Winter has finally beaten me...BIAB test

[Onkel_Udo]

Oooh, I'm thnking that that would be more bitter than I would like. Would adding lactose make a difference?

i am going to let run its course and ferment...then decide.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

OK, no-chill in an insulated pot is nerve-racking. When I went to bed at 9 it was still at 140 f (we were actually warm yesterday) but since it was to well below freezing I brought it in for the night (house is kept at 60 f) and at the fake 5 AM it was at 110 f. It is out on the deck now and should be close to pitching temp in another hour or two.

So, yeah on one of those days that isn't going to break freezing, I might do it again but there is no way I am fermenting in the pot with something like S-04 if it holds temp that good!

I am thinking I will, as time and budget allows, convert my boil keggle to eBIAB (two 2000W elements so it can boil outside or in the basement) as it could still just be a boil kettle the rest of the time. I am thinking I can re-use the basket I have. Honestly, If I can match that type of efficiency ramped up to 10 gallon batches and up to 1.060 batches.

 

[RM-MN]

Hop oils will continue to add bitterness until the wort is under about 180 so if your recipe calls for a flavor addition at 10 minutes and you no chill, you might have to add them after the wort has cooled for a couple hours or more.

My pot is a thin stainless steel and it still takes a long time to chill. When the temperature is below zero and the wind is 20mph or more, I can expect to wait nearly 4 hours. If I pour the boiling wort into a bucket fermenter and set it in a 62 degree room it will take about 30 hours to cool.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Hydrometer sample at pitching had me .001 or .002 over so again, excellent efficiency.

It was bubbling away nicely 5 hours after pitching last night but I fear the temp int he basement will be slightly low (53 f) for Notty to do its job once the first 48-72 hours is up so bringing it upstairs to my cold closet (usually about 61 f) Wednesday night.

Overall, I consider this a success. I need to refine a few of my processes but none of my fears were realized:

Stove was able to achieve and maintain a boil
Efficiency was excellent
Did not make a big mess

Before the next attempt, since winter appears to be finally over, I will make some minor equipment changes. If I stay 5-gallon I will absolutely just add a 2000W element and ball valve to the 8 gallon pot (this can then double as my HLT when I three tier). If I choose to ramp up to 10 gallons I will convert my current boil keggle to electric with two 2000W elements and widen the opening so my my basket can fit. The basket will get SS bolts for legs to keep it off the element.

 

[RM-MN]

Hydrometer sample at pitching had me .001 or .002 over so again, excellent efficiency.

It was bubbling away nicely 5 hours after pitching last night but I fear the temp int he basement will be slightly low (53 f) for Notty to do its job once the first 48-72 hours is up so bringing it upstairs to my cold closet (usually about 61 f) Wednesday night.

Overall, I consider this a success. I need to refine a few of my processes but none of my fears were realized:

Stove was able to achieve and maintain a boil
Efficiency was excellent
Did not make a big mess

Before the next attempt, since winter appears to be finally over, I will make some minor equipment changes. If I stay 5-gallon I will absolutely just add a 2000W element and ball valve to the 8 gallon pot (this can then double as my HLT when I three tier). If I choose to ramp up to 10 gallons I will convert my current boil keggle to electric with two 2000W elements and widen the opening so my my basket can fit. The basket will get SS bolts for legs to keep it off the element.

I think this is a good idea but even 61 may be too cool. Give the beer a couple days there then warm it even more. Mine usually stay at 62 for 5 to 7 days and then may go straight to 72. The off flavors are created pretty early in the fermentation so if you control the temperature then you need not worry about them. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I think this is a good idea but even 61 may be too cool. Give the beer a couple days there then warm it even more. Mine usually stay at 62 for 5 to 7 days and then may go straight to 72. The off flavors are created pretty early in the fermentation so if you control the temperature then you need not worry about them. http://www.brewgeeks.com/the-life-cycle-of-yeast.html

Yeah, I just have gotten so used to S-04 that does OK but slow fermentation at 53 f but the internal temp is probably more like 58-60 f. I haven't enough experience with Notty but the three batches I have done only raise the beer temp about a degree. I pitched at 68 f and since fermentation was still going well this morning, not worried about "primary" stalling

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Well I ended at 1.012 so again a bit high.

Hydrometer sample did not taste overly bitter. Skipped my planned dry hopping out of impatience and lack of cornies. Carb'ed it as if it really were a an ordinary bitter and put three gallons in my Tap-a-draft bottle sand 1.3 gallons in bottles.

Biggest negative other than total yeald so far verse my 3-tier is the amazinging amount lost in fermentor. Two reasons:

My three tier I easily left an inch in the bucket because I left all the hops and cold break in the kettle. With my current set-up, it is not possible for me to do so as I cannot use my leaf hops as a trub filter.

I used a lot of pellet hops in hopesof "whirlpooling" the hops and trub into a cone...just did not happen.

Trying a version of my RyePA on Tuesday. This is my "lawnmower beer" and between friends an I we already burned through 9 gallons in 3 weeks.

Will 22% flakes Rye cause issues with the draining and subsequent dunk sparge process?

 

[RM-MN]

Well I ended at 1.012 so again a bit high.

Hydrometer sample did not taste overly bitter. Skipped my planned dry hopping out of impatience and lack of cornies. Carb'ed it as if it really were a an ordinary bitter and put three gallons in my Tap-a-draft bottle sand 1.3 gallons in bottles.

Biggest negative other than total yeald so far verse my 3-tier is the amazinging amount lost in fermentor. Two reasons:

My three tier I easily left an inch in the bucket because I left all the hops and cold break in the kettle. With my current set-up, it is not possible for me to do so as I cannot use my leaf hops as a trub filter.

I used a lot of pellet hops in hopesof "whirlpooling" the hops and trub into a cone...just did not happen.

Trying a version of my RyePA on Tuesday. This is my "lawnmower beer" and between friends an I we already burned through 9 gallons in 3 weeks.

Will 22% flakes Rye cause issues with the draining and subsequent dunk sparge process?

Rye gets really sticky/gooey but you have a bag for your filter and can squeeze the wort out if you need to. I doubt that you would need to with only 22% rye but when I used 60% rye I sure did.

You have a choice when you use your 3-tier system. You can leave some of the trub behind in the kettle or you can put it all in the fermenter. One way or another you are going to lose some. I'm of the opinion that leaving the trub behind loses more beer because the trub won't have settled out as much so there is wort in there that could have become beer. If you have the room in the fermenter and give it time to settle and compact there I think you lose less.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

I'm of the opinion that leaving the trub behind loses more beer because the trub won't have settled out as much so there is wort in there that could have become beer. If you have the room in the fermenter and give it time to settle and compact there I think you lose less.

I think this depends on what method you use to leave that trub in the kettle. In my case I have a SS scrubber pad over the end of my dip tube that goes to within an 1/8" of the bottom of the keggle. I have to use a minimum of 2 oz of whole hops per batch as these create my filter. The only thing I leave in the kettle is spent hops and break material.

I was not complaining about the break int he bucket but it really does change the calculation of where the wort needs to end up on those gallon markers on the bucket!

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Second test batch went both better and worse than the first. This was a RyePA/lawnmower beer with 9.25#'s of which 2#'s were flaked rye.

I hit my mash temp much closer this time being at 150 when shooting for 152. Bumped the burner for just one minute and hit 152 and stayed there for 45 minutes.

Boil went much better as well because I left the lid on (stressing the whole time about a hidden boil over) until it actually was boiling. Even returned to boil in about 10 minutes when I dropped my immersion chiller in to sanitize it.

The two problems this time were learning curve related. I needed more water in my main kettle and less in my dunk sparge pot. Not sure if it was the extra # of grain or the flaked rye soaking up more water but the 2.5 gallons in the dunk sparge pot was about .5 gallons too much making it impossible to reasonably stir the grains. I also ended up about .25 gallons low on my total pre-boil volume.

Apparently 12# of ice in the recirculating immersion chiller loop is way too little for 6 gallons of wort in an insulated pot but it did get me below 130 f so I just set it outside to cool the rest of the way. Was still at 90 f this morning.

Brewhouse efficiency was 78%. One more experimental batch and I will be ready to pull the trigger on converting one of my existing keggles to a combo eBIAB 10 gallon system for winter and 10 gallon eKettle for the other 7 months.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Just tasted an early, undercarb'ed bottle of the first beer and it is darned good. Yeah, a lot more bitter than planned because of the long period over 180 f but I can just reclassify it as an American Brown Ale...session strength.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Making my last run before electrification or abandoning BIAB (unlikey). Doing a sweet stout/black mild.