Tricerahops220
Well-Known Member
So I finally did it, I decided that enough was enough and bought the supplies to make my first BIAB batch. This was my first all grain attempt and it was met with quite a few trials and tribulations.
Over the past several months I had been going back and forth with myself on what my next big purchase would be for home brewing and after several boil-overs, it became apparent that I needed a new kettle. After searching nonchalantly for a couple of months, I had finally narrowed my search down to two brands but then came the real decision, 10 gallon or 15 gallon? Months went by as I changed my mind continuously, seemingly holding me off from switching to all grain until I had it. Finally, someone on this site sort of straightened me out. F*#k the kettle, go with what you have now and start small. Don't get caught up on the 5 gallon batch or bust, and they were completely right.
So I took the plunge and went to the local hardware store in search of a paint strainer but, believe it or not, no luck. So, as the clock was winding down, I headed straight for a LHBS, close to work, in search of some grains to make a 3 gallon batch of Biermunchers Centennial Blonde.
Big shout out to Beer Wine Hobby in Woburn, Mass for showing me around. They had an unbelievable selection of grains, hops, and yeast. They had a massive selection of partial grain kits made in house, right there. They also had a plethora of grains with everything you can imagine (American, German, and English) along with 4-5 freezers and fridges loaded with hops. I collected my grains, and crushed them right there. Looked like the crush was pretty good after the first go around as well. Got to checkout and grabbed a BIAB bag (26" x 26") which was a little overkill for my 5 gallon kettle but it was better than nothing. I was blown away by how cheap the grain bill came out to, only about $10.
I began the process around 12:30 EST today (21JAN2016). Filled the kettle with my calculated strike water volume (Thank you Priceless Brew in a Bag Calculator) of 3.4 gallons (my stove has a low boil off rate). I heated the strike water to 152 degrees, only 2 higher than that the recipe calls for, knowing there would be some losses when I added the lower temp grains. Well, those losses, turned out to be much larger than I anticipated.
After mash in/dough in, I put the thermometer probe back in and it read 145, so I had a 7 degree drop when putting 4.375 lbs of grain in. I began to heat the water back up to hopefully 152 stirring the grains every few minutes. Well, this is where I went wrong. I stirred the grains ever so softly, concerned about how fragile the actual bag was, so I never actually stirred the thick bed of grains down on the bottom of the pot. When I finally figured this out, I stirred the grains vigorously only to watch the temp readout skyrocket to 167. I immediately grabbed some cool water and added about 1/10 of a gallon which, after stirring for a few minutes, brought the temp to 154. A touch more water was added, then I put the lid on the kettle and wrapped it in 3 sweatshirts.
Now as I write this, I have 15 minutes left before mash out but I will keep you posted.
Oh and one more thing, so far, this whole all grain switch is way way easier than I ever expected. My advise to anyone on the fence is the same advise I got, F@#k it, just go for it! Start small though.
Pictures to follow
Cheers!
Over the past several months I had been going back and forth with myself on what my next big purchase would be for home brewing and after several boil-overs, it became apparent that I needed a new kettle. After searching nonchalantly for a couple of months, I had finally narrowed my search down to two brands but then came the real decision, 10 gallon or 15 gallon? Months went by as I changed my mind continuously, seemingly holding me off from switching to all grain until I had it. Finally, someone on this site sort of straightened me out. F*#k the kettle, go with what you have now and start small. Don't get caught up on the 5 gallon batch or bust, and they were completely right.
So I took the plunge and went to the local hardware store in search of a paint strainer but, believe it or not, no luck. So, as the clock was winding down, I headed straight for a LHBS, close to work, in search of some grains to make a 3 gallon batch of Biermunchers Centennial Blonde.
Big shout out to Beer Wine Hobby in Woburn, Mass for showing me around. They had an unbelievable selection of grains, hops, and yeast. They had a massive selection of partial grain kits made in house, right there. They also had a plethora of grains with everything you can imagine (American, German, and English) along with 4-5 freezers and fridges loaded with hops. I collected my grains, and crushed them right there. Looked like the crush was pretty good after the first go around as well. Got to checkout and grabbed a BIAB bag (26" x 26") which was a little overkill for my 5 gallon kettle but it was better than nothing. I was blown away by how cheap the grain bill came out to, only about $10.
I began the process around 12:30 EST today (21JAN2016). Filled the kettle with my calculated strike water volume (Thank you Priceless Brew in a Bag Calculator) of 3.4 gallons (my stove has a low boil off rate). I heated the strike water to 152 degrees, only 2 higher than that the recipe calls for, knowing there would be some losses when I added the lower temp grains. Well, those losses, turned out to be much larger than I anticipated.
After mash in/dough in, I put the thermometer probe back in and it read 145, so I had a 7 degree drop when putting 4.375 lbs of grain in. I began to heat the water back up to hopefully 152 stirring the grains every few minutes. Well, this is where I went wrong. I stirred the grains ever so softly, concerned about how fragile the actual bag was, so I never actually stirred the thick bed of grains down on the bottom of the pot. When I finally figured this out, I stirred the grains vigorously only to watch the temp readout skyrocket to 167. I immediately grabbed some cool water and added about 1/10 of a gallon which, after stirring for a few minutes, brought the temp to 154. A touch more water was added, then I put the lid on the kettle and wrapped it in 3 sweatshirts.
Now as I write this, I have 15 minutes left before mash out but I will keep you posted.
Oh and one more thing, so far, this whole all grain switch is way way easier than I ever expected. My advise to anyone on the fence is the same advise I got, F@#k it, just go for it! Start small though.
Pictures to follow
Cheers!