UK eBIAB build

[tim_n]

I've placed my order & Paul of http://www.angelhomebrew.co.uk/ has been sorting me out with a stockpot.

I've been a busy bee on ebay, amazon, auber etc getting the rest of the gear.

I've been chronicling it with the help of Paul on my blog - hope it's acceptable to post here?

http://www.waark.com/tag/ebiab/

[Ben711200]

That's a cool write up. I didn't realise all the taps and bits were so reasonably priced from Angel Homebrew. Noted for (hopefully near) future reference

[tim_n]

Paul has been doing a great job with my fleeting wants. Most of the discussion has been around the mounting of the thermometer and sensors - originally I wanted the thermometer over the top of the tap - but it turns out that would mean 5 gallon batches would be difficult as the bag could have snagged on probe.

Paul has suggested we mount it to the side - won't look as neat, but pretty good none the less. It's only there to monitor the mash temperature when the PID is off.

[PhilB]

Hi Tim

I know this is a pedantic point but ... in your blog you wrote ...

When I lived back in Norwich having read the free ‘How to Brew’ by John Palmer, I bought a very large stock pot (about 19ltrs) because this would be enough to do both full extract brewing and all grain if I so wished.

Unfortunately the pot isn’t really big enough for a technique called ‘Brewing In A Bag’ – it’s a bit like making beer with a giant teabag.

... but there are plenty of BIABers making very good beer (using mini-BIAB or maxi-BIAB techniques) in 19 lts stockpots ... and that "isn't really big enough" phrase looks kind of ill-informed, at best, maybe just plain ignorant ... if you want to go get yourself an automated BIAB boiler big enough to brew 10 gallon brew lengths then that's obviously your prerogative, but making out you had to because a 19 lts stock pot was insufficient devalues everything else you've written IMHO

Cheers, PhilB

[tim_n]

Sorry Phil, I think you meant to say:

Hi Tim,

Have you heard of Mini-BIAB or Maxi-BIAB technicques? Plenty of people do these in 19ltr stockpots and perhaps "isn't really big enough" doesn't actually apply. If you're looking to get yourself an automatic BIAB boiler big enough to brew 10 gallon brew lengths then that's obviously your prerogative, but you can do plenty of stuff in a 19 ltrs stock pot and maybe you can look at x or y and it'll look more informative on your blog.

Then I could reply:

Thanks Phil, I didn't, thanks - that's really helpful. I wrote the post after a 2.5 half hour train journey on an iPhone. When I started brewing, I read John Palmers book and bought the 19ltr pot, but had forgotten all about the other techniques as I'd never practised them as everything I've learnt has been self taught, so wasn't really thinking like that at the time. Still, I think this is all a worthwhile investment because I wanted to do full 5g/10g brews and whilst this seems a lot more expense, I like to brew large batches for parties and events and just wanted to Keep It Simple

Anyway, I'm sure we've both had long days, I'm not an expert in brewing anyway and don't assume I know too much! RDWHAHB

Cheers, Tim.

[masterosouffle]

Cracking post.

[tim_n]

Hi Tim

I know this is a pedantic point but ... in your blog you wrote ...

When I lived back in Norwich having read the free ‘How to Brew’ by John Palmer, I bought a very large stock pot (about 19ltrs) because this would be enough to do both full extract brewing and all grain if I so wished.

Unfortunately the pot isn’t really big enough for a technique called ‘Brewing In A Bag’ – it’s a bit like making beer with a giant teabag.

... but there are plenty of BIABers making very good beer (using mini-BIAB or maxi-BIAB techniques) in 19 lts stockpots ... and that "isn't really big enough" phrase looks kind of ill-informed, at best, maybe just plain ignorant ... if you want to go get yourself an automated BIAB boiler big enough to brew 10 gallon brew lengths then that's obviously your prerogative, but making out you had to because a 19 lts stock pot was insufficient devalues everything else you've written IMHO

Cheers, PhilB

Phil - updated - does it read better? I did agree on your points.

Cracking post.

Thanks!

[tim_n]

Lots more progress on the blog. Lots of build photos!

We ended up converting an old computer case into a simple control panel.

We're using 2.5m thermo resistant wire which is for use in 6kw storage heaters - the wire does get a little warm. I may upgrade to 4mm, but it means a fair bit of rewiring.

Unfortunately we didn't finish until about 4:45, so we didn't get to brew. We also found that the sensor wasn't a PT100 but a K, so accuracy was out the window.