First Biab

[theredone]

ok so next week im going to have a crack at biab(allbeit only half batches for now). the last brew i made was a variation of one of my favs and i figure why not do pretty much the exact same recipe but an ag attempt, this would give me great insight into the differences, and also i already have the hops/spec grain for it, and i suppose i could even rack it streight onto the yeastcake if i want. so the question is, do i just sub the tins of pale for a pale malt? and if so whats a good base pale? also do i still add the TF pale or is it no longer needed in ag brewing?

orriginal recipe is
2 tins coops pale
.4kg ldme
.2 TF pale

20g centenial at 60
15g centenial at 20
15g centenial at 15
15g cascade at 5
15g cascade at flameout

so im assuming somthing like(for a half batch)
2-2.5kg pale malt
.1 tf pale
and then hop schedule adjusted in beersmith for half batch?


cheers for the help guys, realy appreciate it
red

 

[thanme]

Sounds good. When I did my first BIAB, I went the partial full batch route, and basically substituted 1kg of DME for 2kg of grain. So I guess you'd replace a tin with 2kg of grain, so for half a batch, I'd shoot for 2.4kg.
Also remember to cater for boil gravity and hop utilisation.

 

[Bribie G]

What is tf pale?

 

[theredone]

sorry, thomas fac(somthing or other) pale crystal

cheers nme. so do i still add the crystal yeah?

 

[Bribie G]

AHA Thomas Fawcett. No probs. Crystal malts of all shades are very much part of AG brewing, there are two schools of thought. As they don't need actual mashing as such some brewers put them in the mash near the end, personally I just chuck them in at the beginning with the rest of the grain bill.

 

[MarkBastard]

Thomas Fawcett pale ale malt I'm guessing?

As for the OP, just use 2.4kg of any Aussie pale ale malt, maybe Barret Burston Pale Ale.

 

[argon]

If i read this right, you're recipe ends up like this;

Batch Size: 11.50 L

Estimated OG: 1.048 SG
Estimated Color: 11.8 EBC
Estimated IBU: 40.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.25 kg Pale Malt (Barrett Burston) (3.9 EBC) Grain 95.74 %
0.10 kg Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett) (118.2Grain 4.26 %
10.00 gm Centennial [9.90 %] (60 min) Hops 21.4 IBU
7.50 gm Centennial [9.90 %] (20 min) Hops 9.7 IBU
7.50 gm Centennial [9.90 %] (15 min) Hops 8.0 IBU
7.50 gm Cascade [5.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
7.50 gm Cascade [5.00 %] (0 min) Hops -

looks good... IBU/SG .852. gives you about 4.6%ABV

 

[MarkBastard]

show pony!

 

[argon]

show pony!

hehe :lol:

 

[theredone]

thanks heaps for the advice guys. only pitched the yeast on what should be my last extract today. so will go grab some voile, wirflock and required grain in the next week id say. will post how brew day goes.
cheers again
red

EDIT: just opend my second last tallie
note to self: do not attempt a big lager when beer supplie is critically low, i feel as though i have committed a cardinal sin

 

[thanme]

Best of luck
Let us know how it pans out for you.

 

[theredone]

ok so brew day is tonight..... very excited. only problem is that craft brewer is shut went to lhbs and grabbed some pale, asked him what sort it was and he simply replied "traditional" that means nothing to me. i assume it will do the trick though. the grain was milled there but does not look as fine as other pics i have seen in biab instructionals, although he does assure me its fine for biabing. this is it, sorry bout how big it is i cant work out how to shrink it down so its compact untill clicked on.
EDIT: oh it looks dif once i actually post

ok next thing: a mate of mine(fellow brisbanite) advised me that its pretty crucial to have the right pH to obtain good efficiency, so i bought the little strips and lbhs guy sold me some citric acid and some calcium sulphate, so i can adjust it either way. i beleive what im looking for is 5.2 ish?
voille: check
wirlflock: check

now with all the reading i did yesterday on step mashing and decoctions(decoctions seem like a pain in the **** so i wont even bother yet) it seems that step mashing is realy style specific but a few brewers have said they do protien rests in all beers to improve head retention and what not. so this is what im aiming for. the only thing i dont understand is the mash out rest, in tables this seems to be a 15 min rest at 72ish-78ish. not too sure about this one so plz correct me if im wrong.

ok so heres more or less a step by step of what i plan to do, i dont blame those of u that cant be bothered reading all this but corrections/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Note: this is half batch

-check pH and adjust to 5.2
-mash in at 55 for 15 mins(5ltrs giving me 2l/kg)
-add roughly a ltr or 2 of boiling water over a couple of mins stiring like mad, bringing temp up to 66 for the remainder of the 90 min mash.
-again add roughly another ltr or 2 of boiling watter to bring 72 and rest for 15 this should bring me to the 4l/kg mark
-remove bag, squeeze drain all that ****, dunk in 3lts of 75 degree water in smaller pot to sparge then combine in main pot.
-take hydro reading
-continue with hop schedule, wirlflock towards the end
-chill, whirlpool the wort, leave for 15 then racking cane into a fermenter(lots of splashing), hopefully haveing high enough grav(depending on effeciency) to add watter to obtain desired gravity/MORE BEER!!!!

um i think thats it anyways.
cheers again for the help guys
red

EDIT: or there is also the possibility of heat applied step mashing? maybe this would be easier? and would have 4l/kg for entire mash. i dunno which is better/easier.

 

[argon]

snip...

-check pH and adjust to 5.2
-mash in at 55 for 15 mins(5ltrs giving me 2l/kg)
-add roughly a ltr or 2 of boiling water over a couple of mins stiring like mad, bringing temp up to 66 for the remainder of the 90 min mash.
-again add roughly another ltr or 2 of boiling watter to bring 72 and rest for 15 this should bring me to the 4l/kg mark
-remove bag, squeeze drain all that ****, dunk in 3lts of 75 degree water in smaller pot to sparge then combine in main pot.
-take hydro reading
-continue with hop schedule, wirlflock towards the end
-chill, whirlpool the wort, leave for 15 then racking cane into a fermenter(lots of splashing), hopefully haveing high enough grav(depending on effeciency) to add watter to obtain desired gravity/MORE BEER!!!!

um i think thats it anyways.
cheers again for the help guys
red

EDIT: or there is also the possibility of heat applied step mashing? maybe this would be easier? and would have 4l/kg for entire mash. i dunno which is better/easier.

Looks pretty good process... if you don't mind couple of tips. Some comments on the bold text in the quote;

1. Don't worry what you're strike water ph is... it's important what you mash ph is. Ie when all your grain is in the mash measure it for correct ph of 5.2-5.4

2. Get your mash out temp to 76 - 78C what you're doing is stopping enzymatic activity and making the mash more fluid so the sugaz let go of the grain easier. This is best that range. This will give you a touch more efficiency too. 10mins is enough time for this... 15 is fine but 10 mins will do the same job.

3. Again you want the water to be hotter than your grain temp... try and get the water to about 80C before dunking it in. 3L is ok... but if you could do more that would be better. Stir it as well... you want to loosen all the sugaz off the grains. You want it all to be nice and fluid.

Another couple of tips. If direct heating the pot sit the full grain bag on top of wire cake stand. This will help you to avoid scorching the bag. You can also use the same stand to sit the grain and bag on after you're dunk sparge. Any residual liquor trapped in the grist will eventually drip out. You can then add this to the boil.

When adding your grain to the strike water... give it a good stir to get rid of dough balls. Check temp. Adjust as necessary. Cover and Lag/insulate the pot. Then leave it alone... keep checking temp, stirring etc. Just leave it.

Good luck.

 

[manticle]

I'm not sure I'd worry about adjusting mash pH at all on my first AG brew. You can make good beer without it and it might just complicate your brewday.

If you've already put your mind to it you might as well have a go but don't devote too much stuffing around to it. If you're not getting the results you want reasonably easily and quickly, I'd let it go. I add salts for yeasst health and flavour but still don't really know what I'm doing with pH. Been AG brewing for close to 2 years and knocked out many a brew in that time. I wouldn't have dreamed of worrying about it on my first.

Your water maybe horrible for brewing so maybe you need to be more concerned than I but generally water chem is something used to tweak brews (in countries with decent water). You can make good beers without it.

Calcium is a good addition, calcium sulphate will help push hops and calcium chloride will help push malt. I use a bit of each in my brews but try and not overdo it (I possibly underdo it). I haven't yet started to work out the ratios according to my water profile but find my water treated beers have a brighter, more layered hop flavour. Calcium is useful for lowering pH but also for yeast health.

Also decoctions and step mashing - while not nearly as complicated as they sound once you try them, are not something I would worry about for my first. Yes I do them on some brews but single infusion will make you beer, it can make you AG beer and it can make you great AG beer.

Keep it as simple as possible for your first. Things can go wrong/not according to plan and it's good to relax and realise that things going wrong means a challenge to fix it and it doesn't mean the beer will be bad. The less variables you have, the less you will stress and the more you will enjoy it.

Best of luck.

 

[theredone]

argon, cheers mate top tips, realy appreciate it

manticle, pretty much spot on as always, im a big "keep it simple stupid" kinda guy so thats the way ive been thinking this past week or so, but im pretty confidant in a 2 step mash, decided to go with the direct heat to step it up, so i dont think it will be too tough. ill forget about messing with the ph for this one though, as u said its just more **** to mess around with. thanks heaps for the advice

ok scotch in hand(ran out of beer) time to give it a crack i think

red

 

[theredone]

so far so good, protein rest done. i aimed for a ration of 3l/kg in beersmith but with how much the grain soaked up when i lifted bag to ramp heat up it looked like very little. so i added another ltr or 2 of hot water, took temp up to 66 stiring the ******* outa it then lid on towel and sleeping bag, will not touch it for the duration of the 75 mins remaining after protein rest. only thing i wasnt so sure about was when ramping temp up whether to take temp from in amounst the grain or the outside water. common sense told me grain temp so thats what i went with

 

[theredone]

crikey!!!
i think ive done it!!!!
bout to start hop boil, og was 1.046 at 70 degrees, (i think this is what im aiming for), got no idea how to work out efficiency(though i think my burnt ****** hands should indicate it highly), cant work it out in beersmith or how to adjust for temp, but mash pot had roughly 8.5-9ltrs water(didnt realise im sposed to measure this ****), roughly 3ltrs sparge water, 2.6kg grain combined together at end of mash/sparge/burnt hands = 10ltr(ish) 1.046 @70degrees
anyways, made a bit of mess, bit of pain, but not realy all that hard. guess the final test will be how low yeast brings it down and what it taistes like. if its any better than the extract version its gunna be pretty good

cheers again guys
red

EDIT: oh and the colour is quite pale, epsecially against the extract wort, kinda like the colour of steeped carapils wort. dunno if this is good or bad but the colour on the extract was alot darker than i wanted for an APA

 

[felten]

1046 @ 70c is 1067

 

[theredone]

cheers mate. thats what i was hoping for so i could add a couple of ltrs to bring it down to 1.050, so yeah, think ive done what im sposed to
re: colour, has darkened alot duing boil and hop additions, though still not as dark as the extract version
half pack of us-05 rehydrating, wart cooling on concrete, will top water up to get desired 1.050 in the morn, pitch and ferment at 18degrees, will only be 5 days behind extract version so should make for a good test

 

[Bribie G]

Mate just got in from work (troglodyte shift) and read your posts. Happy fermenting and look forward to hearing the report on the drinkables :icon_drunk: