Doughing in at normal 1.25-2 quarts/lb.

[Justdrumin]

Anyone else do this? I just did my first BIAB and it worked out well. I dough in with around 1.5 quarts per pound and mash for an hour. Then I'll add enough boiling water to get to my mash out temp. If I still need more water to get to my total mash water amount, I add enough water at mash out temp.

Any thoughts about using this method?

 

[Oginme]

I tried this when I first started BIAB, mostly because my kettle was too small for full volume. I soon purchased a kettle which could handle the full volume because it saved a lot of time and was easier to repeat consistently.

But you can always try it and it may work much better for you than it did for me!

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I regularly mash with 1.75-2 qt/lb nowadays, doing small batches and often times this lets me mash in my slow cooker which is awesome as it hold temps perfectly when set to low. This also lets me do a thorough batch sparge by dunking into another pot then stirring for a couple minutes. So far this has boosted my mash efficiency about 7-10% by letting me get both a good conversion efficiency due to higher than typical mash thickness, and a good lauter efficiency due to the batch sparge.

Currently my belief is that well modified are currently available to most brewers, and enzyme concentration is thus of little importance. Instead we need to care about the mash thickness and surface area exposure (increases conversion efficiency) as well as osmotic pressure (decreases) where thinner mashes will have a lower gravity and thus exhibit lower osmotic pressure on the enzymes. I haven't done any scientific testing, but I believe that the sweet spot is 1.75-2.25 qt/lb for highest conversion efficiency.

 

[Gavin C]

Anyone else do this? I just did my first BIAB and it worked out well. I dough in with around 1.5 quarts per pound and mash for an hour. Then I'll add enough boiling water to get to my mash out temp. If I still need more water to get to my total mash water amount, I add enough water at mash out temp.

Any thoughts about using this method?

I give no thought to water to grain ratios.

I use enough grain to target my planned OG and enough water to meet volume requirements. Here is this morning's mash as an example.

8.1 gallons of water 12.625lbs of grain

Even if your equipment doesn't allow full volume mashing, or if you intend to do a sparge, you really don't need to concern yourself with water/grain ratios with single vessel brewing.

If however, you are using an additional vessel for a dunk-batch sparge one can reasonably argue for equalizing 1st and second "runnings" (for want of a better term)

 

[ArcLight]

Anyone else do this? I just did my first BIAB and it worked out well. I dough in with around 1.5 quarts per pound and mash for an hour. Then I'll add enough boiling water to get to my mash out temp. If I still need more water to get to my total mash water amount, I add enough water at mash out temp.

I regularly mash with less than the full volume of water.
Then I do a dunk sparge (with room temperature water) to rinse off the grains.


You don;t need to worry about mash out temperature when doing BIAB.
Lift the bag and fire up your burner.

 

[Justdrumin]

I brew with a 70 quart pot, so size is not an issue. I read there were benefits to having a normal ratio when it comes to conversion. I've also read a mash out is indeed important with BIAB in order to maximize efficiency. It worked well with my first BIAB batch which was Kaiser's Alt. His recipe calls for a protein rest and a decoction mash out. This method allowed me to add enough boiling water to achieve my steps and a mash out. By the end I hit my total mash volume.

 

[doug293cz]

I brew with a 70 quart pot, so size is not an issue. I read there were benefits to having a normal ratio when it comes to conversion. I've also read a mash out is indeed important with BIAB in order to maximize efficiency. It worked well with my first BIAB batch which was Kaiser's Alt. His recipe calls for a protein rest and a decoction mash out. This method allowed me to add enough boiling water to achieve my steps and a mash out. By the end I hit my total mash volume.

There is no benefit to "normal" water to grist ratios of 1.25 - 1.5 qt/lb when it comes to conversion efficiency. Experimental results show that thinner mashes (higher qt/lb) provide better conversion efficiency, at least up to about 2.5 qt/lb (ref: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency#Mash_thickness.)

A mash out for BIAB will only provide an efficiency improvement if conversion was incomplete during your mash. This works because you effectively add additional time to your mash, and you also accelerate the conversion rate during the mash out time because of the higher temps (at least until the enzymes are completely denatured.) It would be better to just insure that you mash long enough for complete conversion, and then skip the mash out. You can determine if your conversion is complete by comparing the SG of the wort in the mash to the table found here: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency#Measuring_conversion_efficiency.

My advice is to crush fine, use all your water for the initial mash (unless you plan to sparge), and mash long enough to get better than 95% conversion. Keep it simple.

Brew on

 

[ArcLight]

I brew with a 70 quart pot, so size is not an issue. I read there were benefits to having a normal ratio when it comes to conversion. I've also read a mash out is indeed important with BIAB in order to maximize efficiency. It worked well with my first BIAB batch which was Kaiser's Alt. His recipe calls for a protein rest and a decoction mash out. This method allowed me to add enough boiling water to achieve my steps and a mash out. By the end I hit my total mash volume.

How is mashout important to maximize efficiency?
The wort is no where near saturated with sugar, so mashing out wont help there.
All it does is stop enzyme conversion.
By lifting the bag and beginning the boil you are in fact mashing out.

 

[Justdrumin]

There is no benefit to "normal" water to grist ratios of 1.25 - 1.5 qt/lb when it comes to conversion efficiency. Experimental results show that thinner mashes (higher qt/lb) provide better conversion efficiency, at least up to about 2.5 qt/lb (ref: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency#Mash_thickness.)

A mash out for BIAB will only provide an efficiency improvement if conversion was incomplete during your mash. This works because you effectively add additional time to your mash, and you also accelerate the conversion rate during the mash out time because of the higher temps (at least until the enzymes are completely denatured.) It would be better to just insure that you mash long enough for complete conversion, and then skip the mash out. You can determine if your conversion is complete by comparing the SG of the wort in the mash to the table found here: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency#Measuring_conversion_efficiency.

My advice is to crush fine, use all your water for the initial mash (unless you plan to sparge), and mash long enough to get better than 95% conversion. Keep it simple.

Brew on

I've been reading A LOT about BIAB on this forum and there seems to be a lot of conflicting information about BIAB. If Kai has researched it, that's good enough for me. I've read a lot of his research on decoction mashing and lager brewing. He has a wealth of knowledge on his site. Sounds like I'm trying to complicate the process too much...it just seems so simple compared to my usual three vessel system. I'm experimenting with BIAB to simplify my brew day and to minimize equipment at my apartment. SWMBO is having a fit about my 6 tap keezer, fermentation fridge, mash tun, brew kettles, etc in our one bedroom apartment. Next brew I'll have the LHBS double crush, use a full volume mash for 60-90 min, kiss, and RDWHAHB! Thanks for everyone's input.

Prost!