GETTING STARTED

WITH BIAB BREWING

A start-to-finish guide for home brewing

your first beer.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY CLAWHAMMERSUPPLY.COM

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BEFORE WE GET STARTED

A FEW THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIAB PROCESS

BIAB simply stand for “brew in a bag.” It’s the process of

brewing all-grain beer entirely in a single kettle. The BIAB brewing

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process is way less complicated than “normal” all-grain brewing.

One of the many benefits of BIAB brewing is the much smaller

footprint needed which enables brewing in smaller spaces. BIAB

brewing requires less equipment and a smaller startup cost vs a

Simply put, BIAB is a fun and

traditional 3-tier brewing system.

easy way to brew great all grain beer.

You may have also seen the term "E-BIAB" thrown around when

referring to BIAB brewing. E-BIAB stands for “Electric Brew in a

bag.” These systems incorporate digital control, a heating element,

and a pump to recirculate the mash. The main benefit of going

with an electric BIAB brew system is the ability to easily and

constantly maintain a set mash temperature.There are many

benefits of brewing in a single vessel system, but the main
advantages of E-BIAB are simplicity and consistency.

There are many different home brew systems on the market today

and there is quite a bit of variety when it comes to what the

systems are comprised of and how they work. For example, some

systems utilize three huge kettles and even require a dedicated

workspace and a special stand, while other systems only consist of

one kettle and can be operated in an apartment.

The bottom line is that amazing, world class beer can be

made on any system, if one knows what they're doing.

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MORE BENEFITS OF AN

ELECTRIC BIAB SYSTEM

BIAB offers many benefits over traditional 3 tier brewing

systems:
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Simplifies all grain brewing: Make great beer in 1 brew

kettle!

Creates a smaller footprint with one kettle vs. three.

Less mess: Pumps and hoses keep the wort where it needs to

be.

Precision mash temps: Set the PID to a mash temp and it will

hold it for the entire mash.

Quick clean up: Simply clean the brew kettle, mesh basket,

hoses and pump at the end of the brew day. Cleaning 1 kettle

is far quicker than cleaning 3 kettles.

For the purpose of this guide we're going to shamelessly use

Clawhammer's 10.5 gallon, electric, brew in a bag (BIAB),

single-kettle homebrew system as a reference point.

We've brewed beer and made mash with many different types of

systems, but this is what we've been using lately. It's a good

system to use as a comparison to other types of systems because

it's pretty minimalist and quite different from what a lot of folks

use.

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DECIPHERING THE TERMS

A short glossary of common brewing terms

BIAB: Also known as brew in a bag or brew in a basket; is

a form of all-grain brewing that takes place entirely within

one kettle. The grains are simply placed into a bag or

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basket which is submerged into the water in the kettle for

the mash. When the mash is complete, the grain bag or

basket is removed, and the kettle is brought up to a boil to

finish the brew day.

E-BIAB: Electric Brew in a bag. This is like basic BIAB

brewing with the addition of a digital controller and pump

for recirculation. The digital controller easily maintains the

desired mash temperature with the push a button, the

pump recirculates the wort which helps with efficiency

and also keeps the temperature consistent throughout the

brew kettle for the mash.

Brewing Kettle: The only kettle used in BIAB brewing.

Hop Basket: Holds all of the hops during the brewing
process.

Grain Basket: Holds all of the grains when brewing BIAB.

Grain Basket hooks: These are used after the mash to
allow the wort from the grain basket to drain back into

the kettle.

Digital brewing Controller: Used to regulate and

maintain the mash temperature and boil during the

brewing process. Also used to control the pump operation.

Pump: Pumps the wort from the bottom of the kettle

through the spray valve during the mash.

Plate Chiller: Used to quickly chill the hot wort down to

yeast pitching temperature.

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A FEW MORE TERMS...

Spray Valve: Sprays the wort over the grain during the

mash to help with efficiency and also keep the

temperature stable during the 60-minute mash.

Quick Disconnect Fittings: These make connecting and

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disconnecting the brewing hoses easy and fast.

BeerSmith: Software used to create beer recipes.

Specific Gravity: Measurement of the sugar in the
wort/beer.

Pre-Boil Gravity: The specific gravity of the wort before

boiling.

Starting Gravity: The specific gravity of the wort after

the boil.

Final Gravity (FG): The amount of sugar left after

fermentation in the beer.

Grain Absorption: The amount of water absorbed by the

grains during the mash process.

Hydrometer: An instrument used to measure the specific

gravity of wort and beer which can be used to determine

the ABV of the final beer.

Refractometer: An instrument that takes instant gravity

readings, with just one drop of wort, at any point during

the boil or post-boil. This cannot be used to take a final

gravity.

Auto-Siphon: Used to transfer wort from a fermenter into

a keg or bottles.

PH: Measurement of the acidity or alkalinity in the wort. A

value of 1 is most acidic, a value of 14 is most alkaline and

7 represents neutral. The ideal PH of a mash is between

5.2 and 5.4.

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ANATOMY OF CLAWHAMMER'S

BIAB SYSTEM

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D
B

A
C

E F

A - BREWING KETTLE

B - GRAIN BASKET

C - BREWING HOSES AND FITTINGS

D - HOP BASKET

E - DIGITAL BREWING CONTROLLER

F - ELECTRIC HEATING ELEMENT

G - BREW PUMP

H - PLATE CHILLER

I - BASKET DRAIN CLIPS

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 1: ADD WATER TO THE KETTLE

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Add the full amount of water needed for the brew day.

Turn on the controller and set the mash temperature. The controller
will heat the water to the set mash temperature and will maintain
that temperature once it is reached.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 2: TIME TO MASH!

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Once the water is up to temperature insert the grain basket into the kettle
and add the milled grains. After adding the grains make sure they are fully
submerged and there are no dough balls in the mash. If there are any
dough balls simple smash them with the spoon until they are broken down.

Once the grains are added, and the dough balls removed put the lid on your
brew kettle, attach the pump, and recirculate for the mash duration which is
typically 60 minutes.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 3: COLLECT THE WORT

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One the mash is complete simply

pull the basket out of the brew
kettle and rest the grain basket
on the hooks. Be careful, the
grains and basket will be very hot
- we highly recommend using
insulated brewing gloves and a
pulley to remove the basket.

Let the grain basket drain for 5-10 minutes and then remove then remove the
basket and hooks from the kettle.
Empty the grain basket into the compost pile or trash.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 4: BRING THE WORT TO A BOIL

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Once the grain basket is removed set the controller to 100% power to
bring the wort up to a boil. Depending on the size of element (either
120v or 240v) will determine how long it will take to come up to a boil. 

If brewing on a 120v system insert the hop basket into the kettle then
place the lid on the kettle. The hop filter creates a perfect gap for the
steam to escape while bringing the wort up to a boil. 

If brewing on 240v system, the lid is not needed as there is plenty of

power in the 5500 watt element to quickly bring the wort up to a boil
without the lid.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 5: ADD YOUR HOPS

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Add hops to the beer according to the recipe.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 6: CHILL THE WORT

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One the boil is finished, (typically 60 minutes) turn off the heat to the
kettle, hook up the plate chiller, turn on the cooling water, and chill
the wort to yeast pitching temperature.

The variety of yeast selected will determine the pitching temp, but
most ale yeast ferment best between 60-70°F (15-20°C).

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 7: TRANSFER THE WORT

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One the wort is chilled to the temperature, the yeast manufacturer

recommends transferring the wort from the kettle to the fermenter.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 8: TIME TO FERMENT!

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One the chilled wort has been transferred into the sanitized fermenter,
add the yeast to the fermenter and make sure the airlock is good and tight.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 9: TRANSFER TO A KEG OR BOTTLE

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When fermentation is finished, transfer the beer to either bottles or kegs.

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A DAY OF BREWING

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST BREW DAY

STEP 10: ENJOY!

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Invite over some friends and enjoy the fruits of your labor with
a delicious homebrew!

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BONUS RECIPE #1

BLACK IPA (CASCADIAN DARK ALE)

There are many IPA styles to choose from, and we've brewed almost all of
them. But alas, one managed to slip through the cracks: the Black IPA. This
style of beer, also known as a Cascadian Dark Ale, is one of our favorites.
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We present to you, brewed by popular demand: 
The Hammer Party Black IPA.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR BREW VIDEO FOR THIS RECIPE

HAMMER PARTY BLACK IPA RECIPE

Water

We started with 8.1 gallons of Asheville, NC city water and made a few minor

adjustments, which will be different for you depending on what kind of water

you're using.

Grains

Here's the detailed grain bill

for this recipe:

Pale Malt - 10lbs, 8.0 oz.

Flaked Rye - 12.8 oz.

Crystal 60 - 8.0 oz.

Crystal 120 - 8.0 oz.

Chocolate Wheat - 8.0 oz.

Carafa III - 6.4 oz.

Mash

We did a single step mash at 149 degrees Fahrenheit and did not sparge.

(Recipe continued on next page.)

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BONUS RECIPE #1 (CONT'D)

BLACK IPA (CASCADIAN DARK ALE)

Hops, etc

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We used the following hops at the amounts and times listed:

Columbus - 0.3 oz at 60 minutes

Centennial - 0.5 oz at 45 minutes

Centennial - 0.5 oz at 30 minutes

Cascade - 0.5 oz at 15 minutes

Whirlfloc - 1 tablet at 15 minutes

Cascade - 0.5 oz at 5 minutes

Note: this beer will be plenty bitter with this hop schedule, but we think that

many will think that hop aroma may be lacking. Thus, we suggest increasing

the quantity of aroma hops or doing a whirlpool / hopstand.

Yeast and Fermentation

This beer was fermented with US-05 at room temperature for almost 2 weeks.

Note, the beer was slightly fruity. If we did this one again we'd turn down the

heat some or throw it in our fermentation chamber and set it to 65F. Also,

based on this gravity, the amount of yeast we pitched was 10% low according

to manufacturer directions. And at least one popular yeast pitching calculator

found online said that we significantly under-pitched. Either pitch 2 packets

of dry US-05 or make a yeast starter.

Benchmarks

Post boil water volume was 5.3.

Our starting gravity was 1.061

Ending Gravity was 1.005

ABV is 7.35%

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BONUS RECIPE #2

CANDY ORANGE IPA - HAZY SESSION

This one is made with citra and lemon drop hops, as well as orange simple
syrup and candied orange peel - all made from scratch. If you're into hazy
session IPAs, we highly recommend this recipe. It's a very balanced beer with
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just the right amount of citrus aroma and taste as well as body and bitterness.
And because it's a fairly low ABV beer, it's "highly crushable."

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR BREW VIDEO FOR THIS RECIPE

CANDY ORANGE IPA RECIPE

Water

We started with 7.9 gallons of Asheville City tap water to our kettle and made

some minor water chemistry adjustments.

Shoot an email to [email protected] if you'd like our water

chemistry and Beersmith profiles.

Grains

After heating the water to strike

temp, we inserted the grain basket

in our kettle and added the following

grains to the grain basket:

2 Row Pilsner (2.0 SRM) - 6lbs

Flaked Oats (1.0 SRM) - 1lb

Flaked Corn (1.7 SRM) - 1lb

Flaked Wheat (1.6 SRM) - 1lb

(Recipe continued on next page.)

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BONUS RECIPE #2 (CONT'D)

CANDY ORANGE IPA - HAZY SESSION

Mash

We mashed at 160F for 60 mins. We mashed at a bit higher temperature than

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we have in the past for this style of beer. The goal was to increase beta

amylase activity, which should boost the amount of unfermentable sugar,

giving the beer a bit more sweetness and body.

Citrus Zest

While mashing, we worked on processing some citrus zest. We took the peel

from 3 oranges and 1 lemon and blanched them. Here's a quick guide to

blanching citrus fruit:

Add peels to pot of cold water (enough water to cover peels)

Heat water to a boil

As soon as boil starts, remove from heat, strain peels, and dump water

Add more cold water to pot along with strained peels

Begin process again.

Repeat this entire process 3 times and make sure to remove the pot from the

heat and strain the fruit as soon as a boil is reached. This process reduces the

bitterness of the fruit. However, if you leave the peels boil, bitterness will

actually increase.

Making Candied Citrus Peel

After blanching we moved on to creating candied peels. To do this we made

some simple syrup by dissolving 400 grams of sugar in 400 grams of water (a 1

to 1 ratio). We then added the peels and simmered for 45 minutes. After that

we put the peels in a food dehydrator and let them sit on low heat for about

24 hours.

(Recipe continued on next page.)

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BONUS RECIPE #2 (CONT'D)

CANDY ORANGE IPA - HAZY SESSION

Boiling / Hops

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We boiled for 60 minutes and added the following hops, etc:

Citra (0.25 oz) at 60 minutes (the start of the boil)

Citra (3 oz) & Lemon Drop (1 oz) hopstand after completing the boil and

cooling the wort below 170F.

Simple Syrup was also added with the hopstand hops.

Fermentation

After leaving the hopstand hops hang out for 20 minutes, we chilled the wort

to 68F and added it to a sanitized bucket. We pitched some yeast and let it

chill for half a week then added another ounce of citra and an additional

ounce of lemon drop hops. We also added candied orange peel at this time.

Fermentation kicked off again (because of the sugar in the candied orange

peels) and finished a few days later.

Additional Benchmarks

Starting Gravity: 1.046

Final Gravity: 1.015

ABV: 4.07%

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CLEANING AND STORAGE

Cleaning brewing equipment is never fun, but one of the many benefits of our

BIAB system  is the ease of cleaning. There are less components  than a

traditional three-tier system so cleaning the system at the end of the brew day is

quick and easy. 

This is the process we recommend: 

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1. After the mash, empty the grain basket into the compost pile or trash. 

2. When chilling the wort with the plate chiller, use the hot waste water from

the chiller to blast the basket and remove the large grains stuck to the

basket. This is one less thing to clean at the end of the brew day.

3. After the wort has been chilled, transferred to a fermenter and the yeast

has been pitched, give the kettle, chiller, pump, and hoses a quick rinse in

the sink or with a garden hose.

4. Dump the hops from the hop basket into the compost bin or into the trash. 

5. Fill the kettle with clean water.

6. Add 5-ish ounces of PBW to the water in the kettle.

7. Add the grain basket back to the kettle (it should be pretty clean at this

point from blasting it earlier with the waste chilling water, but there will

some grains still stuck to it)

8. Connect the pump, hoses, chiller, and spray valve.

9. Run the chiller in reverse during cleaning. The PBW goes into the wort out-

port and it comes out of the in-port. Backflushing is good practice

with plate chillers.

10. Put the hop basket into the kettle, set the controller to 130 degrees and turn

on the pump to recirculate the PBW through the entire system for 30-60

minutes. The PBW magically removes most everything stuck to the grain and

hop baskets.

11. Remove the grain  basket out and rinse it in the sink - 99% of the grains will

come off with a gentle rinse.

12. Dump the PBW in a bucket if it is clean enough to use again, otherwise

dispose down the drain.

13. Rinse the kettle, pump, hoses etc. with clean water.

It sounds like a lot of steps, but it is pretty quick, easy,  and mostly hands off.

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MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSE WITHOUT
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