Don't Brew in the Dark

[porterguy]

Can somebody please give me a RDWHAHB?

I'm a confirmed BIAB brewer, and brew in my old, no-electricity, detached garage. No problem. I brew with the door open so I have enough daylight.

Last brew-day I got started a little late, and the light started fading, but BIAB is so simple, right? Pull the bag, squeeze it, and start your boil.

So after mashout, I use my rope and pulley to lift the bag, and I squeeze the heck out of the bag, sparge, squeeze again.

I bring the kettle to a boil, carefully keeping an eye for the hot break in the fading light to avoid a boilover. Finally I need a flashlight to see what I'm doing, and I see LOTS of grain in full boil

After getting a second pot, fighting with 8 gallons of boiling hot not-yet-wort, and about 40 minutes of hot, sweaty work, I get everything strained out, and restart my flame.

Once I could relax, I looked at the bag and found a two inch tear along a seam. I had been squeezing out grain with all my strength when trying to get just a little more liquid out.:smack:

Maybe I need to RDWHS(several)HB

 

[milldoggy]

This will probably be your best beer yet and you will not be able to repro it. Enjoy the ride, if it is bad, dump and call it a learning experience, failing is part of getting better.

 

[Hex23]

Probably no harm at all. If decoction doesn't result in tannin extraction (since tannin extraction requires high pH), surely what you did would not either.