Electric Brewing - BIAB Options

[Dene McDonald]

I’ve been brewing with Kit and Kilo for just over a year now having made around 10 batches and while it’s getting better every time I can’t seem to shake that home brew taste that you get when using a “brew enhancer”. So I’ve been doing a bit of research and decided that BIAB is the route for me as it’s low cost, easy to learn, quick cleanup etc… I’m sure you’re all aware of the benefits of BIAB.

I’ve priced up all of the equipment I need for a gas setup and while it’s only the $50 for a pot and $80 for a burner it’s a bit of work on brew day to set it all up. I also can’t do it when it’s wet, windy or cold (which is all the time in Dunedin) as I don’t have a garage or shed.

So as an alternative to gas I’ve decided that an electric brewery is the right option for me. It’s easy to setup, I can do it inside, there’s no worries of running out of gas or having to get gas… the list goes on!

I’ve narrowed it down to two options:

A cheap URN

http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farming-industry/retail-hospitali...

Brew Pot and Element

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/kitchen/pots-pans-bakeware/pot...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/food-beverage/other-beverages/...

So what I want to know is…

Urn

Does anyone own one of these urns and are they reliable? Would I be able to get a good boil going in it, or I there a safety cut out that stops boiling? If the element blows is it easy to replace or is it a proprietary element fixed into the system?

Pot system

Can anyone comment on doing this? Is it as easy as drilling a hole and screwing it into the pot (keep in mind that I am a complete novice and have no DIY skills at all)?  

Sorry about all the questions but this is my foray into the world of BIAB/All grain! The urn idea seems great as I can set it to my mash temperature and walk away, whereas the pot may need some heat applied from time to time. But if the element dies in the pot I can just swap it out, and the urn would need replaced!

[Dene McDonald]

I've halfway through my first BIAB in my CaterMaster 40 litre urn and thought I'd post a video of my urn boiling. Tomorrow I'll post all of the brewday specs when I've had time to get all my notes together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMdhKCjiQ8I

[Matt Dillon]

Good to see you keeping this thread alive. I'm a newbie homebrewer and have been looking at the Birko/CaterMaster urns.

Keep us all posted with your results (which I now see below).

[Dene McDonald]

Urn finally arrived today so I have done some tests. Filled it up to what I thought was 30 litres, but the wife informs me that the pot I used was bigger than I thought. So it looks like I filled it to 37.5 litres, but not totally sure as there is a lot of room left at the top. Anyway, it's getting late so I will double check how much water I had in it tomorrow. I can confirm that I was able to achieve and hold a rolling boil, although it did seem to struggle with the lid right off. All that work and all I've made is non alcoholic, clear, flavourless beer also known as hot water.

Here's the details (hope I got them right as it's been a long hot day!):

Make: Cater Master
Model: TT-WB26
Capacity: 40 litres

Start volume: 37.5 litres (need to double check this)
Start temp: 21 degrees
Time to 70 degrees: 71 minutes
Total Temp Rise: 49 degrees
Time per degree: 1 minute 26
Temp after 60 mins mash: 64 degrees
Temp after 90 mins mash: 61 degrees
Temp drop: 1 degree per 10 minutes
Time to 78 degrees (from 70): 14 mins 29 sec
Time per degree: 1 minute 45 approx
Time to boil (100 degrees) from mash out: 62 mins
Time per degree (to 100): 2 minutes 48
Total time to rolling boil from 70: 76 minutes

Notes:
Testing with water only, no grains, bag, or insulation used. Therefore the mash temperature drop wouldn't be as big.
Roiling boil achieved with lid half off.
Achieved boil and turned off, as no point wasting electricity by boiling for 60 - 90 mins.
Started when air temp was 25 degrees and dropped to 16 by finish.

[Crusader-Rob]

Nice video Welly, Doesnt look like a bad boil To be honest. how long does it take to get to a boil once you lift yourgrains out, Your BIAB i Assume?

 

[welly]

Yes, I am BIAB. I mashout at around 76C and then hoist the bag over the urn, squeeze a little and leave to drain while the wort heats up. I haven't timed it but it's probably around 30 minutes to reach boiling after that. Having said that that doesn't tie in very well with Dene's times. I would be surprised if it took an hour to reach boiling from mashout but I'll have to time it next time I brew.

Cheers

Welly

[Dene McDonald]

I did mine outside, and it had dropped to 16 degrees and I had no insulation. I also had 37.5 litres of water so that would make it take a lot longer. It actually got to about 95 degrees quickly and took for ever to get to the boil.

[welly]

Good point! My urn isn't insulated but I was brewing in the garage where it was considerably warmer than 16C.

When will you get your first chance to brew?

[Dene McDonald]

I haven't got a Wort Chiller and I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to cool it so not too sure. Only have 2 kegs and need to make a cider for the wife and still have my last kit and kilo in the other keg so may have to wait a couple of weeks! But would like to get one done ASAP!

[welly]

I use the no-chill method as I didn't want to waste water with a wort chiller. I got a 20l cube from StorageBox and transfer the wort from the urn to that. I then squeeze out as much air as I can and seal the cube. This then waits until the fermenter is free.

There is a load of information (and debate!) on AHB but I've found it works really well. The wort is normally cooled enough to pitch yeast by the following day. Mostly the wort is in the cube for a week or so but I have occasionally left it longer and not had any problems. When the fermenter is free I just pour the entire contents of the cube in which helps with aeration.

I'm thinking about getting some plastic jerry cans and using them to ferment in as well as no-chill. I should be able to fit two of these into my fermenting fridge which would give me the capacity to just about brew once a week. Now I can only brew once a fortnight and I'm struggling to keep the kegs filled - it's a hard life :-)

[Crusader-Rob]

The No-Chill method works, but I recommend a Chiller of some description. I use an immersion chiller, and its cool enough in about 30mins, i made it myself using soft coper pipe available on trademe and some guys around town. 15m should be enough.

[Dene McDonald]

I'm very happy with my first brew day in my urn. I had a few small teething problems with water volume and a floating heat shield (colander) meaning it was difficult to get my chiller in. As I type my fermenter is bubbling away happily. Many thanks to those who gave me advice - I'm very happy with my urn and would recommend it to anyone considering going to all grain.

Here are the specs for the brew day.

Virgin Brew
7th of April 2013

Brew Kit
Make: Cater Master
Model: TT-WB26
Capacity: 40 litres

Details
Grains: 4kg pilsner 2 row, 0.25kg crystal
Yeast: US-05
Hops: Cascade, 15g @ 60 min, 30g @ 30 min, 30g @ 10 min
Start volume: 33.97 litres
Start temp: 16.7 degrees
Time to 69.5 degrees: 79 minutes
Total Temp Rise: 52.8 degrees
Temp after 60 mins mash: 65 degrees
Temp after 75 mins mash: 64.2 degrees
Time to mash out 78 degrees: 22 mins
Pre boil volume: 31.1
Pre boil gravity: 1.032 (Target 1.034)
Time to rolling boil from mash out: 39 mins
Post boil volume: 24.11
Post Boil Gravity: 1.040 (Target 1.046)
Approx efficiency: 79%

Notes
Missed target gravity and ended with more wort than intended as used default settings for BrewSmith - adjusted evaporation rate to 30 litres per 90 mins for next brew.
Used colander to keep bag off element which moved during boil and made it hard to get chiller in properly, meaning chill took 45 mins to 20 degrees.

Video of boil here

[Dene McDonald]

Another video of a brew day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb42H_FZ1zc