Equipment compromise

[Meatymc]

Psyching myself up to enter the 'dark side and could do with some advice please.

I'm brewing for me - and I bottle not keg. I've been doing kits and have recently started to get good results but want to control everything from the off. Space and funds are limited so BIAB seems the logical route for me.

Totally understand the argument that 'bigger is better' as regards a brewing pan but I want to aim at producing around 3 gallons a brew every 2 weeks or so - lower quantities than I currently brew but more regularly. Having said that no need to restrict it so much that I end up with wort all over the floor or panic about a too vigorous boil - just want to keep things realistic but 'more-than capable'.

Is a 30l pan a sensible choice? And if so recommendations for suppliers?

Oh and by the way, picked up a hessian sack from a cocoa bean importer last weekend in Brick Lane - fairly tight weave. Would you think it worth trying as a boil bag - once sterilised??

Thanks as always.

[Jocky]

For pot size I think you should be fine, although high gravity beers may be a bit more challenging.

I wouldn't use a hessian bag though. You can get a mashing bag from various home brew shops for £8.50 as a starter.

[Wonkydonkey]

Apart from the inial cleaning, it's really a use once thing, cos cleaning that stuff it filtered out for you for you and it would rot/go mouldy it not dried properly. As jockey says mesh/nylon/polyester type much easier. Not to mention about how much wort you',d lose in it as you pull the grain out in the binb way of brewing

Pots, many suppliers, some have uses on gas and electric, and others don't, ie the hob that needs somthing steel to make it work, others have used a steel plate on top. (To many beers so can't remeber exactly at the mo)

I'm sure someone will come along about sizes. But you could always brew a stronger beer and dilute it down if you wanted a bit more volume. but There are positives and neg's to this.

But having said about pots and sizes, it's what you want to end up with (with abit of flexablity) in bottles or keg at the end of each brew, is a question you should ask yourself first.
After I started out, I asked my self the same. The answer was 2 FV's full. But I only wanted/had 2x25 lt FV at that time. Which gave me 2 cornies and a few bottles. But now I want 3 cornies

[rpt]

I just use a piece of voile which was about £5. I've never bothered to make it into a bag. By the way, you don't boil in the bag, but mash in the bag. It doesn't need to be sterilised as it's used before the boil.

[alexlark]

I was in the same position as you this time last year. I bought a 19L pot off ebay just to try the process as. I used a maxi BIAB method which involved a lot of dunk sparging at the end of the mash and adding to the pot during the boil. At the end of the boil I also had to dilute the beer down to get the desired volume of beer. It worked and produced very good beer, excellent compared with kits. It was however, quite labor intensive.

As I got bitten by the bug I decided to get myself a 33L pot from Powell Brewing: http://powellbrewing.co.uk/index.php?ro ... duct_id=71
This allows me to mash close to the top of the pot, I then dunk sparge with approx 3L of water and add this at the start of the boil. I get a final volume of 21L of 6% beer. With an efficiency of approx 74%.

I had read a lot of posts that said get a 50L pot and go big but my hob can only comfortable boil 30L so it would have been no good for me. I get about 4 inches of head space in the pot at the beginning of the boil so it's a bit more relaxing during the brew day. Good luck in your quest into the dark side!!

[Meatymc]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The cocoa bean sack seemed like a good idea at the time - particularly at only £4. Won't go to waste - can use it for this years apple collecting before storage and brewing.

Think I'm now convinced a 30/33L pot is my starting point - all I need now is a bloody kitchen to get a hob and get started!!

[Rookie]

Totally understand the argument that 'bigger is better' as regards a brewing pan but I want to aim at producing around 3 gallons a brew every 2 weeks or so - lower quantities than I currently brew but more regularly. Having said that no need to restrict it so much that I end up with wort all over the floor or panic about a too vigorous boil - just want to keep things realistic but 'more-than capable'.

Is a 30l pan a sensible choice? And if so recommendations for suppliers?

Thanks as always.

I brew three gallon batches all the time using a 5 1/2 gallon (22L) pot. 30L would be a good choice if you want to also brew some bigger batches.