BIAB Volumes/Trub

[nhenson22]

Hi all,

Recently made the switch to BIAB using the digital Peco boiler. I have done a couple of full volume boils so far using ready made mash kits.

One of the things that is bugging me is the amount of wort I end up with in the FV. I followed the specific BIAB instructions for one of the kits, which suggested 26L of mash water, then a sparge of the bag until the volume gets to the suggested 27L pre-boil volume. After the boil I would say (I don't think the measurements on the side of the Peco are that accurate) I have had roughly 22-24L of wort to transfer. However, when I get as much as I can into the FV, I have been lucky to hit 19L. To get this volume I have had to tilt the boiler and clear the hop debris from the strainer to try and get as much as possible, so end up with a large amount of trub in the FV once it has settled out. Probably therefore closer to 17 L of finished beer.

Are there any tips on this process to improve the volume of wort after boil? I should add that I have hit the gravity for both mash kits. I realise I could just top up with more water after the boil, but unsure how this will affect ABV and not sure if I want to go down this route.

Cheers

 

[dan125]

Sounds like your efficiency is fine but you're losing volume to dead space in the boiler. You need to start with more water and increase the grainbill accordingly to hit the same OG - now you know the total losses with your system you can add enough extra water to hit your prefered batch size.
I BIAB in a 50L pot and need to start with 44-46L (recipe depending) to end up with 28L in the FV

 

[foxbat]

I used to use the Peco. It's a decent starter boiler.

My advice is to bag your hops in a large 5 litre strainer bag and hang them over the edge during the boil. At the end squeeze out the bag with nitrile-gloved hands then transfer all the boiler content into the fermenter after chilling. If you've added a protofloc tablet at about 10 mins all the kettle trub will coagulate and pack down hard in the trub cake during the 2 weeks in the fermenter.

 

[samale]

Do you squeeze your hops I was under the impression you were not to.

 

[Brewed_Force]

Try filtering your boiled wort through a sterilised voile-covered sieve to remove loads of crud.

 

[foxbat]

Do you squeeze your hops I was under the impression you were not to.

Most definitely yes. I want every last drop of flavour out of there that I can get.

 

[chesters-mild]

Do you squeeze your hops I was under the impression you were not to.

Yes give the hops a good squeeze, - never a problem for me in over 15 brews. I even squeeze any dry hop bags back into the brew (sanitized hands of course) As to the trub from the boil- all mine end up in the FV, as long as you ferment for 10 to 14 days it all stays in the FV when you keg or bottle.

 

[Covrich]

YOu should incorporate some additional water to your numbers to make up for dead space and losses. I would add an additonal 2 litres probably to your sparge water

 

[Leon103]

You have identified the main issue. The markings aren't correct. I would create you own markings. Do you use beersmith. I have the settings for a peco boiler so it's more accurate

 

[Cwrw666]

I always tilt the boiler etc to get every last drop of liquid out. I find that hoppy brews drain well and low hop brews clog up the filter with hot break gunk but my mate has it the other way round - I guess it's down to the mesh size in the filter.
But how are your OGs ? If your wort volume is down then I'd assume your OGs should be higher than expected. If so you could always 'liquor back' - that's watering down your wort in plain English.
I never bother too much about volumes but always assume if I start off with the correct amount of grains then top up with water to the final volume everything will be ok. It usually is.