Hoppy Wheat overnight mash BIAB

[Psylocide]

Well... this beer was a HUGE success. I can't even stress that enough.

This was a double experiment really.

1. To evaluate the effectiveness of an overnight mash to break up the brew day in to two blocks of time

2. To evaluate the effectiveness of no/minimal flavor additions but using hopstand/dry hop to impart flavors

Point 1: Obviously it was a raging success. I will attribute my low-ish (~60% range) efficiency to the grain crush. Looking back at the photos and remembering the day, I left a lot of whole-ish grains in there. If I had crushed to almost flour like I did with my latest batch, I have no doubt in my mind that I would have achieved higher efficiency (76% on latest brew with 30 min mash -- that thread is coming).

There is no bitterness, astringency or tartness from the overnight mash. No souring, just clean, delicious beer.

Point 2: I can only tell you folks that this was also a huge success. In fact, I think the 30 min addition was pointless and will ONLY bitter pale ales @ 60 mins, then do hopstand/dry hop for flavoring/aroma.

This is THE juiciest-flavored beer I have ever tasted. Huge tropical fruit aroma smacks you in the nose and ends up in your mouth. The aftertaste is akin to a somewhat-bittered fruit juice. If I had to compare it to any beer, it would be Deschutes Fresh Squeezed with less bitterness. Which makes sense, because I used the same hops they use for flavor/aroma, but have less IBUs. Imagine that?

This has only been in the keg for a week, but is very drinkable. Hell, I don't see how it could get better with age, but we'll find out if it lasts that long.

Cheers to my first successful Overnight Mash AG BIAB custom recipe, and if anyone is on the fence about trying it, I say, "Just do it." Grain to glass - 21 days.

*Props to the HBT community for being super helpful at all times. This is the caliber of beer that I was striving for and my solo brewing career is less than 6 months old.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I don't know that I will do the overnight part of it, it would likely make me lose sleep. I'm probably going to make this my next batch though, my carboy will be free early next week or if this weekend is too horribly boring I'll just buy another one and ingredients and do it sooner.

If/when I do, I'll send you a bottle to compare to yours.

 

[Gavin C]

This was a great read Psy. Very nice descriptive narrative. Might have to give the overnight mash a go with my new insulating jacket for my pot.

 

[Psylocide]

This was a great read Psy. Very nice descriptive narrative. Might have to give the overnight mash a go with my new insulating jacket for my pot.

Hey, thanks for the feedback... I enjoyed your thread on your method as well.

I wish I could have got a better description/pics of the sparge-to-volume process, but it really is pretty self-explanatory.

The other thing that was a let down was my efficiency, which I am attributing solely to the grain crush at this point. I mean, looking at this picture, it's pretty obvious. Look at those whole grains!


60% Efficiency

vs.



76% Efficiency





But! The beer is great. I'm going to explore this further after reading up more on the science behind mashing. It did attenuate down further than I expected, and I'm not sure if that's due to the falling temperatures of the mash or something else.

Either way, was a fun experiment to share.

 

[Gavin C]

Hey, thanks for the feedback... I enjoyed your thread on your method as well.

I wish I could have got a better description/pics of the sparge-to-volume process, but it really is pretty self-explanatory.

The other thing that was a let down was my efficiency, which I am attributing solely to the grain crush at this point. I mean, looking at this picture, it's pretty obvious. Look at those whole grains!


60% Efficiency

vs.



76% Efficiency


View attachment 260801


But! The beer is great. I'm going to explore this further after reading up more on the science behind mashing. It did attenuate down further than I expected, and I'm not sure if that's due to the falling temperatures of the mash or something else.

Either way, was a fun experiment to share.

I think it could be due to the smaller size of the grains of wheat. Barley is substantially bigger meaning more of the wheat may sneak through the mill without getting the same crush.

 

[Psylocide]

I think it could be due to the smaller size of the grains of wheat. Barley is substantially bigger meaning more of the wheat may sneak through the mill without getting the same crush.

I crush in my blender and did barley/wheat separate

The picture of the 76% efficiency contained ~40% wheat... I'll chalk it up to being in a major hurry that night and not knowing the full impact of "Eh, good enough."

 

[Gavin C]

I crush in my blender and did barley/wheat separate

The picture of the 76% efficiency contained ~40% wheat... I'll chalk it up to being in a major hurry that night and not knowing the full impact of "Eh, good enough."

Of course! I forgot the blender pictures at the start. Had a little chuckle at that. Does it take much time to mill 11 lbs of grain this way? I got a basic mill but it took me a few attempts to get the thing to work well. A lot of effin and blindin on my part before working out a few kinks.

 

[Psylocide]

Of course! I forgot the blender pictures at the start. Had a little chuckle at that. Does it take much time to mill 11 lbs of grain this way? I got a basic mill but it took me a few attempts to get the thing to work well. A lot of effin and blindin on my part before working out a few kinks.

Well, the 76% efficiency crush took about a half an hour. Not super efficient for time management purposes, but I now crush the day before brew day.

The biggest problem is that you can really only do about a cup or a little less at a time because otherwise, the whole grains will fall to the bottom and the flour will stay flying around the blades.

So, a cup at a time, hold the button down for about 3 seconds, dump, repeat.

Haha! My whole thought behind this thread was, "look, this is how easy it is to make the jump to whole grain. You don't need a bunch of fancy equipment or to be super meticulous. Just go for it."

 

[TheCADJockey]

I just chew my grains until they are the right consistency for a mash. The saliva actually helps start the saccharification process, it just takes a little while and your jaw will get tired the first few times you do it. If you do decide to go this route, you can try chopping the funk out of the grains first with a chefs knife like you would do for parsley.

 

[Gavin C]

I just chew my grains until they are the right consistency for a mash. The saliva actually helps start the saccharification process, it just takes a little while and your jaw will get tired the first few times you do it. If you do decide to go this route, you can try chopping the funk out of the grains first with a chefs knife like you would do for parsley.

Dogfish head did just this on an experimental brew. Chicha I think it's called. Had the whole company chewing grains for weeks to get enough for the brew. A South American drink. Saw it on Netflix. Crazy stuff

 

[TheCADJockey]

Dogfish head did just this on an experimental brew. Chicha I think it's called. Had the whole company chewing grains for weeks to get enough for the brew. A South American drink. Saw it on Netflix. Crazy stuff

Wow I was just being an idiot, but now that you mention it... I remember that episode and how miserable everyone looked trying to fill cups of chewed grain. Hah... Awesome.

I am looking forward to trying this recipe.

 

[Psylocide]

Wow I was just being an idiot, but now that you mention it... I remember that episode and how miserable everyone looked trying to fill cups of chewed grain. Hah... Awesome.

I am looking forward to trying this recipe.

Lol... that sounds terrible.

This is as solid a pale ale as I've had... although it's damn near a Wheat IPA at 6.7% and 50 IBUs.

 

[Rivenin]

instead of the blender for a mill, spend $25 and get this
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U5NZ4I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
i do some other stuff to get my mash eff% up there, but i normally get 85% sometimes up to 90% eff.

other than that, with another kid on the way, i may look into this to split the brewdays up!

 

[RM-MN]

Lol... that sounds terrible.

This is as solid a pale ale as I've had... although it's damn near a Wheat IPA at 6.7% and 50 IBUs.

It would be terrible but if you don't have malted grains, the saliva will provide the enzymes to convert.

 

[Psylocide]

instead of the blender for a mill, spend $25 and get this
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U5NZ4I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
i do some other stuff to get my mash eff% up there, but i normally get 85% sometimes up to 90% eff.

other than that, with another kid on the way, i may look into this to split the brewdays up!

Thanks for the tip. Others have recommended that mill as well... I'm just such a cheap ass that, if the $25 could brew me 5 gal of beer, I would rather do that since the blender is working out well. No doubt I'll get one eventually though.

Congrats on kiddo #2... the wife and I have just started that conversation. Scary stuff, my 2 year old is crazy enough, haha.

 

[Rivenin]

haha, thanks! if it makes you feel any better, my kid just turned 16 months and the new one is due in july. so i'm not sure i'm ready for the sheer lack of sleep, but i'm glad to have this all done while my body is used to it!

back to brewing - i thought the same thing honestly... but i spent the 25 and didn't look back.
1 - it'll save you a ton of time vs maybe 8oz in the blender at once
2 - it wont wear your blender down
3 - it's fun to have purposeful brewing equipment
4 - you'll get consistent batches

not trying to diss on your brewing, if it works, it works! but just lending a hand out 'cuz i'm a cheap ass myself (i'll spend $3 less yeast and go for dry just to save a few bucks)

 

[Gavin C]

Lol... that sounds terrible.

This is as solid a pale ale as I've had... although it's damn near a Wheat IPA at 6.7% and 50 IBUs.

Looks delicious. Strawberry blonde almost.

 

[TheCADJockey]

instead of the blender for a mill, spend $25 and get this

I did not know there was an option this affordable... and I just bought a 50 lb sack of 2-row. Nice heads up, I might have to get one. I don't think I'd get away with using our blender.

 

[Rivenin]

I did not know there was an option this affordable... and I just bought a 50 lb sack of 2-row. Nice heads up, I might have to get one. I don't think I'd get away with using our blender.

yup! beats up the grain more than a roller mill does... but never hurts anything!

check out this thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f256/my-ugly-junk-corona-mill-station-90849/