First time BIAB

Beer_Pirate

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I want to attempt my first BIAB batch soon. I'm looking for pointers on the process itself. From what I understand my steps will be:

1. Heat water (1.5 qt/lb) to dough-in temperature (a few degrees above mash temp?).
2. Add grain and mash for an hour (stirring occasionally).
3. Remove bag, set in separate bucket on top of upside down colander and sparge with enough water to get me to boil volume.
4. Continue brewing as with any other full volume setup.

Am I missing anything or do any of these steps look screwy to anyone?
Thanks in advance.
 
You can actually use more water for your mash than 1.5 qt/lb. But just sparge with enough water to get to your pre-boil volume. As for strike water temp, use this calculator: https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/

I think the only thing maybe to add is after you sparge, squeeze the crap out of the bag. Otherwise I think it looks good.
 
that looks like a pretty solid process to start with. I'd agree with Myndflyte about squeezing the bag, but it's not a crucial step.
regarding the dough-in temperature, i usually shoot for around 160F, since the room temperature grain and me stirring is going to drop it by a bit. you'll figure it out on your setup the more you brew.

i also wouldn't worry about hitting a specific mash temp for your first couple of brews. You might be chasing that "perfect temp" during the whole mash, might scorch your bag, and it requires constant fiddling (which I don't like to do). better to be consistent from brew to brew, then you can adjust from there once your more comfortable with the BIAB process
 
Using this calculator really helped me when I did BIAB: https://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/#Advanced
And I actually still use it even though I've move on to lauter tun and batch sparging.
I was one who never sparged with BIAB. I used full volume mash, and threw in the towel on much squeezing, and got to where I just suspended the bag and allowed it to drain in the brew kettle while coming to boil. I never noticed much difference. You'll hear pro's and cons to either way. Ultimately, you'll have to decide what works best for you.
 
Oh and there is the brew steps at the bottom of the brew page that'll help for sure like a brew coach making sure your ready for the next step.
 
Thanks for the help, all! I’ll have to revive this thread in a month or so to show off a finished beer. The first one I plan to do is a porter, since it’s just about dark beer season for me!
 
I have another question about this now. I recently acquired a 10 gallon kettle that is induction ready and has a reflectix jacket to keep it hot during the mash. Is there any reason not to use this with a traditional propane burner setup (I'll put the jacket on after strike temp is reached), or should I wait until I can spring for an induction cooktop large enough to heat the kettle?
 
it should work for both depending on the thickness of the bottom, the thinner the bottom the greater chances of scorching the bottom
 
The pot is pretty hefty and came with a custom bag, so I'm not terribly worried about scorching the grains since I'm adding them after I cut the flame off. My biggest concern is holding mash temp for an hour. I should be able to get the reflectix jacket on it pretty easily, but the bottom of the pot will be exposed to ~45 F weather. Does anyone have any tips on holding mash temp without use of an insulated tun?

On a side note, someone is selling a used 1800W duxtop induction plate near me. I'm worried that wouldn't get 7.5 gallons to boil. Does anyone have experience with induction setups?
 
I have a rosewill 1800 watt and its very slow to boil, it takes an hour to boil 5 gallons, the problem with the cheap sets for around $50 is they have 4 presets for temperature or 4 sets of wattage but nothing in between and on mine if you blow hard enough you can activate the controls its that sensitive so condensation dripping down the side will shut off the heat, plus the heating burner size is only 8" round so its easy to create a burn mark inside your pot, but you get what you pay for I guess.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M01SM6...t=&hvlocphy=9023812&hvtargid=pla-312001023298
 
I have a rosewill 1800 watt and its very slow to boil, it takes an hour to boil 5 gallons, the problem with the cheap sets for around $50 is they have 4 presets for temperature or 4 sets of wattage but nothing in between and on mine if you blow hard enough you can activate the controls its that sensitive so condensation dripping down the side will shut off the heat, plus the heating burner size is only 8" round so its easy to create a burn mark inside your pot, but you get what you pay for I guess.
Would you recommend trying that method out, or should I stick with a burner until I come across something with a larger coil? The coil on this one appears to be about 8" in diameter as well
 
the next step up is 240 volt and better controls but heftier price too around $250 I would try that first, you might mash with that and boil outside if you can carry it
 
the next step up is 240 volt and better controls but heftier price too around $250 I would try that first, you might mash with that and boil outside if you can carry it
Thanks. I think I'll stick to the old propane and propane accessories this time around.
 
The pot is pretty hefty and came with a custom bag, so I'm not terribly worried about scorching the grains since I'm adding them after I cut the flame off. My biggest concern is holding mash temp for an hour. I should be able to get the reflectix jacket on it pretty easily, but the bottom of the pot will be exposed to ~45 F weather. Does anyone have any tips on holding mash temp without use of an insulated tun?

On a side note, someone is selling a used 1800W duxtop induction plate near me. I'm worried that wouldn't get 7.5 gallons to boil. Does anyone have experience with induction setups?
My tip on holding mash temp is mash with more volume;) basic physics more water volume will hold temperature better than less + insulate = even better mate. As for the bottom youve just had the burner roaring down there so itll take some cooling. I sit mine in a concrete slab 2 inch thick that thing takes forever to cool.
 
I put a thermal thing around my kettle with the flame off. When the temp drops, I remove the jacket and put the flame on low until it gets a degree above what I want. Flame off, replace jacket.
 

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