sb944, 9 years ago

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    Well, feeling more than inspired right now to have a crack at all grain. Some background, I've got 2 Coopers DIY kits, 3 batches in the original, and 4th in the new one, ready to be bottled. But reading up a lot on AHB and here, has got me overly excited about doing a real brew. Skipped extract/partial/hops additions, straight into mini-biab. I decided to do a small sparge, not necessary, but I do want to up batch size soon (5.5 hours for a slab is a bit much), so I'd like to test it out....

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    So, I am drinking 2 kit beers, and now have this batch about 1 week in the bottle. The kit ones have definitely benefited from time in the bottle, better this week than last week etc, no noticeable twang now, just nice bitter beers with decent carbonation, decent aftertaste etc. I'd happily drink these compared with some of my previous bottle shop purchases. I also tried 2 bottles of this batch, and it's in a completely different league. Firstly, there are no problems with it, it tastes clean,...
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    Last post by sb944
    9 years ago
21. First BIAB on saturday (3 gallon Cascade APA) sanity check?

    13 Replies 19200 Views

    First post by iancanderson, 9 years ago

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    I'm brewing my first BIAB batch of beer on saturday with a friend. I've brewed 1 gallon all grain batches of beer with brooklyn brew shop kits before (5th gallon is fermenting now).
    
    My equipment:
    
    Purchased just the bottling bucket and fermenter bucket from
    Got a 26 x 26 LD Carlson nylon brew bag from my LHBS. Fits just right in my kettle!
    
    I hope I used the BIABacus right. The numbers seem to make sense. I used the Amarillo APA recipe as a guide, but decided to substitute Cascade hops...

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    My bucket lids are not totally air tight either. Wrap some plastic film stretched tightly around the lid and bucket. It will keep the nasties out! I use this stuff. It is very stretchy, and does a great job sealing my lids.
    images.jpg
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    Last post by 2trout
    9 years ago
22. Does size matter?

    15 Replies 21601 Views

    First post by no-more-peroni, 9 years ago

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    New to BIAB, I only discovered it yesterday and hope to be brewing by the weekend. I have only brewed with kits in the past, was going to go to extract, but found this and its obviously the way to go for me.
    
    The question is I would like to brew every week or two to practice and get better so I would love to brew with a 15 liter pot and ferment about 5 liters for each batch. Is this OK, or is t just too small? (I am just checking as I have been told that size matters.)
    
    Any advice really...

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    I did a quick test with the liquor from some Rum Cherries.
    
    It measured up around 28 Brix--I don't remember the exact number. Then I poured some on a scrap of some organic cotton sheets (nice and tight weave ;) ) and touched the drop on the bottom to the refractometer. It dropped .6 Brix, which seems large enough to matter.
    
    As you say, questions. Is the top of the Brix scale linear to the bottom of the scale? I don't know if the same thing will happen once we get down to the 2-8 end on the...
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    Last post by porkpie
    9 years ago
23. MAXI BIAB questions

    4 Replies 10870 Views

    First post by jarvo_325, 9 years ago

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    Hey all
    
    A question to ask if I can guys.
    
    This might seem obvious but I appreciate any help.
    
    If im using Ralph's MAXI BIAB technique am I looking for recipes that have a desired volume in fermenter of 23L??

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    Thanks mate, I will look into it.
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    Last post by jarvo_325
    9 years ago
24. Would like to try this Hef Recipe with Mini-BIA

    3 Replies 10173 Views

    First post by NearbyStars, 9 years ago

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    Hi everyone, I'm new here. I would like to try BIAB, and I only do mini-batches (1 gal ~ 4 liters) at the moment. I have a stainless steel brewpot that is roughly 30cms in diameter. I tested it with plain water and I get evaporation loss of roughly 0.60 gal/hour.
    
    The recipe I'd like to try is posted at HBT:
    onclick= window.open(this.href);return false; ... zen-35679/
    
    To scale this down to a 1-gal batch, I used The Calculator and came up with the attached figures (xlsx).
    
    Bavarian Hefeweizen...

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    55 g of rice hulls (is this necessary for such a small batch? - and how does it affect the water volume for BIAB?)
    
    Rice hulls are used to prevent stuck sparges in traditional brewing. They are not really used in BIAB as far as I know. If you end up using them, I'd suggest they go in the bag first and then put your grain on top of the hulls.
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    Last post by JackRussel
    9 years ago
25. My first BIAB - AM/MO SMaSH

    12 Replies 19527 Views

    First post by Zymeck, 10 years ago

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    HIya, thought i would post my first BIAB brew. I have previously made a brooklyn brew shop beer, but have no other brewing experience.
    
    I decided to brew 1 gallon of a Single Malt and Single Hop (SMaSH) version of the ‘standard’ All Amarillo APA. (I know strictly speaking it should be called Mo/Am, but AMMO sounds cooler) ;)
    
    Although my glass demijohn holds 3.78L, I decided to aim at 4L. This meant using;
    
    7.92L water, (5.92L at the start, and 2L added before the boil)
    1160g Maris Otter Malt...

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    Thanks PP, I should have explained myself better - I guess what i mean is, Is it possible to produce a 'full sized' 23L brew, with my 20-26L(ish) boiler? Or is this just going to open a can (or should that be 'boiler full') of worms??? ;)
    
    But anyway, I opened the last two bottles the other night (I gave the majority say to friends and family) - and heres the 'money shot; ;)
    
    thanks everyone for your help and support :salute:
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    Last post by Zymeck
    10 years ago