First Biab Looking For Recipe Advice

[StewTurner]

Good evening comrades,

I was planning my first Biab for tomorrow (Sunday 17 October). I was planning the following recipe:

3kg Maris Otter

Fuggles to 30 IBU

Nottingham yeast

Aiming for 1045 to 1050 OG.

But I just found out that that my Notto is in the recall batch. What should I do? I have thought of three options:

1: go ahead as planned. The Notto complaint doesn't seem too major . I will probably be fine anyway.

2: Same grain, but US05 and Pride of Ringwood for a fake Aussie lager

3: take back the Notto and try again another day.

Recipe critiques also welcome. Particularly regarding the hop schedule.

I would appreciate advice.

Cheers,

Stew

 

[hoohaaman]

hop schedule?

30 Ibu @ 60 min?
15ibu @ 60 min?
15ibu @ 30 min?

3kg for OG 1.045-1.050 must be some system.3kg @ 77% on my system yields 1.024 OG

Post the recipe,your figures don't jell

 

[Kieren]

3kg for OG 1.045-1.050 must be some system.3kg @ 77% on my system yields 1.024 OG

Post the recipe,your figures don't jell

12L batch size?

 

[StewTurner]

Hi,

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I am planning to follow NickJD's 'Move to AG for thirty bucks' thread and brew a half batch. He used 2 kilos of malt for 9 liters. I am assuming that my efficiency will be low for my first batch, so I bumped up the grain bill. My hope is 9-10 liters at 1045-1050. If I get a bit more, I will not be disappointed, but I am going in with low expectations until I get my sparging regime etc. figured out.

Regarding the original post, I am thinking that I will use the Nottingham anyway. Reports in the thread on the issue suggest that I have a good chance of success.

Cheers,

Stew

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Use notts - it is near on foolproof. I had one probably within the recall batch (judging by date bought and from where), and it still worked.

Most Notts in a qld winter still fermented out within 6 days.

If you don't want an aussie lager, try something like amarillo instead.

Goomba

 

[Nick JD]

Hi,

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I am planning to follow NickJD's 'Move to AG for thirty bucks' thread and brew a half batch. He used 2 kilos of malt for 9 liters. I am assuming that my efficiency will be low for my first batch, so I bumped up the grain bill. My hope is 9-10 liters at 1045-1050. If I get a bit more, I will not be disappointed, but I am going in with low expectations until I get my sparging regime etc. figured out.

Regarding the original post, I am thinking that I will use the Nottingham anyway. Reports in the thread on the issue suggest that I have a good chance of success.

Cheers,

Stew

3kg of grain will give you 9-10L of 1.065 without sparging, just squeezing - betcha.

 

[StewTurner]

3kg of grain will give you 9-10L of 1.065 without sparging, just squeezing - betcha.

Nick, let me just add my thanks to those who have already thanked you for your BIAB 'how to' threads. I was amazed how easy it was. Marginally more difficult than extract + steeped grain, but only in scale. The concepts are all pretty straightforward.

I wound up with 12 liters at 1.048, which I was stoked with for my first effort.

I was a bit worried about heat loss, so I did a BIAB in an esky, and lost less than 2 degrees over an hour (in at 65, out at 63). One extra vessel to wash up, but worth it if it means I don't have to worry too much about heat loss.

I did a dunk sparge in my kettle (6 liters at 76 degrees for five minutes), which seemed worth it. I got about 5 or 6 liters of wort at 1.020 from the sparge (plus about 6.5 liters of 1.087 out of the tun).

My biggest efficiency loss came when I was transferring the wort from the kettle to the fermenter. I think I gave away about 2 liters of wort becaust I stirred up the trub a bit while pouring the wort from the kettle into the fermenter. I might have been a bit too conservetive, but I wanted to avoid getting too much trub into the fermenter.

I think I need a siphon (getting a tap put in a Big W pot seems like overkill). If I can siphon next time, I reckon I would get another 1 to 1.5 liters of wort, while still leaving the trub behind.

I also wound up diluting the wort a little in the fermenter. It was initially 10 liters at about 1.054, so I was happy enough to add a bit of water to get to 12 liters of 1.048. I want to be able to remember how this beer tastes.

I used my Nottingham (from the bad batch). Hopefully I will be greeted by a healthy bulbbling when I get home tonight.

So, once I get my precess a bit better, I am hopeful that I will be able to get about 13 to 14 liters of 1.045-1.050 wort into the fermenter from 3 kilos of grain. That's a good balance between experimentation, economy and worthwhile scale for mine. I am already plannign my next one. I think I will do an AG Dr Smurto's Golden Ale to compare to my extract version (which I love).

Cheers,

Stew

 

[Nick JD]

Nice one, Stew.

Here's something you can do to get almost every last drop of that wort into the fermenter (or saved for yeast farming):

Get a colander or seive or something that can hold a square of voile above a bowl. Set it up when your fermenter has the top on and the yeast is thrilled.

Pour your break crud into the voile and leave it for about 30 minutes. By this time nearly all the break is left at the top and the bowl contains about 1-2L of clear wort sitting on top of about 20ml of very fine break that went through the voile.

I do one of three things here - I usually pour it into a PET bottle, label it and bang it in the freezer - where it can be thawed and chucked into the same recipe next time near the end of the boil, or boiled and cooled and used to make a starter. Or sometimes I bring it up to the boil, let it cool and pour it into the fermenter.

The trub-scavenged wort from my last batch is now brewing away (1.5L batch! ) with a Coopers longneck's yeast dumped in it in a 2L Coke PET with gladwrap on the lid. When it's finished fermenting I simply add 3 teaspoons of sugar and screw the lid on. 2 weeks later I drink the delicious 1.4L of Coopers yeast ale, let the bottle's sediment come up to 20C and pitch the yeast straight into a 15L batch of Coopers Ale. Too easy.

Why not enjoy the beer your starters make for you? You still get healthy yeast.

 

[StewTurner]

Nick, that is awesome. I will do it next time. Thanks, Stew