Using Brewer’s Edge Mash&Boil for a BIAB????

[Allekornbrauer]

Hello I finally got to brew on my Brewer’s Edge Mash&Boil I did a 3gal BIAB Dead Ringer IPA here a pic of the recipe https://imgur.com/gallery/wx4Z5pC. Well everything went good but my Efficiency took a big hit to the balls I only got 54% the recipe was supposed to have a original gravity 1.064 but I got 1.050 yes it’s still beer an I am glad my efficiency wasn’t lower than that. An also this was my first BIAB brew meaning I brew all-grain before using the cooler as a mash-tun an a sparge tank to do fly sparging. So basically what I’m asking is what went wrong with my Efficiency being at 54%?

 

[RM-MN]

There are 3 possible reasons for that hit on efficiency.
1. Most likely is the crush. Many places crush quite coarse so they don't have people complaining about stuck mashes. The cure is to buy a mill. The cheap Corona mills work well for BIAB as they can mill the grains quite fine and that gets great efficiency and the bag that you mash in can separate out the grain without getting a stuck mash.

2. Dough balls. The milled grains tend to stick together with only the outside getting wet. If you have any of these in the mash, their starches, being dry, never convert. A wire whisk makes quick work at breaking these up.

3. Too short of a mash period. This is much less likely but with a coarse crush the starches can take a long time to gelatinize which is required for conversion. Extending the mash to 90 minutes can help with this problem but not as much as getting the grains properly milled will.

 

[Wansombeer?]

So, I just literally brewed the same 3 gal recipe last week in my M&B and I agree with RM-MN that it's probably the crush. On my first batch in the M&B, I used store crush and my efficiency wasn't great, so I bought a Cereal Killer mill and use it on a credit card width setting. My next two batches have been much better. Also, some other things that may make a difference: I ignore NB's advice on the total amount of brewing water as I find it to be way high and use BIAB calculator on Brewer's Friend instead. I start with RO water adjusted with minerals for the profile. I do use the malt tube in the M&B, but line it with the same paint strainer bag I used for stove top BIAB as I find it makes it easier to clean up after and if I want, I can pull it and squeeze it(this time I just used a pot lid to push down on the grains after mashing to extract more wort). I manually recirculate about a gallon of wort and stir every 15 minutes of the 60 minute mash period.
So, I came up with about 3.3 gallons into the fermentor at a pitching gravity of 1.060, still not perfectly on their target, but closer. My previous batch was a little over the target. Like anything new, it takes a while to dial in the method.

 

[haygood]

How is your mash temp holding? I was mashing at 152 (with a recirculation pump) and it dropped like 5 degrees before it would heat back up. I have to keep an eye on the temp and manually make it heat back to the 152 range.

 

[deadwolfbones]

I do the same thing in a Robobrew (no grain pipe, no recirc, just a Wilser bag and stirring) and I routinely hit 75-80% efficiency.

 

[makisupapolice14]

Likewise with a mash and boil, insulation and wilser bag with no grain pipe. Usually lose 3-4f max over the coarse of an hour. Stir every 20 mins and shut the unit off after mashing in

 

[TwistedGray]

How is your mash temp holding? I was mashing at 152 (with a recirculation pump) and it dropped like 5 degrees before it would heat back up. I have to keep an eye on the temp and manually make it heat back to the 152 range.

This is normal behavior for many users.

ps: I've only used the grain pipe once, and it now collects dust in the corner of the garage.

 

[Cain]

Likewise with a mash and boil, insulation and wilser bag with no grain pipe. Usually lose 3-4f max over the coarse of an hour. Stir every 20 mins and shut the unit off after mashing in

What do you use for insulation? I was thinking about trying just a couple of blankets. Good enough, or would I need more insulation?

 

[makisupapolice14]

What do you use for insulation? I was thinking about trying just a couple of blankets. Good enough, or would I need more insulation?

I use three wraps on reflectix on the sides and lid and also cover with 2 heavy sleeping bags and put a bungee cord around it

 

[RM-MN]

What do you use for insulation? I was thinking about trying just a couple of blankets. Good enough, or would I need more insulation?

What is your ambient temperature? If your temp it 90 it won't take much insulation. At -30 you can't add enough insulation.

 

[Immocles]

What do you use for insulation? I was thinking about trying just a couple of blankets. Good enough, or would I need more insulation?

I drop about 3 degrees in the warmer months without insulation. I brew in my basement, its probably about 77-85 during the summer. I only managed a few brews in the winter last year on my system while I was striking everything in, but I found that securing a blanket and a heavy winter robe around it kept mine insulated enough to not have a drastic drop. I think 5F drop at the most, and that was a particularly cold day (hovering around 40F) in the basement.

 

[MikeCo]

Grain crush is very important as stated above.

Be sure to measure your water volumes. If you end with a much higher volume than planned, your OG will be low. As you dial in the process, measure water volume after mashing and removing the grain bag so you can get an accurate measure of grain absorption. Measure post boil volume to verify your boil off rate. a good BIAB calculator or brewing software will help you calculate water volumes, and the accuracy will improve as you brew a few batches and get more accurate inputs.