Nearly Ready For Brew 1.....couple If Questions

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einnebcj

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Hi all
After much research and help from the forum, I'm almost ready to do my first stovetop BIAB brew and l,e many before me, am looking at DrSmurtos Golden Ale. I was just putting my shopping list together and it has raised a couple of questions.....
I'm doing the Big W 20l stockpot BIAB brew so I now I can realistically expect about 18l of bottled product. Dr Smurtos recipe is under 4kg of grain and is 20l in total anyway so I'm thinking there should be no need to adjust the recipe?
Also - in later versions of his recipe he switches from Weyermann grain to Joe White which I can't source here in Adelaide so unless someone tells me it's essential - I'm going to stick with the Weyermann.
With the Amarillo hops the recipe says 8.9% AA but the hops I'm looking at are 10.1. Problem? Do I need to adjust?
Lastly. In another thread I mentioned I didn't have a fridge to control the ferment temp and was therefore recommended to use safale US05 yeast and keep temp below 20. Correct?
Thanks all!
Chris
 
dont BIAB I have before in a 20lt pot and it was a pain for me and I used another vessel for MT. that aside most programs will adjust your recipe for you volume. As said I tried the maxi BIAB thing and I was not a big fan so cant have to much input as I only done a few.

weyermann will be fine I have use Aussie grain and it was fine. With the hop if they are bittering yes adjust them and if your no chilling then def adjust them again brewing software. But if they are late hope like flavour or aroma I wouldnt bother (20mins of less) it may be a little more bitter but not alot and you want the flavour in there
 
Those "BigW 20L" pots are not actually 20L. They're closer to 19L right at the rim (5 gallons, as they're made for the US market I'm guessing). No way would you boil with anywhere near 19L in one. It'll make a hell of a mess!

So, right off the bat you won't have 18L into fermenter, more like 15/16L at best (excluding any loss to hop/trub), plus a loss of about 2L in fermenter, so look at perhaps 14L for bottling.
 
You are about to do exactly what I did for my first AG - a BIAB Smurtos Golden Ale in 2 BigW pots. If you get your grain from BeerBelly, just tell Amanda you're making a DSGA and she will put together the grain bill her customers have preferred the most. I'll check my brew book...

OK I went with

2.4 kg BB Pilsner
800g BB Wheat
800g Weyermann Munich 1
250g BB Caramalt

I ended up with 11L, and topped up to 18L. I only had a crappy hydrometer that went up to 1.040 as I smashed my other good one, but the reading was AT LEAST 1.040. FG was 1.005. I think I ended up with 16 longnecks. Down to 11 now.

It turned out an absolute cracker.
 
18L need not be the batch size limit on Stovetop, to scrape bigger batches from your 19L kettle, google Maxi-BIAB or search AHB for 20L Stovetop, BUT before that my advice is to try Nick JD's $30 All Grain (sounds like that's what you're doing) or google Mini-BIAB.
You DO need to adjust for %AA, get yourself Brewmate or similar to manage your recipe (known as "recipator"), will adjust for this sort of thing in an instant plus help with recipe scaling.
The lack of temperature regulation won't help, but you might get away with it.
 
+1 for the beerbelly suggestion.

Also, not that it probably matters TOO much, but i've grabbed Joe White from Amanda (Beerbelly) before when they were out of Barret Burston malt. that was base malt though.....but pretty sure they do some Joe White derivatives..
 
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