I think you increase the risk of infection by leaving the post-boil wort sitting out for hours. But see what happens. so long as everything is sanitary it may just be fine. get yourself a spray bottle of starsan and soak everything good before letting it sit
It is going to be too small to mash with the full amount of water that you will want to have post-mash/pre-boil. However, one easy remedy is to rinse the grain bag after taking it out of the water. I do this when i do BIAB, Pull out the bag, put it in a regular kitchen colander/strainer and...
Are you using a refractometer when you're taking you FG reading? Just figured this out myself this weekend. Refractometer readings are hugely skewed when alcohol is present. I was reading 1.026 on my refractometer compared to 1.013 on my hydrometer.
I started washing each bottle after pouring, letting it drip dry in the dishwasher, putting a piece of foil over the top and baking them in the oven @ 340 for 60 minutes. This effectively sterilizes the bottles and so long as the foil stays on, they should be good to go. I've only done this...