Any suggestions for my first ever AG BIAB brew? (A small, test one)

[hapitan]

I'm looking for suggestions for my next brew. I'm a beginner, but I've got a few mightily successful brews under my belt (well, I'm happy with them!)

They include:

• A simple ginger beer
• A Coopers Pale Ale Kit
• An Aldi apple cider
• Dr Smurto's Golden Ale (extract and caramalt mix)

The Smurto is still going, but it's smelling very nice and fermenting strongly.

What I want to do next is BIAB - but an easy, small one. I'm thinking about 10-12 litres.

The reasons for the small brew are:

• I've got a 28L pot, but only a semi-okay BBQ burner.
• I want to get a small BIAB done so I know what to expect when I scale up.
• I don't think I'll have enough bottles for any more than 10-12L
• I've got an open packet of about 7g of US-05 yeast that I'd like to use.

Apart from that, I also hope it could use Amarillo hops. I've got about 50g left over from my Dr Smurto Golden Ale.

So, what suggestions do you have? I reckon I'll get my grain at the Hop and Grain in Enmore, or Dave's Homebrew. Either/or.

 

[Pogierob]

Why not do another golden ale. It's a perfect opportunity to compare the difference between extract and all grain.

 

[Fu ManBru]

How about a SMaSH (single malt and single hop).

Maybe Marris Otter and Amarillo?

 

[contrarian]

Yep, Maris otter and Amarillo was my first BIAB recipe and at that time the best beer I'd ever made. For 12 litres about 2.5-3kg depending on how strong you want it. Depending on how much Amarillo you have a small bittering addition of 10-15 IBUs, about twice as much by weight at flame out and if you have some left over a dry hop too.

 

[Nizmoose]

Small batches are great, enables you to brew up a variety of beers, I did my first biab batch last weekend, was a lightly hopped pale ale:

2kg Ale Malt
100g crystal 60L
7g centennial @ 60 minutes
10g Galaxy @ 5 minutes
Added 200g of dex but not necessary

Mashed in multiple steps but a 65C single infusion for 80 minutes then a 10 minute mash out at 78C

Edit: sorry this was 10L into the fermenter

 

[hapitan]

The Marris Otter and Amarillo idea looks exactly what I'm after. I'll have to have a fiddle with BeerSmith later and work out some numbers - and post back later.

I'll probably do another Golden Ale down the line (a full AG), but I want to see the outcome of the extract before I start.

 

[verysupple]

I'd go with the AG DSGA as mentioned above to do a comparison.

On the using left over yeast thing, I'm not sure that's a good idea unless it's only been open a couple of days. This is what Danstar have to say about it:

<insert yeast name> will rapidly lose activity after exposure to air. Do not use 500 g or 11 g packs that have lost vacuum. Open packs must be re-closed, stored in dry conditions below 4 C, and used within 3 days.

 

[mosto]

I'd chuck 100g of caramalt in with the Maris Otter if you have some left over, Otherwise any light/medium crystal if you can get it. I just find SMaSH beers lack a little something, although if I HAD to go with just one malt Maris Otter would be the one. Also, if you're no chilling, I'd chuck the flameout additions that contrarian mentioned into the cube. I find it gives a much better flavour/aroma. If chilling, keep it as a flameout addition.

 

[hapitan]

So I've had a think/play with some ingredients in BeerSmith, and this is what I came up with.

Total volume: 12 litres (into fermenter)

• 2.5kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
• 250g Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L
• 45g Amarillo.

Boil time will be 60 minutes. Hop additions at 30 mins in and 50 mins in. Then I think I'll dry hop the final 15g, 5 days into the fermentation.

I'll get a new package of US-05 (thanks for letting me know about older yeast), or should I try something new?

I'll aim for a mash temp of 67, so I'll probably heat it up to about 70 before I pour the grain in. Mash time is one hour. I'll mash out at 76-78C.

As for chilling, I just have to let it cool at the moment. I've got a copper immersion chiller coming one day, but it's not here so I'll probably have to go without it.

So that's the plan. Happy to take suggestions/improvements!

 

[Pogierob]

I'd drop the crystal down. You are doing s half batch and the crystal will contribute sweeteness. I have done a Coyle of batches with 500 crystal on a full batch and have since dropped that down to 150 with better results

Edit. On 20lt batches

 

[indica86]

250 crystal is ball park for a pale @ 20 ish litres,
Halve it.

 

[verysupple]

I'll get a new package of US-05 (thanks for letting me know about older yeast), or should I try something new?

There's nothing wrong with US-05, it's a great yeast. If you want to try something else just for the sake of it, I quite like BRY-97 and I've heard good things about Mangrove Jack's M44. They're all US style (clean-ish) ale yeasts and would suit the kind of beer you're making.

Although now that I'm a bit more experienced I'd recommend sticking with one yeast for a given style for a few brews so you get to learn it a bit. When I first started I'd use a different strain almost every batch, and because they all behave very differently it was hard to learn to recognise when everything was going really well and when it was getting the job done but could've been better.

 

[contrarian]

For my first few brews I tried to keep it as simple as possible and not worry too much about hitting numbers with more focus on measuring and recording things.

It is worth taking volume measurements, temperature measurements and gravity measurements along the way as these will help you dial in your system.

The main times are after you pull the bag, after the boil and then in the fermenter. This will give you an idea of loss to grain absorption, evaporation and trub as well as your mash efficiency.

 

[bigmacthepunker]

How about a SMaSH (single malt and single hop).

Maybe Marris Otter and Amarillo?

Marris Otter and Citra is also good, if you wanted to try another hop. My first Biab was a smash to keep thing simple.

 

[mosto]

So I've had a think/play with some ingredients in BeerSmith, and this is what I came up with.

Total volume: 12 litres (into fermenter)

• 2.5kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
• 250g Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L
• 45g Amarillo.

Boil time will be 60 minutes. Hop additions at 30 mins in and 50 mins in. Then I think I'll dry hop the final 15g, 5 days into the fermentation.

I'll get a new package of US-05 (thanks for letting me know about older yeast), or should I try something new?

I'll aim for a mash temp of 67, so I'll probably heat it up to about 70 before I pour the grain in. Mash time is one hour. I'll mash out at 76-78C.

As for chilling, I just have to let it cool at the moment. I've got a copper immersion chiller coming one day, but it's not here so I'll probably have to go without it.

So that's the plan. Happy to take suggestions/improvements!

As others have said, halve the crystal. also, I'd be inclined to chuck the 30 min addition in as a cube addition. Given you're no chilling, a 30 min addition will actually be more like a 40-45 min addition given the longer time exposed to extraction temps and you'll lose some of the flavour/aroma IMO.

 

[hapitan]

So to report back, I mixed *something* up over the weekend. I guess we'll see how it turns out.

I ended up with about 2kg of Maris Otter and 150g of Crystal.

I started about 3pm, mashing the grains in about 12L of water. I left it for about 70mins at 65C. I then mashed out for about 10 minutes at 72C.

I then squeezed as much as I could from the grains and poured some more fresh hot (about 2L at 70C) water over the grain and poured that into the pot.

Then I boiled it for an hour or so, adding 10g of Amarillo at 30m. Then I added 5g at 45m. I think I added some more (about 8g) as it was cooling/after flame out.

After the boil, the OG was really high - about 1.08. So I watered it down in the fermenter before I pitched the yeast. I got it down to 1.055. Still a little high perhaps, but I had to go to bed. It was quite a long day (the cooling took the most time). I reckon I ended up with about 12-13L.

I wished I'd written it all down a little more. I'll have to get better at that. It was the first time so I knew it wouldn't go to plan (it was more of a Macbeth's witches session).

Tasting it, it's quite nice. Sugary as all hell at the moment, but the yeast will fix that. The hop balance is perfect ATM.

I might add 8g more a few days before I cold crash/bottle. That should increase the lovely Amarillo aroma?

The colour isn't all that flash though. Not sure how to improve that. Maybe that too will settle down in time once everything ferments out and settles into the trub.

If you have any feedback, love to hear it. Thanks for you help. Can't wait until the next brew!