First BIAB batch complete - Success

[Troxs]

This past Saturday (January 28, 2017) I finished up my first ever BIAB brewday. It seemed to be a success, with only a few minor errors and low numbers.

Here is the recipe:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 15.27 gal
Post Boil Volume: 13.02 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 11.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 10.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated Color: 5.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 11.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.1 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
20.00 gal My Brew Water (Luke Dr.) Water 1 -
12.00 ml Lactic Acid (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 -
6.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 3 -
3.50 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent 4 -
1.00 Items Campden Tablets (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 5 -
10 lbs Pilsner Malt (Avangard) (1.7 SRM) Grain 6 46.0 %
10 lbs Wheat Malt (Avangard) (2.0 SRM) Grain 7 46.0 %
1 lbs Munich Malt, Germany (Avangard) (9.5 SRM Grain 8 4.6 %
8.0 oz Carawheat (Weyermann) (50.0 SRM) Grain 9 2.3 %
4.0 oz Cara 45 (Dingemans) (47.0 SRM) Grain 10 1.1 %
1.00 oz Hallertau [2.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 11 4.4 IBUs
2.00 oz Hersbrucker [2.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 12 6.7 IBUs
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 13 -
1.0 pkg Weihenstephan Weizen (Wyeast Labs #3068) Yeast 14 -


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 21 lbs 12.0 oz

---

I started out brew day by adding my strike water and my water treatment. (This was also my first brew paying attention to water profiles and mash pH.) I decided to add my lactic acid in prior to the mash, so the entire mash would be at the the appropriate pH - this I believe was a mistake. Everything said to add 18ml of lactic acid, but when I measured my mash 10 minutes or so in to the mash time, it was at 4.8! Now, I realize now that I measured the mash pH directly and not at room temperature so hopefully it was a bad reading.

I let the mash sit for 90-mintues. Lifted the bag, squeezed out what I needed to hit my pre-boil volume and started the burner again. I was maybe .25/.5 gallons over my intended boil volume here, and I likely should have paid more attention to my final volume. Again, the intake of beer took away my focus...

The boil went fine, even on the lower power of my NG set up with blichmann hellfire burner. In the end the volumes were a bit higher than I'd like, but being that I drank quite a bit more than intended I vaguely remember the final volume in the kettle being maybe .5 - 1 gallon more. (this is why I typically brew sober). This I am sure has attributed to my lower OG of 1.042 rather than 1.049.

I have to say though, I much prefer the BIAB setup over my old 3-vessel, and cannot wait to brew again -- only this time it'll get started early in the morning and I won't be drinking much more than a couple cups of coffee.

 

[RedlegEd]

I started out brew day by adding my strike water and my water treatment. (This was also my first brew paying attention to water profiles and mash pH.) I decided to add my lactic acid in prior to the mash, so the entire mash would be at the the appropriate pH - this I believe was a mistake. Everything said to add 18ml of lactic acid, but when I measured my mash 10 minutes or so in to the mash time, it was at 4.8!

Hi. I'd recommend you continue to add the salts and acid to your strike water and not to the mash. Once you dough in, it will be exceedingly hard to get an even distribution throughout the grainbed.

What are you using to manage your water? There are many good spreadsheets / tools out there. I use Bru'n Water and Brewer's Friend and found them to be fairly reliable. Also, do you know the chemistry of your starting water? Just an observation, but unless you have really hard water, 18ml of lactic acid (assuming 88%) seems awfully high, even with really light grain in the grist.

Now, I realize now that I measured the mash pH directly and not at room temperature so hopefully it was a bad reading.

Unfortunately, I believe the higher the temperature, the higher the pH, so your mash pH would actually be lower at room temperature.

Last thought...coffee is probably a good idea!
Ed

 

[Morrey]

LOL....you had a good time brewing, or should I say "imbibing". On your first attempt at something new, sobriety is a factor.

I do BIAB single temp, full volume infusion with squeeze sparging so I don't have sparge water to manage with salts. My water typically runs around 7.3-7.5 ph, and I usually (according to Bru'n Water) add around 3 mL of 88% lactic acid to 7.25G of strike water. Additions such as Epsom, CaCl and Gypsum impact the ph to some degree but I consider them to be flavor balancers. Bru'n Water keeps all of this balanced depending on the style of beer. 18mL of lactic, as Ed points out, seems a large amount which may have played a role in your lower than anticipated OG.

Back some time ago, I added my chemistry to the strike water as I always do prior to dough-in. Just for giggles I did a ph reading and found my adjusted strike water to be something around 4.3ph. I darn near panicked, made a quick post and Yooper, AJ and Martin all reassured me this was normal. After I added the grain I waited for a few minutes and the mash tested at 5.35 ph. Right in the sweet spot as the grain brought the ph to the predicted level. Beer turned out well.

Congrats on a successful brew and water management lesson. If you haven't done a professional water analysis by a company like Ward Labs, it is worth your time to do so. My .02.

 

[Troxs]

Hi. I'd recommend you continue to add the salts and acid to your strike water and not to the mash. Once you dough in, it will be exceedingly hard to get an even distribution throughout the grainbed.

What are you using to manage your water? There are many good spreadsheets / tools out there. I use Bru'n Water and Brewer's Friend and found them to be fairly reliable. Also, do you know the chemistry of your starting water? Just an observation, but unless you have really hard water, 18ml of lactic acid (assuming 88%) seems awfully high, even with really light grain in the grist.
Unfortunately, I believe the higher the temperature, the higher the pH, so your mash pH would actually be lower at room temperature.

Last thought...coffee is probably a good idea!
Ed

I had my water profile test at Ward labs, I used those numbers in Beersmtih, Bru'n Water, and Brewer's friend. They all said the 18-22ml range, which is why I went on the low side. I'm going to drop those numbers in half next time.

What affect do you think the low pH will have on the final flavor?

 

[Troxs]

LOL....you had a good time brewing, or should I say "imbibing". On your first attempt at something new, sobriety is a factor.

I do BIAB single temp, full volume infusion with squeeze sparging so I don't have sparge water to manage with salts. My water typically runs around 7.3-7.5 ph, and I usually (according to Bru'n Water) add around 3 mL of 88% lactic acid to 7.25G of strike water. Additions such as Epsom, CaCl and Gypsum impact the ph to some degree but I consider them to be flavor balancers. Bru'n Water keeps all of this balanced depending on the style of beer. 18mL of lactic, as Ed points out, seems a large amount which may have played a role in your lower than anticipated OG.

Back some time ago, I added my chemistry to the strike water as I always do prior to dough-in. Just for giggles I did a ph reading and found my adjusted strike water to be something around 4.3ph. I darn near panicked, made a quick post and Yooper, AJ and Martin all reassured me this was normal. After I added the grain I waited for a few minutes and the mash tested at 5.35 ph. Right in the sweet spot as the grain brought the ph to the predicted level. Beer turned out well.

Congrats on a successful brew and water management lesson. If you haven't done a professional water analysis by a company like Ward Labs, it is worth your time to do so. My .02.

I did have Ward Labs test my water. Now it is more learning my system a bit better, and also learning how to better utilize bru'n water...

 

[Morrey]

I did have Ward Labs test my water. Now it is more learning my system a bit better, and also learning how to better utilize bru'n water...

Perfect! Learning your own individual equipment and the volume losses you can expect are all part of the deal. We had very low relative humidity at my brew site this weekend, and I missed my boil off calculations by .25 gallons more loss that I expected. Easy enough to add in some top off water but still a lesson learned. Brewing is a great hobby and there is always something new to learn and enjoy. Water chemistry management is a tough subject, but the rewards are premium beers.

BTW....How do you like the new Blichmann Hellfire burner? I use the old Blichmann and love it.

 

[Morrey]

What affect do you think the low pH will have on the final flavor?

I am not an expert like some, but my understanding is the correct ph balance will aid in the maximum conversion possible getting the most sugars converted from the potentially available starches. I don't think the ph level you used will influence your beer to the point you have a tart/sour beer like a Gose for example.

Probably the ph is partially responsible for not hitting your efficiency mark indicated by the low OG.

 

[Troxs]

BTW....How do you like the new Blichmann Hellfire burner? I use the old Blichmann and love it.

I love it thus far. I have it connected via natural gas, so the output isn't as insane as I'm sure it would be with propane. It got the job done quicker than my old generic crawfish boiler though.

I believe it took me about 30 minutes to get from mash temp (144 at the end of the mash) to boiling.

 

[RedlegEd]

I had my water profile test at Ward labs, I used those numbers in Beersmtih, Bru'n Water, and Brewer's friend. They all said the 18-22ml range, which is why I went on the low side. I'm going to drop those numbers in half next time.

What affect do you think the low pH will have on the final flavor?

As @Morrey said, "Perfect!" How did you measure your pH? I hope you didn't use pH strips...they're notoriously inaccurate. If you used a meter, did you check the calibration on brewday? I mean no offense, just checking all the bases. Just for giggles, what is the bicarbonate level on your Ward's report? Ed

 

[Troxs]

As @Morrey said, "Perfect!" How did you measure your pH? I hope you didn't use pH strips...they're notoriously inaccurate. If you used a meter, did you check the calibration on brewday? I mean no offense, just checking all the bases. Just for giggles, what is the bicarbonate level on your Ward's report? Ed

I did not calibrate the meter on brew day, which I'll likely do next time. I did calibrate it prior to brew day though. My only real concern is that I didn't measure the pH at room temp. I knew better, but the home brew took the best practiced out of my mind.

My bicarbonate is 135ppm

 

[RedlegEd]

I did not calibrate the meter on brew day, which I'll likely do next time. I did calibrate it prior to brew day though. My only real concern is that I didn't measure the pH at room temp. I knew better, but the home brew took the best practiced out of my mind.

My bicarbonate is 135ppm

Wow! I used your bicarb of 135ppm (left the rest of mine alone) and ran in through my supporter's version of Bru'n Water with your data. Bru'n water also told me to add 20ml lactic acid (88%) to get to a pH of 5.44. So, bottom line, your numbers and mine seem to be right in line, which means it looks like you've done everything correctly. It's a puzzlement to me?
Ed


Re-ETA: I was wrong. According to this, pH goes down as temp increases, so you might be right on track there too.

 

[Troxs]

Yes. It is insane. I'm hoping that maybe I didn't calibrate my meter right to be honest. It just seems odd to need 18ml of acid.

 

[RedlegEd]

Yes. It is insane. I'm hoping that maybe I didn't calibrate my meter right to be honest. It just seems odd to need 18ml of acid.

Ultimately, this is all an academic discussion. What really matters is how good your beer is. I'm betting that it'll be wonderful, and you'll chalk these things up as "experience points." Please be sure to let us know how it comes out. Ed

 

[Troxs]

Ultimately, this is all an academic discussion. What really matters is how good your beer is. I'm betting that it'll be wonderful, and you'll chalk these things up as "experience points." Please be sure to let us know how it comes out. Ed

I certainly will update with the finished project. I plan to rack it to my kegs on Feb 11th. Ideally I wanted to drop the yeast cake then from my conical and let it sit a bit more, but my wedding/honey moon is the next weekend so if I don't rack it to the kegs then it'll likely sit a bit longer than I expected.

I still haven't decided though. I may just let it sit 10 days - 2 weeks on the yeast cake, drop it and let it sit for 3 more weeks to keg it. I'll be home then from the honey moon.

 

[RedlegEd]

Congratulations on the nuptials! Wishing you both happiness and a long, and prosperous life together. Probably a very smart decision to let the beer ride whilst you start out your marriage. The beer won't care, but your newly wedded spouse might have a few other opinions. Best of luck to you both! Ed