Another BIAB thread

[Alex.Tas]

when you throw in the grain at 69, you will drop a couple of degrees...dependant on grain weight and temp. I usually aim to dough in at 69, which gives me a initial mash temp of 66.5 with about 5kg of grain stored at room temp. In winter I need to start at 70-71 as the grain is colder and knocks the temp of the mash back more.

Did you stir up you mash when taking the temp reading? I typically lose about 2 degrees over an hour mash..but think a lot of the heat is trapped in the grains, as the temp at mash out (taken using a digital thermometer about 3cm below the surface) does noticeably rise by a couple of degrees once I give the grain a good stir.

What he said.

stirring the grain makes sure you don't have any hot/cold spots within your grains and ensures that the temperature you are recording/controlling is actually the representative temperature.
As Albanian says above, I've measured the temp of the wort using a 10cm long probe (taken from the surface) which changed three degrees after i give it a stir. When im applying heat for a step mash or just to bring the temp back to where i want it, i'll have the thermometer in one hand and the paint masher in the other.

How many watts is your element? if its 2000W it should be enough for your 20 odd litre batch size. does it have a termo cut out? I've got a crown urn with a concealed element. its cut out is set for 150 degrees i believe (Its one of the newer ones). You may be getting stuff burnt to it and its triggering the cutoff...

 

[BrewedCrudeandBitter]

I'm fairly certain that the temperature was taken after giving the grain a good stir with the paint stirrer. I'll take more care next time around I suppose.

The element is 2400W from craftbrewer.

https://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=4616

I'm not sure on the thermo cut out but I probably would have heard if the element cut off.

 

[SNippets01]

Taking the Gravity and Volume measurements are not critical, but do give you information for future reference and I would definitely recommend trying to jot down as much info as you go through the day. Just have your recipe sheet or beersmith brewsteps printed out and somewhere nearby your gear to write down things as you go. It is handy to go back to your notes and compare especially if you repeat the exact same recipe but end up with different tasting beers.


Wow, i'm not sure what i'm doing but if i'm aiming for a 64-65 degree mash, i usually only go 2 degrees higher for my typical 5.5kg grain into ~37L water BIAB. I just use the generic kit spoon to stir up the mix when i'm checking temps or raising temp to mash out. Plus I only have a small kitchen digital thermometer (5cm long) and seems to do the job just fine - remember if you have a significant amount of water (like me) it has a lot of mass so the temps shouldn't fluctuate too much and as long as you are mixing it fairly well, it should be a good representation of the average temp in your mash/wort.

 

[BrewedCrudeandBitter]

Yeah I've learnt a lot from the first time around. The temperature drop really threw me at the time but I'll keep a closer eye on it next time.

Also, I should probably avoid drinking solidly from start to finish...

 

[BrewedCrudeandBitter]

So after a week in the cube I transferred to the FV and pitched the US05. The gravity was 1.046 which is short of the 1.050 I was hoping for but not disastrous I suppose.

I gotta say, it felt good to finally pitch the yeast at the right temperature for once. This BIAB no chill caper seems legit. B)

 

[SNippets01]

Good work! Don't forget to return to advise the results!

I don't worry too much with mine if its a few points difference, you may find that there ends up being more non-fermentables in the wort == translates to 'sweeter' and/or more body.

I never used to think that the temps would matter too much, but since doing a few repeat brews, 2 degrees on the mash temp made a difference in the apparent sweetness. Once I was too much in a hurry and mashed @66 instead of 64 (Hefewiezen) and ended up with about 3 points lower than expected, definitely makes a difference being particular/patient about your initial mash temp.