Needing some feedback on my first BIAB plan

[shrews824]

Hey everyone.

I'm about to tackle my first BIAB session. Just wanted to double check a couple of things with you guys if you don't mind?

Brewing up a 3 gallon APA.

60 minute mash

Grain: 6.96 lbs. total
6.0 lbs of 2-Row
0.45 lbs of Vienna
0.3 lbs of Wheat
0.15 lbs of Victory
0.06 lbs of Special Roast

60 minute boil

Hops: 1.2 oz total
0.6 oz of East Kent Goldings (60)
0.3 oz of Cascade (30)
Whirlfloc tablet (15)
0.3 oz of Cascade (10)
0.6 oz of Citra (0)

From the BIAB calculator I found I'm having a difficult time with determining my grain absorption rate. I've read to calculate anywhere from 0.125 to 0.045 gl/lb. I just rough figured somewhere in the middle would be an ok starting point.... 0.08. What are your thoughts? I realize I can fine tune this as I brew more often with specific measurements, etc.

Also, the boil off rate... I have an 8 gallon MegaPot 1.2. I've been reading boil off rates vary according to the pot size. With this type of pot would you think roughly 1.5 gl/hr.?

I'm shooting for a mash temp of 151F.

With that, according to the calculator I need 5.31 gallons in my kettle and a strike water temp of 156F.

Do you guys think this sounds about right for my first run?

Thanks for any feedback.
Scott

 

[DBhomebrew]

Yes, I'd go with .08 lb/g. I hoist my bag and let it drip into the kettle until it's done. No squeeze, no twist, just simple gravity. I've settled at .07

For boil-off, 1.5 g/hr is probably too much. My 5gal 12" diameter pot loses about 1/2 g/hr on a gas stove with a moderate boil.

Take really good volume and gravity measurements, keep good notes, and within a few batches your output will get pretty close.

I found success with a stainless steel ruler, measuring the water height to the nearest mm (I'm in the US, but metric is just so much easier to compute). Drop that into the formula for the volume of a cylinder and you get a rather accurate number. Much more accurate than eyeing the scale stamped into the kettle with gallon, or even half gallons.

On my most recent batch, #4, my volume in fermenter came out to be within 2oz of my recipe. The SS ruler was first employed on batch #3.

Also, be aware that volume changes with temp. It's not much, but enough to observe if measuring water height to the nearest mm. ~3% or so difference between room temp and boil. Some softwares/spreadsheets account for this, some do not.

 

[ggriffi]

I think you are overestimating your boil off rate. I have a Spike 15g kettle and I only have .5g/hr boil off. Do you have the time to do a practice boil with just water? If so, get a stick, I use a 1x2 and mark it at every gallon as put the water in. Get it to a boil and let it go the full 60 and when its done remeasure.

 

[shrews824]

Yes, I'd go with .08 lb/g. I hoist my bag and let it drip into the kettle until it's done. No squeeze, no twist, just simple gravity. I've settled at .07

For boil-off, 1.5 g/hr is probably too much. My 5gal 12" diameter pot loses about 1/2 g/hr on a gas stove with a moderate boil.

Take really good volume and gravity measurements, keep good notes, and within a few batches your output will get pretty close.

I found success with a stainless steel ruler, measuring the water height to the nearest mm (I'm in the US, but metric is just so much easier to compute). Drop that into the formula for the volume of a cylinder and you get a rather accurate number. Much more accurate than eyeing the scale stamped into the kettle with gallon, or even half gallons.

On my most recent batch, #4, my volume in fermenter came out to be within 2oz of my recipe. The SS ruler was first employed on batch #3.

Also, be aware that volume changes with temp. It's not much, but enough to observe if measuring water height to the nearest mm. ~3% or so difference between room temp and boil. Some softwares/spreadsheets account for this, some do not.

Awesome. Ok, great. I'm glad to know that is a bit high. I do think that as I run a few batches I'll more accurately be able to determine the boil off rate. Thanks as well for the confirmation on the grain absorption too.

I think you are overestimating your boil off rate. I have a Spike 15g kettle and I only have .5g/hr boil off. Do you have the time to do a practice boil with just water? If so, get a stick, I use a 1x2 and mark it at every gallon as put the water in. Get it to a boil and let it go the full 60 and when its done remeasure.

That's a great idea. I should have time this evening to do a trial run with just water. I'm going to try to brew tomorrow so that will work out perfectly. Thanks for the tip.

 

[tracer bullet]

Agreed to the above.

Boil off rate is up to you, set the propane at max and you may see 1.5 gallons lost, set it to a simmer and might get more like 0.5 over the hour. You can monitor this on the fly and adjust accordingly (like - check every 15 minutes or so).

I've been using .125 for grain absorption, but it hasn't been perfect for me. I've been doing this for years and it hasn't bothered me until recently and I'm finally paying attention. Agreed to make marks in the kettle (light hit with a Dremel wheel, or just calibrate what you have), and then check your actual results. BIAB helps a bit, since you won't lose the typical quart in a cooler mash tun. But do choose a method for the grains ie squeeze, don't, drip for 30 seconds or 5 minutes, etc. and try to stick with it to be at your most accurate for this and efficiency.

Recipe looks about right, should be a good beer!

 

[shrews824]

Agreed to the above.

Boil off rate is up to you, set the propane at max and you may see 1.5 gallons lost, set it to a simmer and might get more like 0.5 over the hour. You can monitor this on the fly and adjust accordingly (like - check every 15 minutes or so).

I've been using .125 for grain absorption, but it hasn't been perfect for me. I've been doing this for years and it hasn't bothered me until recently and I'm finally paying attention. Agreed to make marks in the kettle (light hit with a Dremel wheel, or just calibrate what you have), and then check your actual results. BIAB helps a bit, since you won't lose the typical quart in a cooler mash tun. But do choose a method for the grains ie squeeze, don't, drip for 30 seconds or 5 minutes, etc. and try to stick with it to be at your most accurate for this and efficiency.

Recipe looks about right, should be a good beer!

Well, I won't set it max. I've normally just set it at a rolling boil. I'll probably use a combination of letting the bag drip and then squeezing. I agree though, whatever I do I need to consistently do it.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Bad Bubba]

Keep detailed notes. Over time you will be able to get a better profile of your process - boil off rate, etc. I think that is one of the great advantages of Brewing software. I use BeerSmith but there are other good ones available, also.

 

[shrews824]

Keep detailed notes. Over time you will be able to get a better profile of your process - boil off rate, etc. I think that is one of the great advantages of Brewing software. I use BeerSmith but there are other good ones available, also.

I downloaded the mobile app of BeerSmith. I've perused it some, but I'm going to have to watch some tutorial videos of it. For me, it appears that there is a bit of a learning curve. I'm definitely going to keep some detailed notes. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I set my boiloff at 4.8%/1G per hr. I bring it up to get hot break and turn it down to where I have movement. My beers improved when I quit "boiling" them. Take good notes, especially your volumes, and every batch will improve.
I remember my first batch was 55% efficiency! Still made beer!
Good Luck

 

[shrews824]

I set my boiloff at 4.8%/1G per hr. I bring it up to get hot break and turn it down to where I have movement. My beers improved when I quit "boiling" them. Take good notes, especially your volumes, and every batch will improve.
I remember my first batch was 55% efficiency! Still made beer!
Good Luck

That's interesting. I may have to try that. I plan on writing down everything I can think of. It seems that all of the folks that make great beer document everything to a "t". I want to be able to make great beer!!!

 

[LittleRiver]

I use the Priceless BIAB Calculator for water calculations. It will give you much more information than you need, but it's easy to pick out the bits you do need.

Enter these variables (leave the defaults on everything else):

• target OG
• batch size
• grain bill weight
• hop bill weight
• temp of your grains (room temp if they've been sitting in a room for a few days)
• kettle volume
• kettle width

Record these results:

• total water needed (depth and gal)
• strike temp
• post boil volume (depth and gal @ 212F)

Fill your kettle (use a ruler to measure the depth), heat it to strike temp.
Add the bag and grains, stir, insulate, and leave it alone for an hour.
Separate the grains from the wort. *
Boil the wort till you reach the post boil volume depth.

* The easiest way is to just raise the bag above the kettle and suspend it there during the entire boil. Gravity will fully drain the grains, there will be no need to squeeze the bag.

 

[shrews824]

I use the Priceless BIAB Calculator for water calculations. It will give you much more information than you need, but it's easy to pick out the bits you do need.

Enter these variables (leave the defaults on everything else):

• target OG
• batch size
• grain bill weight
• hop bill weight
• temp of your grains (room temp if they've been sitting in a room for a few days)
• kettle volume
• kettle width

Record these results:

• total water needed (depth and gal)
• strike temp
• post boil volume (depth and gal @ 212F)

Fill your kettle (use a ruler to measure the depth), heat it to strike temp.
Add the bag and grains, stir, insulate, and leave it alone for an hour.
Separate the grains from the wort. *
Boil the wort till you reach the post boil volume depth.

* The easiest way is to just raise the bag above the kettle and suspend it there during the entire boil. Gravity will fully drain the grains, there will be no need to squeeze the bag.

Ok. I'll check out that calculator. I've been using biabcalculator.com. As far as suspension. I just have a plastic spaghetti colander so I'm not sure I'll be able to leave it there the for the entire boil. I'll more than likely have to squeeze a bit. Thanks for the tips.

 

[shrews824]

Did a practice run with water to measure my boil evaporation for 60 minutes. I ran the heat nearly wide open to achieve a boil then dialed it back to a moderate boil and from what I calculated I had about 1.1 to 1.2 gallons boil off. I didn't think it would be near that much, but it was.

 

[tracer bullet]

Practice runs are good! Like mentioned, whatever you do, just be consistent. And remember no need to boil off a lot. A gallon an hour is kind of standard because that tends to work for taking a guess at how things go but isn't required for any reason. You'll eventually get a feel for boil off rate just by looking at the kettle, and can occasionally take a peek at what's in the pot vs. the clock and see if you're going a little heavy or light. Have to turn the flame pretty far down first to be able to see, but whatever. Consistency is good but if you're a little high or low you'll still make good beer, so there's that. Make it fun to keep track of but don't stress it.

 

[shrews824]

Practice runs are good! Like mentioned, whatever you do, just be consistent. And remember no need to boil off a lot. A gallon an hour is kind of standard because that tends to work for taking a guess at how things go but isn't required for any reason. You'll eventually get a feel for boil off rate just by looking at the kettle, and can occasionally take a peek at what's in the pot vs. the clock and see if you're going a little heavy or light. Have to turn the flame pretty far down first to be able to see, but whatever. Consistency is good but if you're a little high or low you'll still make good beer, so there's that. Make it fun to keep track of but don't stress it.

Appreciate the feedback. So, I'm just going to go into this first batch and look at it as a trial run and then begin to fine tune after that. I'm still super excited about it and I'm definitely going to have fun!!!