I brewed my first BIAB a couple days ago (an oatmeal stout). It went...well...ok.
I used a Darkstar Burner which I've used a couple of times before with a 32 qt aluminum kettle. This time I used my new Megapot 1.2 10 gallon kettle. I tried to calculate the amount of water needed, but misread the calculation and started to add 0.25 gallons per lb of grain rather than 0.25 quarts. My gut said that was wrong, so I decided to start with 8.5 gallons of water for a 13 lb. grain bill. Unfortunately, the kettle leaked very slightly from where the barb connected to the ball valve. One drop every 5 to 10 minutes or so. The recipe didn't state a mash temp, so I decided to shoot for somewhere between 150-158 degrees with a temperature of 168 prior to adding the grain. I overshot that because I wasn't watching and ended up at 180 (based on the kettle thermometer), so I added ice to bring it down to 168, added the grain, and the temperature slowly crept down to about 160. I added a little more ice, which dropped it to 158, so I covered it up (on the burner) with a sleeping bag. I left for an hour and when I came back, the temperature was at 140. Oh well...RDWHAHB.
When I removed the grain, the water level dropped only to 8 gallons. I figured I'd better make every grain count, so I squeezed the bag fairly well, then started the boil. I added Fermcap since the water level was so high. I planned to boil off the extra water, so I boiled for an hour and a half (thinking 1 gallon per hour) before adding the hops for the 1-hour boil. I could not monitor the water level due to the copious amounts of steam. I had a very slight boil over with the hops.
At the end of the hour, I turned off the heat and checked the water level. Somehow, I had made it down to 4 gallons. I started cooling, though, I'm beginning to think my immersion chiller is a bit small for the kettle. The whole thing fit inside the kettle in order to reach the bottom. I could only find one hose, so I hung it off the side of the kettle. This covered most of the coils and I figure it helped with cooling the hotter, top layers of water.
So, I transferred to my fermenter, added a gallon of water, and tested the specific gravity. I was at 1.060 for a recipe calling for 1.062. Not bad. I aerated with a slotted spoon for a bit and added the yeast. All-in-all a success, but there are things I'd like advice on...
1. The kettle got quite sooty. If I remember correctly, that could be due to too much oxygen, so I just need to close the airflow regulator a bit, correct?
2. The paint is chipping off the Dark Star burner, particularly where the kettle sits. Will this be a problem, or is it common/normal?
3. Any suggestions why the temperature dropped so dramatically and/or how to prevent it next time? There was airflow under the kettle that wasn't completely enclosed and it was quite a cold day. Maybe that was it? Or the ice water hadn't dropped down to the thermometer yet despite stirring? I didn't add that much...
4. Does using a bag for hop pellets help with preventing boil-overs? I really didn't expect it considering the size of the kettle, the water level, and the fact that it happened close to the end of the boil.
5. Is an immersion chiller more effective with a slow, thin stream of water, or with the water turned on higher? The water coming out of the chiller even at the beginning does not seem THAT hot. I figure that the longer it takes the water to progress through the coils, the more heat is picked up and therefore less water would be used. Is that correct?
6. Suggestions for cleaning the kettle? I got most of the soot off the bottom, but there's still some. The inside bottom has a film/discoloration/residue or something...
Any other thoughts/suggestions?
I used a Darkstar Burner which I've used a couple of times before with a 32 qt aluminum kettle. This time I used my new Megapot 1.2 10 gallon kettle. I tried to calculate the amount of water needed, but misread the calculation and started to add 0.25 gallons per lb of grain rather than 0.25 quarts. My gut said that was wrong, so I decided to start with 8.5 gallons of water for a 13 lb. grain bill. Unfortunately, the kettle leaked very slightly from where the barb connected to the ball valve. One drop every 5 to 10 minutes or so. The recipe didn't state a mash temp, so I decided to shoot for somewhere between 150-158 degrees with a temperature of 168 prior to adding the grain. I overshot that because I wasn't watching and ended up at 180 (based on the kettle thermometer), so I added ice to bring it down to 168, added the grain, and the temperature slowly crept down to about 160. I added a little more ice, which dropped it to 158, so I covered it up (on the burner) with a sleeping bag. I left for an hour and when I came back, the temperature was at 140. Oh well...RDWHAHB.
When I removed the grain, the water level dropped only to 8 gallons. I figured I'd better make every grain count, so I squeezed the bag fairly well, then started the boil. I added Fermcap since the water level was so high. I planned to boil off the extra water, so I boiled for an hour and a half (thinking 1 gallon per hour) before adding the hops for the 1-hour boil. I could not monitor the water level due to the copious amounts of steam. I had a very slight boil over with the hops.
At the end of the hour, I turned off the heat and checked the water level. Somehow, I had made it down to 4 gallons. I started cooling, though, I'm beginning to think my immersion chiller is a bit small for the kettle. The whole thing fit inside the kettle in order to reach the bottom. I could only find one hose, so I hung it off the side of the kettle. This covered most of the coils and I figure it helped with cooling the hotter, top layers of water.
So, I transferred to my fermenter, added a gallon of water, and tested the specific gravity. I was at 1.060 for a recipe calling for 1.062. Not bad. I aerated with a slotted spoon for a bit and added the yeast. All-in-all a success, but there are things I'd like advice on...
1. The kettle got quite sooty. If I remember correctly, that could be due to too much oxygen, so I just need to close the airflow regulator a bit, correct?
2. The paint is chipping off the Dark Star burner, particularly where the kettle sits. Will this be a problem, or is it common/normal?
3. Any suggestions why the temperature dropped so dramatically and/or how to prevent it next time? There was airflow under the kettle that wasn't completely enclosed and it was quite a cold day. Maybe that was it? Or the ice water hadn't dropped down to the thermometer yet despite stirring? I didn't add that much...
4. Does using a bag for hop pellets help with preventing boil-overs? I really didn't expect it considering the size of the kettle, the water level, and the fact that it happened close to the end of the boil.
5. Is an immersion chiller more effective with a slow, thin stream of water, or with the water turned on higher? The water coming out of the chiller even at the beginning does not seem THAT hot. I figure that the longer it takes the water to progress through the coils, the more heat is picked up and therefore less water would be used. Is that correct?
6. Suggestions for cleaning the kettle? I got most of the soot off the bottom, but there's still some. The inside bottom has a film/discoloration/residue or something...
Any other thoughts/suggestions?