First Biab

[Endo]

Other then the ingredients which will hopefully be in the post soon, I'm pretty much ready for my first BIAB brew this Saturday

Just wanted to get some feedback on my thinking to make sure I dont bugger anything up, and to make sure I have the basics down pat.

I've got a 50L stockpot (http://coldale.net/snobblog/2011/05/11/biab-kettle-build/)

And am aiming at doing something similar to an imperial IPA, although I know I'm probably not going to get up there ALC wise... but what the hell.. was always a fan of diving in the deepend.... If it ends up tasting crap.. so be it, just dont want to stuff up a process and bin $100 worth of ingredients

This is the brewsheet out of beermate:
Hop Slut (Imperial IPA)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.068 (P): 16.6
Final Gravity (FG): 1.017 (P): 4.3
Alcohol (ABV): 6.68 %
Colour (SRM): 61.7 (EBC): 121.5
Bitterness (IBU): 157.7 (Average)

100% Crystal 80

2 g/L Columbus (14.2% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Centennial (9.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Columbus (14.2% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Centennial (9.7% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Columbus (14.2% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Centennial (9.7% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Columbus (14.2% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
1.7 g/L Centennial (9.7% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) Flameout
1.7 g/L Columbus (14.2% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma)Flameout
2 g/L Centennial (9.7% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop)
2 g/L Columbus (14.2% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop)


Single step Infusion at 70C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 22C with Wyeast 1056 - All American Ale


Recipe Generated with BrewMate


So if I got the process down right.....

Heat water to Strike temp, so if im mashing at 70c for fuller body I want it about 72-73c before dropping in my 7.8kg of Grain.
Then give it a good mix, make sure the temp is right then cover it with my emergency blanket and sleeping back and let sit for 60 minutes
After 60, remove the blankets, raise the bag and try and squeeze the crap out of it to get all the goodness out
Raise the liquid to boiling, and then start doing the hop additions
After the 60 minutes, transfer wort in to chiller cube
Leave Chiller cube over night
Bung wort and yeast in to fementer
And then its all the same as kits



Is 70c going to be my best bet for a full bodied IPA?
Being that im using 7.8kg of grain, am I better off mashing for 90minutes rather then 60?
Am I correct in assuming the Dry Hops go in the fermenter?
Could I put the Flame out hop additions in to the no chill cube to "dry hop" over night?

The real question I have is the amount of water I should be using. I'm aiming for 23litres, although I will probably lose a couple of litres from where the tap is located, but not too concerned if I only end up with 20litres... Should I be using 30litres or 35 as the starting amount?

Thanks for you all your help in advance

 

[Bribie G]

So if I got the process down right.....

Heat water to Strike temp, so if im mashing at 70c for fuller body I want it about 72-73c before dropping in my 7.8kg of Grain.
Then give it a good mix, make sure the temp is right then cover it with my emergency blanket and sleeping back and let sit for 60 minutes
After 60, remove the blankets, raise the bag and try and squeeze the crap out of it to get all the goodness out
Raise the liquid to boiling, and then start doing the hop additions
After the 60 minutes, transfer wort in to chiller cube
Leave Chiller cube over night
Bung wort and yeast in to fementer
And then its all the same as kits


Yes, 3 degrees above mash temp would be good this time of year. There is actually a calculator in Brewmate if you want to sit a thermometer in your grain for a while and adjust for grain temp as well.

IMHO 70 is too high. It is right up in Alpha Amylase territory but won't give the Beta Amylase much of a go and I'd bet (off top of my head) you'd only end up with a 5% beer maybe. Brewmate doesn't YET compensate for mash temp vs alcohol and that figure you got would probably be based on a 65 mash .
I would go 67 and still get more body than Megan Gale.

Add a floccing tablet / paste / powder 10 mins before end of boil
At end of boil, cover pot tightly and wait 20 mins for shyte to settle out.

Then cube.
If it's cold at night, put cube out with the cat and it should be good by the morning. Hereabouts it's still 32 next morning so I finish it in the fridge before pitching.
Don't worry about the cold break (cloudy stuff like jellyfish that develops as wort cools) - it's harmless.

Dont forget to aerate well with a slotted spoon etc. and if using a dry yeast, rehydrate first.

Happy brewing

Edit: with a six kilo grain bill I normally go around 34L strike water. With your bigger bill I would use at least 35L to allow for loss to water retained by the spent grain, boil off and trub loss and aim to get 23L into the cube with around 2L lost to trub. If I were you I'd make up a "reverse" dipstick first to check levels in the pot, with some dowelling and marker pen whatever - a bit of effort initially but will save you heaps of headaches long term. Once you have a few brews under your belt you can instinctively see whether to add a kettle of boiling water near the end.

 

[argon]

100% Crystal 80

Firstly... 100% Crystal 80 = NO WAY!!!

You really need to get some base malt in there.
Try 90% Ale Malt and 10% Crystal 80

Once you do that... just listen to BribieG... he'll lead you with the light of the midnight train.

 

[Bribie G]

Crikey, missed that crystal
No, I'd go 90% base malt such as JW Ale, BB Ale and 10% crystal at the most.

 

[Endo]

Thanks for the tips

Whats the reasoning behind not using all Crystal?

I could have sworn that one of the brewers at Morning Peninsula say they used all crystal in the Imperial IPA... Maybe I mishead

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

Thanks for the tips

Whats the reasoning behind not using all Crystal?

I could have sworn that one of the brewers at Morning Peninsula say they used all crystal in the Imperial IPA... Maybe I mishead

Good question. My first thought was that crystal malt doesn't contain fermentable sugars. But then I did a bit of googling and found a dude in the US that did the experiment and found that crystal malt is fermentable to varying degrees. here is a link to the site. Go to page 11 for the results.

My experience with high % of crystal is it leaves a funny almost sultana/dried fruit like flavour. To me this would be not so desirable in an IPA.

Interesting concept though. If you make it I'd like to hear about the results.

 

[argon]

In basic terms crystal malts and/or specialty malts are there to add flavour in a beer, to support the "base" flavours contributed by base malts.

However, you're correct... crystal malts may be used as 100% of the gain bill. In making crystal malt, the grain has undergone a process of adding heat and water that has converted the starches into sugars. However the process leads to high proportions of complex sugars that don't ferment, thus contributing the to some of the flavours in the beer. Using it as 100% of the bill, in my opinion, would create a beer that would be less than pleasing to the palate. The beer would not attenuate very well and you would be left with an overly sweet, dextrinous and heavy (to the palate) beer.

edit: have a read here for a better explanation of Malt, it's varying types and uses

 

[amarks5]

Crikey, missed that crystal
No, I'd go 90% base malt such as JW Ale, BB Ale and 10% crystal at the most.

What about the:

Colour (SRM): 61.7 (EBC): 121.5
Bitterness (IBU): 157.7 (Average)

I'm only a beginner, but they seem out of the ballpark - don't they?

Tony

 

[bnaujok]

The real question I have is the amount of water I should be using. I'm aiming for 23litres, although I will probably lose a couple of litres from where the tap is located, but not too concerned if I only end up with 20litres... Should I be using 30litres or 35 as the starting amount?

Thanks for you all your help in advance

In the "Brew Day" section of BrewMate, this is called "Losses to Trub and Chiller", enter about 4L here to start with. Make sure you have set it up to use BIAB settings and in the "Mash" section, it'll tell you the amount of initial water you need for the mash and at what temperature to hit your mash temp.

 

[argon]

well... you can have any colour you want... but that will be a direct relationship of what malt you use. Using 100% Crystal 80 to 1.068 will indeed get you that colour.

As a quick calc 90%BB and 10% Crystal 80 will get you 13.6SRM or 26.8 EBC.. which is a nice amber colour

 

[Florian]

Wayyy to bitter... Tone down your a hops a bit or it will be unpalatable. Style guidelines say 60 to 120 IBU, so you're way out there, especially for your OG of 1.068.

 

[Endo]

The grain has already been ordered and milled hopefully so will push forward as an experiment. If it fails.. eh.... I dont mind overly sweet beers.. And if its a total failure, will try it again with a different mix and listen to people who know better

So reading a bit... If I push for a 90minute mash (or maybe longer to let the temps drop) and start at 70c to get the most Alpha's out, then let it drop to ~65ish for the Beta's I should, in theory, maximise the amount of sugars in the Hot Liqour?

Is there anything wrong with longer mash times? Can damage be done if It's left for 2 hours as an example, as long as I keep it in the 60-70c range?

As for it being too bitter... Havent found a beer yet that's been too bitter... Love my hops

Thanks again for all the advise, I'm not ignoring it. I just like to push ahead with my original idea and see what comes of it

 

[Steve@PMF82]

Well seeing as you are now going to have a whole brew of only crystal malt, you are not going to be mashing anything, as its already been done for you inside the grain.

So your temp is not that important, anywhere around 65 - 70 should be fine to steep the sugars from the grain.

Edit - yeah you are going to need all that bitterness i reckon, to attempt to have any balance

 

[Steve@PMF82]

You could just order some milled base malt as well, then mix it up yourself...but in saying that i would still be interested in the taste of an all crystal beer.

 

[argon]

The grain has already been ordered and milled hopefully so will push forward as an experiment. If it fails.. eh.... I dont mind overly sweet beers.. And if its a total failure, will try it again with a different mix and listen to people who know better

So reading a bit... If I push for a 90minute mash (or maybe longer to let the temps drop) and start at 70c to get the most Alpha's out, then let it drop to ~65ish for the Beta's I should, in theory, maximise the amount of sugars in the Hot Liqour?

Is there anything wrong with longer mash times? Can damage be done if It's left for 2 hours as an example, as long as I keep it in the 60-70c range?

As for it being too bitter... Havent found a beer yet that's been too bitter... Love my hops

Thanks again for all the advise, I'm not ignoring it. I just like to push ahead with my original idea and see what comes of it

yeah do whatever you want

60min/90min/10000min/5min won't make a lick of difference if you don't have any base grain... all your starches have been converted already, if you continue using 100% crystal... so thinking about your enzyme activity is a waste of time. FWIW your theory is out anyway.

Buy some base grain... put 90% of the crystal to the side and use it next time and replace it with the base grain.

You'll go through all this effort for shitty beer... my guess is that it will be pretty close to being undrinkable... not overly sweet... un-drink-a-ble

 

[Endo]

Add a floccing tablet / paste / powder 10 mins before end of boil

Forgot to ask, what does this do?

Is this just someting like Whirlfloc?

 

[argon]

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

Come on Argon where is your spirit of experimentation. I've gotta see this beer. Pics or it didn't happen.

 

[yum beer]

Endo save yourself a wasted brew day and wasted cash, get some base malts
I agree with most of the last posts you are asking for a 'beer' no ones gonna drink.

 

[yum beer]

Come on Argon where is your spirit of experimentation. I've gotta see this beer. Pics or it didn't happen.

Experimentation is fine, but at those proportions.