Hello, fellow home brewers! I have been brewing for a relatively short period of time. About six months. In the beginning, I fermented about six or eight batches of cider, mostly crab apple, using fruit that grows in my neighborhood. That's what got me started.
When the crab apples were gone, I figured I would put my equipment to use brewing beer. I started with small batches, but soon realized that five gallon batches were the way to, for the time and effort put into the process. Like most beginners, I started with grain sock steep plus extract recipes. The results were encouraging and I was getting good feedback from family, friends and a couple of other brewers.
Over the next couple of months, I did some research on all-grain brewing, but was intimidated with the terminology and especially the additional equipment and processing involved. I was also able to attend a group brewing session at a local brewery and observe other brewers. I saw their various set-ups and enjoyed the camaraderie, but was no less intimidated. I continued to brew my extract recipes with success, but kept hearing that criticism that my brews, while good, were obviously extract brews, based on the color and flavor.
I was also seeing references in the forums regarding BIAB recipes.
"What's that?" I wondered.
I eventually did some reading and discovered that it is an alternate all-grain process and the BIAB stands for "Brew in a Bag". I learned that the process is similar to extract brewing, but instead of a grain sock, there is a fine mesh bag that fits into the brew pot that replaces the use of the mash tun. I arranged to take a two hour course on all-grain brewing at my local home brew shop that also covered the BIAB method.
What appealed to me was the idea that I could make a better (supposedly) beer using an all grain procedure without purchasing additional equipment, except for the mesh bag that was just a few dollars. Also, the procedure didn't look intimidating. The main difference was the bigger bag, more grain, and a longer grain steep ("mashing in") at a specified temperature. Then it was dunking and draining the bag a few times (equivalent to sparging). Finally a "mash out": raising the temperature to end the conversion of starch to fermentable sugars or "saccharification"...love that word! After draining the bag of grains one last time, the rest of the procedure is the same as the boil for any other brew recipe.
I have made the conversion to all-grain! My first, and so far only, BIAB batch is a pale ale and my original specific gravity reading, or "OG", was spot on with the estimate in the recipe. It felt really good...like I got it right. That batch is nearing the end of the initial bottle conditioning phase. If I got the priming sugar calculated correctly, then it should be a very nice beer! I am interested to see if any of my brewing friends will recognize that it's an all-grain brew. Will they question it? "Wow! This is really good. This is an extract brew?!" I still consider myself to be a novice, so I may not get the nuances yet; but I feel like I'm taking another step in that direction. Cheers!
Author Bio: Matt Miller is husband, father, brewer, fermenter, foodie, and an old dog learning new tricks. Matt has won awards for canning at the North Carolina State Fair in 2012 and 2013. Matt lives in Cary North Carolina, his hometown, and has no plans on leaving...except to explore. You can read more of Matt's beginner's experiences here.
When the crab apples were gone, I figured I would put my equipment to use brewing beer. I started with small batches, but soon realized that five gallon batches were the way to, for the time and effort put into the process. Like most beginners, I started with grain sock steep plus extract recipes. The results were encouraging and I was getting good feedback from family, friends and a couple of other brewers.
Over the next couple of months, I did some research on all-grain brewing, but was intimidated with the terminology and especially the additional equipment and processing involved. I was also able to attend a group brewing session at a local brewery and observe other brewers. I saw their various set-ups and enjoyed the camaraderie, but was no less intimidated. I continued to brew my extract recipes with success, but kept hearing that criticism that my brews, while good, were obviously extract brews, based on the color and flavor.
I was also seeing references in the forums regarding BIAB recipes.
"What's that?" I wondered.
I eventually did some reading and discovered that it is an alternate all-grain process and the BIAB stands for "Brew in a Bag". I learned that the process is similar to extract brewing, but instead of a grain sock, there is a fine mesh bag that fits into the brew pot that replaces the use of the mash tun. I arranged to take a two hour course on all-grain brewing at my local home brew shop that also covered the BIAB method.
What appealed to me was the idea that I could make a better (supposedly) beer using an all grain procedure without purchasing additional equipment, except for the mesh bag that was just a few dollars. Also, the procedure didn't look intimidating. The main difference was the bigger bag, more grain, and a longer grain steep ("mashing in") at a specified temperature. Then it was dunking and draining the bag a few times (equivalent to sparging). Finally a "mash out": raising the temperature to end the conversion of starch to fermentable sugars or "saccharification"...love that word! After draining the bag of grains one last time, the rest of the procedure is the same as the boil for any other brew recipe.
I have made the conversion to all-grain! My first, and so far only, BIAB batch is a pale ale and my original specific gravity reading, or "OG", was spot on with the estimate in the recipe. It felt really good...like I got it right. That batch is nearing the end of the initial bottle conditioning phase. If I got the priming sugar calculated correctly, then it should be a very nice beer! I am interested to see if any of my brewing friends will recognize that it's an all-grain brew. Will they question it? "Wow! This is really good. This is an extract brew?!" I still consider myself to be a novice, so I may not get the nuances yet; but I feel like I'm taking another step in that direction. Cheers!
Author Bio: Matt Miller is husband, father, brewer, fermenter, foodie, and an old dog learning new tricks. Matt has won awards for canning at the North Carolina State Fair in 2012 and 2013. Matt lives in Cary North Carolina, his hometown, and has no plans on leaving...except to explore. You can read more of Matt's beginner's experiences here.
