First BIAB brew - tips?

[garethliam]

I'm a novice brewer - currently have a Caribou Slobber extract kit on the go but want to move on and brew up a BIAB beer.

1) I want to give a 1-2 gallon BIAB batch a go. I'm looking for a simple wheat beer recipe with a quick and easy grain bill (something akin to a Leinenkugels or Blue moon). Any suggestions of where to look for this, and how I'd go about converting said recipe to a smaller batch size? I'm pretty read up and know it'll be a little trial and error on getting the water quantity spot on because of water loss.

2) I also found this recipe, and want to give it a go sometime. I want to half the batch and use the BIAB method. My question is, would it be as simple as halving the ingredients? I haven't brewed a BIAB yet, this will be for a future project.
Raspberry Belgian Ale

 

[aiptasia]

I'm a novice brewer - currently have a Caribou Slobber extract kit on the go but want to move on and brew up a BIAB beer.

1) I want to give a 1-2 gallon BIAB batch a go. I'm looking for a simple wheat beer recipe with a quick and easy grain bill (something akin to a Leinenkugels or Blue moon). Any suggestions of where to look for this, and how I'd go about converting said recipe to a smaller batch size? I'm pretty read up and know it'll be a little trial and error on getting the water quantity spot on because of water loss.

Check the recipes section in the HBT bar at the top of your screen. Beer is scale-able, so if you find a 5 gallon recipe and want a 2 gallon batch, use 2/5ths the ingredients. Or, just do a 2.5 gallon BIAB and use 1/2 the ingredients. If it's a six or a ten gallon original batch, turn it into a ratio (a fraction) and do the math. Don't forget to account for evaporation loss based on your own rig.

 

[F250]

Make sure you get the clumps of grain all broken up. It can take a bit of stirring to ensure this.

Good luck.

Rick

 

[garethliam]

Thanks for the stirring tip!
I didn't have any clumping issues... I started out with a very basic grain bill (maris otter,flaked&roasted barley) and have a stout which is looking very tasty right now, racked in the secondary. Was very happy with how this went and will keep the thread alive when I bottle and taste the brew.

I think the biggest worries/issues I faced were:
1) figuring out the loss of water volume with sediment/boil off/grain absorption/trub leave behind when racking. I lucked out and was able to fill a 1 gallon carboy right up to the next when I racked this to a secondary (about 1.25 gallon total). For me, that is the perfect amount.
2) controlling mash temperature. I found that I needed to baby the pot by adding a little heat every 15 minutes or so... I was able to keep this within 1-2F either side of the mash temp.