Is BIAB a valid technique?

[Planner]

If you're looking for some ideas for grist, my two brews are below, and I'm sure you could scale them by halving quantities on each:

Thanks Bullfrog, written down and filed away.

I found the first link quite helpful when first doing partials. I never did a full BIAB but I think its pretty similar. The 2nd link is the same brewer doing a full batch, AG.

Thanks Finnagann, well worth reading.

You don't need to use 3 expensive vessels for AG,
I have done several dozen AG's now with just a Keg for a kettle & a 50L esky for a mash tun.

At the end of the mash I just drain my sparge water (heated) out of the kettle & into 2 x 10L plastic jerry cans.
lift my mash up on top of the frame the kettle sits in, hang the sparge water cans from the roof of the shed & drain into the mash tun via hose.
So in fact I have a 4 tier system with just an esky, keg & 2 plastic drums?
& the esky is still an esky, to use it as a mash tun I just push a tight fitting aluminium tube through the drain bung, hose on the outside, strainer on the inside & a removable S/S mesh false floor. nothing glued or modified!

Mick.

Mick

Not ruling out a 3V system, but at present I'm only $8-$10 away from a BIAB setup for half batches. I'll give it a go, and then decide which direction to head (if I move at all).

Planner

[drsmurto]

That CPA recipe attributed to me looks almost the same as the recipe on AHB with the extra late additions. If you are looking to brew something like a CPA with more hop flavour and aroma then it loks good. I would use a dark crystal (200+ EBC) instead of a light one.

Provided you are buying this seasons POR i would have no problems using POR in late additions, old pellets not a chance but fresh flowers are very nice.

3V, BIAB, its beer and its AG. Whether you do it on a stovetop, a bbq or a a $300 burner with enough power to warm a small country its irrelevant.

What is important is taking readings, measuring your ingredients and using some form of calculation for the SG, IBU etc. Monitor your mash temp, etc and write it all down so that you can improve.

Chucking stuff in a pot, adding water without weighing things will make beer but only on a technicality. It wont be reproducible and that is the reason i think it should be read (if you must read it) with a bucket, nay a truckload of salt.

[Planner]

If you are looking to brew something like a CPA with more hop flavour and aroma then it loks good.

Thats what I was looking for, and have been for a couple of K&B's now.

Provided you are buying this seasons POR i would have no problems using POR in late additions, old pellets not a chance but fresh flowers are very nice.

Been really enjoying the PoR taste of late. I did see packets of PoR flowers in the fridge last week, I will check the date.

What is important is taking readings, measuring your ingredients and using some form of calculation for the SG, IBU etc. Monitor your mash temp, etc and write it all down so that you can improve.

Chucking stuff in a pot, adding water without weighing things will make beer but only on a technicality. It wont be reproducible and that is the reason i think it should be read (if you must read it) with a bucket, nay a truckload of salt.

I keep reasonable notes now on steeping temps, times etc, so records should be OK. I need to have a play with beersmith to find the calculator to adjust SG readings for temp, all my SG readings to date have been in the 16-20deg range, so I've not worried about adjustments. I think I'm getting the hang of IBU calcs, by running other brewers recipes through BS and comparing results.

Off to G&G later this week hopefully to get remainder of ingredients.

Planner

[SuperBroo]

FYI people,

there is a podcast here on BIAB...

http://www.basicbrewing.com/radio/radio.rss
look for...

04-02-09 Brew in a Bag - Basic Brewing Radio 58:16 03-Apr-09 It's in the bag.

cheers,
Chris

[Planner]

Took the plunge yesterday, I had the house to myself so settled down in the shed with the ABC footy talkback on and brewed.

I got through relativly unscathed, but did learn a couple of lessons for next time.
1. Use brewsmith to calculate strike temp. I calced manually and was a couple of degs high, so I cooled using more water. This resulted in a very full mash.
2. My pot needs to be better insulated, I dropped nearly 5 deg over the 60mins (66.7 - 62.1), mostly in the last 30min.
3. Brewsmith had the efficiency set at 75% and I hit my expected OG exactly (I topped up fermenter to desired OG and it matched exactly the batch volume I had planned).
4. Need a better way to collect SG samples, my hydro was too tall to float in the wort. I needed to submerge the sample tube in the pot to collect (will eventually burn fingers).
5. Need to shift my boil. The steam was going up to the TV which hangs from the ceiling. Only an old TV, but if it went off while the Pies were on, that would be bad.
6. Buy own potato masher in the interests of household harmony.

Next, a BIAB stout.

Planner

[drsmurto]

Congrats on the painless transition, report back once you have it in a glass - you'll be grinning from ear to ear!

Stouts, now you are talking.

Love a good stout, i have 2 awaiting kegs at the moment.

I use these 2 recipes as the base, up the OG/IBU to suit - Link 1, Link 2

[Planner]

Congrats on the painless transition, report back once you have it in a glass - you'll be grinning from ear to ear!

Will do, and I hope so.

Stouts, now you are talking.

For 25 years I watched Dad drink Invalid Stout while I drank beer. Now I've aquired the taste I can't get enough of it.

I use these 2 recipes as the base, up the OG/IBU to suit

Thanks Doc, I have seen those recipes. I've posted a draft recipe in Warra's stout thread, using what I have available.

Planner

[big dave]

Hey Planner

Possibly premature, but any news?

BD

[Planner]

Hey Planner

Possibly premature, but any news?

BD

BD

Bottled on Monday night, tasted pretty good from the hydro tube. Reasonably confident.
I put a couple of stubbies in the pantry so they carb a bit quicker (house at about 22deg), I plan to hold off until next wed-thur (9-10days) before cracking one. Will keep you posted.

Planner

[timmy]

Hey lads,

I've done quite a few BIAB's over the last couple of years with mixed results, although the mashing technique was probably the least of my problems - I got into the habit of leaving the wort to cool on the hot break which ruined 4 brews......

I tend to get crappy efficiencies using BIAB but have never really done a 'proper' AG to compare against. Apart from the problem mentioned, I've been pretty happy using this technique.

btw - Planner - I'd recommend you get a refractometer to check your SG's. A lot less messy than a hydro and they're pretty cheap off ebay.

Cheers,

Tim

[Bum]

I got into the habit of leaving the wort to cool on the hot break which ruined 4 brews......

Surely this doesn't ruin a brew. I mean everyone who uses an immersion chiller does this, right?

[hirns]

I got into the habit of leaving the wort to cool on the hot break which ruined 4 brews......

Surely this doesn't ruin a brew. I mean everyone who uses an immersion chiller does this, right?

Agree, I think the problem lies else where.

Hirns

[timmy]

I got into the habit of leaving the wort to cool on the hot break which ruined 4 brews......

Surely this doesn't ruin a brew. I mean everyone who uses an immersion chiller does this, right?

Yes, but I'm sure they don't leave it over night...... Other BIAB brews have been fine when I didn't do this. Maybe coincidence.

[hirns]

Yes, but I'm sure they don't leave it over night...... Other BIAB brews have been fine when I didn't do this. Maybe coincidence.

Again if you maintain sanitary conditions I can't see any difference to no chilling. I have done what you have mentioned when I've finnished the boil after 12pm. I place gladwrap over the pot and then use the glass lid as well. The lid has a 3mm vent hole and I tape a piece of paper towel over that as a filter. As the wort cools it will pull air into the pot. I've then let the pot sit in the bath tub till morning.

Cheers

Hirns

[speedie]

what is a (BIAB)

[bullfrog]

BIAB stands for Brew In A Bag and is a single-vessel, no-sparge method of all grain brewing.

[gregb]

Main advantages are that it is very simple and has very low barriers to entry.

[Tipsy]

I got into the habit of leaving the wort to cool on the hot break which ruined 4 brews......

Surely this doesn't ruin a brew. I mean everyone who uses an immersion chiller does this, right?

Yes, but I'm sure they don't leave it over night...... Other BIAB brews have been fine when I didn't do this. Maybe coincidence.

I've left 2 brews to cool in the kettle over night and they were both fine.

[Planner]

btw - Planner - I'd recommend you get a refractometer to check your SG's. A lot less messy than a hydro and they're pretty cheap off ebay.

Timmy

Eventually kettle will have a tap, until then soup ladel into hydro tube is preventing burnt fingers. Excel spreadsheet pinned to wall in the shed has temp corrections for a range of mash temps.

[Planner]

Cracked open first BIAB stubbie last night. Still a little undercarbed (only 10 days in bottle), only thin head, but it did last all the way to the bottom. Taste was exactly what I had hoped for, CPA with extra hops. Presentation still leaves a lot of room for improvement, was about as hazy as a wheat (will remember the whirfloc next time).

Overall not a show standard beer, but I'm still very happy. Yes Doc I was wearing an ear-to-ear grin at the dinner table last night.