Brew in a bag - Equipment question

[robcoombs]

After talking to a few guys at the AGM about brewing in a bag I'm looking into a system so I can get in on all grain brewing. What do you guys of this:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/master-chef-aluminum-turkey-fryer-36-qt-0853230p.html#.U12YivldXTo

Are the 41000 btu's enough for all grain brewing? Or should I look at getting a 60000 btu burner and brew pot separately?The pull out basket looked like it would be helpful for the brew in a bag.

Lastly, I tasted a lot of great beer on Saturday. I can definitely notice a substantial difference between partial mash and all grain.

[Chris Craig]

I've never done brew in a bag, but I wonder if a 9 gallon pot is big enough.  The 41000 btu burner is definitely powerful enough though.  I guess it all comes down to money and preference.

What is the reason for doing brew in a bag vs using a mash tun?  Are you low on space?  A mash tun costs about $30 to build from scratch, so I'm guessing it's not a money issue...

Tell us what your needs are, and we can help you work out what to buy.

[blisster]

If cost is the primary focus, it will def do the trick...  41K btu's is plenty.

For a bit extra I definitely recommend getting a SS pot with valve/thermostat and a burner separately.  I will def be worth the investment over time and make life much easier for you.

For $105, this is well worth it:
http://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/15_Gallon_Brew_Kettle_OntarioBeerKegs_p/15-gallon-2weld.htm

Dave at Everwood used to have free shipping on pots, not sure if he still does."
https://www.everwoodavebrewshop.com/category/brew-kettles/

[robcoombs]

I thought it was going to be more expensive to go with the mash tun. Right now I brew stove top in my kitchen and my brew pot is just big enough to brew a 5 gal batch. So if I want to go all grain I'd have to buy a burner, larger brew pot, mash tun etc. I would rather go with the mash tun, I was just trying to get into all grain in the most affordable way possible.

What would you suggest? I'm open to anything that will get me there without dropping a large amount of money.   

[blisster]

A bazooka screen (or braided dishwasher line if you want to make your own), valve, the fittings/adapters/clamps to replace the cooler's plastic spout and you are all set for the mash tun... fun little project.

@Fhilo can probably hook you up with all those parts or any hardware store around.

OntarioBK sell them as kits but are stainless and $60ish, you just need a cooler.

much cheaper to build you own.. this DIY video is a good guide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftY_HZAFJFc

[Fhilo]

For sure. Stop into Eddy's any time

[Chris Craig]

Yeah, you can start with brass for now.  Nothing wrong with that.

[Al-Loves-Wine]

I thought it was going to be more expensive to go with the mash tun. Right now I brew stove top in my kitchen and my brew pot is just big enough to brew a 5 gal batch. So if I want to go all grain I'd have to buy a burner, larger brew pot, mash tun etc. I would rather go with the mash tun, I was just trying to get into all grain in the most affordable way possible.

What would you suggest? I'm open to anything that will get me there without dropping a large amount of money.

Welcome to your new addiction Rob! 

[robcoombs]

I was also thinking that everything goes on sale at Canadian Tire at some point so if I waited it would probably get marked down to $50-60. So it would be a cheap way to get to all grain sooner.

[Two Wheeler]

Hey Rob,

I'll share my experience and thoughts, because I think we're kind of in the same boat. I started with extract and PM too, with a 3 gallon walmart pot. I upgraded to the 8 Gallon OBK pot with the ball valve and thermometer and it was on sale for about $80 at the time. Now, I wish I went for 10 gallon, but the 8 gallon is workable. I did a few more extract/pm kits with the 8 gallon, then switched to BIAB.

In this pot, I max out at about 10 pounds of grain. I'm able to make 5 gallons of a 1.055 beer, but after trub loss during fermentation I come out around 4.5. Fine enough for me.

I bought a 60k burner from Canadian Tire for $50 and it works great, really sped up my brew day vs boiling on the stove.

The big limiting factor of this set up is that I have to put all of my grain and water in the Boil Kettle at once, and things are very tight. For this reason, I think I'm going to build a mash tun before my next batch.

BIAB is a great... the nice thing is if you go that route, the only equipment you'll buy and won't use if you upgrade is the bag.

[robcoombs]

Thanks for weighing in Jordan,

Lots to think about before I commit to BIAB or mash tun I guess. I'll probably have more questions at the next meeting for everyone.

[Chris Craig]

Further to Jordan's point, if you bought a smaller kettle like he did, you can use it in the future as an HLT of sorts if you want to buy a bigger boil kettle for 10 gallon batches.

[DandyMason]

Question about BIAB - Do you guys mash and sparge? For example mash in a few gallons, drain, then sparge in a 4 or 5 gallons?

[robcoombs]

Further to Jordan's point, if you bought a smaller kettle like he did, you can use it in the future as an HLT of sorts if you want to buy a bigger boil kettle for 10 gallon batches.

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that

[Two Wheeler]

Question about BIAB - Do you guys mash and sparge? For example mash in a few gallons, drain, then sparge in a 4 or 5 gallons?

Nope... In my last batch, I heated 6.75 gallons of water, put the bag in, added 4.2 kg of grain. After an hour, I heated the mash to 168 ish, then pulled the bag out. I let the bag drain into a bucket for 20 mins or so and then added that back into the boil.

Some people sparge the bag, but reports are conflicting on whether it boosts efficiency. One thing that allows you to do is increase your volume.

For reference, I achieved 75% efficiency with the no-sparge BIAB.