First BIAB in the fermenter!

[mrstevenund]

Well, I built my electric system this summer and finally used it for it's real purpose. I did my first BIAB yesterday. The only problem is I did not auto tune the PID or calibrate it before starting. After leaving the PID set to 153, I kept seeing the Temp rise to almost 170 on the PID. With about 20 minutes left, I finally tossed my floating thermometer in and it read >170.

So the question is, I hit the gravity, but I'm afraid the temp was high for the whole time. How much of a problem do I have on my hands?

 

[chitowngator]

You will likely have a lot of unfermentable sugars and the beer will finish high. How confident are you in your thermometer?

I made a 2 gal BIAB Irish Stout a few weeks back and mashed in around 162 accidentally. Didn't account for the grain bill or cut the burner at the strike temperature Should have added some cool water, but decided to leave the top of the pot and let it cool naturally (it was cool outside) for about 12 minutes. The stout finished at 1.030 (from 1.048) after 3 weeks in the primary, tasted like a sweetened coffee. Added 1/2 tsp of Amylase Enzyme and the fermentation took off again and finished at 1.013. The sample tasted better at 1.030, but I'll see in a couple weeks how it turns out (bottling today).

 

[mrstevenund]

oops. I thought I already responded once. Oh well.

I'm not confident in anything on my setup right now. When I get some time, I'll calibrate the PID to 155ish degrees. I have both a Lab thermometer and a floating thermometer for my brewing equipment, as well as two digital meat thermometers I can compare.

I believe the OG was 1.038. After 6 days, it was down to 1.020 without any temp control, so the temp was 64ish. I plugged in my heater and set it for 67 at that time. I'll check it again later this week and see if it comes down any more.

I'll be hitting up Northern Brewer this weekend for other equipment, so I'll pick up some Amylase just to have on hand.