Could this work?

[toylander]

When I first got set up with my 50l pot it took a few attempts to get the volumes correct for a full biab mash in order to get 22-23 litre to the fermenter. I always ended short in volume and high in gravity, I ended up watering it down with cold water straight from the tap. This never once caused any harm because the beer always turned out good and it took less time to cool the wort.
I was wondering if I could double up my grain bill and my hop bill. I would then transfer the wort either into a 50l fermenter or 2x 25l fermenters and then double the volume with cold water.
44-46l for the same effort.

Your thoughts?

[alexlark]

I would say yes depending on the OG of the beer your making. You will be using a technique called maxi BIAB. You have to do it that way so that you have the right bittering from the hops. You basically make a concentrated wort, which will be bitter and hoppy than normal. Once you liquor back you will reach the desired OG, IBU etc.

For example, I've done 21L using a 19L pot!

[toylander]

Is it as simple as adding double the amount of hops the recipe calls for to make double the amount of wort?

[alexlark]

No not quite. Have a look at my thread here: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=67731

There is a spreadsheet there that uses a maxi BIAB method I've used it a few times. You will also see the amounts I used and how much they differ by compared to the original recipe. It's not that much but if you scale up the difference could get greater.

Obviously you can make beer your way but if you double everything it won't be the same result as the recipe for the beer you are emulating.

I've done a really hoppy IPA by just following the original recipe and adding 3/4L at the end, turned out great!

[toylander]

Thanks Alaxlark,

I must me missing something on that website. I downloaded the calculator but cant find anywhere on it for maxi biab.

[alexlark]

The way I done it was to follow the thread on brew uk. There is a maxi-BIAB tab on that spreadsheet but you input info for recipe and equipment on a few tabs. The post on brew uk explains it very well.

[toylander]

Ah, found it. Thanks.

[f00b4r]

I would use the biabacus as it has evolved quite a lot since the earlier spreadsheets. You need to make adjustments on the full volume variations section, if you need any of it explaining just post here and can walk you through it, one you have filled in one correctly it is easy (just looks a bit daunting but you only have to fill in a small portion to get a brew on).

[Redimpz]

I've been doing maxi-biab for a few years now and it works just fine. I mash in an old cool box and transfer the grain bag to a fermenting bucket then add the sparge water. this is all followed by a bit of draining and squeezing then it is good to go.
I usually start with about 30l of water which gives me about 27/28 litres into the 50l pot. I generally end up with around 21/22 litres in the fermenter.
A larger grainbill would result in more beer but there are some points to consider, such as:
can you get all the grain in the mash tun?
can you get enough water in the mash tun too?
can you lift and squeeze the grain bag?
can you lift the pot with the hot wort onto the stove/ gas burner?