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Using the BIABacus with Bayou Classic Steamer Basket

Post #1 made 12 years ago
by shetc
Hi Everyone,

I got a great deal from Craigslist on a never-used 44 Qt Bayou Classic stockpot with steamer basket. I am preparing for my first BIAB using the recommended NRB's Amarillo Ale recipe. I'm aiming for a 5 gallon (18.92 liter) batch. The kettle diameter is 14.17 inches (36 cm) and the height is 15.75 inches (40 cm). I plan to use the steamer basket to hold the bag, and lift using the Alton Brown turkey derrick (see http://www.altonbrown.com/pdfs/AB_ ... rn false;).

Ok, now the question! When using the BIABacus, do I need to compensate for the steamer basket in any way?

Thanks,

Steve
Pembroke Pines, FL
Last edited by shetc on 29 Apr 2014, 08:54, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #2 made 12 years ago
by bundy
Hi Steve,

The only thing I can see that you may need to worry about the Steamer basket is if your Mash volume is close to your Kettle Capacity limit. From what you say above though you have a 11 Gallon kettle and should have plenty of space for the 5 Gallon batch you are proposing. (BIABIcus obviously can confirm that once you plug it all in with your Grain bill etc, better than me as my world works in metric! :) )

So the Steamer basket will displace a certain amount of extra water that BIABicus wont calculate and if your volume is near the rim of the pot then it could push it over the edge. If however you have plenty of head space you should be fine.

The other thing I would do is take all your BIABicus measurements without the Basket in place. So all your Volumes are measured either Pre Basket or Post basket being in the Kettle. It may not be much but the basket will displace some liquid and will throw your calculations out slightly.

I would also ensure you have the Basket immersed in the Strike Water as you bring it to temperature, otherwise putting a cold piece of metal into your Strike water could drop the temp a bit more than BIABicus predicts.

Otherwise the basket wont really effect anything I would think. If it was me I probably wouldn't even bother using it, you have a nice pulley system to lift the bag anyway and the basket is just another thing to get in the way.

Good luck with your Brew!
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Post #3 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
Great answer bundy :thumbs:,

I think, in real life, the displacement caused by the basket will be very minimal. But! As always, the BIAbacus seems to be able to handle any situation. In this case, you would go to Section X and type in a Kettle Shape Volume Adjustment.

...

Was just sussing this out and what you would need to do is work out the displacement of the basket at your normal striking volume. If it raised the level of the liquor by say 1 cm, then you would type in -1 as the adjustment.

...

What this thread has made me realise is that I haven't got some of the warnings connected to kettle dimensions, only volumes. (Just when you thought you had everything perfect!)

Thanks shetc and bundy. For me, the BIABacus warnings are one of the most important things to get right. Will spend some time changing where the over-fill warnings refer from. (Those formulas are really awful though :smoke:). It will probably take no more than an hour though. Fingers crossed.

PP
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Post #4 made 12 years ago
by Rick
Looks like you are sorted with the important stuff. I have this exact kettle and basket, and used it for my first 5-6 brews. Even with a 1.078 OG brew, my kettle efficiency was spot on to the BIABacus prediction. Records show that I actually got 1.080. It was a MAXI BIAB, for what it's worth .. and I withheld 2 gallons of water. I was sparging with this water, back then ... but hindsight tells me that I didn't need to.

You lose some mash volume with the basket, but it didn't seem to matter for me.

I always told myself that I would ditch the basket if I had issues, but the issues never came so I kept using it. It's very nice not having to worry about the bag being near the flame. Plus, you can qualify the holes in the basket to estimate volume without a measuring tool (pot needs to be level for accuracy, of course).

Now I'm deciding what I will do with this kettle since my upgrade to a 75qt. Hmm ...
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Post #5 made 12 years ago
by shetc
Thanks guys! I really appreciate your considered responses to my question, and have noted your various points. Really looking forward to my first BIAB as it seems a very efficient way to do all-grain brewing.

Can you confirm a couple of things for me about the BIABacus designs for brewing the Amarillo Ale? Is it saying that for the Grain Bill (C) that I should use only Maris Otter instead of a combination of JW Traditional Ale, Munich 1 and Caraamber? Or just replace the JW Traditional Ale with Maris Otter? Same thing for the Hop Bill (D): I should use only Galaxy hops instead of Amarillo? Or just replace the Amarillo with Galaxy for the first hop step?

Thanks!
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