Recipe help for first biab

[ajr1]

2 lb 2-row
1.5 lb Munich
0.5 lb Extra Special Malt
0.3 lb C60
0.2 lb Victory
0.125 lb midnight wheat (color adjustment maybe)
3 lb Pilsen light DME

Estimated OG: 1.051 FG: 1.013

I’m I using too much malt aren’t I? I tried simpler extract recipes, using one or two specialty malts, and was disappointed but I might be over compensating. I may get rid of victory and lower the caramel.

 

[mongoose33]

What type of beer are you making? A lager or Pils?

What size batch are you making? I assume 5-gallon...

Why, if you're doing BIAB, are you adding light Pilsen DME instead of Pilsen malt?

At what temp are you planning to ferment it? Can you control ferm temp?

 

[ajr1]

What type of beer are you making? A lager or Pils?

What size batch are you making? I assume 5-gallon...

Why, if you're doing BIAB, are you adding light Pilsen DME instead of Pilsen malt?

At what temp are you planning to ferment it? Can you control ferm temp?

5 gallon.
Im worried my 5 gallon kettle is too small for the water and extra grain, and thought using Pilsen extract would help reach the gravity without adding much color or flavor.
Some sort of dark ale with a toasty sweet character
I do not have any means to control the temp yet. I started to build a fermentation chamber out of insulation, a small fan and thermostat, but I’m going to save up for a small fridge

 

[mongoose33]

Is this a batch of malts you had left over? Seems an odd collection, though the Pilsen DME can be thought of as a base malt.

The Special B will give you a sort of raisin-y or prune-y kind of flavor. If that's what you're going for.....I brew a fair amount with Munich as part of the grain bill. The Victory seems a little small in terms of effect; I'd go at least a half pound of that. Or eliminate it and increase the Munich to 2#.

What yeast are you using?

 

[deadwolfbones]

To put it more directly, what are you trying to brew and how large is the batch supposed to be?

 

[RM-MN]

2 lb 2-row
1.5 lb Munich
0.5 lb Extra Special Malt
0.3 lb C60
0.2 lb Victory
0.125 lb midnight wheat (color adjustment maybe)
3 lb Pilsen light DME

Estimated OG: 1.051 FG: 1.013

I’m I using too much malt aren’t I? I tried simpler extract recipes, using one or two specialty malts, and was disappointed but I might be over compensating. I may get rid of victory and lower the caramel.

There a few reasons why you might be disappointed with your previous beers. One of them may be drinking them before they had a chance to mature (3 weeks at room temp before chilling minimum, not maximum) or it could be that the grains weren't milled well and you didn't get much flavor extracted from them. That brings up the part about all grain that determines how your beer turns out, who did the milling and how finely was the grain milled?

BIAB can be a great way to make beer but any beer needs to have the grains milled fine enough that the starches are exposed so the enzymes can get to them. BIAB allows for even finer milling than a conventional tun so try to get them milled to take advantage of that.

Now to get to the semantics, all grain means no extract. If you use extract in the batch it is a partial mash. You don't need to use any extract if you have the correct amount of the mix of grains so you get all the fermentables directly from the grains.