Just Finished My First Ag Woo Hoo! (biab)

[jetman]

So I just finished a lager BIAB AG Brew, am I excited :beerbang: I've only done a few kits before this.

I filmed it all with some narration to help other newbies so they can learn from my mistakes. (ther were a few, i'm sure you'll all let me know) but all in all i'm stoked by the whole thing, the house smells malty and delicious, as did my samples.

Basically though:

Started with 16L Ended up with 13.2L (restricted by 19L pot)

3kg Pilsener
0.3kg Vienna
0.2kgCarahel

Mash in @ 68C for 1Hr 10min mash out at 66C

Boil 1Hr

12g POR (60min)
12g FUG (5min)

Crash chilled in ice

Pitched dry Saflager 34/70 @ 30C

let that cream a little in fermenter for 30min, gave it a vigorous stir then straight into a constant 12C fridgermenter

SG:1.044
Estimated FG:1.014

Estimated 4.1% (this was not a mistake i was looking to do a midstrength)

Can anyone tell me how to calculate IBU's (I know it's a bit late now but i could still use the reference)

And once again thanks to everyone that posts here especially Bribie g and nick jd, you don't know how much you guys have helped.

Cheers and i'll try to get the vid up soon, Jet

 

[bradsbrew]

Great news! There is no turning back now. A couple of things though IMO your mash temp is a little high for a lager and you say mash out was 66? What do you mean by this?

Brad

 

[Flash_DG]

Top work!
Can't wait to do my first now

 

[jetman]

Great news! There is no turning back now. A couple of things though IMO your mash temp is a little high for a lager and you say mash out was 66? What do you mean by this?

Brad

The mash out temp after 70Mins was 66C (the temperature when I hoisted my grain sack, not sure if that was important or not)

I couldn't find any specific info on strike temps where should i be looking?

 

[Mantis]

I dont think Brad is used to bags :lol:

Good stuff man, and get a bigger pot <_<

 

[BjornJ]

What was the alpha acid % on your hops?

if you give them someone here can put them in beersmith or prosmith and give you the IBU.

Good work on doing your first AG!!!
Great feeling, isn't it? Doing it from scratch, making beer from grains!

Bjorn

 

[woodmac66]

Sitting here watchin the box so I just chucked this into Beersmith for you to give you your IBU ..


Enjoy!

View attachment recipes3.txt

 

[jetman]

What was the alpha acid % on your hops?

if you give them someone here can put them in beersmith or prosmith and give you the IBU.

Good work on doing your first AG!!!
Great feeling, isn't it? Doing it from scratch, making beer from grains!

Bjorn

Sure is man, i've just been kicking back thinking about what else i can mash....Do you reckon WEET BIX could be mashed then maybe add some honey and banana to make a hearty breakfast beer?

POR: 9.5% Alpha
FUG:4.5% Alpha

 

[jetman]

Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SGEst Final Gravity: 1.011 SGMeasured Final Gravity: 1.005 SGEstimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.19 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %Bitterness: 14.2 IBUCalories: 90 cal/lEst Color: 3.7 SRMColor: Color Mash Profile​

Thanks heaps mate, so I'm guessing thats 14.2 IBU.

As i have no basis for comparison can anyone tell me what the IBU would be roughly for some commercial beers ?

I don't know how large the IBU scale is for example, is this a rating out of 100 meaning my brew will be sweet?

 

[woodmac66]

No worries edited it to a link to view it a bit better.
Bitterness depends on your taste but as far as the style goes an American Premium would be between 15-25 IBU.
I am pretty new to all this so someone feel free to correct me !

Based on that I would say you are on the low end but try andnow you know for next time !
17 grms of the POR would get you to 19.6 IBU.

Hope that helps.
Mate for the money Beersmith will teach you so much ..
I would get it .

 

[bradsbrew]

Hey Jetman, if you want an idea of IBU's go to the BJCP site and it tells the IBU for style of brew. It is not out of 100 it is a measure of bitterness. For a quaffer I generally aim for 20-30 IBU which is quite unoffensive, but dont get too hung up on bitterness, what you need to concentrate on is balance between malt, body and bitterness.
Also did you sparge your BIAB or was it a full mash brew?

Brad

 

[manticle]

The mash out temp after 70Mins was 66C (the temperature when I hoisted my grain sack, not sure if that was important or not)

I couldn't find any specific info on strike temps where should i be looking?

Mash out is when you raise the temperature to stop the enzymes converting and fix the mash profile. Usually the mash needs to be somewhere in the mid -high 70s to achieve this.

It's not considered by everyone to be necessary, especially in an HB situation. You can certainly make beer without it.

 

[jetman]

Hey Jetman, if you want an idea of IBU's go to the BJCP site and it tells the IBU for style of brew. It is not out of 100 it is a measure of bitterness. For a quaffer I generally aim for 20-30 IBU which is quite unoffensive, but dont get too hung up on bitterness, what you need to concentrate on is balance between malt, body and bitterness.
Also did you sparge your BIAB or was it a full mash brew?

Brad

I "sorta kinda" sparged it by hoisting the grain bag over the bucket then washed over it with 1.7L before squeezing it out and adding it back for the boil, i'm not sure that counts as a proper sparge though....does it?

 

[jyo]

Congrats, mate. Wait till you pour your 1st glass... :icon_drool2:

 

[murrayr]

just one thing jetman, not sure if it's been mentioned. 30c is way too high to pitch a lager yeast(or even an ale yeast). i'd probably want to get a lager down to about 15, pitch and then get it down to a constant 12.
cheers, murray

oh and congrats on your first AG brew

 

[gone brewing]

Good stuff Jetman, well done.

IBUs have units of milligrams per litre (or parts per million (ppm), means much the same thing).

 

[rude]

I dont know jack sh+t but if you are washing rinsing the grains of their sugars well then i recon that is a sparge usuallay at 75+
For some reson I have been doing mine at 78 of late good onya mate happy drinken

 

[Nick JD]

There's no turning back now, Jetman.

 

[jetman]

just one thing jetman, not sure if it's been mentioned. 30c is way too high to pitch a lager yeast(or even an ale yeast). i'd probably want to get a lager down to about 15, pitch and then get it down to a constant 12.
cheers, murray

oh and congrats on your first AG brew

Thanks mate, i just went by the manufacturers guidelines for pitching:

"Alternatively, pitch dry yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20C. Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes and then mix the wort e.g. using aeration.Recommended fermentation temperature: 9C 15C, ideally 12C."

Notice they do not give a temp range? is there a site or spreadsheet that will give me an idea of ideal pitch temps for various strains?

 

[crundle]

Great stuff Jetman, you will be happy with the results I am sure!

15 IBU's is fine for that beer, it will be quite well balanced, although for your tastes you may want to move the bitterness up or down after you have tasted your finished product.

The mashout helps to improve your overall efficiency a bit by raising the temperature of the wort/grain to around 78 degrees for about 10 minutes. This apparently helps to make the sugars in the grain wash out of the grain more easily, so you get more sugar out overall. It is a good idea to give the bag a good squeeze also in the process, whether or not you give the bag a bit of a sparge.

I would also recommend getting Beersmith to help with your recipes, I have found it invaluable to work out mine and to keep a good log of what has been brewed. When I come up against any sudden issues, I am normally able to look over what I did last time that was different to make adjustments in future brews.

Welcome to the dark side of brewing,

Crundle