Introduction to BIAB (Brew in a Bag) & No-Chill Brewing

A presentation given by Peter Bamford at the May, 2013 LAB meeting.

Transcript

1. Introduction to BIAB & No-Chill LAB Presentation May 2013
2. Overview of BIAB • All grain brewing in a single vessel • Full volume no-sparge technique * • Basic steps 1. Add all liquor to pot and heat to strike temperature. 2. Add bag to the pot and mash in the grain. 3. At end of mash, remove the bag and drain to leave the wort in the pot ready to be boiled as normal. * Some variations introduce a sparge step
3. BIAB Variations • Mini BIAB ~ 10 - 12L of finished beer • Maxi BIAB ~ 14 - 23L of finished beer • BIAB ~ 20-50L of finished beer + 19L Stock Pot 19L Stock Pot Large Pot
4. Maxi BIAB Brew-day
5. Maxi BIAB Brew-day
6. Maxi BIAB Brew-day
7. Maxi BIAB Equipment • 19L Stock Pot • Plastic bucket • BIAB Bag Voille + Bulldog Clips • Thermometer • Large Spoon • Cake Rack or similar • Measuring Jug (2L) • Rubber Gloves (heavy duty) Tips: Buy a digital thermometer Use Kettle Finings e.g Protafloc
8. Maxi BIAB Technique 1. Fill pot with water + any water treatment 2. Take out 5L of water and put in another pan 3. Heat to strike temperature on hob/stove 4. Put BIAB bag/voile in pot and clip edges 5. Mash in grain 6. Put lid on and cover pot with towels/old duvet 7. At end of mash, start heating the pot whilst stirring 8. Heat up 5L water in other pan to 76C 9. At mash-out temp (76C), lift out bag and allow to drain 10. Twist bag to squeeze out wort 11. Put bag into plastic bucket and sparge with 5L hot water 12. Remove bag and add sparged wort to pot 13. Begin boil and proceed as normal 14. Top up with boiled water from the kettle to counter evaporation 15. Liquor back in fermenter to hit target OG
9. Maxi BIAB • 19L liquor - 4L grain absorption + 4L top up pre-boil - 2L evaporation + 2L top up during boil - 1L ‘ullage’ - 2L copper trub - 2L fermenter trub = ~ 14L finished beer or = ~ 23L finished beer with post boil dilution
10. Recipe Design • Normal all grain recipe design rules generally apply • Grain absorption less than traditional ~0.8L/kg vrs ~1.1L/kg • Extraction efficiency a few points lower (~5%) – Finer crush easily compensates • I use BrewTarget software – Zero evaporation losses – 0.8 L/kg grain absorption – Mash tun vol 18L – Mash tun mass of zero (for strike temp calc)
11. Pros & Cons Pros • Low entry cost • Space efficient • No equipment to build/assemble • Shorter brew day (no sparge step, less to clean-up) • Easy stepped mashes • Simple liquor volume calculation • No stuck sparges (100% wheat recipes feasible) Cons • Limited batch size (~12L) from mini-BIAB • Cloudy wort in copper ? • Sub-optimal mash thickness ? • No equipment to build/assemble
12. Online Resources • BIABrewer.info (need to register) • JimsBeerKit.co.uk (BIAB Q&A) • AussieHomeBrewer.com – search for ‘All In One Brewery’ for original thread
13. No-Chill • What is it? – Cooling wort to pitching temperature using a plastic food grade water container (cube) • How? – Sanitise container – At end of boil wait for hot-break to settle ~20 mins – Carefully transfer hot wort (>80C) to container – Squeeze to expel air – Close lid and place lid-end down for ~20 mins – Store upright to cool and allow cold-break to settle
14. Pros/Cons • Pros – Low tech/cost – Allows a break between boil and pitching steps – Can store wort for short periods • Cons – Beer haziness – Problems with long term beer stability – Loss of hop aroma – Increased bitterness – Leeching plastic – And (in the extreme) the risk of botulism