First AG BIAB. Pretty sure I made water.

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puter

puter

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Bought a Northern Brewer kit - Bavarian Hefeweizen. OG should be 1.049. Calculated 3.9 gallons of strike and 3.8 gallons of sparge to end with 6.5 gallons pre-boil (1.2 gallons grain absorption).
7 hour brew day yesterday.
After studying the BIAB thread here, figured that I had it all thought out.

First issue - The heat stick I made and tested out fine popped the GFI a couple of times. Toss.
No propane. Go to store and swap out.
Warmed water to target temp of 170 to hit 152 strike temp with the 9.5lbs of grain. Put in grain. Water only went down to 165. Huh? Pour in cold water from sparge to get down to 152 (probably 1/2 gallon). Stirred a LOT. Wrapped pot in comforter.
Started warming sparge. Calculator showed 185 degrees for a 170 sparge. Stirred a LOT. Added it all together. Refractometer shows 1.027. :drunk:

Thunderstorm came up mid-boil. Had to move everything. Finished boil.
Cooled it to 75. Post-boil is 1.032 when I should have 1.049. Bleh.

Transferred, pitched the yeast, threw it in the fermentation chamber and set it to 66. Pretty sure I'm gonna have carbonated hoppy yeast water.

Now to figure out what I did so wrong.
 
puter said:
Bought a Northern Brewer kit - Bavarian Hefeweizen. OG should be 1.049. Calculated 3.9 gallons of strike and 3.8 gallons of sparge to end with 6.5 gallons pre-boil (1.2 gallons grain absorption).
7 hour brew day yesterday.
After studying the BIAB thread here, figured that I had it all thought out.

First issue - The heat stick I made and tested out fine popped the GFI a couple of times. Toss.
No propane. Go to store and swap out.
Warmed water to target temp of 170 to hit 152 strike temp with the 9.5lbs of grain. Put in grain. Water only went down to 165. Huh? Pour in cold water from sparge to get down to 152 (probably 1/2 gallon). Stirred a LOT. Wrapped pot in comforter.
Started warming sparge. Calculator showed 185 degrees for a 170 sparge. Stirred a LOT. Added it all together. Refractometer shows 1.027. :drunk:

Thunderstorm came up mid-boil. Had to move everything. Finished boil.
Cooled it to 75. Post-boil is 1.032 when I should have 1.049. Bleh.

Transferred, pitched the yeast, threw it in the fermentation chamber and set it to 66. Pretty sure I'm gonna have carbonated hoppy yeast water.

Now to figure out what I did so wrong.
Click to expand...

Did you double check your gravity with a hydrometer or did you just use the refractometer? Sometimes those cheap refractometers are big POS.
 
Thermometer issues? Stirring issues? 10lbs of grain in 3.9 gallons of water will drop temps more than what you got so I think you are not getting an accurate read on temps before or after.
 
puter said:
Warmed water to target temp of 170 to hit 152 strike temp with the 9.5lbs of grain. Put in grain. Water only went down to 165. Huh? Pour in cold water from sparge to get down to 152 (probably 1/2 gallon).
Click to expand...

I see a problem here. I think 170 is too hot, unless you're using that water to pre-heat your mash tun first. I usually add my 170 water to my mash tun, let it equalize to 165 and then dough in.

Not that this solves all of your potential issues - but it's something that stuck out to me.
 
Ugh. Too many terms I have not learned. I thought they were the same.
I heated the strike water to 170. I then put the bag in and poured in my grains while stirring. I stirred a lot, making sure the grains on bottom were stirred up to the top. Took a reading with the same thermometer (digital probe) and it showed 165. So, my target mash temp was 152 and it came out to 165. This same thermometer measured ice water at 32 and boiling water at 210.

Refractometer was brand new. I tested with distilled water to make sure that it read zero. Didn't back it up with a hydrometer reading, but I guess I can tonight.

I used this calculator - Mash Infusion and Rest Schedule Calculator

9.5 pounds of grain.
38 grain temp (was in fridge).
Shows temp of strike water at 170.2 with 11.88 quarts (3.9 gallons) for a 152 target temp. There is also a statement that if the mash tun needs to be pre-heated to add a few degrees.
 
No, what you're saying makes sense - and I use a different mash water calculator, but I get the same strike temp as you do if I put 38 for the temperature of the grain.

What if for next time you took the grain out of the fridge so that it was @ room temperature by the time you were ready for dough in? Maybe the formula for calculating strike temp becomes kinda wonky if the grain temperature variable is really low/cold? Dunno.
 
When you're heating the strike water in the same vessel you're mashing in, there will be no heat loss to the mash vessel. You should have gone with something like 161F strike.

I'm guessing that your grain is barely crushed. It's the only way your gravity would be that low.
 
wait, was that really BIAB or you mashed in tun? Because if you do proper BIAB you need to mash at least in double amount of water. 8 gal of water thats what I dunk my grain bag in when I BIAB with 10 lbs of grain 5 gal batch. There is virtually no sparging in true BIAB, some people (me included) sparge just a little to get to proper pre-boil volume and maximize extraction. With this method I'm at solid 70-75% efficency all the time.
 
Yeah, the calculator shows 164.3 if the grain was at 75 degrees.

Bobby, you may be right, but I was going off what it says at the calculator page about zero heat loss.

"These calculations assume zero heat loss. If you do not pre-heat your tun, a few degrees will be absorbed by the mash tun."

The grain was crushed by Northern Brewer. I take it that I should have asked for a double crush.
 
I BIAB, and I can see a few things that may have caused your problem.

1) Some of the vendors are notorious for giving a sub-standard crush in their kits. To get BIAB efficiency into the 70s, you really need a double crush on your grains. Since I started doing AG, I don't even bother with ordering kits online anymore for this very reason, I go to my LHBS for grain so I can double mill myself. Just keep that in mind for next time. If you don't have a brew shop close by, you may want to invest in your own mill. I can imagine with a typical single crush from an online vendor that you wouldn't get much more than 60-65 efficiency, which could be the cause of your low OG. I'm always around 72-80 efficiency since I started double milling, and your typical recipe is going to assume a 72-75 efficiency to reach the numbers in the recipe.

2) Did you squeeze the ever living crap out of the bag after the mash,, or let it drain for 20-30 min? There's lots of concentrated wort in the grains after a BIAB mash, and if you did not properly collect that concentrated wort in your boil, then you would have lowered your efficency and OG.

I would bet that one of those two things caused this issue.
 
I squeezed it pretty darn good. Placed a false bottom into a pot and squeezed, cooled my hands, squeezed, etc, for several minutes. I figure I need to do something else here to squeeze even more.

Yeah, I have read about kit crushes. No real store here. This is Alabama. Been thinking of investing in the mill. Was hoping on a decent beer so that the SWMBO could see a little return from all of the other money I have been spending on this new hobby. :)
 
I've heard of some people taking the kit crushed grains and putting about a pound at a time into a blender to re-mill. Might be a good stop-gap until you can get your own mill.

You are going to notice a BIG difference in the body of your beers when you get your efficiency up. Bye bye watery beer, hello full-bodied flavor!
 
TopherM said:
1) Some of the vendors are notorious for giving a sub-standard crush in their kits.
Click to expand...

I'd look to the crush, too, especially noting that this was a wheat beer. Wheat kernels are slightly smaller than barley, and they can zip right through a mill set up correctly for crushing barley.
 
Since you can't double crush right now and don't have a mill yet, I would just lower your efficiency in your calculations. You will have to pay an extra couple bucks in grain, but you will hit your gravity...or at least a bit closer.
 
puter said:
I squeezed it pretty darn good. Placed a false bottom into a pot and squeezed, cooled my hands, squeezed, etc, for several minutes. I figure I need to do something else here to squeeze even more.

Yeah, I have read about kit crushes. No real store here. This is Alabama. Been thinking of investing in the mill. Was hoping on a decent beer so that the SWMBO could see a little return from all of the other money I have been spending on this new hobby. :)
Click to expand...

I would suggest ordering from Brewmasters Warehouse, and ask for a double crush. Being in Bama you should get your order in a couple of days. When I was in NOVA it took 3 days, and I was hitting 78% eff. Ordering from other places to get quicker deliver here in CO and I dropped to 67%. Started getting at LHBS and double milling myself at the store and I'm back to 75% the last 2 batches.
 
JeepDiver said:
I would suggest ordering from Brewmasters Warehouse, and ask for a double crush. Being in Bama you should get your order in a couple of days. When I was in NOVA it took 3 days, and I was hitting 78% eff. Ordering from other places to get quicker deliver here in CO and I dropped to 67%. Started getting at LHBS and double milling myself at the store and I'm back to 75% the last 2 batches.
Click to expand...

I noticed you are in Highlands Ranch and was wondering what LHBS you go to? I just did my first BIAB last night and hit an efficiency of 70% with the normal crush from AHS. If I could bring that up a little by going to a LHBS that would be great.
 
puter said:
Yeah, the calculator shows 164.3 if the grain was at 75 degrees.

Bobby, you may be right, but I was going off what it says at the calculator page about zero heat loss.

"These calculations assume zero heat loss. If you do not pre-heat your tun, a few degrees will be absorbed by the mash tun."

The grain was crushed by Northern Brewer. I take it that I should have asked for a double crush.
Click to expand...

I'm curious which calculator you used because it sounds way off.
 
paraordnance said:
wait, was that really BIAB or you mashed in tun? Because if you do proper BIAB you need to mash at least in double amount of water. 8 gal of water thats what I dunk my grain bag in when I BIAB with 10 lbs of grain 5 gal batch. There is virtually no sparging in true BIAB, some people (me included) sparge just a little to get to proper pre-boil volume and maximize extraction. With this method I'm at solid 70-75% efficency all the time.
Click to expand...

I don't know what "proper BIAB" means because the only thing I can infer from BIAB is that the grain is contained to a bag and the lauter mechanism is the act of removing the grains in the bag. I guess what you're trying to say is that for Australian homebrewers that seemingly coined the BIAB name, they typically also run it as a no sparge, full volume mash. Given the current variance, I think it's appropriate to be more specific.

Full Volume No Sparge BIAB or simply No Sparge BIAB
Dunk-Sparge BIAB

You get the idea.
 
FWIW, every AG batch I've done has been with grains crushed by Northern Brewer and I've never asked for anything special and have always been close on expected OGs and efficiencies.
 
cmw6300 said:
I noticed you are in Highlands Ranch and was wondering what LHBS you go to? I just did my first BIAB last night and hit an efficiency of 70% with the normal crush from AHS. If I could bring that up a little by going to a LHBS that would be great.
Click to expand...

I use the Brew Hut in Aurora http://www.thebrewhut.com/ There prices are a little higher than AHS, but since they are attached to Dry Dock Brewing, the pain is numbed after a couple of pints there :)
 

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