ag systems...

[Clint]

Hello all
Even though I'd like a gf...my dinner would truly be in the dog so I'm looking to go ag at a more leisurely wallet pace...
Currently ventured into part mash but would like to move the whole operation to the garage now I have the space. Heating ideally via electric...so I'm thinking...hlt, mash tun and boiler. The hlt and boiler being electric.
Any advice on separate bits of kit both budget and a bit more expensive....got wort chiller and all the basic so don't want an all in one if if can be helped...

Cheers

Clint

 

[Leon103]

Thought about biab?

 

[IainM]

Thought about biab?

+1 on that

 

[Clint]

I take it biab is the whole grain bill in one pot? What about sparging etc? What would I need?

Cheers

Clint

 

[wfr42]

+2

Think us biabers have pointed you towards the peco starter kits.

 

[GlentoranMark]

I bought the Peco Digital Mashing Bin and attached a small 12v pump (<£5 from China) for recirculation and done it BIAB. What a revelation, I've brewed my clearest beer to date and efficiency improved massively (so much so I had to dilute the wort).

 

[wfr42]

In theory "true" biab is a no sparge method where you mash in the full volume.

The peco is a little small so I mash in about 25 litres and dunk sparge in about another 10litres in a 2nd fv.

 

[pvt_ak]

I bought the Peco Digital Mashing Bin and attached a small 12v pump (<£5 from China) for recirculation and done it BIAB. What a revelation, I've brewed my clearest beer to date and efficiency improved massively (so much so I had to dilute the wort).

Using BIAB do you mash and then boil in the Peco ? So no need for a separate mash tun ?
Seems like a cheap option I'm equally interested in if yes.


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[IainM]

I take it biab is the whole grain bill in one pot? What about sparging etc? What would I need?

Cheers

Clint

I do something similar to wfr42 - I've got a 15L stock pot to heat the sparge water, then sparge in a spare fv so that I get about the same amount of wort from the first runnings as from the sparge.

 

[pvt_ak]

Using BIAB do you mash and then boil in the Peco ? So no need for a separate mash tun ?
Seems like a cheap option I'm equally interested in if yes.


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Answered that myself - dumb question really !


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[ElvisIsBeer]

I bought the Peco Digital Mashing Bin and attached a small 12v pump (<�£5 from China) for recirculation and done it BIAB. What a revelation, I've brewed my clearest beer to date and efficiency improved massively (so much so I had to dilute the wort).

Thanks for this. Just because I'm a mingebag, why did you opt for the digital version? This one has a 'stat, which presumably enable good temp control. Is it about programmed functions or summat? Cheers.

http://www.pecoservices.co.uk/mashingboiling-bin---eb1-11-p.asp

 

[Leon103]

I went with the HBC BIAB starter kit and it's been brilliant. I do a dunk sparge and use an old tea urn to heat the water but you could do a no sparge or use a kettle or stock pot to heat the sparge water.

 

[GlentoranMark]

Thanks for this. Just because I'm a mingebag, why did you opt for the digital version? This one has a 'stat, which presumably enable good temp control. Is it about programmed functions or summat? Cheers.

http://www.pecoservices.co.uk/mashingboiling-bin---eb1-11-p.asp

I was given a regular Peco boiler by a fellow forum member Niman and had purchased a few extras including a mashing bag, false bottom, hop socks etc. The regular bin doesn't temperature control, it just reaches a boil so mashing isn't great even with wrapping well in towels.

The element packed in a few weeks ago which was a £20 fix so I had an untimely choice of fixing the old bin, buying the regular temperature controlled mashing bin or buying the digital mashing bin. I felt an upgrade with more precise temperature control was the best choice as I do regularly brew.

In hindsight the regular temperature controlled bin does the exact same job as the digital bin, you just get a slight bit more precision. I don't however regret my purchase and since then I added a small 12v pump and recirculated the wort which has given even better results. My next job is to make a small sparge arm with a sprinkler head although this isn't essential but it will automate some of the process.

You can build a separate mashtun but with the temperature controlled Peco you don't need to.

 

[Fil]

If at all diy inclined and not obsessed with Stainless steel a basic plastic brew kit can be knocked up for a modest budget,
troll ebay for a deal on 5x 30l PP buckets, and buy 3 x waddington and duval water but taps.
you can get away with 3 x buckets if you have fermentors and use a single hlt/boiler. Just use a FV to sparge into before the boil...

make a tun by fitting a tap to one bucket and wrapping it with bubble wrap, £ shop camping mats , bin bags, or any other insulator you have at hand.. then drill 1-2mm holes in the base of a 2nd bucket and drop it into the first..

boiler and hlt fabrication is the same add elements and a tap

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-x-30-L-...995031?hash=item33b8eee117:g:dqQAAOSwbYZXV-yc
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-x-3-4-B...hash=item3f7c0ca244:m:mKOJXqloJ6fSqxVGP6a9WtQ

<£45 without insulation and kettle elements..

hlt and tun taps shoud be fine but boiler taps may drip with higher temps, but you have buckets to sit under it

 

[chewie]

If you go with a peco or some home made version then it will always be useful for heating sparge water if/when you go for a GF or similar so there is no loss in equipment that's redundant later on.

The large BIAB bag can be used later on for leaf hops in a GF, something like an inkbird will give you temp control on the peco and double up for control on a brew fridge if you go that route.

For sparging a BIAB brew just boil some water in a kettle and fill a FV with as much water as you need at the rough temp, lift the BIAB out and slide something like a wire oven shelf below it on top of the peco and then sparge away till you hit your pre boil volume, this allows you to quickly rinse the grains over with the clean sparge water.

 

[dps51]

I started of with kit brews then biab
now I have a ace brewery system
if it was me I go with a ace as at the end of the day you will go the same route as I did
so go the ace system first you wont regret it
and it is nice and clean and easy system to use
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNJO2u6G15g[/ame]

 

[pvt_ak]

I bought the Peco Digital Mashing Bin and attached a small 12v pump (<£5 from China) for recirculation and done it BIAB. What a revelation, I've brewed my clearest beer to date and efficiency improved massively (so much so I had to dilute the wort).

Bought the Peco today. Cheap as chips for entry level and free delivery at home brew shop online. [emoji106]


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[Clint]

So...are you going to biab with the peco? I must research the biab a bit more....I'd got used to the idea of a three vessel system but biab seems a lot easier.
Thanks for the ideas!

Cheers

Clint

 

[pvt_ak]

So...are you going to biab with the peco? I must research the biab a bit more....I'd got used to the idea of a three vessel system but biab seems a lot easier.

Thanks for the ideas!



Cheers



Clint

Clint yes. I've done two BIAB now and nice and simple.
So will give BIAB and this a go.
Flogged some stuff on eBay this week to pay for it so nothing lost if it doesn't work out.


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[chewie]

So...are you going to biab with the peco? I must research the biab a bit more....I'd got used to the idea of a three vessel system but biab seems a lot easier.
Thanks for the ideas!

Cheers

Clint

"3 pot" systems are used in the vast majority of commercial breweries because they can give you a constant rolling upscalable production rate which is needed to maintain a decent profit margin.

Downsizing that to the home environment is ok if you have the space and maybe want to do small to slightly larger batches 20-100l, BIAB cuts out the need for a mash tun as the mashing and boiling is all done in the one vessel, this means less space and less cleaning with no discernible difference in end product except a drop in production quantity thru a working day. The stainless steel systems like braumeister, GF or ace etc are all essentially BIAB as in that the mashing/boiling is all done in the one vessel.