captainjay
Well-Known Member
A couple of nights ago I attempted my first all-grain batch... Because I haven't got the ball-valve plumbing sorted out for my cooler mash tun, I decided to go the brew-in-a-bag (BIAB) route. I've read a lot of posts about it, and it seemed like others have had some success with it...
So with my brand-new digital thermometer from Canadian Tire in hand ($10 on sale!) I took my freshly milled grains for a little 2.5 gallon batch and began... Based on some of the calcs I've seen other people use for this process, I started with about 4 gallons of water. Everything seems right in the world.
I deviated from traditional wisdom in a couple of instances, however, and was wondering what I should expect as a result....
ISSUE #1: I couldn't find a 5 gallon paint strainer bag to use, so I used three 1 gallon bags,suspended like tea bags in the pot. I stirred a number of times and tried to ensure there was a little circulation between the bags as best I could. Could this still be a problem?
ISSUE #2: Because there were 3 feet of snow outside, I figured that would be the easiest way to cool the wort... So with my handy-dandy digital thermometer from Canadian Tire, I went out into the snow. The temperature seemed to drop pretty quick, then stall around 90 degrees. Half an hour later I realized something was up, so I brought it inside and used a traditional thermometer - the temp fell below 50 degrees! Grrr, my digital thermometer lied to me! So I heated the batch up on the stove to get it up to 65 or 70 degrees before pitching the yeast. Is this a danger? Have I killed my beer?
In less than 24 hrs my airlock is bubbling away in the basement, so I don't seem to have surprised the yeast too badly. The OG (at 65 degrees or so) was about 1.056, a little higher than I expected but I guess not a huge concern. I am also slightly concerned about infection from the snow... While I was in the snow bank it started to snow. I had the lid on, but I'm not 100% sure a few flakes didn't make it in.
Overall a fun brew day experiment! I would like to try BIAB again, but with a proper bag. I got my wife a sewing machine for X-Mas, so I'll have to get her to sew me up a proper bag.
Jay
So with my brand-new digital thermometer from Canadian Tire in hand ($10 on sale!) I took my freshly milled grains for a little 2.5 gallon batch and began... Based on some of the calcs I've seen other people use for this process, I started with about 4 gallons of water. Everything seems right in the world.
I deviated from traditional wisdom in a couple of instances, however, and was wondering what I should expect as a result....
ISSUE #1: I couldn't find a 5 gallon paint strainer bag to use, so I used three 1 gallon bags,suspended like tea bags in the pot. I stirred a number of times and tried to ensure there was a little circulation between the bags as best I could. Could this still be a problem?
ISSUE #2: Because there were 3 feet of snow outside, I figured that would be the easiest way to cool the wort... So with my handy-dandy digital thermometer from Canadian Tire, I went out into the snow. The temperature seemed to drop pretty quick, then stall around 90 degrees. Half an hour later I realized something was up, so I brought it inside and used a traditional thermometer - the temp fell below 50 degrees! Grrr, my digital thermometer lied to me! So I heated the batch up on the stove to get it up to 65 or 70 degrees before pitching the yeast. Is this a danger? Have I killed my beer?
In less than 24 hrs my airlock is bubbling away in the basement, so I don't seem to have surprised the yeast too badly. The OG (at 65 degrees or so) was about 1.056, a little higher than I expected but I guess not a huge concern. I am also slightly concerned about infection from the snow... While I was in the snow bank it started to snow. I had the lid on, but I'm not 100% sure a few flakes didn't make it in.
Overall a fun brew day experiment! I would like to try BIAB again, but with a proper bag. I got my wife a sewing machine for X-Mas, so I'll have to get her to sew me up a proper bag.
Jay