Thinking of BIAB brewing

[mongoose33]

Well since it will be my first time, I have no clue on efficiency. Also I ordered my grains and requested them milled, I dont have a way to do it any finer once they arrive, so I am at the mercy of how they are sent to me. Not sure if that will be an issue or not.

You're going to produce beer. It will taste good. It may not be exactly what you expected in terms of efficiency or gravity, but so what? You'll see what you end up with, and while drinking it you'll ponder what if anything you might change in the process.

One thing I've been struck by as I went from a beginning brewer to whatever I am now is how resilient the process is. It really is. So if your pre-boil gravity is, say, 1.050, that's fine. So is 1.044. And 1.053. As you boil down that gravity will rise (less water, same amount of sugar in the wort). So check that.

I don't know if anyone who brews extract checks their pre-boil gravity, not even sure how you'd do that unless you checked after all fermentables have been stirred in and right at the start of the boil.

But you should do that--check gravity at the start of the boil. Then of course afterwards. You'll see the gravity rise, and you'll have a better sense of how that crush works for you.

 

[rhys333]

Is anyone double-bagging it? I'm considering buying or making a second voile bag for improved filtering.

 

[doug293cz]

Is anyone double-bagging it? I'm considering buying or making a second voile bag for improved filtering.

Why? Cloudy wort does not mean cloudy beer. Also, a second bag wouldn't likely clear the wort much anyway.

Brew on

 

[VagueSkunk]

Also, aint nothing wrong with cloudy beer! I love the stuff...

 

[rhys333]

Why? Cloudy wort does not mean cloudy beer. Also, a second bag wouldn't likely clear the wort much anyway.

Brew on

Just experimenting, with the goal of continually improving my game. My beers are typically crystal clear though.

 

[marjen]

I can't wait to get BIAB brewing! I am a new brewer. Thought about it seriously for a couple years and finally brewed my first batch about 3.5 weeks ago. It came out ok, not great. 10 days ago I brewed batch 2, and I am drinking it now, and man its good! I got into this strictly to brew NE IPAs. I have fallen in love with the style over the last year. Trillium is my favorite and i get there about once every 2-3 months, but its a 3 hour drive so decided to try and brew my own. Started with a Trillium Fort point clone recipe but have made some changes. The first 2 batches I have done were extract brews, next batch is going to be all grain BIAB! Stepping it up.

This second batch is VERY good. I am quite happy and it can only get better as I gain experience and go BIAB. Below is my extract recipe. I also fermented in a carboy and transferred to keg via Co2. This site has been awesome. I originally was going to bottle but realized O2 is the enemy of these beers so set up a 3 tap keg system. Did a closed transfer this time and all went well. Its a little more amber/darker than expected but that might be due to the extract.

Anyway loves this thread and look forward to trying to contribute going forward.

Current recipe:

Malts & Grains
3.6 lb Muntons Light DME
3.0 lb Breiss Golden Light DME.
1 lb Briess Bavarian Wheat DME
4 oz Briess Carapis Malt
4 oz British crystal 15L

Hops
0.25 oz Columbus Hops @ 60
min
0.75 oz Columbus Hops @ 10 min
1 tsp irish moss @ 10 min
1oz Columbus, 1 oz galaxy & 1 oz Citra at hop stand @ 180° for 30’

Yeast
WL1318 used a yeast starter 28 hours prior.

Note added .75 GA water post pitch due to high OG.Did not get new reading.

Dry Hop & Fermentation
Krusen broke on day 2.
3.5 oz galaxy, 3.5 oz Ciara & 1 oz Columbus added on 3rd day
Keg on day 5.
Carb with Blichman Quick Carb on day 6.

 

[doug293cz]

Just experimenting, with the goal of continually improving my game. My beers are typically crystal clear though.

Exactly! What benefit do you think more wort filtering would provide?

Brew on

 

[rhys333]

Less sediment making it into the boil.

If anyone has tried this I'm interested in hearing your results.

 

[casualbrewer]

I actually double bag. My first wilserbrewer​bag got a slight tear in one small spot so I ordered another. Now I use both. I brew mainly lagers and strive to achieve high clarity as well.

 

[mongoose33]

Heh heh.....

I don't know where I found that quilt. It occupied a space under my workbench for years as a paint drop-cloth, as it isn't quite as good as it looks in that picture. I used it for insulating my mash tun cooler when i did a more traditional mash (i.e., not in a bag).

One day it dawned on me: that quilt could give its life that I might brew in a bag, and thus it was so!

**************

Yesterday was 15 days in the fermenter; I changed the Inkbird temp to 32 degrees last night to cold crash it. Tonite I'll add finings, and maybe Wednesday I'll keg it. Anxious to see how it turns out but there's nothing that would indicate any difficulty. Fermented out just as if I'd done it using the normal mash tun approach, looks the same....

If I keg it Wednesday, I'll force carb it and Thursday will tell the tale.

Today is Thursday, and here is the tale to be told:





Tastes pretty darned good--I'd daresay, delicious. Who knew BIAB could do this?

It's still a bit green, but the first big swig was just what I expected in flavor. The pic has a small flashlight behind it, otherwise it looks for all the world like a Porter. I used 6 oz. of Chocolate Wheat to get it to that color.

I'll bottle some up tonite to take to a wedding reception this weekend. Not sure anyone else will want or care for it, but I sure will.

Here's the recipe if anyone is interested:

9# Maris Otter
3# Rye Malt
6 oz. Chocolate Wheat
4 oz. Flaked Rye
8 oz. Rice Hulls (yeah, but I figured it wouldn't hurt, and it didn't).

.5 oz Columbus 60 min
.5 oz Columbus 20 min
1 oz Styrian Celeia, 10 min
Whirfloc, 15 min

Wyeast 2112 w/ Starter

Mash Temp 151
OG 1.061
FG 1.015
ABV 6.04%

Now, if you'll excuse me, somehow while I've been writing this my glass has emptied....

 

[Morrey]

Today is Thursday, and here is the tale to be told:


View attachment 394640


Tastes pretty darned good--I'd daresay, delicious. Who knew BIAB could do this?

It's still a bit green, but the first big swig was just what I expected in flavor. The pic has a small flashlight behind it, otherwise it looks for all the world like a Porter. I used 6 oz. of Chocolate Wheat to get it to that color.

I'll bottle some up tonite to take to a wedding reception this weekend. Not sure anyone else will want or care for it, but I sure will.

Here's the recipe if anyone is interested:

9# Maris Otter
3# Rye Malt
6 oz. Chocolate Wheat
4 oz. Flaked Rye
8 oz. Rice Hulls (yeah, but I figured it wouldn't hurt, and it didn't).

.5 oz Columbus 60 min
.5 oz Columbus 20 min
1 oz Styrian Celeia, 10 min
Whirfloc, 15 min

Wyeast 2112 w/ Starter

Mash Temp 151
OG 1.061
FG 1.015
ABV 6.04%

Now, if you'll excuse me, somehow while I've been writing this my glass has emptied....

YESSSSSSS! Glad your BIAB exbeeriment turned out beautifully! Congrats on a great beer!!!

 

[NSMikeD]

 

[marjen]

My ingredients didnt show up as expected so no brewing over the weekend Damn fedex and now looks like the package might be lost as no tracking updates since last tuesday. If I dont see an update by midweek will go to the local homebrew store to pick up some ingredients as I want to brew this weekend. They just tend to be fairly expensive.

On the plus side I had a friend over to try my beer over the weekend and he loved it! Big success. Trying to get it in the hands of some others to get more feedback. We did some side by sides with some of the big guns in the style (although they were about 6 week old cans) and mine was right there with them. Lets just say I have a frig full over my favorite trillium beers and have not been inclined to drink them since this batch was finished. Thats my goal to be able to have an alternative when i can't make the 5 hour round trip to their brewery.

 

[VagueSkunk]

Lets just say I have a frig full over my favorite trillium beers and have not been inclined to drink them since this batch was finished. Thats my goal to be able to have an alternative when i can't make the 5 hour round trip to their brewery.

If you need some help getting rid of those you can send some my way and I'll help you out
No Trillium out my way

 

[marjen]

Tomorrow is the day, first BIAB session. Hope it goes ok. Below is what I am brewing.

Malts & Grains
10 lb Briess 2-Row Malt
1.5 lb Briess White Wheat Malt
12 oz Flaked oats
8 oz Briess Carapis Malt
4 oz British crystal 15L

Hops
0.25 oz Columbus Hops @ 60 min
0.75 oz Columbus Hops @ 10 min
1oz mosaic .5 oz exp pineapple at flameout
1oz Columbus, 1 oz galaxy & 1 oz Citra hop stand @ 180° for 30’

Yeast
WL1318 used a yeast starter 28 hours prior.

Dry Hop & Fermentation
1 oz mosaic at pitch
1 oz exp pineapple at pitch
4 oz mosaic, 2 oz Citra, 2 oz galaxy & 1 oz Columbus added on 3rd day

 

[marjen]

First BIAB in progress. Hit my temp nicely. Hoping it hold, got it all wrapped up.

 

[rhys333]

Tomorrow is the day, first BIAB session. Hope it goes ok. Below is what I am brewing.

Malts & Grains
10 lb Briess 2-Row Malt
1.5 lb Briess White Wheat Malt
12 oz Flaked oats
8 oz Briess Carapis Malt
4 oz British crystal 15L

Hops
0.25 oz Columbus Hops @ 60 min
0.75 oz Columbus Hops @ 10 min
1oz mosaic .5 oz exp pineapple at flameout
1oz Columbus, 1 oz galaxy & 1 oz Citra hop stand @ 180° for 30’

Yeast
WL1318 used a yeast starter 28 hours prior.

Dry Hop & Fermentation
1 oz mosaic at pitch
1 oz exp pineapple at pitch
4 oz mosaic, 2 oz Citra, 2 oz galaxy & 1 oz Columbus added on 3rd day

You'll get a ton of IBUs from that hop stand.

 

[RM-MN]

You'll get a ton of IBUs from that hop stand.

I agree. With the hop stand for 30 minutes at 180 all your hops will be adding bitterness, nearly as much as if you had added them all to the beginning of the boil.

 

[marjen]

I agree. With the hop stand for 30 minutes at 180 all your hops will be adding bitterness, nearly as much as if you had added them all to the beginning of the boil.

I started the hop stand at 180 but let let it drop naturally. Actually by the time i cut the chiller it was around 175 and dropped into the 160s over the 30 mins. Same process I followed last batch and it was not bitter at all.

 

[marjen]

So my first BIAB session went well enough yesterday. No real issues. Only got a little over 65% efficiency (1.042), was shooting for 70. But as per my last two times brewing, had more evaporation than expected so still over shot my OG. I added some water at the end and still ended up on the high side at 1.072. Had an issue with my pulley, so it didnt work. Had to pull it out and hold by hand, actually laid it on my big kettle spoon as I squeezed water out.
Very easy experience. Definitely going to use this method going forward. Had some issues last night with my fermenter as the cap blew off and Kruesen went all over the place. Plus side is at least there is good strong fermentation happening. Cant wait to try this out, color is definitely different than the extract version of this recipe I tried, looks like it will be a lot more yellow than orange. Added 2 oz of hops at pitch to see what that does to the aroma/flavor. Cant wait for it to be done. Might brew again this coming weekend.

 

[violinguy]

=marjen;7961949Had some issues last night with my fermenter as the cap blew off and Kruesen went all over the place.

Ew. I had a similar thing happen on my first ever brew - AG Brooklyn kit. The entire house smelled like spilled beer for a few days.

I'm in the midst of brewing my 2nd BIAB. I slightly overshot my mash temp. I decided to go ahead with it at 152 instead of 150. Got a new hydrometer (broke the old one last brew) so I can actually take some readings this time. 25 min. to go on mash.....

 

[violinguy]

Lost only a couple of degrees in 60 minutes. Mash was a little thin compared to the dark IPA I brewed 3 weeks ago. This is a honey wheat so I hope that's normal. Grain was about 1.8/gal.

 

[marjen]

Lots of pressure on my first BIAB batch. I am about to run out of trillium cans!! If this batch sucks it's an emergency trip to MA to restock. Kegging it tomorrow and brewing my second BIAB batch tomorrow. My last extract batch was solid so hoping for even better results this time around.

 

[mj1angier]

This is what I plan to do this Sunday. Anything jump out as odd?


Orange Cream Ale
Type: All Grain Date: 23 Jul 2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.25 gal
Boil Size: 7.99 gal
Boil Time: 60 min


Ingredients
8.43 gal Cream Ale Water
8.06 g Chalk
2.97 g Epsom Salt
2.06 g Baking Soda
1.14 g Calcium Chloride
0.99 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)
7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1 lbs Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (Briess) (1.7 SRM)
8.0 oz Borlander Munich Malt (Briess) (10.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 13 8.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 14 5.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 15 3.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Cream Ale Yeast Blend (White Labs #WLP080) [50.28 ml] Yeast 16 -
1 lbs Fruit - Orange-3 (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 17 8.7 %
12.0 oz Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 18 6.5 %


Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.050 SG

Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.2 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.1 %
Bitterness: 16.2 IBUs Calories: 165.7 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 4.0 SRM
Mash Profile

Mash Name: BIAB, Medium Body Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 8.0 oz
Sparge Water: -0.00 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.1 F Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.40
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Saccharification Add 34.75 qt of water at 158.2 F 152.1 F 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 7 min 168.0 F 10 min

 

[doug293cz]

This is what I plan to do this Sunday. Anything jump out as odd?


Orange Cream Ale
Type: All Grain Date: 23 Jul 2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.25 gal
Boil Size: 7.99 gal
Boil Time: 60 min


Ingredients
8.43 gal Cream Ale Water
8.06 g Chalk
2.97 g Epsom Salt
2.06 g Baking Soda
1.14 g Calcium Chloride
0.99 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)
7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
1 lbs Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (Briess) (1.7 SRM)
8.0 oz Borlander Munich Malt (Briess) (10.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 13 8.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 14 5.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 15 3.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Cream Ale Yeast Blend (White Labs #WLP080) [50.28 ml] Yeast 16 -
1 lbs Fruit - Orange-3 (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 17 8.7 %
12.0 oz Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 18 6.5 %


Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.049 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.050 SG

Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.2 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.1 %
Bitterness: 16.2 IBUs Calories: 165.7 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 4.0 SRM
Mash Profile

Mash Name: BIAB, Medium Body Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 8.0 oz
Sparge Water: -0.00 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.1 F Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.40
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Saccharification Add 34.75 qt of water at 158.2 F 152.1 F 75 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 7 min 168.0 F 10 min

Your water additions look a little odd. You've got over 10g of additives (chalk & baking soda) that will make the water more alkaline, when light colored beers usually need to have the water acidified. Also, chalk is a lousy additive in general because it doesn't dissolve in the water easily. And why is your Epsom Salt addition higher than your gypsum addition.

 

[mj1angier]

I am using RO water and used the thread for my starting point:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=507082

 

[doug293cz]

I am using RO water and used the thread for my starting point:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=507082

In a quick scan of that thread, I didn't see anything that would suggest adding either chalk or baking soda, or even adding Mg (Epsom salt) to the water. Can you point to a specific post or posts?

Brew on

 

[rhys333]

Agree, you don't want to add any alkalinity to such a pale beer. Your pH will be sky high with all that chalk and baking soda.

 

[mj1angier]

Ok, totally had beersmith water mucked up. lets see if the looks better:


Ingredients
8.69 gal Cream Ale Water
3.86 g Calcium Chloride
2.29 g Gypsum
0.98 g Epsom Salt (MgSO4)
0.74 g Salt (Mash 60.0 mins)
0.05 g Chalk (Mash 60.0 mins)
7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 7 60.9 %
1 lbs Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 8 8.7 %
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (Briess) (1.7 SRM) Grain 9 4.3 %
8.0 oz Borlander Munich Malt (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 10 4.3 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 11 4.3 %
4.0 oz Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 12 2.2 %
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 13 8.3 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 14 5.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 15 3.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Cream Ale Yeast Blend (White Labs #WLP080) [50.28 ml] Yeast 16 -
1 lbs Fruit - Orange-3 (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 17 8.7 %
12.0 oz Honey (1.0 SRM)

 

[marjen]

2nd BIAB brew day on Saturday, did not go quite as smoothly as the first time. I hit my strike temp, but did not drop as much as expected and so I ended up mashing high. Strike was 162, dropped to 158-159 and pretty much stayed there. My insulation is better than expected. Next time I will try a strike temp of 158-160.

Next I did not hit my pre-boil OG. Only hit 130 instead of 142.

I started with 8 gallons this time due to losing so much water during all my brew sessions so far. But I also experimented with turning the burner down once I hit boil. As a result I did not burn off nearly as much as prior (which is good going forward, but bad for this batch). So I only hit 1.052 (instead of 1.066 OG. I boiled up what I had left on hand of some light DME to try and bridge the gap and got it up to about 1.054.

Finally had some issues with my starter. So will see how this goes. Looks like it will be a session IPA around 4.7-5.3 depending on where the FG falls. Was shooting for 6.6. Not the end of the world. I am sure it will still be good. Plus its very similar recipe to the IPA I have on tab now that ended up in the other end clocking in at 7.6% so if I mix them together when I hit the tap I will have a nice 6% NE IPA

Good thing now after 4 brew days is I am getting more comfortable and learning how to get around issues that pop up. Experience is a good thing.