Preparing for First BIAB Session

[Brew_G]

So...I mentioned in another thread that I just bought a 9-gallon pot with plans to go the AG BIAB route. I've only brewed once before - an extract kit in a 4-gallon pot - but I'm pretty excited about having made the decision to go with BIAB.

My new pot is 13.5"x15", and in doing the measurements on my stovetop, I should be able to pop the pot on my power burner, while reaching one or two other burners on the stove for some extra boiling punch. I'm also picking up a 24"x26" bag today, so I should have plenty of room in the pot for my mash.

First recipe is a chocolate oatmeal stout. Wife is actually excited about trying it, which made my decision to go with that rather than a PM brown ale (thread here) pretty easy. I'm a little nervous, but I've watched a ton of videos and read enough about BIAB that I think I should be able to handle it well enough.

Heading to the LHBS today to pick up and mill the grains, grab some yeast and hops, and get a blow off tube. Brew day is scheduled for next Saturday when the wife and kid are out of town.

CacaOut Oatmeal Stout

Recipe Type: All Grain/BIAB
Yeast: Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale
Yeast Starter: Yes
Batch Size: 5.5 Gallons
Target OG: 1.057
Target FG: 1.015
IBU: 36
Target Efficiency: 75%
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 34
Primary Fermentation: 12-14 days @ 64F
Secondary Fermentation: No

8.00 lb Maris Otter (69.6%)
1.25 lb Flaked Oats (10.9%)
1.00 lb Crystal 80L (8.7%)
0.75 lb Chocolate (6.5%)
0.50 lb Roasted Barley (4.3%)
2oz Willamette (5.3) (60 minutes)
2-3 oz 100% Cacao (1 min)
Wyeast 1084

Plan to mash at 154F for 60 minutes. I was thinking of popping the pot into the oven, but I don't think I have the headspace for it, so I'll just leave it on the stovetop and give it a little gas from time to time as necessary.

Not sure on the sparge process yet, but I'll sparge for sure. I'll do a starter and pitch the yeast (6.5 gallon carboy) at around 70F. I don't have a wort chiller, so the ice bath may take just a *wee* bit of time!

Can't wait!

 

[DonH]

why sparge? the beauty of BIAB and full volume mashing is its just that. mash, then pull that bag out let it drain above your kettle (squeeze if you want to or need to hit desired gravity if a little low) get that burner going and start boiling. that simple. also you could just leave the lid on your kettle and let the wort cool then oxygenate and siphon into your carboy and pitch the yeast the next day.

 

[paperairplane]

I've done bunch of 5gal bathes in a 9 gal pot. You're going to be close, probably have to do a little ghetto sparge to hit preboil volume. Just dump hot water through the bag and drain into your kettle.

Watch for boilovers. Again, it's a little tight in a 9 gal pot, but totally doable.

Have a spray bottle of water and be ready to stir.

Get a turkey fryer and get outside.

 

[DonH]

also get some fermcap (stops boil over pretty swell!) I overlooked the 9gal pot aspect... hah

 

[Brew_G]

Thanks for the replies!

I was thinking about that "ghetto sparge" (great term!) to help get me to my pre-boil volume, if needed. I want to make sure I get close to my expected efficiency, so I want to get as much out of my mash as possible. Learning from that should help me with coming close to hitting numbers on my next brewday.

For my first brew, I was pretty close to boiling over - 3.25 gallons in a 4-gallon pot - so I'm pretty confident I can keep control over 6.5-7 gallons in my 9-gallon pot. I'll definitely keep cool water on hand, and I'll check if my LHBS has fermcap on hand. I have to go back this week for campden tablets anyways.

I'll get the starter going on Thursday, then brew it up on Saturday. So looking forward to it!

 

[Brew_G]

Somehow got my stir plate lined up and the starter's been spinning for two hours. Fingers crossed...

 

[Brew_G]

I'm about 3 hours in and have 30 minutes left in my boil. It took a little bit to get to mash temp and boiling, but it's all good.

I only lost 3 degrees during my mash (started at 154F) and "ladle sparged" with about 1.75 gal of 172F water to start my boil with just under 7 gal. Looks like I'm on pace to lose about 1.25 gal to the boil, which is what I was shooting for.

Keeping fingers crossed...

 

[richm20]

Ill be turning a keg into a boil kettle this week. Looking forward to doing my first BIAB brew. Eventually I want to also build a mash ton, that will be a winter project.

 

[Gavin C]

why sparge? the beauty of BIAB and full volume mashing is its just that. mash, then pull that bag out let it drain above your kettle .

+1

I don't sparge do full volume BIAb 5.5G batches and regularly hit 74-76% brewhouse efficiency. Took a few tries to get there though. I'm thinking 75% predicted efficiency may be overly optimistic for a first try, perhaps that is unfair on your skills and more a reflection of my inefficiencies. Fine crush and a mega bag squeeze gets me there. 1 pot to clean afterwards. That' s the great benefit to no sparging, less cleanup IMHO. A 9 gallon pot should be plenty for your recipe as full volume. I use a 10G Megapot. No need for fermcap, your prepoil volume will likely be 6.5-7 gallons approx. Plenty of room. get a great hot break and rolling boil. Best of luck

 

[Brew_G]

+1

I don't sparge do full volume BIAb 5.5G batches and regularly hit 74-76% brewhouse efficiency. Took a few tries to get there though. I'm thinking 75% predicted efficiency may be overly optimistic for a first try, perhaps that is unfair on your skills and more a reflection of my inefficiencies. Fine crush and a mega bag squeeze gets me there. 1 pot to clean afterwards. That' s the great benefit to no sparging, less cleanup IMHO. A 9 gallon pot should be plenty for your recipe as full volume. I use a 10G Megapot. No need for fermcap, your prepoil volume will likely be 6.5-7 gallons approx. Plenty of room. get a great hot break and rolling boil. Best of luck

Thanks for the reply. The sparge wasn't too difficult. I may change things up as I get more experience, but I'm OK with it for now. I ended up at 1.056, so I was almost spot on.

My problem now is that I siphoned the wort to the carboy about 6 degrees too warm! So I have to figure out if I chance pitching the yeast at 77 or try to cool it down to a better pitching temp. My basement is 64, so the temp will come down eventually, but I don't know if I have to get it down right now.

Ugh!

 

[chuckcomm]

You dont need to get it down immediately. Put it in the basement and wait until it reaches your pitching temperature.

 

[Brew_G]

You dont need to get it down immediately. Put it in the basement and wait until it reaches your pitching temperature.

Awesome. Thanks for that!

Real rookie mistake, and I was concerned about oxidation before the yeast could get in there and do their thing. I have a really healthy starter waiting to be pitched, so hopefully things get going quickly once it goes in.

 

[chuckcomm]

Just be sure to cap it so no nasties find their way in. Did a biab last weekend and had the same issue. Took a couple hours to get it to the temperature I wanted for the yeast.

 

[Gavin C]

I would wait to pitch till closer to 70. If your sanitation is solid there should be minimal chance of any nasties getting established

As a side note here is an image of my last brew. Massh in 10.5lb grain bill in 7.3 gallons of strike water in my 10 gallon Megapot (plenty of room). 9 gallon pot would not pose a problem with your recipe. Really love the BIAB process.

 

[Gavin C]

This how I maintain my mash temperature. A jacket I dont use much anymore. SWMBO not a fan of the orange. Temperature is rock solid for 60-90 mins. Rarely lose more than 1 degree F if even that much. The second picture shows the temperature 56 mins into the mash. Unchanged from the start. Perhaps you are already employing a similar technique

 

[Brew_G]

Thanks, guys. I have the carboy in my laundry room with the door open. It's about 40F out, so the room is cooling quickly. I popped an airlock on it to keep it as buttoned up as possible.

Gavin...nice pic! After now having gone through the process, I think I could have mashed with more water than I did. It would have been pushing it a little, but I probably could have done it. And I ended up with no concerns about boil over with around 7 gallons in the pot - plenty of room - and with the boil off rate I might have gotten by fine with about 6.5-6.75 gallons.

 

[Brew_G]

Gavin...yeah, I draped a jacket over the pot, but didn't snug it up. I lost 1 degree in the first 40 minutes, then 2 degrees in the last 20. I'm pretty happy with how the process went, but it was a really good learning experience.

 

[Gavin C]

you might want to replace the airlock with sanitized foil until your temperature becomes stable. Suck back of your fluid from the airlock will occur. No big deal but I try to avoid extra starsan in the beer

 

[Gavin C]

Gavin...yeah, I draped a jacket over the pot, but didn't snug it up. I lost 1 degree in the first 40 minutes, then 2 degrees in the last 20. I'm pretty happy with how the process went, but it was a really good learning experience.

Therein lies the joy of this hobby. So much to learn. The possibilities seem endless. I have learned so much from this forum and its posters in my first year brewing. Trying to document the process a bit more myself of late in order to be able to contribute something to the discussion. I'm certainly still a novice. Glad to be of some small assistance.

 

[bondra76]

my tap water runs hot and I can never get my wort to chill. I am always waiting until the night of or next day to pitch. Just cover it with aluminum foil.

I also used to have a 9 gallon pot. I got rid of it and switched to a 12 gallon pot. The self proclaimed decision maker around my house decided she wanted Belgiums so I needed something I could do 90 minute boils in, so the larger pot was necessary for boil offs. Glad I bought it though.

I did sell my 9 gallon pot though and I regret it. After brewing big batches for a while I want something smaller to run test batches. Don't ditch your 9 gallon you might find it handy in the future.

Last bit of advice - I bought this 29 in x 29 in BIAB bag. I love it. It's so huge I could wear the damn thing as a jacket, and I'm 240 lbs. Very cheap and very recommended.
http://morebeer.com/products/bag-29-brew-biab.html

 

[Brew_G]

my tap water runs hot and I can never get my wort to chill. I am always waiting until the night of or next day to pitch. Just cover it with aluminum foil.

I also used to have a 9 gallon pot. I got rid of it and switched to a 12 gallon pot. The self proclaimed decision maker around my house decided she wanted Belgiums so I needed something I could do 90 minute boils in, so the larger pot was necessary for boil offs. Glad I bought it though.

I did sell my 9 gallon pot though and I regret it. After brewing big batches for a while I want something smaller to run test batches. Don't ditch your 9 gallon you might find it handy in the future.

Last bit of advice - I bought this 29 in x 29 in BIAB bag. I love it. It's so huge I could wear the damn thing as a jacket, and I'm 240 lbs. Very cheap and very recommended.
http://morebeer.com/products/bag-29-brew-biab.html

I don't see myself getting a new pot anytime soon, so the 9-gallon will have to do. Frankly, I think it'll serve me just fine for a while. I'm not into big beers, so I can't foresee a need to go bigger.

My bag worked out really well. It was plenty big and was simple enough to handle. Thanks for the heads up though!

 

[chuckcomm]

Im going to do another BIAB in a week or so doing a Caramel Amber Ale that I found here at HBT. Every time I do a batch I find things I can improve to make the process smoother. I brew outside with a turkey fryer burner. To drain the bag next round I plan to use a basket (that fits inside my kettle) and a pulley system with my step ladder to hang the bag of grains over the pot.

 

[Brew_G]

I just pitched the starter at 70-71F. As long as I kept my sanitization in order (fingers crossed), I should be good to go.

Thanks to all of you for your feedback today. Huge, huge help! I'll definitely be updating this over the next month or so...

 

[phyllobeddo]

FWIW.....in regards to pitching yeast....with my last four brews (AG BIAB), I have pitched yeast the next day. I brew it up, cool it down to 70 or so with an ice bath, cap it off, put it in the wine fridge and forget about it until the next day. By then, the temp is in the low 60s. I'll pitch yeast the next day whenever it's convenient or I get around to it. No hurry. It's worked great thus far.

 

[Gavin C]

deleted

 

[Brew_G]

Blowoff bubbling within two hours...

 

[wilserbrewer]

Blowoff bubbling within two hours...

Wow that's quick!
As said above, next time I would continue to chill to the mid low sixties then pitch...IMO better to pitch later then pitch warm.

Issue is the fermentation will raise the temp another 5-10 degrees, which may be a little warm.

Bottom line, better pitching later and cooler...no rush ... rdwhahb.



Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[jtratcliff]

Bottom line, better pitching later and cooler...no rush ... rdwhahb.
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

+1 to this...

Even if I don't always practice what I preach , my understanding of yeast leads me to concur with this sentiment. Pitch toward the lower end of the yeast's range and let the heat generated during fermentation warm you up to the middle of the range.

My temp control consists of swamp cooler in a plastic party tub with frozen water bottles, so it's not always easy or possible for me to do it that way, but that's my goal.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

+1 to this...

Even if I don't always practice what I preach , my understanding of yeast leads me to concur with this sentiment. Pitch toward the lower end of the yeast's range and let the heat generated during fermentation warm you up to the middle of the range.

My temp control consists of swamp cooler in a plastic party tub with frozen water bottles, so it's not always easy or possible for me to do it that way, but that's my goal.

Same situation for me here since the move. Went from a 23 cu ft stc controlled chest freezer to a closet with a swamp cooler.

 

[Brew_G]

Wow that's quick!
As said above, next time I would continue to chill to the mid low sixties then pitch...IMO better to pitch later then pitch warm.

Issue is the fermentation will raise the temp another 5-10 degrees, which may be a little warm.

Bottom line, better pitching later and cooler...no rush ... rdwhahb.



Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

Yeah, it was quick. It's bubbling constantly now and is at 67F. Ambient basement temp is 62, so that will help with temperature regulation.

I agree with you on pitching at the lower end of the range, but with the cool temp in my basement, I'm not too worried about this getting too warm. I was just a little worried about something going wrong while letting the temp come down over too long a time.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Ok sounds good, your 62 degree basement will work well!
Cheers


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Brew_G]

Thanks for the feedback, wilser. This is all so brand new to me, but, as I said in a post above, I'm learning a ton as I go along. All the posts in this thread have been helpful, and I can utilize bits and pieces of info from everyone.

 

[Brew_G]

Here's a picture of my little setup and the stout fermenting away. She's churning nicely!

 

[wilserbrewer]

Looks good, you seem very well prepared. With your temps in check, your blowoff may not get used, but good insurance.

Here is a couple pics from my brew session yesterday. Simple grain bill, and pitched yeast cultured from Long Trail IPA. I keep it simple, chill and pitch ferment in the kettle, will seal up with plastic wrap soon and transfer to keg in 7-10 days.




That's billions of yeast cells workin hard, I doubt they will let a couple strays get in their way RDWHAHB


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Brew_G]

Cheers to you, wilser!

 

[paperairplane]

Get your blow off jug lower than your beer. Don't want to siphon sanitizer into your beer.

I BIAB and I chill to around 90*F and then let it sit until it's ready to pitch, temp wise. I did a blonde yesterday, finished around 6pm and just pitched this morning.

Makes for a faster brew day as well, not trying to chill all the way to 60-65.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Cheers to you, wilser!

Thanks, I put my airlock on haha


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[richm20]

Not to jump on this post but seeing as pitching is being discussed.... I'm fermenting into a glass carboy and my yeast calls for a dry pitch. Kind of hard to get surface area through the neck. Should I add it and shake or just mix it into some wort first then add?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Not to jump on this post but seeing as pitching is being discussed.... I'm fermenting into a glass carboy and my yeast calls for a dry pitch. Kind of hard to get surface area through the neck. Should I add it and shake or just mix it into some wort first then add?

Rehydrating is simple and nevet hurts. I'd probably hydrate in some boiled and cooled water at the pitch temp instructed on the yeast manufacturers website or pdf instructions which is usually more detailed than on the packet.

What yeast are you using?

 

[richm20]

Safale s04