I ruined myself!!

[iamacup]

I brewed a fresh wort kit (Tumut River Full Grunt) having only done kit and partial extract brews before.

I can never go back, there is only forwards from here.

On to more FW kits and BIAB.

Recommendations for an easy (first brew) BIAB IPA recipe??

 

[Brewman_]

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is classic.

 

[dkril]

Good on you!

When I get home I will have a home brew to honour your milestone.

 

[Hangover68]

SMASH pale ale, pale/ale malt, cascade hops and US05 yeast - not an IPA but a good first BIAB test.

 

[Narapoia]

I don't like IPA myself so can't help with recipes - but happy to chat general BIAB approaches and recommendations if you need them. I'm not nearly as expert as some of the peeps on here but the BIAB journey is relatively fresh in my mind and there are a few things I wish I had know when I started that took time, experimentation and wasted $ to learn.

 

[JaimeT]

Recommendations for an easy (first brew) BIAB IPA recipe??

Not an IPA, and unsure of your equipment, but A Guide to Mini-BIAB - BIABrewer.info for a mini BIAB or - BIABrewer.info for the full recipe if you have the gear. Was my first BIAB (mini) and brewing it again this weekend. Be careful on bottle size... it packs a punch!

 

[iamacup]

I don't like IPA myself so can't help with recipes - but happy to chat general BIAB approaches and recommendations if you need them. I'm not nearly as expert as some of the peeps on here but the BIAB journey is relatively fresh in my mind and there are a few things I wish I had know when I started that took time, experimentation and wasted $ to learn.

I'd be very keen to tap into the wisdom from your journey. I popped into the local brew shop today and chatted about the equipment I have and got another cube of fresh wort. In short, they assured me I have everything I need to be doing double batches in my big pot, and I now have a couple of cubes to hot cube into, so I can boil one day and then brew another. This fits my time windows really well. I think I'll be doing my first BIAB once the FWK is bottled.
So, what did you wish you knew before starting on brew day?
Also, happy for you to PM me for a chat, and swap numbers, if you'd rather chat off the board.

 

[Brewman_]

One thing few people do and can make a difference to how the day goes and the outcome of the beer.

Do a water plan. Know where and when your water is coming from and where it is all going to.

Cheers

Steve

 

[JaimeT]

I'd be very keen to tap into the wisdom from your journey. I popped into the local brew shop today and chatted about the equipment I have and got another cube of fresh wort. In short, they assured me I have everything I need to be doing double batches in my big pot, and I now have a couple of cubes to hot cube into, so I can boil one day and then brew another. This fits my time windows really well. I think I'll be doing my first BIAB once the FWK is bottled.
So, what did you wish you knew before starting on brew day?
Also, happy for you to PM me for a chat, and swap numbers, if you'd rather chat off the board.

Things I wish I knew:
Where to hold / how deep to hold my thermometer to get an accurate reading
The expected ABV of the finished product (my fault on not calculating beforehand)
The best way of adding a bit of extra water at the end to make sure it was sterile to dilute it a touch without bringing in nasties
Time to strike temp and time from strike to boil! It took my stove a very long time, so I bought a specific burner for this weekend's efforts.

 

[Coalminer]

Jamie
Your thermometer will be marked with the correct immersion depth, if not get a decent one
It will be either marked with a line at the correct depth for that thermometer or if marked "full immersion" it will be at the level of the expected temperature. i.e. if measuring say 40c the thermometer should be immersed to the 40C mark, if 60c then immerse to the 60c line, if 20c then immerse to 20c line.
Sorry need OG and FG to calculate ABV

 

[JaimeT]

Jamie
Your thermometer will be marked with the correct immersion depth, if not get a decent one
It will be either marked with a line at the correct depth for that thermometer or if marked "full immersion" it will be at the level of the expected temperature. i.e. if measuring say 40c the thermometer should be immersed to the 40C mark, if 60c then immerse to the 60c line, if 20c then immerse to 20c line.
Sorry need OG and FG to calculate ABV

Thanks for the reply, I have worked most of this out on the fly as I went, but I wish I had have known before I started that day as it made it more challenging than it should have been.
Thermometer was bought from a brew shop and says 76mm immersion, unfortunately it doesn't state from where in any of the packaging, so I have taken it to be from the very end of the bulb, i.e. extreme end of glass as the mercury bulb is quite long before it goes skinny
I had the expected or ballpark OG and FG and could have calculated the expected ABV, however I did not. Just saying I should have, it would have changed how I bottled it as 1 bottle ended up being about 5+ "standard" drinks and I realised they didn't keep well, so I was drinking a bottle in a night and wondering why I was getting rather hammered.

 

[Narapoia]

I'd be very keen to tap into the wisdom from your journey. I popped into the local brew shop today and chatted about the equipment I have and got another cube of fresh wort. In short, they assured me I have everything I need to be doing double batches in my big pot, and I now have a couple of cubes to hot cube into, so I can boil one day and then brew another. This fits my time windows really well. I think I'll be doing my first BIAB once the FWK is bottled.
So, what did you wish you knew before starting on brew day?
Also, happy for you to PM me for a chat, and swap numbers, if you'd rather chat off the board.

I've sent through a PM with the key things I have learned. Happy to chat more!