First BIAB observations

[Hopsacks]

I recently brewed my first beer and thought that my experience, psychological anguish and squeaky bum time may benefit other fellow beginners.

Despite in theory having prepared all the details for my first brew day, I discovered soon enough that in practice not is all as it seems.

I would say it was mostly a success, at least in that I haven't yet palmed the brew off to the in-laws, and it seems to be fermenting anyway, but I will outline the points I would say I didn't quite get to grips with. Some of them I hadn't really thought about at all until the time came.

These notes I took should be self-explanatory:

• 
  
  Start brewday earlier in the morning! The time I spent washing, wiping, sanitising, etc, was way more than I had counted on.
  
  

• 
  
  Get to grips with the induction hob heat settings or prepare insulation for the mash pot. It was very hard to control the heat. The bottom of the pot was at times 10°C (18°F) higher than the surface and that was with almost constant stirring. This was likely exacerbated by the small batch. Juggling the hob was tough but I think all the temps I stayed in were brewable, just not precise. I think I cycled through from about 60°C (140°F) to about 72°C (162°F) and back again many times. Hopefully the brew won't mind. I tried to keep the middle of the mash at around 65°C but it was like spinning plates.
  
  

• 
  
  Let the thermometer stabilise for longer before mash in. I'm using a classic analogue cooking thermometer which takes longer to adjust than I thought.
  
  

• 
  
  Spoon in grains to avoid clumps rather than dump it all in at once. I had a bit of frantic stirring for a couple of minutes but a whisk soon spread it out. Made my man jewels sweaty.
  
  

• 
  
  Be more attentive to boil overs. I had a couple of splashes but just needs more eyeballing and attention.
  
  

• 
  
  Write down additions as I go as opposed to trying to remember. At one point my memory had a meltdown and I couldn't remember how much baking soda I put in! Too much happening I suppose. Luckily my brain rebooted but I really should have taken notes at the time.
  
  

• 
  
  Let the mash pH settle, i.e, not panic by adding *emergency additions* too soon. Paranoid with the pH meter readings, I hastily over-reacted with the lactic acid and baking soda. This sent my pH all over the shop, although it was always within brewing range. I should have added half of what I thought I needed and adjusted from there. I've no idea what this will do to the brew. I took readings at 5.6, 5.8, 5.1 and finally 5.4.
  
  

• 
  
  Trust calculators for salts and acids. They make more sense than my cheap yellow pen meter which, by its own admission, can be 0.1 or 0.2 out. I eventually got the meter to concur with the calculators, around 5.4, but it would have happened sooner and with less additions if I had just went with the original recipe instead of trying to adjust on the fly in a panic-stricken tizzy.
  
  

• 
  
  Invent a better bag squeeze method. Hands work fine but I almost cramped up! It also took longer than I thought. My bag is quite tight. A bit like Mother Teresa's... no, let's not go there.
  
  

• 
  
  Squeeze the hop bag unless it's very bitter. I tasted this wort and it was fine. I would have had no qualms drinking it. Unfortunately I had already decided it wasn't to go in. Seems like a waste! Yes, Scottish.
  
  

• 
  
  Add some loose ice cubes to the sink for faster wort chilling. I chilled in the sink with frozen plastic bottles. I needed 45 mins to get to pitching temps.
  
  

• 
  
  Be careful with sugar additions. I found that it added more gravity points than I had realised. Again, like the salts and acid I would add half of what I think I need for next time. I could have left it out altogether since my recipe was for a 70% extraction, but I already had 82%, which was quite a surprise for my first brew and I'm at least pleased about that. I imagine that was aided by the big 1950's tri-phase corn crusher, (I suppose in-laws can be useful!). So, no sugar for next time if I use the same crush.
  

So, in summary, I'd say that there is a lot of work to do to get it right next time, especially with regard to mainting a steady mash temp and nailng the pH. Hopefully, it will still be beer, but I'm a bit concerned about the lactic acid which ended up being 8% malt acid equivalent in the grist. I realise this is way beyond the acceptable levels.

Will it be drinkable?

Oh yeah, the last thing is... drink less of the 3 Monts on brew day

 

[MagicMatt]

Nice summary of your learnings of the day. If I may give a few suggestions.....

• 
  Start brewday earlier in the morning! The time I spent washing, wiping, sanitising, etc, was way more than I had counted on.

Try to make sure all of your equipment is already washed and clean before the brew day even starts. This way, there's nothing to wash or clean until it's all over, and the only thing to sanitize would be the fermentor, which you can do while you're chilling the wort.

• 
  Let the thermometer stabilise for longer before mash in. I'm using a classic analogue cooking thermometer which takes longer to adjust than I thought.

Yeah same here. I usually don't check the temp until about 15 minutes after dough-in. Not only has the thermometer reading not settled before this, but the mash temp doesn't stabilize (after adding the grain) for me until about 10 minutes in. I recently bought a thermapen style instant read digital thermometer which has helped for those "need to know now" situations.

• 
  Spoon in grains to avoid clumps rather than dump it all in at once. I had a bit of frantic stirring for a couple of minutes but a whisk soon spread it out. Made my man jewels sweaty.

You should be stirring as you pour in. Pour the milled grains with one hand, stir the ever-living mess out of the mash with the other. It usually helps to have someone help out, but can be done solo. Definitely don't "dump" them in, but rather a nice, slow, steady pour rate.

• 
  Be more attentive to boil overs. I had a couple of splashes but just needs more eyeballing and attention.

We all have this problem at times. All it takes is looking away for a few seconds at the wrong time. I find what helps is to turn the burner down once the hot break starts to develop, and as soon as I see the first rolls of the boil propagating to the top I turn it almost off - to a "simmer" position, if you will. Once it settles a bit then I'll slowly turn the fire up just until I get a nice consistent boil. You don't need a violently raging boil here.

• 
  Write down additions as I go as opposed to trying to remember. At one point my memory had a meltdown and I couldn't remember how much baking soda I put in! Too much happening I suppose. Luckily my brain rebooted but I really should have taken notes at the time.

I like to measure all of my salt and hop additions before I start brewing, that way all I need to do is dump them in at the correct time.

• 
  Let the mash pH settle, i.e, not panic by adding *emergency additions* too soon. Paranoid with the pH meter readings, I hastily over-reacted with the lactic acid and baking soda. This sent my pH all over the shop, although it was always within brewing range. I should have added half of what I thought I needed and adjusted from there. I've no idea what this will do to the brew. I took readings at 5.6, 5.8, 5.1 and finally 5.4.

• 
  Trust calculators for salts and acids. They make more sense than my cheap yellow pen meter which, by its own admission, can be 0.1 or 0.2 out. I eventually got the meter to concur with the calculators, around 5.4, but it would have happened sooner and with less additions if I had just went with the original recipe instead of trying to adjust on the fly in a panic-stricken tizzy.

There should be very little reason that you'd need to add both lactic acid and baking soda to your mash. Those are conflicting ideas - one is used to lower the pH and one is used to raise pH. Determine whether you need to raise or lower your pH and use only that adjunct. Several brewing salts will also help to lower the pH (calcium chloride, gypsum, epsom, etc). The only time I've ever needed to raise my pH was when I brewed a stout with 100% RO water, and even then it was a very minimal amount needed. Outside of that, it should only be used to adjust the mash pH once mashing has already commenced and an initial pH reading indicates too low a reading.

Definitely use one of the mash calculator sites or spreadsheets to determine, based on your water, which additions you need to make to get it in line with the desired pH.

And if your meter has a error margin of +/- 0.1-0.2, I wouldn't even use it as it is more likely incorrect. You can take a reading with it, but I would not adjust the mash by adding anything based off of this reading alone. It sounds like you got one of those cheap $7 yellow pH meters. Do yourself a favor now and throw it away before it gets you in trouble. You can rely on the mash calculators (and the Water Chemistry Primer here in the Brew Science section) to get you pretty close to where you want to be. Until you get a decent pH meter, 'close' will have to suffice.

Oh yeah, the last thing is... drink less of the 3 Monts on brew day

I hear ya on that one. Lately I try not to have my first drink until I'm sparging.

 

[CBXBob]

Don't get pissed at me, but you made it sound like Rocket Science
Your brew day stressed me out! I'll happily stay an extract brewer

 

[Hopsacks]

Thanks MagicMatt for all the tips. I'll definitely take it all on board for next time. I've since went over the acid addition and I realise now my mistake of putting in too much. That's how I ended up frantically scurrying for the baking soda, of which I also overdid! Next time it's half as much acid and that's all. Yeah, I'll be going by the calculators rather than the cheap pH pen from now on. It likely hindered me as much as it helped. I had a recipe all calculated out with various brewcalcs and I'm sure it would have been fine if I'd just went with the original plan. Instead, I saw the reading and just shat my pants.

Note duly taken of no drink before sparging. A most wise plan, Sire

 

[Hopsacks]

Don't get pissed at me, but you made it sound like Rocket Science
Your brew day stressed me out! I'll happily stay an extract brewer

It was a white knuckle ride. A bit like jumping into your boy racer buddy's car when he's just passed his driving test. You're convinced you're gonna die, but somehow you have a mad, wide grin on your face :rockin:

 

[RM-MN]

Don't get pissed at me, but you made it sound like Rocket Science
Your brew day stressed me out! I'll happily stay an extract brewer

Don't. At least don't because of someone else's brew day. All grain does not need to be difficult or stressful. Nothing that is used prior to chilling the wort needs to be sanitized, just clean. The wort is going to be boiled, that takes care of sanitation.

Don't worry about the pH for the first few batches. While pH of the mash has some importance, it isn't THAT critical.

Use a whisk to stir in the grains right from the start. It took me 3 years of all grain BIAB to learn that. Man, do I have great stamina for stirring after using a spoon for so long. The whisk breaks up clumps of dry grains really quickly and easily.

Squeezing the bag to get out all the wort is optional. If you have a place to hang the bag above your boil kettle, gravity will do most of the work for you if you are patient. You can increase the efficiency at that time by pouring some water over the bag of grains while it hangs as a form of sparge but it isn't necessary.

 

[ericbw]

Ph and adding salts on your first brew? Not seeming to follow a recipe? Trying to get the center of the mash to the right temp and worrying about the top and bottom?

Yep, sounds needlessly stressful.

 

[Hopsacks]

Chins up guys. Don't let anyone be put off by my manic Monday. I'm not complaining, just reporting my experience. Difficulty and 'stress' do not have to have negative connotations at all. I found it engaging, interesting and a bit of an adrenaline rush to be honest.

I absolutely will be having another go in about three weeks. I actually can't wait. Bring it on!!

 

[madscientist451]

Get to grips with the induction hob heat settings or prepare insulation for the mash pot. It was very hard to control the heat. The bottom of the pot was at times 10°C (18°F) higher than the surface and that was with almost constant stirring. This was likely exacerbated by the small batch. Juggling the hob was tough but I think all the temps I stayed in were brewable, just not precise. I think I cycled through from about 60°C (140°F) to about 72°C (162°F) and back again many times. Hopefully the brew won't mind. I tried to keep the middle of the mash at around 65°C but it was like spinning plates.

Invent a better bag squeeze method. Hands work fine but I almost cramped up! It also took longer than I thought. My bag is quite tight. A bit like Mother Teresa's... no, let's not go there.

Squeeze the hop bag unless it's very bitter. I tasted this wort and it was fine. I would have had no qualms drinking it.

Be careful with sugar additions.

Oh yeah, the last thing is... drink less of the 3 Monts on brew day

Had many of the same problems with my first BIAB brew day.
Here's my solutions:
-Got a cheap round cooler for about $20, rigged up a spigot using parts from the nearby hardware store for about $7, put the bag in that. No more temperature swings, no wringing out the bag, no stuck sparges either, just lift up on the bag a little if the draining slows down. If you go this route, be sure to heat the cooler with hot tap water before you start.
-Don't worry about PH at the beginning, water chemistry is more than just your PH , you need to send your local water to a lab and get a complete breakdown of what your starting water consists of before you make any adjustments.
-Don't use hop bags, just throw the hops in. Your hop flavor/utilization will improve.
-Don't add sugar, get your fermentables from malt. Save the sugar additions for when you have more experience with fermentation.
-Drinking in moderation is ok, its supposed to be a fun hobby, not a chore.
-Regular cleaning is ok for everything before/during the boil. The Boiling of the wort will kill anything unwanted. Sanitized carboys/buckets and equipment are needed during cooling and after the wort is cooled.
Everyone has their own way, my methods may suit you are may not, you have to figure what works best for you. Good Luck and Happy Brewing!

 

[chrisisnapping]

Don't get pissed at me, but you made it sound like Rocket Science
Your brew day stressed me out! I'll happily stay an extract brewer

if it makes it sound any better I just did my first biab batch yesterday, only having ever brewed a mr. beer kit once before. granted this was only a 1 gallon batch. I started around 8:15PM and was all cleaned and done by around 11:30PM. I had previously washed and sanitized all my equipment prior to brew day. The day of I had a separate fermentation bucket that I had filled with sanitizer and all the equipment i would need post boil (including my 1 gallon fermenter). I also kept a small spray bottle and mixing bowl of the sanitizer solution on my counter if needed. I had a HUGE bag, way bigger than what the few pounds of grain required, so it was pretty easy to squeeze and drain (I also silicone grilling mits that made it so much easier to do it). Now i am even more excited to do a larger 3g smash this weekend and already ordered the ingredients and another fermenter for the batch after that.

Definitely recommend BIAB, doesn't seem difficult, just a little time consuming (cooking on a stove so takes some time to get to strike temp and boiling)

 

[juskojj]

i guess i'm the strange one. i started out with all grain for my 1 brew ever. i have NEVER worried about PH or even OG, FG ect for my 1st couple brews. I got a hydrometer for my last couple batches but that still doesn't stress me out if i miss it...... i strive for hitting temps and volume, make sure full ferment, carb, age adn drink.... i've only thrown out 1 batch due to me trying something new and it didn't turn out. may not be the best beer i've ever made but i'm not striving to be a professional brewer.... i'm striving to make drinkable good beer. so far my father in law and friends have enjoyed my brews so don't stress out and it should be enjoyable