First attempt at AG BIAB - Palindrome Ale

[technobabble66]

One thing I noted from your OPost - no need to separately steep the crystal (or any specialty grain). Just mix it in the other malts in the mash. That makes it a little simpler.

Doesn't mashing spec grains degrade/convert some of their unfermentables that would otherwise pass through the fermentation to add flavour/body/etc to the beer? I thought separating & steeping the spec grain would preserve it's full impact. Correct or incorrect??

 

[stm]

Doesn't mashing spec grains degrade/convert some of their unfermentables that would otherwise pass through the fermentation to add flavour/body/etc to the beer? I thought separating & steeping the spec grain would preserve it's full impact. Correct or incorrect??

Yes, you are right that the spec grain would provide more impact by separately steeping, but it is only marginal. As a new BIABer, if you can simplify the process and concentrate on getting right the more important facets, you will get a greater reward.

Another way of getting the spec grains to stand out without having to worry about a separate vessel is to add the spec grains to the main mash at the end of the mash, so that they are steeping while you are ramping up the temp until you pull out the bag. Or you could just increase the amount of spec grain to get more impact. It is not expensive.

 

[technobabble66]

Thanks stm - It sounds like i'm over-engineering the mash then.

Just a quick update:
Dry hopped w 17g of Simcoe on the 7/4/13 (day 7, bubbling was down to 1 per 1-2 minutes)
Bottled this on the 14/4/13, with an FG = 1.009.
Cracked a sampler stubbie last night - & it tasted really good Not as hoppy in flavour as i'd hoped, but definitely has some hop flavour happening. Malt flavour is reasonable, again not as strong as i thought it might be. Bitterness seems moderate. Colour is kinda Amberish - maybe SRM = 16-18? ECB = 33? Overall, the balance seems really good. Very drinkable! :chug: I might've stumbled across a recipe for a v sessionable malty & hoppy beer.
I'm bringing several longnecks to a weekend away with some friends tomorrow, so i'll see what their verdict is...

BTW, I'd stress this is only my 3rd beer brewed (& 1st AG), so maybe i'm a little over-enthusiastic about the result



Just out of interest, what's the deal with the colour? ianh's spreadsheet suggested ECB=18 & i'm fairly sure it's darker than that (or maybe my glass was just really thick.
Also, what's with the IBU calc - the spreadsheet calc'd IBU=34, but with no chill switched on it =110. I'm not great with estimating IBUs just yet, but i'd guess it could be around 25-35 maybe. What's with the no chill estimation?

 

[technobabble66]

Quick update, for the record:

Finished the 3rd & 4th last bottles of this over the weekend. It's now 13 weeks in the bottle (let's say 3 months).

Originally (about 3 weeks in the bottle), it had some nice malt elements & hop flavour, just not smooth/balanced or something. Little too bitter & a slight harsh bite in the bitterness. The hops had some of the regular fruity flavours but with a odd undertone, like slightly musty or dank though not necessarily in a bad way. Rather hard to describe. The hops flavour also didn't seem to stand out properly considering the amounts that went into it.

3 months later - vaaaast improvement. The Malt elements are quite noticeable, but not too much, & they blend well through it. Similarly the hop flavours are now simply the fruity, citrusy, piney(?) flavour you'd expect from the Citra/Simcoe combo. They are also more prominent and blended through the taste experience compared to earlier. Overall kinda like a pale ale maybe, just with more malt depth & hop flavours. Actually pretty close to what i was intending - bonus!

I was really chuffed with this last night - it's my first AG batch. V pleased to see how the 3 month conditioning has balanced & smoothed it out

One minor detail - the bitterness is possibly a few points above where i'd ideally put it. Or maybe a better analysis is that there is still a slight harshness to the bitterness.
Maybe i need to look at a different bittering addition at 75 min - either a different hops or at least a lesser amount & make up the bitterness in other additions.
OTOH, i've read a few experienced brewers suggest the short boils are the ones producing harshness, whereas longer boils smooth out the harsher tones. (re: Harshness vs smooth bittering thread)

7g Citra @ 85min was the bittering addition (for 10L batch). Any experience with this being harsher than normal?

Any suggestions/feedback?

 

[Rocker1986]

You could try using the first wort hopping method. It is supposed to produce a more uniform and rounded bitterness rather than harsh bitterness. I use it on pretty well all my brews and they do turn out very nicely. I basically just take out some or all of the late additions and put them in the kettle after mashout when I begin to heat the wort up to boil, I leave the bittering additions the same.