Crusty
Well-Known Member
So I finally got around to doing my first BIAB today, an American Pale Ale, no chill, hopped with centennial & cascade & also my first time using BrewMate software.
I've got quite a few All Grain beers under my belt but this was my first BIAB. The day went extremely well & all finished in around 3.5hrs.
Note to self: Get off ya butt & install that pulley you bought a month ago. Holding the bag & letting it drain was a workout even for a single batch, so the pulley is a god send. I mashed in with 30lt water @69.2deg & added the bag & grain & it settled @65.7deg, aiming for 66deg, so pretty close. I lost around 2deg after a 90min sacc rest so will improve on that next time round. After the rest, I ramped up to 78deg mash out whilst continually pumping with the paint stirrer. Once @78deg, turned the urn off & hoisted the bag. I aimed for a 23lt final batch @1.049 but I failed to add my loss to trub/chiller in BrewMate & left it at 0 so I ended up only getting around 21lt into the cube but the gravity was 1.061. I worked out 70% efficiency for this beer & ended up with a tad over 80%, so BIAB efficiency is great & something I was worried about beforehand compared to my traditional 3V set up. I did squeeze the bag & pre-boil volume was 27.5lt instead of 26.6lt so I may not squeeze next time. I found the squeeze probably contributed to a bit more trub but I'm not too phased by it. If anyone is thinking of giving BIAB a go, I say go for it, It's a fantastic way to brew. I quite often hear comments that BIAB is just a stepping stone to bigger & better beers but in my experience, if you are happy with single batch 23lt beers from 3-6%, look no further than BIAB, it's fantastic.
ps. The cube sample tasted awesome. :icon_cheers:
I've got quite a few All Grain beers under my belt but this was my first BIAB. The day went extremely well & all finished in around 3.5hrs.
Note to self: Get off ya butt & install that pulley you bought a month ago. Holding the bag & letting it drain was a workout even for a single batch, so the pulley is a god send. I mashed in with 30lt water @69.2deg & added the bag & grain & it settled @65.7deg, aiming for 66deg, so pretty close. I lost around 2deg after a 90min sacc rest so will improve on that next time round. After the rest, I ramped up to 78deg mash out whilst continually pumping with the paint stirrer. Once @78deg, turned the urn off & hoisted the bag. I aimed for a 23lt final batch @1.049 but I failed to add my loss to trub/chiller in BrewMate & left it at 0 so I ended up only getting around 21lt into the cube but the gravity was 1.061. I worked out 70% efficiency for this beer & ended up with a tad over 80%, so BIAB efficiency is great & something I was worried about beforehand compared to my traditional 3V set up. I did squeeze the bag & pre-boil volume was 27.5lt instead of 26.6lt so I may not squeeze next time. I found the squeeze probably contributed to a bit more trub but I'm not too phased by it. If anyone is thinking of giving BIAB a go, I say go for it, It's a fantastic way to brew. I quite often hear comments that BIAB is just a stepping stone to bigger & better beers but in my experience, if you are happy with single batch 23lt beers from 3-6%, look no further than BIAB, it's fantastic.
ps. The cube sample tasted awesome. :icon_cheers: