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You are spot on. Squeezing the bag (a fully gravity drained bag) will result in a small increase in wort volume. Is the increase worth the effort? That's a subjective matter. The "correct" answer will differ from brewer to brewer. For me, I am happy to donate a cup of wort to the compost bin...

I'd like to read up on that claim you're making. Can you provide links to studies that prove such tight control of mash temps has a discernible effect? You're saying that if you don't care about maintaining temps to within a tenth of a degree then the beer produced is of such inferior quality...

I've thought about this, and come to the conclusion that there are no ill effects. The majority of the wort drains out of the bag in the first couple of minutes (or less). The amount of wort draining out near the end of the boil is very small, just an occasional drop. That small amount is...

It's a hot sticky mess that is just not necessary if you let gravity fully drain the bag. After the mash I hoist the bag, and immediately fire the heat for the boil. The bag is left hanging over the kettle during the entire boil. By the end of the hour there is only an occasional drop coming...

Last week I tried a Bell's Best Brown. The first sip tasted off to me, there was a flavor that seemed out of place that I couldn't initially identify. After several more sips it became apparent the flavor was grapefruit. It was a bit hidden behind the other flavors, but there was enough of it to...

I love Amarillo hops in pale ales and IPA's, but to me the grapefruit flavor of them is not a good match for a brown, porter, or stout.

The only time I sparge is when my target OG is over ~1.065. The sparge helps offset the reduced efficiency that comes with a big grain bill. I find this to be the easiest way to do a BIAB sparge: mash with 50% of the total water drain the wort into a bucket, leaving the bag and grains in place...

I'm sitting here catching up on this thread, reading all the posts about clarity, pumps, multiple vessels, RIMS, chilling, etc.........and I hold my beer up to the screen. In the photo you can see the clarity, the head retention, and the lacing. What you can't see is the great taste and the...

I'm consistently in the low 80's with a .025" crush (single pass with a 3 roller mill). No sparge, no re-circulation, no squeeze (gravity drain over the kettle during the entire boil).

Try an alarm thermometer with a remote probe. I set mine to beep me when the mash water is a few degrees below target, then I go grind grains and do other things. That takes away the need to constantly check the temp. It's all the automation I need. For stable mash temps, I just use a kids...

With the excellent post from jseyfert3, hopefully you can see that you have not tried "set and forget". That method assumes you start out with un-carbonated beer (or at least carbonated to a level below your target). On your next brew, look up the recommended pressure from a carbonation chart...

Those are solid choices on your kettle size and bag brand. You won't regret either of those. Which kettle? If you think you'll be most satisfied with a simple inexpensive kettle you upgrade with a DIY drain valve, then go that route. If you think you'll be most satisfied with a blingy kettle...

Great post Bobby. My only comment is regarding additional grain. With a no sparge no re-circulation BIAB process I've never had a need to add grain to a recipe (developed for traditional systems) to hit or exceed the target OG.

In your original post you said you had it at 40psi for four days (which can over carb it, and you've never mentioned bleeding off any of that excess), and by your account you've had the pressure all over the map since then. That's not intended to sound harsh, just truthful.

Another vote for doing it by weight. I use the same postal scale I use to weigh grain. In addition to my 5gal kegs I have a couple of 3gal. For them I brew a six gallon batch and split between them. To one of the kegs I add a dry hop or fruit.

As you have already surmised, there are no "secrets". Here's my process. Clean and sanitize a few 4oz canning jars and lids. For each batch of beer I only collect 2-3 jars of yeast. Leave a little beer in the fermenter. Swirl it around to mix with the yeast cake. In storage the yeast will...

It wouldn't matter to me if you did. That's cool. I get great results from re-pitching yeast I've harvested from previous fermentations. The instructions from the supplier don't even mention that as a possibility. I've got some strains that I have been re-pitching for over 3 years, which...

The goal is to pitch an adequate quantity of yeast, that ideally are already active. A starter is a good way to accomplish that, regardless of the original source of the yeast. It's not the only way, but it is a good way, especially if yeast is being re-used. Some of the cells may have died in...

High OG can make for a stressful environment for your yeast, which can lead to off flavors. BTW, there is no hard and fast definition of "high OG", but it seems common for folks to refer to it as being above ~1.065. To give your yeast the best chance in a high OG wort, make a yeast starter...

You may have unknowingly over carbed your beer initially, depending on how long you left it at the higher pressures you mentioned above. If it was over carbed, and you now have it at a lower pressure, as the keg empties the carbonation level will slowly decrease until it reaches the...