Working Out the Amount of Strike Water Needed to do a BIAB.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

If you were looking at doing a BIAB and wanted 23L in the Fermenter, how do you account for water loss? I see some say work backwards to work it out, but every system does vary some what and it is a trial an error way to do it, But what is the general water loss to grain is it 1 litre to every 1kg of grain? I have been Googling etc... but you guys know your stuff, and value your opinions. Cheers.

Daza.

[Pierre Malan]

Top of my head:

23L in fermenter

+ 1L per kg of grain

+ boil off losses

+ losses into dead space at bottom of mash tun and/or kettle

Simple!

Edit: Calculators online can be bloody misleading.  You do need to measure volumes for a brew or two and you'll hit it pretty close.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

So could be 34L? wouldn't boil off losses be hard to calculate?

[Pierre Malan]

After you do a brew, you'll know your boil off losses for your setup and how much power you pump into the wort.

[Greg Tarr]

Hey Daza,

I use the BeerSmith programme, which uses 0.611 g/mL. There are a couple of variables you can eventually work out for your own equipment e.g. boil off rate, additional losses to trub and bottling.

I add 30L at the start, no top up, no squeezing, no sparging, and a 60 min boil for a 4 - 6 kg grain bill. I don't adjust specifically for grain weight.

I don't try to exclude the trub from the fermenter. In total I've been getting pretty much 23 L in, and 19L of beer (in the keg).

http://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/Metric

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

ok cool tried it and I wasn't sure about some things and still looks like around 30-32L strike water would be good do a 60 min boil as recipe states and just go with the rolling boil not a intensely vigorous boil like last time losing 10 litres!! over 75 mins.

[Ben Dean]

I use The Calculator.xls downloadable from here: http://biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=189

Really simple to use.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

My guess is this start with 30Litres of strike water. 5.5kg of grain is losing 5.5L of strike water? making for a pre-sparge of 24.5 Litres. Sparge 6 litres bringing back to 30.5L pre-boil. lose 6 Litres of water(wort) coming up with 24.5Litres of post-boil

ready for cooling and transfering to fermenter....23Litres I hope!!!!

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

My next brew is a Amarillo SMaSH Pale Ale.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

My last one was my first one. I boiled really hard out! Probably too hard for 75 min and lost 10 litres next tine not as hard out and for 60 min (if recipe calls for a 60 min boil do you stick to it?) cheers

[Sam DT]

I'd go for 34l all up, from the look of your photos you could tone back your boil a bit, you want it churning but not coming out of the pot at you. If you have a 60 minute hop addition it's worth boiling for at least 10 minutes before you start your hop schedule to clear the hot break - all that foamy stuff that bubbles up when you first start boiling.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Thanks. And pre boil volume? Same 34L? There is a 60 min hop addition then 40 mins later for next then at 0mins yeah I start click from hot break too. If not so intense I'll lose less water 10 litres over75 mins this time would probably be around 6L? Cheers

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

If I start with more than u should what will happen? Will my gravity be out? And if so by how much? As in a lot or marginally