Newb question - First BIAB

[sapper6fd]

So I'm about to make my first BIAB recipe after moving from partial kits and I've got a question on the Irish Red Ale recipe I have chosen.

Fermentables:
8lb American Pale Ale
1lb CaraAroma
0.5lb CaraFoam
0.5lb Melanodin
1lb Honey

Hops
1oz Crystal @ 60 minutes
1oz Cascade @ 30 minutes

Yeast
Wyeast - American Ale 1056

Mash at 150F for 90 minutes.
OG: 1.060
FG: 1.012
ABV: 6.3%

That's the recipe I've picked up, however, as this is my first non kit brew I'm making and these were the only instructions I was given, I'm unsure at which point I should add the honey.

Is the honey added at flame out, or is it to be used when bottling to condition the beer?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

[doug293cz]

Add the honey at flame out. Way too much honey for priming purposes (can you say bottle bomb?).

Brew on

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Recipe looks tasty. I'm an Irish Red fan. The melanoidin is great for bringing up the "redness".

Most commonly, honey is added at flame out or as late as possible.

I prefer the 152-153 range for reds, but everyone's tastes are different. 150 is fine, but generally reds are a bit more malty and a hint of sweetness.

Yeast: Again, it depends on what you are looking for. 1056 is a cleaner more neutral result, if you prefer slightly fruitier and slightly fuller body, think 1084. Either will work great.

Keep us posted on how it turns out

 

[sapper6fd]

Add the honey at flame out. Way too much honey for priming purposes (can you say bottle bomb?).

Brew on

Beauty. I'll be brewing this tomorrow, bought everything I needed today - milled the grains myself at the local brew store.

Recipe looks tasty. I'm an Irish Red fan. The melanoidin is great for bringing up the "redness".

Most commonly, honey is added at flame out or as late as possible.

I prefer the 152-153 range for reds, but everyone's tastes are different. 150 is fine, but generally reds are a bit more malty and a hint of sweetness.

Yeast: Again, it depends on what you are looking for. 1056 is a cleaner more neutral result, if you prefer slightly fruitier and slightly fuller body, think 1084. Either will work great.

Keep us posted on how it turns out

I haven't yet gotten into the difference made by yeast's. It's something I have wanted to experiment with, and in due time I think I will. If this one turns out well, I'll try another batch with the 1084. I just installed Beersmith so I can keep track of this stuff

As for the mash temps, I'll give the 152 -153 a try for this batch.

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep ya posted!

 

[SoCal-Doug]

How did it go? Were your numbers pretty close?

 

[sapper6fd]

It went good. I'm sure I made some mistakes on this first attempt One mistake I know I made was only mashing for 60 minutes - it should have been 90. I took your advice and mashed in at 152 degrees, OG was supposed to be 1.060 but ended up really low - 1.043. I'm sure this comes down to the mash time error. I pitched the wort at 70 degrees and it began fermenting within 12 hours. It didn't get too active at all though - fermentation was occurring, just very slowly for the first 3 days. The airlock is not very active at all now. A bubble or two every 45 seconds or so.

I'll leave it be for another week and do a gravity check. Its supposed to finish off with a final gravity 1.012 so fingers crossed!

 

[Parrothead01]

The default Efficiency in beer Smith is 70%. Brew in the bag is usually lower. Mine is 62%. Take your recipe and lower the efficiency until it says your recipe will create OG of 1.043. use that efficiency for your next batch. You may have to go up and down over a few batches to dial it in. If you get crushed grain from a different home brew shop, or change the intensity of your boil, it will change a little. Don’t worry about how high the efficiency is. You can make great beer at any efficiency. What matters is consistency so you can hit your numbers and have the OG and bitterness that you planned on. I agree that it’s not really an Irish ale unless you use Irish yeast, but it still could be a great beer.

 

[Parrothead01]

Also I have an mashed for 60 minutes and 90 minutes I don’t think there’s really that much of a difference in the finished beer. Maybe a couple of gravity points. But there is Definitely much more important things to worry about. I would try to pitch 1056 in the mid 60s. Also I found out you need to mash a little bit higher with BIAB. I got back a bunch of score sheets where the judges said it was too thin and watery. Now I put the grain in at 160 with 8 gallons of water. That drops it to about 155. I add the rest of the water after I pull out the bag. You have to adjust up and down a little for different styles of beer but I have no problems with that now. Also this book has a lot of great recipes. Well worth the money. View attachment IMG_1507831061.956320.jpg

 

[soccerdad]

When you get your process dialed in you will get closer to 80% efficiency, but start in that 65% range. It will help if you get a mill that you can dial in finer than the LHBS. In the meantime, make 2 or even 3 passes with theirs. 90 minutes v 60 should help. Remember, your objective is to fully saturate each grain particle to draw the sugars out. The more saturation you get, the more points you will get.

 

[Tarpon87]

The default Efficiency in beer Smith is 70%. Brew in the bag is usually lower. Mine is 62%. Take your recipe and lower the efficiency until it says your recipe will create OG of 1.043. use that efficiency for your next batch. You may have to go up and down over a few batches to dial it in. If you get crushed grain from a different home brew shop, or change the intensity of your boil, it will change a little. Don’t worry about how high the efficiency is. You can make great beer at any efficiency. What matters is consistency so you can hit your numbers and have the OG and bitterness that you planned on. I agree that it’s not really an Irish ale unless you use Irish yeast, but it still could be a great beer.

62% is really low unless you are doing high gravity/ large grain bill brews. Try a finer crush. Do you stir the mash at all during? Of course you stir at dough in, but give it a good stir a time or two during the mash, shouldn't affect temp much.

 

[MaxStout]

With a 152 mash temp, don't be surprised if it doesn't ferment down to 1.012. But you want some mouthfeel in a red, so a higher FG isn't a bad thing.

Make sure you stir the mash well. And then some more. Sometime dough balls can hide out in folds of the bag. I like to give it another stir every 20 minutes or so, to keep it well-distributed and to maintain even temperature throughout the mash.

A good bag is key. A fine-mesh bag, like Wilserbrewer's, will last a long time. It will allow fewer particulates to pass into the wort than the cheaper bags.

 

[Parrothead01]

You’re right it is low. I brew every 3 or 4 weeks so you’re talking about a couple pounds of base malt each month. I buy it in 50 lb bags so it doesn’t bother me. I could adjust my mill, or run my drill a little faster, but I hit my numbers just about every time so why Change. If a higher efficiency makes you enjoy this hobby more than give it a shot. The beer is not going to be any better or worse either way, so no worries.

 

[Tarpon87]

hey if you enjoy doing things less efficiently and wasting money, knock yourself out. adjusting my grain mill once to save a couple pounds of grain every single brew day seems like a no brainer, but if you want to be stubborn for the sake of being stubborn, then I got nothing for you. The suggestions were actually for the op, I was pointing out that your efficiency is low and it is not the norm as you suggest "The default Efficiency in beer Smith is 70%. Brew in the bag is usually lower." Enjoy your beer

 

[Parrothead01]

I’m just trying to help. When I started doing BIAB my efficiency was low and I kept trying to make it higher. The result was my OG was low and the beers were too bitter. When I decided to figure out what it is, instead of trying to make it what I wanted it to be, I started hitting my numbers and the beer turned out much better.

 

[soccerdad]

No worries parrothead .. If buying in bulk, a couple of pounds of base grain is a buck. If your beer is good, life is good.

 

[MaxStout]

...And it's OP's first BIAB. A lot of new AG brewers take a hit in efficiency the first brew or two. Efficiency should pick up on later batches.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Glad the brew day went well. Don't sweat the efficiency or OG, you made beer and should come out just fine!

Being in the 60's just means you'll need a little more grain until you get it all figured out. I definitely agree with a finer (or multiple) grind and some stirring occasionally. My advice is on your next brew, plan a 68% to 70% ish efficiency in beersmith, because you are now aware and are looking at your numbers and methods. You will most likely be paying more attention to the wort flow through the grain.

At 152 with the lower OG, you are still good for a red. Had you mashed at 148 with lower gravity, it would come out more like a red Asahi or Kirin

I'm not buying into a 90 minute mash to achieve complete conversion (on your gain bill). Do an iodine test a few times throughout. Take your samples from the middle of the grain ball. If its not converting, its a temp and/or circulation issue. Check your temps. Stab a thermometer deep into the grain a couple times. Does it jive with whatever other thermometer is saying?

Welcome to trial and error. Keep on brewin', you'll tune it in.

 

[sapper6fd]

MaxStout, you were quite right.

It went into the fermented and was pitched the evening of Oct 8th. There has been no fermentation activity in the airlock for the past two days or so now, so I pulled a sample out to get a gravity reading. Its sitting at 1.020 right now. I'll leave it be until Monday and check it again. If it hasn't moved, I'll begin bottling it.

If the FG is 1.020 then its a bit of a lighter beer than I wanted sitting at 3.02% ABV, but no biggie.

Thank you everyone for all of your help on this! I love this. So awsome. Sadly, my wife is regretting she ever suggested I try brewing my own.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

http://biabrewer.info/