Hi all, this might be a bit of a longer post but I am having serious issues with brewing efficiency and as a result, really missing my OG for many recent BIAB brews. The resultant beers have been "ok" or "drinkable" but definitely nothing I would write home about (sadly!).
My system is a very simple 10G kettle with a standard sized brew bag and 5G batches. I am typically using a no-sparge or minimal-sparge approach, having my grain double milled from the LHBS. Simple copper coil wort chiller to reduce to pitch temp, typically pitch either dry yeast (with a starter) or liquid Wyeast/Escarpment Labs with no starter. Generally not brewing higher gravity stuff so the cell count in one pouch is sufficient for what I'm making. I ferment in a temp controlled kegerator and do a mix of bottling or kegging. Have had no issues with carbonation or infection of any kind - have a feeling my main issue is either (i) efficiency during the mash period; or (ii) ineffective fermentation.
Brewed a Zombie Dust Citra IPA clone today
Beer Recipe Cloud by BeerSmith - Homebrew Beer Recipes
Process as follows:
- Measure out 2x milled grain and bring 6.5g of water up to temp
- Dump grains into the brewbag-lined kettle in 1/4 sized increments with frequent stirs
- Should have taken a pic, but one item I'm worried about is that the way the bag lines the kettle, the crest of the grains is not fully submerged in the water and as such, I will frequently stir during the 60m mash to ensure good mixture. (Should all grains be submerged at all times)? I would have to press down maybe an inch or two with my steel spoon to reach the actual wort - maybe overthinking, but I am unsure if my brewbag might be too small? Should it fit into the kettle as a perfect "sleeve" over the surface area of the inside of the pot?
- Mash for 60m at ~152deg. I use a temp probe which is confirmed to be accurate (used for competition bbq'ing and not an issue). Checked OG which came in at a massive 1.038 miss vs. target 1.069. Used DME (~1.5lbs dissolved in cold water) to close the gap.
- Pull the bag and rest on top of a wire rack positioned on top of the brew kettle.
- Bring wort to boil and hop per recipe. Today I sparged with about 1.5G of 150deg R.O. water and squeezed the brew bag heavily.
- Cool wort, transfer to fermenter - I am much closer to OG with the DME addition so pitch.
Generally, my recent beers have the flavours and carb level I am looking for (from yeast, adjuncts, etc) but generally have a "watered down" or very tame description. I took an efficiency reading based on the recipe used and calculated it at something in the neighbourhood of 40%; absolutely driving me crazy as I cannot pinpoint the error of my ways. Of note, my hydrometer is accurate and tests 1.00 in R.O. water - the beer flavour tends to match my conclusions relative to measuring gravity.
Understand this is very tough to accurately describe w/o photos. Does anyone have a good video recommendation from beginning-to-end BIAG, either from youtube or elsewhere? Very greatly appreciate any feedback - truly love the hobby but feeling in a funk here.
My system is a very simple 10G kettle with a standard sized brew bag and 5G batches. I am typically using a no-sparge or minimal-sparge approach, having my grain double milled from the LHBS. Simple copper coil wort chiller to reduce to pitch temp, typically pitch either dry yeast (with a starter) or liquid Wyeast/Escarpment Labs with no starter. Generally not brewing higher gravity stuff so the cell count in one pouch is sufficient for what I'm making. I ferment in a temp controlled kegerator and do a mix of bottling or kegging. Have had no issues with carbonation or infection of any kind - have a feeling my main issue is either (i) efficiency during the mash period; or (ii) ineffective fermentation.
Brewed a Zombie Dust Citra IPA clone today
Beer Recipe Cloud by BeerSmith - Homebrew Beer Recipes
Process as follows:
- Measure out 2x milled grain and bring 6.5g of water up to temp
- Dump grains into the brewbag-lined kettle in 1/4 sized increments with frequent stirs
- Should have taken a pic, but one item I'm worried about is that the way the bag lines the kettle, the crest of the grains is not fully submerged in the water and as such, I will frequently stir during the 60m mash to ensure good mixture. (Should all grains be submerged at all times)? I would have to press down maybe an inch or two with my steel spoon to reach the actual wort - maybe overthinking, but I am unsure if my brewbag might be too small? Should it fit into the kettle as a perfect "sleeve" over the surface area of the inside of the pot?
- Mash for 60m at ~152deg. I use a temp probe which is confirmed to be accurate (used for competition bbq'ing and not an issue). Checked OG which came in at a massive 1.038 miss vs. target 1.069. Used DME (~1.5lbs dissolved in cold water) to close the gap.
- Pull the bag and rest on top of a wire rack positioned on top of the brew kettle.
- Bring wort to boil and hop per recipe. Today I sparged with about 1.5G of 150deg R.O. water and squeezed the brew bag heavily.
- Cool wort, transfer to fermenter - I am much closer to OG with the DME addition so pitch.
Generally, my recent beers have the flavours and carb level I am looking for (from yeast, adjuncts, etc) but generally have a "watered down" or very tame description. I took an efficiency reading based on the recipe used and calculated it at something in the neighbourhood of 40%; absolutely driving me crazy as I cannot pinpoint the error of my ways. Of note, my hydrometer is accurate and tests 1.00 in R.O. water - the beer flavour tends to match my conclusions relative to measuring gravity.
Understand this is very tough to accurately describe w/o photos. Does anyone have a good video recommendation from beginning-to-end BIAG, either from youtube or elsewhere? Very greatly appreciate any feedback - truly love the hobby but feeling in a funk here.
