evileddietbird wrote:Hello All.
Very excite to have a go at all grain BIAB brewing. Only done kits with hop additions before.
I only have a 19L kettle. Any thoughts on using such a small kettle?
Also, can anyone explain why there is such a large discrepancy on 'the calculator' between the end of boil volume and the brew length, and can anyone give advice on techniques which will reduce this discrepancy? I want to get as much beer as possible from my efforts!!!
Many thanks in advance.
All the best,
Ed
Welcome aboard Ed
,
Just before we look at your 19 L pot, the discrepancy between brew length (how much beer you get to drink) and end of boil volume is all made up of trub. The defaults in The Calculator allow for a generous amount of trub. However, with some simple trub management techniques, you can reduce these trub losses and therefore end up with more beer at the end of the day. Here's a few simple things you can do are...
1. Use your BIAB bag as a hop sock during the boil. (You just have to find a way to hang it in the boil.) This will make a big difference.
2. Gently and carefully rack. Use smaller diameter syphons if possible. If you are bottling, racking to a secondary will help reduce trub a little. If kegging, crash-chilling the fermentor before transfer will reduce it considerably.
As to your 19 L kettle, that's fine. It just means you'll make less beer. If you want more beer, you can to a certain extent. For example, you can make your brew higher gravity than required and then dilute it after the boil. You can also gain a little bit more volume by using a second vessel to rinse your 'grist' after the mash. Another easy thing to do is have a second 19 L pot (as I think they are fairly cheap) and a second bag and simply do two mashes and boils simultaneously.
So, there's lots of things you can do but for your first few brews, keep it simple and be happy with less. The nice thing about stovetop brewing is that everything is lighter and smaller and it's all indoors so it's easier to get other things done while you are brewing.
When you are ready to do your first recipe, feel free to post it up in the
Use this thread to convert recipes to suit your equipment... to get it checked over.
In the meantime, have a look at the video in
this thread by johnaberry on stovetop brewing. It's excellent!
Cheers,
PP
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