Easy BIAB recipe

[MaximumTrainer]

I am going for my first recipe this weekend.

I found this IPA recipe on Internet that seems easy to follow and that I like:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ghfqvwjb4b9af1u/1088 2014 BIAB IPA Recipe.pdf?dl=0

What I am not sure:

1- Is the PH Stabilizer necessary?
2- Can I use any Yeast? It does not specify the brand/type of Yeast

If you guys know other recipe website feel free to share!
Thanks

 

[Mx750ktm]

I am going for my first recipe this weekend.

I found this IPA recipe on Internet that seems easy to follow and that I like:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ghfqvwjb4b9af1u/1088 2014 BIAB IPA Recipe.pdf?dl=0

What I am not sure:

1- Is the PH Stabilizer necessary?
2- Can I use any Yeast? It does not specify the brand/type of Yeast

If you guys know other recipe website feel free to share!
Thanks

If your set in stone on using that recipie that's great and please report back. I would recommend checking out the recipie section here if your looking for an ipa. Lots of great recipies and the majority of the time there are a ton of people who have brewed it and reported back so you can get a better feel of everyone's opinions on the beer. I also BIAB and have done a number of ipas from the recipie section here with great success. Good luck with for first BIAB!!!

 

[Gavin C]

I am going for my first recipe this weekend.

I found this IPA recipe on Internet that seems easy to follow and that I like:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ghfqvwjb4b9af1u/1088 2014 BIAB IPA Recipe.pdf?dl=0

What I am not sure:

1- Is the PH Stabilizer necessary?
2- Can I use any Yeast? It does not specify the brand/type of Yeast

If you guys know other recipe website feel free to share!
Thanks

1: No
2: Use an american ale yeast. S-O5 is good and commonly used. I can't see the recipe but if it includes pH 5.2 I would give it a miss. I wouldn't trust the recipe's author when it comes to recipe formulation. Harsh perhaps.

5.2 stabilizer is junk.

Any all-grain recipe can be made via a BIAB method.

 

[Genghis]

1. No. Waste of money.
2. US-05 for dry yeast. Lots of different options if you're using liquid yeast though.

Good luck!

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Thanks guys, just the information I needed!
I will check the recipe section here, but it seems hard to find a particular recipe since they are not organized in categories for example.

 

[Gavin C]

Thanks guys, just the information I needed!
I will check the recipe section here, but it seems hard to find a particular recipe since they are not organized in categories for example.

They are.

There is a whole IPA section with loads of tried and tested recipes. If indeed your set on an IPA.

Here's the recipe database

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Oh great I was in the wrong place!
Cheers,

 

[madk]

This is a pretty solid base malt profile for an IPA, although I like slightly less Caramel in my IPAs. I would change it to this:

13 lbs. Pale Malt
1 lbs. Caramel 40L
8 oz. Carapils
8 oz. Victor

Added 2 lbs. of Pale since this is your first brew-in-a-bag and you will most likely experience lower efficiency. Also lowered the 40L to 1 lb. This should put you at about 1.065 with a 65% efficiency.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

This is a pretty solid base malt profile for an IPA, although I like slightly less Caramel in my IPAs. I would change it to this:

13 lbs. Pale Malt
1 lbs. Caramel 40L
8 oz. Carapils
8 oz. Victor

Added 2 lbs. of Pale since this is your first brew-in-a-bag and you will most likely experience lower efficiency. Also lowered the 40L to 1 lb. This should put you at about 1.065 with a 65% efficiency.

Thanks for the modification! I will try exactly that. I will try to have the grain crushed really small to have better efficiency. Using wilser bag.

I will try the database recipe later when I understand a bit more the terminology. It can get confusing for beginners. Especially on how much water I need at the start since I'm doing BIAB without sparging and not traditional brewing. This one looks nice.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=441676
This one looks easier (no secondary):
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=223815

 

[Gavin C]

Delete any secondary from the recipe. Problem solved.

Dry hop in primary.

Do everything in primary.

Sorry in advance. Not my intent to steer the thread into a secondary y/n debate. Just don't use one and you'll be in good shape.

On the water calculations. Check out this fantastic calculator designed by one of our in house BIAB/math whizzes @pricelessbrewing

Not what I use but I have tested it and it is rock solid based on my data.

If you're looking for some BIAB pointers/ideas there is some info in my signature below that may be useful. Maybe not.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Delete any secondary from the recipe. Problem solved.

Dry hop in primary.

Do everything in primary.

Sorry in advance. Not my intent to steer the thread into a secondary y/n debate. Just don't use one and you'll be in good shape.

On the water calculations. Check out this fantastic calculator designed by one of our in house BIAB/math whizzes @pricelessbrewing

Not what I use but I have tested it and it is rock solid based on my data.

If you're looking for some BIAB pointers/ideas there is some info in my signature below that may be useful. Maybe not.

One less step is perfect as I'm lazy and don't want to work for nothing.
Seems like I will be using only the primary then!
http://homebrew.stackexchange.com/questions/88/if-when-to-move-to-secondary-fermentation

Good then with 2x 6 gallons I can make 10 gal batches without using a secondary

Thanks for the calculator! perfect

 

[MaximumTrainer]

I'm about to buy the ingredients.

I'm wondering if making beer is proportional?

What I mean: If I buy 2x the ingredient size, can I just add 2x the amount of water and have a good recipe?
Wondering because some amount are really small (carapils, victory) so I may just buy a bigger format and double the recipe. Or if I can't, maybe I can keep the ingredient at home? will they stay good/fresh for another time?
Is it easy to keep hops/grain at home? I have a big refrigerator, but not a cold room, only a basement

Sorry for all the questions! thanks for helping a noob
Max

 

[Gavin C]

I'm about to buy the ingredients.

I'm wondering if making beer is proportional?

What I mean: If I buy 2x the ingredient size, can I just add 2x the amount of water and have a good recipe?
Wondering because some amount are really small (carapils, victory) so I may just buy a bigger format and double the recipe. Or if I can't, maybe I can keep the ingredient at home? will they stay good/fresh for another time?

Sorry for all the questions! thanks for helping a noob
Max

All recipes are scalable based on batch size and your brewhouse efficiency.

But in broad terms if you double everything froma 5 gallon batch you will have a 10 gallon batch. No problems there. Edit: good point below, don't double the water. Some volumes remain fixed.

NB*. There are some changes that may be needed to target the same color and IBU's. These are minor and brewing software will do the tweaks for you should you want it to and tell it to.

The measures of specialty grains are indeed small by comparrison with base malts which will usually comprise 85-100% of the grain bill. (again exceptions exist)

Crush grain will keep fresh for weeks/months if sealed well. (vacuum seal would be good)

Uncrushed grains will last for years stored in a cool/dry/dark environment. One of the breat benefits to having your own mill is buying grains in bulk. I've got about 100lbs at the moment. That is small potatoes compared to some folks' grain store.

 

[Foosier]

The ingredients will scale linearly. If you want to double, multiply by 2 and it will work well. Don't assume the water will scale linearly though. The boil off rate does not change and unless you use a different pot for 5 and 10 gallon batches, that will be different. You should boil off proportionately less with a 10 gallon batch. Just run the scaled up ingredient numbers through the calculator and it will give you the numbers you want. (I BIAB and use the priceless brewing calculator and feel it is spot on.)

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Wow you guys type fast!

Guess my future plan will be to get a mill and store the grain in the basement!
The price is much cheaper in bulk.. but for now i'll get the double size and use the calculator to see how much water is needed for a 10gal batch.

If I understand well, it's better to have more grain than less to have a correct efficiency, so I may add more if I'm not sure of the water volume of the calculator.

 

[Foosier]

Just ask for double crush when you buy your grain. Most stores will do it. This, in a Wilser bag, will allow you to hit your numbers spot on in my experience. If they can't/won't double crush just add an extra 1/2lb of base malt for each 5 gal. This has worked well for me in the past as a rule of thumb. That being said, a lot of the BIAB has lower efficiency is really just a result of having a bad crush and not the process. I find with a good crush, BIAB actually gives a better efficiency.

Also, don't doubt the calculator on the water needed. It will be pretty spot on.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Yeah the calculator looks nice. Really Detailed

Good call on the double-crush, hope she doesn't charge me double-price

What I'm not sure is with some values; (Boil-Off Rate, Grain Temp, Grain abs.).
I will just leave the default values I guess!

 

[kh54s10]

There is another thing to consider when doubling a recipe. What size are you doubling from? If you are doing a 5 gallon batch and have an 8-10 gallon pot you will need a bigger pot, at least 15 gallons. You will also need a bigger fermenter or more of them.....

 

[Foosier]

boil off is hard to know for sure if you haven't brewed before, but it can be approximated. I found a boil-off calculator on-line it will give you a ball park idea. I would guess you would be in the 1.2-2 gallon range normally for a 60 min boil. Your boil off will be higher for wider pots and can trend lower for taller pots (like keggles). Also, boil strength is a factor too. Hard rolling boils will boil off more than a less vigorous boil. You won't know for sure the first time, so just use a ball park guesstimate.
Grain temp is just whatever temp the grain is when it goes into the mash. Generally this is the room temp of the room you stored the grain in. If you get the grain the day before, just use the ambient room temp.

Grain absorption is a constant value. Usually most calculators provide a value for you. I think 0.06 is the common default value. (At least it is what I have in my notes....)

 

[soccerdad]

Good advice here. Should not be difficult - but easier yet if you skip the stabilizer and do it all in primary, you should be good.

 

[kh54s10]

Yeah the calculator looks nice. Really Detailed

Good call on the double-crush, hope she doesn't charge me double-price

What I'm not sure is with some values; (Boil-Off Rate, Grain Temp, Grain abs.).
I will just leave the default values I guess!

If you have done a couple of batches you should be able to figure your boil off rate. If you start with 7 gallons and boil for an hour your boil off rate is 2 gallons per hour.

Grain temperature is either the temperature of the grain before adding it to the mash or the mash temperature when it is thoroughly stirred.

Grain absorption is a constant. It is how much water remains in the grain after use. With BIAB the amount can be lower than traditional all grain because you can squeeze wort out of the grain by compressing the bag in some fashion.

 

[Gavin C]

Better than double milling. Ask them to tighten the rollers and mill once really fine.

If just starting out and using a SS pot you will probably see about a 5F drop with full volume mashing and a 10 ish pound grain bill.

I use software to calculate strike temperature (the temp of the water before the grains go in)

Feed the software data such as the grain temp, the temp of the pot, its material and of course the volume of strike water. That is all optional. Getting started you'll be good shooting for a mash of 152 and striking at 158-160. Dough in fast. Fast I tells ya.

Don't sweat it if your a bit off. Accuracy will come as you get more experience.

With a fine milling of the grain, use a good bag. Mash for 30-60 mins and you'll be in good shape efficiency wise. Squueze the snot out of it and you can get absorption losses under 0.05gallons/lb. Not hard to do. Not critically important either. Gravity will work just fine if you can hang the bag over the pot.

pricelessbrewing 's water calculator is good. As is Beersmith if you wanted a free trial they do that. It's a lot trickier to get your head around at the start so simpler is probably better. For BIAB it's hard to beat that calculator by priceless IMO.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Thanks guys!

My setup is pretty minimalist as I like simple stuff.
I will be on the stove with 2 electric elements to start up:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pfur3evv53nbac0/DSCF1519.JPG?dl=0

Kettle is 16 gallon so I should be good for 10 gal batch, the boil will not be so strong as the element are not the most powerful things, I will have to be patient for boiling a big 10 gal. batch I think.
I will do everything in the primary (2x 6 gallon. glass carboy for a 10gal batch), event adding the priming sugar at the end. I want to have low equipment and heard good experiences about not using another fermenter/bottling bucket.

 

[kh54s10]

Thanks guys!

My setup is pretty minimalist as I like simple stuff.
I will be on the stove with 2 electric elements to start up:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pfur3evv53nbac0/DSCF1519.JPG?dl=0

Kettle is 16 gallon so I should be good for 10 gal batch, the boil will not be so strong as the element are not the most powerful things, I will have to be patient for boiling a big 10 gal. batch I think.
I will do everything in the primary (2x 6 gallon. glass carboy for a 10gal batch), event adding the priming sugar at the end. I want to have low equipment and heard good experiences about not using another fermenter/bottling bucket.

Do a test before you brew to make sure that it will get to a boil....

Use this or another calculator to make sure you can fit your grainbill into your pot:http://pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc/?BatchVol=10&GBill=25&HBill=2&Dhop=0&BoilTime=60&BoilRate=1.2&TempGrain=72&TempMash=154&VolSparge=0&PotSize=16&KettleID=13.898&LossTrub=0.0&LossFermTrub=0.5&Gabs=0.08&Habs=0.0365

 

[Gavin C]

Thanks guys!

My setup is pretty minimalist as I like simple stuff.
I will be on the stove with 2 electric elements to start up:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pfur3evv53nbac0/DSCF1519.JPG?dl=0

Kettle is 16 gallon so I should be good for 10 gal batch, the boil will not be so strong as the element are not the most powerful things, I will have to be patient for boiling a big 10 gal. batch I think.
I will do everything in the primary (2x 6 gallon. glass carboy for a 10gal batch), event adding the priming sugar at the end. I want to have low equipment and heard good experiences about not using another fermenter/bottling bucket.

Don't prime in the FV. Get a bottling bucket.
If you prime in the FV you gotta mix it somehow. This will oxygenate the beer and stir up all the trub that has settled.

Some folks do do this and report good things. Personally I wouldn't do it. I would follow the tried and tested sound practice of racking to a bottling bucket into which the priming solution has already been added.

No stirring. A gentle swirl with the racking tubing at the bottom of the bucket. Leaves all the trub in the FV.

Bottle immediately. Bottling is the time your beer is at greatest exposure to air (oxygen). It's the last step and if you do it the way you describe you have an excellent chance of screwing your beer up royally.

Cue the folks who prime in the FV to disagree.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Yes I will test a boil with 10gal + to make sure.

As for bottling bucket, if you mix gently it could be okay, and let it settle for 15-30min?
Source:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1-3.html

 

[wilserbrewer]

Max,

I hate to be a kill joy here, but it may be wise to get a five gallon batch under your belt before swinging for the fences with a 10 gallon?

I admire your ambition, I really do....what's your largest batch to date?

 

[Gavin C]

Yes I will test a boil with 10gal + to make sure.

As for bottling bucket, if you mix gently it could be okay, and let it settle for 15-30min?
Source:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1-3.html

Can't see the need to stir. The coiled tubing does the mixing for you. Not to be all doom and gloom, a gentle swirl to mix is probably OK. Not needed though IMO.

I wouldn't wait. I'd bottle immediately. I feel dirty disagreeing with the great J Palmer's howtobrew.

Edit: Not sure exactly what th elink says as I can't open that page at work.

Seeing the link now. The waiting is to allow sediment to resettle if priming in the fermentor. It's not ideal by any means but can be done if you have no bottling bucket. Looks and sounds like a major drop in simplicity and a recipe for cloudier beer/oxidized beer.

I think it's included for completeness. Yes it can be done. No it's not ideal to do.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

lol wilser you are right!

I am just thinking for future batches, make sure my equipment will be compatible.
5gal is wiser, hopefully enough for my first beer party Biggest batch is.. 0

 

[wilserbrewer]

As for bottling bucket, if you mix gently it could be okay, and let it settle for 15-30min?
Source:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1-3.html

If bottling out of the fermenter, I would mix in the priming sugar very gently so as not to disturb the yeast cake at all, as it will take days to settle. I would also wait 30-60 minutes to allow for diffusion of the priming solution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion

 

[RM-MN]

Can't see the need to stir. The coiled tubing does the mixing for you. Not to be all doom and gloom, a gentle swirl to mix is probably OK. Not needed though IMO.

I wouldn't wait. I'd bottle immediately. I feel dirty disagreeing with the great J Palmer's howtobrew.

Edit: Not sure exactly what th elink says as I can't open that page at work.

I've had uneven carbonation from just letting the swirl stir in the priming sugar/water solution so I now do a gentle stir and that seems to have solved the problem. YMMV

 

[chickypad]

As for bottling bucket, if you mix gently it could be okay, and let it settle for 15-30min?
Source:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter1-3.html

Personally I would only bottle straight from primary if individually priming the bottles, as with carb tabs or something. If you're going to batch prime it's worth the cost to get a cheap bucket. If things go well after about 2 wk fermentation you should have nice clear beer sitting on a several inch layer that looks like baby poop - you really will not want that in your bottles. I think it would be very hard to stir well enough to get the solution mixed and not disturb that to some degree.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Personally I would only bottle straight from primary if individually priming the bottles, as with carb tabs or something. If you're going to batch prime it's worth the cost to get a cheap bucket. If things go well after about 2 wk fermentation you should have nice clear beer sitting on a several inch layer that looks like baby poop - you really will not want that in your bottles. I think it would be very hard to stir well enough to get the solution mixed and not disturb that to some degree.

Individually priming the bottles could be a good solution.
If I have the same bottle volume, it should be easy. I will just need to figure out how much too put in each one. e:g 1L priming solution/50 bottles = 20ML per bottle. I could give this job to the gf

 

[m00ps]

definitely get a bottling bucket. Its like $12 and will give more a more evenly carbed batch. Trust me 1 bottle bomb and youll regret not getting one. Those things are ridiculously dangerous

 

[MaximumTrainer]

I may just use the Kettle as the bottling bucket to save equipment and $$.

Going to get the grains online. I visited my local shop and was disappointed, they have almost nothing.. it's more a wine place.

I will get a grain crusher so I can do my grains and store my extra grains:
Final recipe:
-12 lbs Pale Malt
-1 lb Caramel 40L
-1/2 lb Carapils
-1/2 lb Victory

Buy list:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i6xr2d4jgjtiolj/grainCommand.png?dl=0

 

[Gavin C]

Seems from the comments that I will be getting one in the future to help.

Going to get the grains online. I visited my local shop and was disappointed, they have almost nothing.. it's more a wine place.

I will get a grain crusher so I can do my grains and store my extra grains:
Final recipe:
-12 lbs Pale Malt
-1 lb Caramel 40L
-1/2 lb Carapils
-1/2 lb Victory

Buy list:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i6xr2d4jgjtiolj/grainCommand.png?dl=0

Looks like a tasty grain-bill there.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Final recipe:
-12 lbs Pale Malt
-1 lb Caramel 40L
-1/2 lb Carapils
-1/2 lb Victory

Finally the ingredients arrived today and I just did the receipe!
I just pitched the yeast and it's now in the fermenter.

Wondering when the thing will start to make noise, hopefully I didn't mess anything. I used star san everywhere to make sure. I measured around 1.065 OG (hard to measure with all the foam in the bucket!).
I crushed all the grain with the barley crusher, I reduced the mill to just a little smaller than a credit card. The BIAB bag seems to have held everything, I had nothing at the bottom of the kettle.
It was really fun and I love the hop smell

 

[Gavin C]

Finally the ingredients arrived today and I just did the receipe!
I just pitched the yeast and it's now in the fermenter.

Wondering when the thing will start to make noise, hopefully I didn't mess anything. I used star san everywhere to make sure. I measured around 1.065 OG (hard to measure with all the foam in the bucket!).
I crushed all the grain with the barley crusher, I reduced the mill to just a little smaller than a credit card. The BIAB bag seems to have held everything, I had nothing at the bottom of the kettle.
It was really fun and I love the hop smell

Nicely done. Congrats on the brew. Now plan the next one.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Nicely done. Congrats on the brew. Now plan the next one.

I think I will wait a bit to see the result of this first one to see if I made any mistakes.
I'm a bit worried as I pitched yeast (dry pitch, just pitched on top of wort) at 9PM yesterday, now 11AM and I'm not hearing sound from the fermentor (I use a 3 pieces airlock). I'm staring at it and the little plastic thing is floating on top and it has star san bubbles inside it, but no sound.

I will definitely try a lot of the IPA recipes that are here in the database. If you have a good one you tried to recommend feel free!
Just having some difficulty reading them..
For example, this one:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=82451
1 oz. Tettnanger FWH 4.4% (First Wort Hopped)
1 oz. Chinook 60 min 12%
0.5 oz. Chinook 30 min 12%
0.5 oz. Chinook 5 min 12%

Does this mean add the 1 0z. Chinook after 60 min boil, or when there is 60min boil remaining?

Also is there a fast way to calculate ABV? I always use this calculator:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/
Would be good to have ABV on the top of each recipe?

Gonna try to find a way to clean my stainless kettle now.. The bottom still have the elements marks and a big boiling ring on the top of the kettle. I heard dish soap or white vinegar could be used to clean the stainless kettle?

Thanks sorry for all the questions! Need more experience hehe

 

[m00ps]

You count down the boil from 60min at the begging to 0min at flameout. Though that recipe looks suspect to me. There is no point in adding both a FWH and 60min addition. Youd do one or the other. Also, that hop bill looks pretty unbalanced but even more uninteresting. It has the bitterness levels of an IPA but will have none of the hop character. I wouldnt use that for your next one, just IMO