Pale ale BIAB

I am wanting to do a simple 3gallon pale ale BIAB recipe. I have converted a 5g batch down to 3 in beer smith but want someone to double check me. Let me know if this sounds right.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449245213.980181.jpg

Looks like a decent straightforward grain bill to me. I would double your cascade additions, moving them to 10 & 0 minutes. The 30 and 15 minute addition you have will reduce flavor and aroma which is generally undesirable. Doubling and moving towards end of boil will give decent cascade character.

Awesome! Thanks so much!

Looks good to me, I agree with the changes to your hop schedule, except you might want to increase the northern brewer to 0.5 oz. Moving the cascade additions to late in the boil will decrease your planned IBU's a bit.

I might also add 6 oz of torrified wheat for body/head, but it's certainly not necessary.

I agree with adding wheat but that's because I put a little bit in everything. With 6.7% crystal malt the body and head retention should be fine. Looks good to me

TheMadKing said:

Looks good to me, I agree with the changes to your hop schedule, except you might want to increase the northern brewer to 0.5 oz. Moving the cascade additions to late in the boil will decrease your planned IBU's a bit.

Click to expand...

I second increasing the Northern Brewer to 0.5 oz as well. Depending what you want, 0.33 oz NB will give you moderate bitterness around 31 IBUs and 0.5 oz NB will come in at a moderate-to-high 41 IBU. Splitting the differnece gets them where I usually like them in the mid 30's for sessionable pale ales. Have fun!

For this batch should I do a brew in the bag method or should I use my cooler mash done? Is there a benefit to using the mask on over bro in the bag since it is only a 3 gallon batch

jcs401 said:

For this batch should I do a brew in the bag method or should I use my cooler mash done? Is there a benefit to using the mask on over bro in the bag since it is only a 3 gallon batch

Click to expand...

BIAB for sure. A little secret that might get me in trouble... the mash tun is totally unnecessary for most homebrew. Do a dunk or rinse sparge and you'll get 80%+ efficiency, shaving an hour off brew day plus cleanup.

Well question, it's saying mash with 1.5 gallons and sparge with 4 gallons to achieve my 3 gallon batch. My question is, can I mash with say 3G and sparge with 1-2 gallons to achieve my boil volume? Or with this effect the flavor/mash??

jcs401 said:

Well question, it's saying mash with 1.5 gallons and sparge with 4 gallons to achieve my 3 gallon batch. My question is, can I mash with say 3G and sparge with 1-2 gallons to achieve my boil volume? Or with this effect the flavor/mash??

Click to expand...

If you're going with BIAB just mash with the full boil volume + whatever you anticipate for grain absorption and don't worry about sparging.

Just make sure you squeeze every but if wort out of your bag or hang it over your brew kettle for the entire boil to let it drain. That will boost your efficiency significantly.

Not sure the size of your kettle, but if it won't hold the full volume mash, do calculations so that you fit as much strike water + grain in the kettle, and keep the remainder for a rinse sparge.

I do this for small batches on my stove top in winter when I don't feel like brewing outside on propane. I brew 2.5-3 gal batches in a 5 gal kettle that way.

For bittering especially, be sure to check the actual alpha acid %'s on your hops when you buy them vs what Beersmith is assuming the values are. I've seen cascades vary from 5.5 to 8 %, and you can adjust these values in Beersmith to make sure you're getting as close to what you're expecting as possible.

What is your efficiency, and what is your target ABV? I ask because that does not seem like very much grain to me. I do a 2.5 gallon APA with well over a pound more grain than that. I'm not questioning grain choices or proportions, just the amount, especially of the two-row.

I basically took the pale ale recipe out of John palmers book and scaled it down in beer smith to 3 gallons and it gave me this,
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449948101.400925.jpg

Should I use some dme also? Or will my grain be enough?

jcs401 said:

I basically took the pale ale recipe out of John palmers book and scaled it down in beer smith to 3 gallons and it gave me this,
View attachment 322151

Should I use some dme also? Or will my grain be enough?

Click to expand...

What you have will be more of a session version of an APA. The BJCP style guidelines for APA call for a range of 4.5-6.2%, but nothing says you have to keep it within that range. You can leave it as is, or bump it up if you want more ABV. But I see nothing wrong with your recipe as-is. It's your beer.

That grain bill makes sense for a 4.1% PA. I guess I've just been obsessed with larger APAs instead.

jcs401 said:

Well question, it's saying mash with 1.5 gallons and sparge with 4 gallons to achieve my 3 gallon batch. My question is, can I mash with say 3G and sparge with 1-2 gallons to achieve my boil volume? Or with this effect the flavor/mash??

Click to expand...

The preboil volume sounds a little high for 3 gallons of beer. As reference, I often brew 3.5 - 4 gallon batches in a 5 gallon pot with BIAB method. Calculating 1.35 qt/lb of grian, I use about 2.5 gal mash water and 2.5 gal sparge water. I typically split the sparge water with 1.5 gals as dunk sparge, and the remaining 1 gal to do a quick rinse. Works great.

If you go with 1.25 qt/lb you'll need 2.5 gal mash water. If you want good efficiency just take the bag after the mash, squeeze then drop it in a bucket with the remaining 2.5 gals water (heated to 160ish). Leave a few minutes, then do a quick squeeze and add the liquor to your pot. Easy peezy.

I am with The Mad King on this one. If your pot can handle five gallons plus your grain and still have a little head space left over, I'd put all the water in at once. I think it is easier to maximize the sugar you get from the grain by using this thinner mash.

So I brewed this and everything went well. Hit my OG right on the head. Now, after 48hrs. I'm getting no activity in my airlock. I re hydrated the US-05 and what not but have gotten no activity and have checked all the seals. I have the temp control set to 64 and has sat at that temp since. What should I do/check

Give it another day or two, and if you don't see any activity, re-pitch another packet.

jcs401 said:

So I brewed this and everything went well. Hit my OG right on the head. Now, after 48hrs. I'm getting no activity in my airlock. I re hydrated the US-05 and what not but have gotten no activity and have checked all the seals. I have the temp control set to 64 and has sat at that temp since. What should I do/check

Click to expand...

What temperature was the wort when you pitched the yeast?

Have you put water or star San or vodka in your airlock?

Give it at least 72 hours before you worry excessively.

Wort was 75 and there is star San in the airlock fermenting in the stainless steel brew bucket