First AG (BIAB) disaster

[ILMSTMF]

Gonna try not to TL;DR this one. But here's the quick ones in case you don't read it all:

• Recommendations to hoist the bag with pulley that avoid having to make additional knot in drawstring.

• Analog kettle or handheld digital thermometer?

It's been 3 weeks since the brew day. I usually take good notes of procedure, successes, failures but this was such a comedy of errors that I don't really want to make a record of it. Here's a summary of the bad:

• Started too late in the day, around 3:30PM. Had me feeling rushed through the whole process.

• Set up the burner outside on patio. Didn't realize till time to transfer wort to FV that I was set up on a slight angle. Lot of wort was left in kettle and ball valve was reduced to no output.

• I was planning to use this ladder trick...
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/right-biab-extract.html
But the kettle sitting on the elevated burner did not allow that to happen. I had to have an assistant help me lift the kettle off and set on the ground in order to use the ladder. Even then, I had to tie a knot close to the bag opening in order give the pulley enough slack to pull up and allow the bag to drain. I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE if anyone has advice for how to use the bag/pulley combination to get a good lift going. Thank you.

• Temperature control. I just couldn't get this right. The kettle analog thermometer is "slower" than my handheld digital thermometer. And the readings didn't match each other. I don't know if that was a result of bad calibration or...It seems obvious that I should just use the digital however, I'd love some feedback on this. Trust digital or analog? This has me losing confidence for future brews and my ability to maintain a proper mash temp.

The rest of the problems were just nuisances, I suppose. It was a different animal to brew outside and with full volume. Really threw me off. Through much of the process, I wasn't a happy camper and, by the end of it, I was so frustrated that I thought I'd quit brewing. Have talked myself off the ledge; samples I've pulled look, smell, and taste great. Beer should be ready in 2 1/2 weeks so we'll see how it turned out!

Thank you for reading!

 

[doug293cz]

How elevated is your burner stand? I use a Blichmann burner, without leg extensions, and find that an 8-foot step ladder works much better for suspending the pulley than does a 6-foot ladder.

The easiest way to shorten the pull distance is to make a loop out of 3/16" or 1/4" polyester cord. Pull up the top of the bag, wrap the loop around the top of the gathered bag top a few times, put one end of the loop thru the other, and then hook the end you put thru to the pulley clip. Loop should be long enough to wrap three (or more) times around the bag to make sure it won't slip after cinching under the bag's weight.

Brew on

 

[BeardedBrews]

Oh man, I had all of these problems too! Fortunately they are (somewhat) easy fixes.

Regarding the bag hoisting, instead of trying to attach the pulley to the draw string, lift the bag up a little by hand so you have the slack in the bag bunched up (like you're pulling the bag from a trash can). Then you can either knot the bag itself, or tie your pulley string around the bag where it's bunched up. This gets the lift point much lower and helps encourage a little bit of squeezing.

Regarding the thermometers, you can adjust both so that they read either 32F with a kettle full of ice water, or 212 with boiling water. Once calibrated both should be plenty accurate to make beer (see point below).

Regarding temperature control during the mash, I struggled trying to recirculate, heat, stir, mix, heat, overheat, cool on my first few BIAB batches. My solution was to go out and buy some insulation and stop worrying as much about a little temperature loss during the mash (<5° F). It made my brew days WAY less stressful and the beer still tastes great. To a large extent ±2F isn't going to change your beer that much, another reason to not worry about small differences in your thermometer calibration. It is VASTLY more important to have fun on a brew day.

Full volume is a very different animal on a number of levels. I didn't realize how much water chemistry could have an impact on AG, but making a simple CaCl / Gypsum / Lactic Acid addition to my water before I start has made a noticeable improvement in finished product.

Don't forget that you don't have to make 5 gallons. Until you're comfortable, try scaling back to 3 or 4. Everything gets easier to move around, and if you make a mistake you aren't losing as much.

 

[benstetson]

I brew in my garage and simply have an eye hook in one of the ceiling trusses. I used this with 550 cord wrapped twice. I make a slip knot to grab the bag and then lift by hand and support the weight with the cord. Works without issue.

Agreed water adjustments for AG and I just now finally got a PH meter.

I have a Blichman thermometer in my kettle, works fine. Just make sure you are stirring water and also mash to get a more accurate reading especially if you have to add heat during the mash. I shoot for a strike temp about 2-3 degrees above my mash temp with BIAB and hit it np. Then wrap a blanket around to hold temp. I may have to gently heat once or twice depending on garage temp / time of year. Just work for a range, you do not have to be EXACT.

 

[kh54s10]

All that sounds like quite minor problems, but big annoyances. I am sure the beer will be OK.

A little more planning and the next brewday should go smoothly.

For the thermometers: I would trust the digital if it is a good one. It should also be much faster in settling.

 

[ILMSTMF]

Regarding the bag hoisting, instead of trying to attach the pulley to the draw string, lift the bag up a little by hand so you have the slack in the bag bunched up (like you're pulling the bag from a trash can). Then you can either knot the bag itself, or tie your pulley string around the bag where it's bunched up. This gets the lift point much lower and helps encourage a little bit of squeezing.

Yep, I found Mr. Wilser's thread after I posted this.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=416419

Regarding the thermometers, you can adjust both so that they read either 32F with a kettle full of ice water, or 212 with boiling water. Once calibrated both should be plenty accurate to make beer (see point below).

Regarding temperature control during the mash, I struggled trying to recirculate, heat, stir, mix, heat, overheat, cool on my first few BIAB batches. My solution was to go out and buy some insulation and stop worrying as much about a little temperature loss during the mash (<5° F). It made my brew days WAY less stressful and the beer still tastes great. To a large extent ±2F isn't going to change your beer that much, another reason to not worry about small differences in your thermometer calibration. It is VASTLY more important to have fun on a brew day.

Yep, I think I'll calibrate on boiling water. Can you please let me know the kind of insulation you're using? I used an old comforter as was recommended by others which seemed to do Jack Schitt. Temp dropped like, 10 degrees. And I am SO with you on the motto of having fun. This brew day was a start to finish stress fest. Really pissed me off.

Full volume is a very different animal on a number of levels. I didn't realize how much water chemistry could have an impact on AG, but making a simple CaCl / Gypsum / Lactic Acid addition to my water before I start has made a noticeable improvement in finished product.

Is there a cure-all solution that you are mixing for every brew or does your mixture change based on the recipe? I'd love to know it; I'm using tap water only. My fridge's water filter tap would take WAY too long to fill the kettle to volume I need. No plans to install RO system in-line.

Don't forget that you don't have to make 5 gallons. Until you're comfortable, try scaling back to 3 or 4. Everything gets easier to move around, and if you make a mistake you aren't losing as much.

I appreciate that, however, if I'm going through the effort, I want a full 5 gallons. I appreciate you, my friends, who are brewing small batch to make certain you like the recipe, time constraints, gear restraints, etc. But I gotta get my two cases man. :fro: :rockin:

 

[BeardedBrews]

Yep, I think I'll calibrate on boiling water. Can you please let me know the kind of insulation you're using? I used an old comforter as was recommended by others which seemed to do Jack Schitt. Temp dropped like, 10 degrees. And I am SO with you on the motto of having fun. This brew day was a start to finish stress fest. Really pissed me off.

I used Reflectix. The 25' roll was enough to get a few layers thick on the sides and enough to cut out several layers to put on the lid. The biggest driver of heat loss seems to be open head-space in the top of the kettle. If I brew a 10 gallon batch I lose 0-2F in an hour. If I brew a 5 gallon batch I'll lose 4F or more in an hour.

I try to open the lid no more than once every 15 minutes, good hearty stir with my 24" whisk, then take a temperature and put the lid back on.

Is there a cure-all solution that you are mixing for every brew or does your mixture change based on the recipe? I'd love to know it; I'm using tap water only. My fridge's water filter tap would take WAY too long to fill the kettle to volume I need. No plans to install RO system in-line.

No single approach will work for everything, but for me there is a pretty stable range. My city water has basically nothing in it based on the water analysis that they publish. For me, this means 5g CaCl, 5g Gypsum, and 5mL 88% Lactic will get me a balanced profile with a pH around 5.3 on a light to amber beer. Plus, they're nice round numbers

My advice, key your stuff into Brewer's Friend and use their calculator.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/?id=GPXSS3S

If I'm brewing hoppy I add a couple grams more Gypsum and take a couple grams of CaCl out. If I want that NE feel I might double up on CaCl and cut back the Gypsum. If it's a dark beer I probably won't need as much (or any) lactic acid.

But I gotta get my two cases man. :fro: :rockin:

Nothing wrong with that!

Making more batches is what will make it easier and less stressful. Keep going and get used to your system and eventually you'll be brewing on cruise control.

 

[Atlmustang]

Congrats on the first BIAB! It's a great method of brewing that has opened up all grain brewing to a larger percentage of homebrewers.

I can't speak to your pulley system because I just lift mine up and move it over to a pot and strainer to lauter...lot less heart ache that way and because my bag once slipped off the pulley and dropped back into the pot (luckily I didn't lose it).

But regarding mash temp. I use a $10 digital thermometer from kroger and it works fine. Heat water to 163 mash in, mash temp should be 156 or so, after an hour you should be around 151-152 with the lid on the pot. I brew inside on my gas stove so I don't really need to insulate the pot and I am not certain I would care too much. If I ended up at 148 after an hour I'd be fine.

I am pretty laid back on brew day. I try to enjoy the process rather the details and that has not let me down yet. I have had some great beers and had a good time doing it...which is why I do it.

 

[ILMSTMF]

For me, this means 5g CaCl, 5g Gypsum, and 5mL 88% Lactic will get me a balanced profile with a pH around 5.3 on a light to amber beer. Plus, they're nice round numbers

My advice, key your stuff into Brewer's Friend and use their calculator.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/?id=GPXSS3S

If I'm brewing hoppy I add a couple grams more Gypsum and take a couple grams of CaCl out. If I want that NE feel I might double up on CaCl and cut back the Gypsum. If it's a dark beer I probably won't need as much (or any) lactic acid.

But regarding mash temp. I use a $10 digital thermometer from kroger and it works fine.

I am pretty laid back on brew day. I try to enjoy the process rather the details and that has not let me down yet. I have had some great beers and had a good time doing it...which is why I do it.

Great tips, thanks for the reassurance!
I think I'm going to stick with the blanket (for now). The Reflectix looks nice but that's just going to be one more damn thing I gotta find a spot to store it in. It's a miracle I have found space to store everything else I've already got! Now where am I gonna store this new grain mill...