Much better BIAB efficiency!

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TacoBrew

TacoBrew

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So today was my second attempt at AG and I made a few changes to my mashing procedure which appears to have taken me from 60% last time to 80% today.

Changes this time included:
  • Double milled grain
  • Larger mash volume
  • No sparge
  • Using the tamale steamer tray as a false bottom, allowing better flow and less chance I'd scorch the bag.

I was able to maintain 153-154 for the full 60 minutes surprisingly easily.

All in all I'm very pleased so far.
 
Then I went and did something stupid like forgetting to rinse the pbw out of my fermenter before sanitizing :-\
 
I have only been using BIAB for AG brewing and I recently started hitting 80%.
My technique:
Mash as much as I can in my pot (I can fit about 5 gallons and 11 lbs of grain.) Mash that and stir very regularly. Then I get the difference of absorbed grain water hot from the tap, and I put the mashed grains in that to sparge. Stir that a bit. After about 10 minutes I take the bag and squeeze the daylights out of the grain. Add all that to the boil.
Hit about 80 on this last brew.

Why did you decide not to sparge?
 
i mash for two hours wrap it in a insulated blanket and set that down in a tupperware with the lid on and ive been hitting above my predicted kit o.g's
 
timbudtwo said:
Why did you decide not to sparge?
Click to expand...

I decided not to sparge this time because the first time through I ended up overshooting my volume and my efficiency was only around 60%. So, I did more research and thought I would try and do the original Aussie no sparge method. It worked perfectly, so I guess I will see after my next batch if it was just lucky or if the method is spot on.

Not to mention the no sparge is just less to clean and one less step to complicate the matter.
 
TacoBrew said:
Not to mention the no sparge is just less to clean and one less step to complicate the matter.
Click to expand...

That is true. If you do decide to sparge, you can try my quick and dirty method where I just sat the grain bag in my addition water and stirred. Added that to the pot. Since sparging is less on enzymatic activity and more on getting the last bits of converted sugars out, you could just let them soak in a bit of water while your pot is heating up. I usually have lots of "do-nothing" time while I wait for my pot to boil. Lol

Still, 80% no sparge efficiency is awesome. :ban:
 
There are 2 things that likely caused the jump in efficiency: thinner mash and double milling the grain. I'm not sure if the latter is necessary, though.

Thinner mashes are known to convert faster and more complete. Most likely your previous mashing did not result in complete conversion and extraction of the malt's starches and you ended up with very low conversion efficiency. The BIAB method had you mash thinner and you likely got all the starches converted and extracted into the wort (100% conversion efficiency) multiply that with the lauter efficiency of a no-sparge with little grain absorption, since the bag gets squeezed a little, and you can easily get 80% for average (11-13 Plato) beers.

Kai
 
Kaiser said:
There are 2 things that likely caused the jump in efficiency: thinner mash and double milling the grain. I'm not sure if the latter is necessary, though.

Thinner mashes are known to convert faster and more complete. Most likely your previous mashing did not result in complete conversion and extraction of the malt's starches and you ended up with very low conversion efficiency. The BIAB method had you mash thinner and you likely got all the starches converted and extracted into the wort (100% conversion efficiency) multiply that with the lauter efficiency of a no-sparge with little grain absorption, since the bag gets squeezed a little, and you can easily get 80% for average (11-13 Plato) beers.

Kai
Click to expand...


that's pretty much it right there.. I get 72-77% depending on the grain bill and type of beer. bigger grain bills are closer to the 72% end and smaller ones are higher (10.5lb for small) I did hit over 80% with a 100% wheat beer that I did a decoction mash/BIAB.. beer turned out great, just a lot more work

OP, keep up the great work. no sparge BIAB is a great way to make beer.
 

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