Newbie small batch BIAB questions

[Scalli]

Been reading loads on here for the last couple of weeks and now want to have a go with the small pot I have before venturing out into buying bigger gear. What I have is an 18 litre pot to experiment with and could do with a scalled recipe for something like OP or Newkie Brown or a porter as that is what I drink.

I have used some online calculators which all seem to contradict themselves, so time to ask the experts.

Thanks in advance guys, and make it simple for my maiden brew if possible

[Jim]

Can any BIABers answer this one?

[Jocky]

Yes, you can use an 18 litre pot, and either do:

Mini BIAB where you mash and boil in the pot and then use the amount of wort produced at the end (likely to be around 10-12 litres for your pot).

Maxi BIAB where you mash and boil a higher gravity wort in the pot and then dilute with water at the end (which means you can get up to around 18-20 litres with your pot of around 4% ABV beer.

I mash in a 19 litre pot and boil in an 11 litre (my stove will not heat anything bigger properly), with a little top up during the boil I produce about 8.5 litres at the end.

[basswulf]

I'm getting settled into using a 13l pot and adjusting my recipes around the constant of 1kg of pale malt. That typically gives about 9l water, all added to the pot and brought to a little above temperature before adding the grains and starting the mash. Both mashing and boiling are still the same length as the recipe (typically 90 minutes) although it helps not having to shift the temperature of such a large volume of water - on the downside, it probably loses heat a little faster than a bigger volume would).

By the time I get the results bottled, I'm down to about 6-6.5l of beer - not a huge amount but a good opportunity to keep trying out new recipes and to be willing to take some risks (if I'm not keen on the results I don't have to drink through too much of it and, if I love it, it won't be so long before I get another chance to practise and find out if it was fluke or a good recipe).

Wulf

[Scalli]

Thanks guys, I have tried the calculator on biag.org and it says I should bottle 8 litres at the end, does this sound about right? What about the bag, are they available in small pot sizes or am I better dragging our lasses sewing machine out?

Think I might get a 5 litre polypin (just so I can use this handpump I have been given ) and bottle the rest.

Wish me luck

[sbond10]

Sheet of Muslim folded in then clamped to top of pot should do

[Jocky]

8 litres sounds roughly right, with a top up toward the end of the boil you can get more out of it.

I use one of these in my 19 litre pot, and it fits well, albeit a little loose: http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/aca ... 02kYVdnA2s

[Cpt.Frederickson]

Sheet of Muslim folded in then clamped to top of pot should do

I would suggest using muslin. Muslims would object to being folded into a stock pot I expect. Just like most people...

Personally I used to use the Calculator at BIABrewer.info, simple to use for getting your volumes and weights sorted. Recipe creation was done in BrewMate, which is also free. Once you've calibrated it, I found the grainbill info matched nearly exactly and the predicted figures were very close.

[sbond10]

I officially hate iPhone auto correct haha but I'm glad some one understood what I meant but please no newbie novices to biab go folding any ethnic minorities into stock pots ...

[Scalli]

Living 5 miles away from Bradford I thought I had found a cheap supply of straining material. Better go out and buy some MUSLIN now

[sbond10]

Voile /muslin will do but no you don't need a bag a sheet folded in and held to sides should work

[hoggyafc]

I asked the same questions last year. The replies I got were really helpful and now I'm knocking 11 litre batches with my 17 litre pot. I hope you find the thread as useful as I did.

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=62849

[Scalli]

Another quick question on yeast, if doing a small batch like this do I throw in a full 11g sachet of yeast or do I use half and then make another batch with the rest?

[Cpt.Frederickson]

For some strains you can pitch at that rate, the manufacturer usually specifies a pitching rate if you dig through their specs on their sites. 1g a litre can be ok for 'clean' american ale yeasts, but pitching slightly less is ok. You want at least 0.5g per litre, so if I were you I'd pitch most of it and throw the remainder away.
Also, ensure that you rehydrate it properly.

[Jocky]

You can use half a pack in that volume, but for higher gravity beers a whole pack is advisable.

Plus once you've opened a pack and moisture/air gets into it the dried yeast won't last all that long, so in most cases a fresh pack is a good idea anyway.