FirstTimer Ouch...

[goondog]

Well here goes. 9month minimasher/extract hx. Followed brewing tips here. For my biab transition my upgrades included:

1) 15gallon bk (concord) with bargainfittings
2) wilserbrewer bag (sweet perfect fit)
3) aerator wand from williams just bc
4) barley crusher credit card adjusted

My first go was a SNPA clone.
11.5# 2 row
1# of caravienna45 (no crystal available at lhbs)

I decided to do a sparge of about 10% full vol. So I mashed in 6.5gallons at 155 for about 65-70min. Recipe called for about 7.4g total.

used my reflectix ghetto wrap made in 15min night before to keep bk temps stable. Used a colander to drain and mashed it over bk for about 20min. While that was going on I heated my old 8g bk with 1gallon water to 170f. Put the bag in that for 10min and colander/potato smashed that until i was tired. Added the two together and was at my preboil vol of 6.5 so i felt pretty good.
My preboil og was 1.056 (which was adjusted for temperature) online calc said i should be at 1.051-053 ? So I think im rockin it.

Rest was as is until...

I think with my ginormous bk i couldnt find a vessel for an ice bath that fit it well and i think my old puny immersion cooler didnt cut it. It took about an hour just to get to about 95F with stirring. I have a long hopscreen inside BK that makes stirring with the IC awkward. Finally did find a big rectangle rubbermaid bucket that i squeezed the bk in and filled it with the ice i had but I need to be better prepared next time.
At about 10pm i got fed up and hoisted my giant BK off the ground to a cart to transfer into bucket. OUCH.My poor Back!!!
Trub city I tried using some old filters i had from my extract days and it got pretty messy quick. So I just let all the trub in.

This was also my first time using dry yeast so i made a 90f slurry of s-05 and it was sitting around for about 3 hours expanding in a cup (not sure if thats normal but it was in sanitized cup and covered)
Put the primary in my 60f closet and in an ice bath to get it down to about 75 and about midnight aerated and dumped the yeast.

my og before pitching was at 1.064 so it was on target.

No activity yet but man what a PIA of a day. Started crushing grains at 530 and done at midnight. And my back. And the cleanup. Im wondering if this is all worth it?? Wife meanwhile laughing at me as shes throwing down sierra nevadas...

Which brings me to my questions/comments--

Should i mill grains day before?
Options on kettle screen seems like it snags my new pricy wilserbag alot. I did hop bags but that clogged up the screen while i was tilting my bk trying to get my 5gallons.
Sparging in a second bk is a hassle. More clean up of another kettle and more spilling. I think ill just squeeze over the bk and do a full boil next time.?
What are my options for chilling my new bk - ice bath is a hassle so bigger chiller or ??$$( gotta research this) or whirlpool addon?

And my biggest question is how the heck do you guys move your bk around without help. Im no wus but have a perpetually sore back and so I gotta be careful. Any tips? Should i elevate my burner setup so i dont have to move it around? Moving it down to an ice bath and then back up to drain wort aint easy!

Thanks for everyones help on my first biab on this forum. alot of my issues are not specific to biab but thought id share. BTW FC at 65f (pitched yeast at 75ish) 12hrs ago no bubbles yet... yes ill rdwhab
Anyways you guys rock thanks for any help comments for the newbie :rockin:

First mill-

Second mill-

 

[newnick]

I'd either raise that burner up or get a taller one for sure. I can drain out of my brew kettle into my bucket without lifting anything. I'd also ditch the hop screen, I let the hops that don't pile up in the whirlpool go into the fermentor it won't hurt anything. If you can't cool your wort down with a chiller, waiting for it to cool the rest of the way before adding yeast is all you can really do. I put my bucket in a wine cooler that I use as a fermentation chamber and wait till the temp comes down to pitching temp. I use 7 gals. to mash in and pour the other .5 gal. at room temp over the bag while its over the pot to rinse the grains off and then squeeze the bag real good. I also use a basket which makes it easier for me. All in all though sounds like you were succesfull and you could probably tweak your system a little to make it easier on yourself.

 

[craigmw]

I know everyone doing BIAB will say this is blasphemy, but get yourself a pump and a counterflow chiller. It will save tremendous time and labor. Also, I'm not sure the sparge is worth it. It requires extra time for little gain. My typical brew sessions last around 4 hours from initial setup to pitching and cleanup.

 

[goondog]

Thx for the tips on the taller burner and the chiller option. You guys are correct should be easy, fun, efficient, and above all safe!
thx

 

[wilserbrewer]

I would say go no sparge and just buy another pound or two of grain. Or a pour over sparge is easier and will help efficiency.

Could try a no chill in the kettle as well and pitch yeast the following morning.

All day and into the night brew sessions aren't needed!


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Shack01]

DEFINITELY get longer legs for (or somehow raise) your burner!
I have a Blichmann burner and when I was doing extract brews (~2.5gal boils), I would put the burner on a wrought iron table. Once I decided to BIAB, I realized that THAT wasn't going to work, and I bought the extended legs for the Blichmann.

That kind of ties in with your chilling question. Because I was doing full boils, I had to get a new wort chiller - the old, homemade one was designed for partial boils - and on my very first BIAB, I melted one of the @#$@()*& water lines on the side of the kettle (NO BEER was harmed, thankfully!) on my brand new chiller. I decided that there HAD to be a better way, so I started researching 'no-chill' brewing.

As wilserbrewer noted, you could just cover your bk (keeps critters out! ) until the temp drops to the point where you can transfer to your fermenter and pitch. If you get your bk high enough, you just connect a hose to that valve and let gravity do its thing... thereby saving your back!

OR, you can jump, whole hog, into no-chill brewing, which is what I did. Not only is it easier to move a 'cube' but, for those of us in the northern climes, it's easier to keep the pipeline full! This is one of the 'cubes' I use:

This cube contains my version of Purring Kitten IPA (recipe acquired from beerandloathinginaustin here at HBT) that was brewed on 9OCT13. This picture was taken on 03APR14 when I racked it into my carboy for fermentation. It was bottled 22APR14 and the first one went into the 'fridge today for taste testing.

That is the longest I've had a brew in a cube, so far. However; 6 out of the 10 beers I brewed last year were no-chill and, by golly, they all turned out just fine! Me personally, I'm DONE with chilling beer...
Do your own research, come to your own conclusions, and if you're interested, I'll help you as much as I can!

 

[goondog]

Shack01 et al. This is a revelation! Ive thought about letting wort sit in bk for a bit, using my puny extract IC then gravity draining into primary when its down to 100F or so. Stick the bucket into an ice bath until 65f.
I use buckets/spiedels so shouldnt be to diff. Sounds like i could let it sit overnight (although i think id be awake worrying about it)

Will definitely start with cinder blocks under my SQ14 burner.

If the no chill doesnt appeal I think ill look into the plate chiller/pump option but still has all the hoses/waterbath/ice hassle there.
thx for all the advice!!

 

[DrunkleJon]

Honestly your cheap a$$ IC will still cool. It will just take longer. I still use mine with 30 feet of copper to cool 10 G full boil batches. It just takes longer. The lifting thing is the same issue had with non BIAB brewers, raising your BK/Burner will help a lot. Cinderblocks or a putting your burner on an old coffee table (solid not glass) will get you high enough you should be able to tip. Additionally, drilling your BK and adding a valve really helps your back too.

 

[Hello]

The biggest thing I realized with a 10 gallon batch (all grain without BIAB) was I needed a pump. The first time I tried to lift it, I could not. 17" diameter pot from the ground and trying not to drop it…yeah no. Waited around for a neighbor for a long while and shopped for a pump. Next 10 gallon brew day I didn't even have to move the kettle. YAY

Your comment about your wife throwing back beers while laughing made me laugh. It is worth it but you need to really simplify your process of course and know that moving your kettle full is a no go. It is not worth hurting yourself.