Biab Liquid Levels

[Nick JD]

+1 on the refractometer "cooling" being the issue.

Better to take a boiling sample with the pipette, squirt it onto a plate/pot/pan (aluminium is best), wait a minute - then transfer it to the screen.

EDIT: does mean you have a strong beer now though!

 

[m3taL]

Done my First BIAB yesterday....

This Thread is handy Cheers

 

[wbosher]

Done my First BIAB yesterday....

This Thread is handy Cheers

This one ain't bad either - http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...ic=38674&hl=

 

[Crusty]

You don't need to sparge with BIAB. If your mashing at 66 degrees, you really should do a 90 minute mash, not 70. If mashing at a higher temp, you can reduce the time a little.

Once you've finished the mash, raise the temp to 78 degrees and keep it there for 10 minutes, stirring the grains for this time. Raise the bag and squeeze the hell out of it until you get bugger all liquid coming out.

Boil...

Forget the sparge as wbosher says, it's not required.
I hit low to mid 80% efficiency into the fermenter with no sparge.

From what I've read on this site, the whole tannins thing is a myth. Many people have squeezed the bag with no problem.

I agree here too.
You won't get tannins from squeezing the bag. I squeeze the beejesus out of the bag & never experience any off flavours whatsoever. It simply adds to trub loss, nothing else. Tannins are more of a concern for fly spargers. Full volume mashing with a max temp of 78deg for mashout won't produce tannins, no matter how hard you squeeze the bag.

 

[m3taL]

So i'm pitching my yeast into my first BIAB

my post boil gravity is 1058....... could i bring it down by adding some water to make around a 1045??

if so is there a calculator on how much or is it just a matter of adding and testing

 

[wbosher]

So i'm pitching my yeast into my first BIAB

my post boil gravity is 1058....... could i bring it down by adding some water to make around a 1045??

if so is there a calculator on how much or is it just a matter of adding and testing

What does the recipe say? OG of 1.058 or 1.045?

 

[m3taL]

What does the recipe say? OG of 1.058 or 1.045?

1044

according to brewsmith i would end up with 18L of wort at 1052 at the efficeny of 70% i left it at that as i knew 70% was probably aiming too high

pre boil was 1044 with around 20L

i ended up with 1L of trub loss and put 15L into the cube @ 1058

so with that being similar to getting a freshwort kit from GG i'v just added 3 Litres to bring it to 18L @ 1045

 

[JDW81]

So i'm pitching my yeast into my first BIAB

my post boil gravity is 1058....... could i bring it down by adding some water to make around a 1045??

if so is there a calculator on how much or is it just a matter of adding and testing

If it were me I wouldn't bother diluting, I'd ferment it as it is and just have it a bit stronger than intended. Dilution can change the profile/flavour of the beer somewhat (depending on style) and IMHO is best avoided if possible. I've overshot the mark on a few occasions in the past while sorting the numbers on my gear and the beer always turns out great. It takes (in my experience at least) about 10 brews to get the process down pat and consistency in your numbers (pre boil gravity, post boil gravity etc). Part of it is experience, the other part is (in Thirsty Boy's words) is the brewing Furies screwing with you until have a few more brews under you belt.

My first AG brew was a massive learning curve, I missed all my targets and still ended up making one of the best beers I've made.

You'll learn something new with every batch, and get closer to all your targets with every batch.

My 2c.

Welcome aboard the AG train.

JD.

 

[wbosher]

If it were me I wouldn't bother diluting, I'd ferment it as it is and just have it a bit stronger than intended. Dilution can change the profile/flavour of the beer somewhat (depending on style) and IMHO is best avoided if possible. I've overshot the mark on a few occasions in the past while sorting the numbers on my gear and the beer always turns out great. It takes (in my experience at least) about 10 brews to get the process down pat and consistency in your numbers (pre boil gravity, post boil gravity etc). Part of it is experience, the other part is (in Thirsty Boy's words) is the brewing Furies screwing with you until have a few more brews under you belt.

My first AG brew was a massive learning curve, I missed all my targets and still ended up making one of the best beers I've made.

You'll learn something new with every batch, and get closer to all your targets with every batch.

My 2c.

Welcome aboard the AG train.

JD.

What he said, beat me to it.

 

[m3taL]

Heh.... well we will see how it go's being halfway through the process when posting i just went for it.....

iv recorded as much as i can and i'm now going to play with beersmith (not brewsmith) to try get my Equipment profile a bit more accurate and see how it all works out on the next brew

Planning on 1 brew a month at the moment i dont drink a great deal these days but i can see that changing when i make nice beer

 

[wbosher]

Heh.... well we will see how it go's being halfway through the process when posting i just went for it.....

iv recorded as much as i can and i'm now going to play with beersmith (not brewsmith) to try get my Equipment profile a bit more accurate and see how it all works out on the next brew

Planning on 1 brew a month at the moment i dont drink a great deal these days but i can see that changing when i make nice beer

I've used Beersmith for my last three BIAB brews, and the volumes have been bang on to within 500ml. Take the estimated post boil gravity with a grain of salt though, that seems to be a little hit and miss. Pre boil gravity and FG however are pretty damn close, which confuses me a little.

Anyway, have fun.

 

[JDW81]

so with that being similar to getting a freshwort kit from GG i'v just added 3 Litres to bring it to 18L @ 1045

Kind of, but not entirely.

Fresh wort kits are generally designed to have extra ingredients added (spec grains, hops and other adjuncts). They are an all grain base, to which you build upon to create a particular style (I do realise you can add water and pitch directly but the beer tends to be nothing special, drinkable, but nothing flash).

Again, this is only my opinion.

Cheers,

JD

 

[Amber Fluid]

So i'm pitching my yeast into my first BIAB

my post boil gravity is 1058....... could i bring it down by adding some water to make around a 1045??

if so is there a calculator on how much or is it just a matter of adding and testing

Must be Ground Hog Day!! :blink:

 

[m3taL]

I'v been playing with Beersmith2 and with putting in some of the numbers it requires, the starting water went from 23.5 upto 27.2

this was with increasing the boil off upto around 15% which seemed to fit what happened yesterday, and the Trub Loss to 2Lt (which includes the dead space, however if i put a small copper attachment onto my outlet facing down to the bottom i might pickup a bit more)

I think along with doing a bit more of a Squeeze of my grain bag and the additional water i might hit the target of 18L which is what i want to hit to fill a single cube.

My pot being 35L i'm hoping with the grain bill of 4.7kg mashed into 27L of water it wont overflow.

I think i will do the exact same brew next time and try get the Final volume a bit closer, dont really want to end up with 20 L of wort and waste 2 or 15 again and have the issues of not filling my cube all the way and then ending up with a smaller brew.


I can see how using software like Beersmith is a good investment, you can make sure your profiles are constantly right and then work on increasing efficency.

Love BIAB !!

 

[breakbeer]

I wouldn't stress about getting 20L into your fermenter, you'll lose a little when taking hydro' samples. Plus, you can keg 19L & only have 3 longnecks to fill to take to parties

 

[stux]

FWIW, i've stopped squeezing my bag (snicker) and I find I'm getting clearer tastier beer.

I now just hang the bag and let it drip dry.

 

[m3taL]

I wouldn't stress about getting 20L into your fermenter, you'll lose a little when taking hydro' samples. Plus, you can keg 19L & only have 3 longnecks to fill to take to parties

I still bottle, no kegging gear yet, chose setting up for brewing AG before setting up a Keg system.


the main idea of trying to hit the 18L mark is cos iv got an 18L Cube for No-Chilling

 

[geneabovill]

You may find that the cube holds a touch more when filled with hot wort - likely 19-20L. Fill it with hot water first and measure - they expand a bit when hot.