gio
Well-Known Member
I've been doing partial mashes using BIAB for a while and I'm wondering if there is anything I can do to improve it. I seem to get about 70% efficiency and I'm happy with that but I want to make sure I'm mashing correctly and getting the best flavor out of my beers that I can.
For example, I'm planning on brewing an IPA this weekend. It has a OG of 1.089 and uses 9.75lbs of grain and 5lbs DME. Recipe calls for a step mash, rest at 122 and then at 149.
I'm planning on adding 10qts 133 degree strike water to hit 122 (1:1 ratio), and then an additional 5.1qts boiling water to hit 149 (about a 1.5qt/lb final ratio). Assuming I lose about 5qts absorbed by the grain, that will leave me with ~10qts.
I plan on then dipping my grain bag in 8qts sparge water (in a 4 gallon pot) at 170 and letting it sit for 10 min. I'll then remove the grains, and pour the sparge water into the brew pot, along with probably another 2-4qts sparge water at 170 poured over the grains in a colander to hit 20qts for my boil (I have a 24qt brew pot). That means I'll only be sparging with 10-12qts. Sparging by steeping still bothers me. And I worry that I'm extracting too many tannins by squeezing the grain bag afterwards because sometimes I think my beers are a little bit astringent.
The amounts of water I use are pretty much just guesses. I try to aim for 1.25 qt/lb for mash water, but there is usually no way I can sparge with 2 qt/lb and fit it all in my 24 qt pot. And for step mashes like this, I'm not sure if I want the 1.25 ratio at the initial strike or at the end so I usually split the difference. Does my technique sound good, or should I be using different ratios of water for mashing and sparging?
For example, I'm planning on brewing an IPA this weekend. It has a OG of 1.089 and uses 9.75lbs of grain and 5lbs DME. Recipe calls for a step mash, rest at 122 and then at 149.
I'm planning on adding 10qts 133 degree strike water to hit 122 (1:1 ratio), and then an additional 5.1qts boiling water to hit 149 (about a 1.5qt/lb final ratio). Assuming I lose about 5qts absorbed by the grain, that will leave me with ~10qts.
I plan on then dipping my grain bag in 8qts sparge water (in a 4 gallon pot) at 170 and letting it sit for 10 min. I'll then remove the grains, and pour the sparge water into the brew pot, along with probably another 2-4qts sparge water at 170 poured over the grains in a colander to hit 20qts for my boil (I have a 24qt brew pot). That means I'll only be sparging with 10-12qts. Sparging by steeping still bothers me. And I worry that I'm extracting too many tannins by squeezing the grain bag afterwards because sometimes I think my beers are a little bit astringent.
The amounts of water I use are pretty much just guesses. I try to aim for 1.25 qt/lb for mash water, but there is usually no way I can sparge with 2 qt/lb and fit it all in my 24 qt pot. And for step mashes like this, I'm not sure if I want the 1.25 ratio at the initial strike or at the end so I usually split the difference. Does my technique sound good, or should I be using different ratios of water for mashing and sparging?