drinking my first biab attempt now

[brokebucket]

well, not impressed with the result. it was a robust porter straight out of jamil's book that I brewed before using extract. the extract version was one of the best beers I have ever had, with beautiful chocolate notes and a coffee back note. this beer is good, but lacks the chocolate. it actually tastes like a decent dry stout.

I missed the expected og by.012 on the low side and the beer finished .004 low. out is very dry. I figured I missed the og due to mashing high, but now I wonder if it was due to overall low efficiency.

any body have a similar issue?

thanks

 

[BradleyBrew]

Anyone that has ever mashed has this probably especially in the beginning. Its all trial and error. Take notes, improve your technique, and the beer will get better.

 

[Jimmyjim]

Probably low efficiency, amongst a few other issues.

BIAB efficiency needs a good grain crush.
I double crush my grain, and get around 72%.

Get a good thermometer, then look at your water.
Water chemistry plays a MUCH larger role in all grain than it does with extract brewing.

Check out the water chemistry post.

A few tweaks here and there, and you'll be right back in the groove.

 

[Cider123]

I have been hitting my expected OG's pretty regularly with BIAB. Here are some thoughts:

Are you confident with the accuracy of your thermometer? This is a big factor and many folks just assume that if they're using a thermometer that it is accurate. I would check it against another.

I don't believe that one needs a superhuman crush for good efficiency, but I do double-crush to make sure the mill got every grain.

Sounds silly, but are you sure you got the grain amounts, and water amount correct? So many things to remember on brew day.

Double check stuff as you are doing it. I once forgot that I was only doing a 60 min boil when I added enough water for a 90 min boil. I don't always use pilsner malt so I need to check that from one recipe to another.

Don't let anyone tell you that BIAB is less efficient than the traditional method. Good technique will bring excellent results.

 

[Demus]

Regardless of method all grain brewing takes some time to get dialed in. There are exponentially more variables involved than brewing with extract, which also gives you that much control over the result. Understanding the variables is the key to controlling their outcome. Efficiency is just one byproduct of how things came together in your wort. Generally, your efficiency will get better as you gain experience in your process. With grain being relatively cheap, it's a good idea to bump your recipes up 5 or 10% until you are consistently wasting the extra grain. I'd much rather waste a pound or two of $1.75 grain than settle for a lower OG..
Best of luck in your future brews!!!

 

[brokebucket]

UPDATE: While I still am not a huge fan of this beer, and think it tastes "thin", I entered it into a competition and it got a 37! I wonder what the extract version would have scored, because it was 10 times the beer this one was....

I went back and brewed extract for a while because of time constraints, but I am back on the BIAB thing this morning. I have a brown ale mashed in, and I added a pound and a half extra base grain to make sure I dont miss the mark low again.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[C-Rider]

keep us informed

 

[brokebucket]

brew went uneventful, hit the numbers pretty much spot on. I will give the recipe below, and I am assuming my efficiency is the beersmith default....75.8%. Can someone confirm that?

American Brown Ale Type: All Grain
Date: 12/13/2013 Batch Size (fermenter): 6.08 galBrewer: CK1
Boil Size: 8.26 gal
Boil Time: 60 min- BIAB End of Boil Volume 6.84 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 % Mash Efficiency 75.8 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage
Ingredients
11 lbsPale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
8.0 ozCaramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
8.0 ozChocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)
4.0 ozCaramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
4.0 ozVictory Malt (25.0 SRM)
1.25 ozWillamette [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.25 ozAmarillo Gold [9.00 %]Boil 60.0 min
1.00 ozAmarillo Gold [9.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.75 ozAmarillo Gold [9.00 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 minHop
Beer Profile Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.053 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013

Disclaimer: this is pretty much based off BCS dirty water brown ale recipe...except I took some poetic license....like using british malts and bittering with Willamette (because I had it). Also, I used a quarter ounce of Amarillo to bitter because the recipe called for 2.75 oz and I had to buy 3, and that stuff is pricey!

Anywho, thanks for looking.

Chris

 

[brokebucket]

to add to my ramblings (excuse me, I've been drinking):

I missed my gravity pretty bad the first go around, so I added some base grain just in case, AND I had my LHBS dude double crush. The double crush must have been it, because I hit my beersmith number.

Long story short, double crush worked for me. Hazzzahhh!

PS, I am drunk off extract brew....for shame for shame.

 

[RM-MN]

I haven't penciled out the cost savings but I buy base malt in bulk and run it through a Corona style mill. Buying bulk saves some money but the real savings is that I use less grain because my efficiency it over 85% now with that extra fine crush plus a small sparge. I probably use a quart or a little more for the sparge, for efficiency but mostly because the pot I like to use for BIAB is a little small and at dough in I'm pretty close to running over.