My first BIAB attempt was a success. Mostly.

[drummerguy]

I finally made the move to all-grain and brewed my first batch today. It went well for that most part, but was not without its issues.

One good thing was I learned my 8-gallon kettle can handle 15 pounds of grain and 5.5 gallons of water (and probably a bit more water if I wanted). It also holds temperatures rather well. However, I had a slight issue while squeezing the grain after mashing. I had it in a strainer while squeezing when it slipped. Before I knew it, the strainer slipped off the edge and sent 15 pounds of grain (plus added water weight) plunging into about 5 gallons of wort. Quite a bit splashed out, but, thankfully, I was able to sparge a little and still get to my pre-boil amount of 7 gallons.

I took a hydrometer reading at this time (it was 1.068), which leads me to my next "issue." I was somewhat concerned about having low efficiency, so I went with a larger grain bill just to be safe. However, after using a calculator, I've determined my efficiency to be around 85%. As this is my first time, though, I could be off on that.

As well as it went, I did have a few concerns with this batch. I took another hydrometer after the boil and it was 1.112, which was much higher than the predicted 1.093. I made a yeast starter based on the original number, but actually ended up with less wort than planned. If the pitch rate is a bit low for the OG, is this a very bad thing? Also, I forgot to aerate the wort before pitching the yeast. I shook it a bit after pitching, but I don't know if it's enough. Is it enough that there was a lot of sloshing while pouring the wort into the bucket? And speaking of pitching yeast, how bad is it if the stir bar ends up in the bucket? I set the the flask down on the stove and, as it turns out, the metal on the stove is stronger than the metal in the stir bar. I didn't even notice until I heard the sound and turned around to see the magnet sitting on the stove.

Sorry for the long post, I'm just very excited about taking this next step in homebrewing.

 

[grv]

I know what you mean about the excitement of switching to all grain, as it's only been in the last couple years that I did so. Due to that fact, feel free to take anything I might say with a grain of salt!

Many don't squeeze the bag, but I do. Scenarios like you describe are the exact reason that I switched to hoisting the bag out of the wort on a pulley, and letting it hang above the pot as I squeeze. If you're not brewing in an area where you can lag something into the ceiling to hold the pulley, a ladder can serve the same purpose.

I get more efficiency than I would have expected when BIABing too. Nothing to do but zero in on your system's performance as you brew. If I were you, next time I would revise my estimate to 80% or so, and keep revising that estimate as empirical data comes in over time.

I've brewed many times where I got more efficiency and so technically under pitched. I would not worry about it, within reason, mainly because there is nothing you can do about it now. I'm not sure what kind of yeast you used, but adding more dry or liquid yeast after the original pitch has moved out of its initial phase is not something I've ever done, and I have been fine.

Last, as far as aeration is concerned, I personally don't feel like it matters a lot whether you do it prior to pitching, or 30 seconds after pitching (hours after would be bad). For a big beer like yours, sloshing is maybe not optimal, as there is only so much O2 you are going to get dissolved into solution that way. If you plan on brewing big like that frequently, maybe think about getting one of those oxygenation setups. Around $50 for an entry level setup, although you will spend a fair amount on disposable oxygen tanks that way. I ultimately bought an O2 tank that was refillable, with a medical regulator for it. It should last me for about a gajillion sessions, but unless you brew high gravity a lot, it may be over the top.

HTH

 

[LLBeanJ]

You could always top off the fermenter with a little water to bring it to your planned volume and bring the OG down a bit.

 

[TexasWine]

One thing you haven't asked about, but I think is worth bringing up, is that you say you ended up with less wort than you had anticipated and your OG was high. Sounds to me like you might have underestimated your boil off rate as well as your efficiency.

Because you were short on volume and high on OG, LL's solution above would have helped tremendously, and might have corrected the issue all together.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Ouch, dumping 15 lbs of grain....you'll get better at what I like to call "bag management".

Hanging the bag on a ratchet pulley and just letting it gravity drain works fab IMHO.

Cheers and good job!

 

[drummerguy]

Last, as far as aeration is concerned, I personally don't feel like it matters a lot whether you do it prior to pitching, or 30 seconds after pitching (hours after would be bad). For a big beer like yours, sloshing is maybe not optimal, as there is only so much O2 you are going to get dissolved into solution that way. If you plan on brewing big like that frequently, maybe think about getting one of those oxygenation setups. Around $50 for an entry level setup, although you will spend a fair amount on disposable oxygen tanks that way. I ultimately bought an O2 tank that was refillable, with a medical regulator for it. It should last me for about a gajillion sessions, but unless you brew high gravity a lot, it may be over the top.

HTH

I definitely plan to get some kind of aeration device for future batches. I'm not sure exactly what I'll get, but I will be needing it. I probably should have just started with a small beer to figure things out, but you live and learn.

You could always top off the fermenter with a little water to bring it to your planned volume and bring the OG down a bit.

One thing you haven't asked about, but I think is worth bringing up, is that you say you ended up with less wort than you had anticipated and your OG was high. Sounds to me like you might have underestimated your boil off rate as well as your efficiency.

Because you were short on volume and high on OG, LL's solution above would have helped tremendously, and might have corrected the issue all together.

Until reading these posts, it did not even occur to me. Since I started with extract, topping it off is something I'm used to doing. I will be keeping this in mind for future batches. You know, just in case I make these same mistakes again.

And you are correct, TexasWine. I did underestimate my boil off rate. This was my first time using a new propane burner with a new kettle, so I had no idea how that was going to go. I'm thinking I may have been boiling a little harder than necessary at times. Does a harder boil cause that much more evaporation? This could be a dumb question, but does boiling in cold weather make a big difference in the boil off rate?

I also noticed after the boil was over that the grain bag had produced a bit more wort where I had set it down. In the future, I may try to let it continue dripping so I can add more wort as I boil some off. Even with all the issues I had, I really enjoyed the switch to BIAB. I can't wait to try it again.

 

[drummerguy]

Ouch, dumping 15 lbs of grain....you'll get better at what I like to call "bag management".

Hanging the bag on a ratchet pulley and just letting it gravity drain works fab IMHO.

Cheers and good job!

Oh, yes. It was not the most enjoyable part of the night. It was until much later that I realized the wort had splashed up into my beard.

I am hoping to one day have a pulley system for brewing. Right now, though, apartment living doesn't allow for such a luxury. However, I may be able work towards rigging up something small that can be stored in a closet. This gives me something to think about. Thanks!

 

[Gavin C]

What was your target volume? Sounds like you are making a huge beer with a SG of 1.09+ from 15lbs of grain.

I've had that bag mishap myself. Very messy.

 

[drummerguy]

What was your target volume? Sounds like you are making a huge beer with a SG of 1.09+ from 15lbs of grain.

I've had that bag mishap myself. Very messy.

I was hoping to have 5.5 gallons going into the fermentor. I'brewed a Tripel and the target OG was 1.092. I also had 2 pounds of sugar go in at 5 minutes.

It was very messy. The worst part was having slightly wet feet as the temperature dropped to around 22 degrees. Anyway, I'm hoping to be able to secure the strainer next time. I should be able to attach it to the handles of the kettle in some way.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I did the pulley system and promptly abandoned it as too much added equipment. Based on a recommendation from another member of this forum, I got a 5 LB homer bucket, drilled holes in the sides and bottom and set that into a 7.5 gallon fermenter bucket. Drop the bag into the "holey" bucket and let gravity squeeze itself out. Swap the holey bucket into a spare fermenter and pour the free wort into the brew pot. Wash rinse repeat.