Second BIAB

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MCHammo

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Ok, I thought I'd break convention and post about my second experience with BIAB, rather than my first. This has nothing to do with taking no photos the first time around (or does it?)

Entire day went smoothly, just like the first time. Missed my OG by about 7 points. But at least I hit the right initial volume this time. Last time I missed both, being about 5L down as well as a couple of gravity points. I think that means I'm improving... ;)

Ended up going for a simple Pale Ale recipe this time around. Simple recipe for a simple friend.
4.5kg Pale Ale
0.2kg Munich
0.1kg Crystal

5g Cascade & Nelson @ 45
15g Cascade & Nelson @ 10

70min mash @ 67, 60 min boil. US-05. 22L batch. No Chilled.

SAM_1434_1.JPG
BIAB rig: Rays Outdoors Special (companion megajet burner + 38L crab cooker). This thing really flies, even at about half throttle. My only real problem with it is the rapid heat loss during mash. Bare Aluminium will do that, though... I'll have to look at insulating it for next time. I ended up firing the burner at about its minimum output for about 10 mins a few times during the mash to keep it in the 64°C-69°C range. I also found a great way of agitating the mash with this setup. Jiggling the insert up and down a few times seems to mix the water quite well.

SAM_1430_1.JPG
To confuse the yeast debate even further (because if there's one thing we need more of, it's more yeast debate argument), I've rehydrated my US05 in water. Then pitched into a starter on my home made PWM-controlled stirplate. Everything is blingier with blue LEDs. I guess I could have upped that with a giant SS knob on the pot... I'm sure I've way over pitched, but we'll see how it goes. I needed an excuse to break out the stir plate.

Feedback? Suggestions? Criticism? Outrage? Love to hear it. Particularly the outrage.
SAM_1435_1.JPG
 
about 40 hours after pitching the yeast, I got this. Are the dark brown spots normal? First time I've been able to see inside during a ferment, so I'm unsure. Everything else looks healthy.
SAM_1447_1.JPG
 
Yes very normal, but I would get a lid or some glad wrap on that fermenter fast. Use glad wrap if you want to see what's happening inside.
 
lukiferj said:
Yes very normal, but I would get a lid or some glad wrap on that fermenter fast. Use glad wrap if you want to see what's happening inside.
yeah, should have noted this. I have glad wrap on it. Just needed to take it off quickly for a photo. It was only off for a few seconds. Camera [and eyes] don't see through it too well... Well enough, but no real detail. I couldn't tell what the vague brown splotches were. On closer inspection, they appear to be vague brown splotches.
 
Stop taking the glad wrap off... photos aren't worth infecting the beer you've spent so much time and effort on.

Insulating the mash is actually pretty easy - if you've got any old blankets or sleeping bags hanging around, it won't even cost you anything. If you don't - try to find a cheap "camp sleeping mat", take to it with a stanley knife to cut holes that match the handles on the pot. A combo of blanket(s) and sleeping mat will have your pot pretty damn steady over an hour
 
pyrosx said:
Stop taking the glad wrap off... photos aren't worth infecting the beer you've spent so much time and effort on.
It was only once, and for no more than 10 secs. The only time I plan on doing it. In fact, I usually have an airlock lid to go on it. But I only have one, and it's on the other fermenter at the moment. Maybe if I hadn't double glad wrapped it, I might have been able to see through. Live and learn.


pyrosx said:
Insulating the mash is actually pretty easy - if you've got any old blankets or sleeping bags hanging around, it won't even cost you anything. If you don't - try to find a cheap "camp sleeping mat", take to it with a stanley knife to cut holes that match the handles on the pot. A combo of blanket(s) and sleeping mat will have your pot pretty damn steady over an hour
I'll try that. I checked into a clark rubber and found some thermal insulation... but at $55 per metre I wasn't interested. That was for a more permanent attachment (to increase thermal efficiency through the heating, mashing and boiling). Maybe if I just grab some mats for the mash only, I'll be ok. Better than nothing, I suppose.
 
I use a blue camping mat wrapped around and tied on with rope, and an old doona folded up over the lid. The ONLY problem with this setup is it looks ghetto - mashes usually drop less than 1 degree/hour, and it cost $10.
 
Actually, I just noticed you use the same crazy jet burner I do - I'd question the ability to attach any kind of permanent insulation to your pot that wouldn't burn off - it gets DAMN hot down there with that thing cranking.
 
Yeah, definitely couldn't insulate the bottom. Sides around the bottom is touch and go. Maybe something silver backed would be ok, but I started wondering the same thing. The upshot though, is that I wouldn't need to fire the burner up so high if it didn't lose so much heat. Less heat applied --> less likely to burn. One day, I'll probably end up going all electric, and then I can insulate however I like. But for now, maybe I'll just grab some mats for mashing.

Now, back to that brown gunk on the top. Anybody know exactly what that is? What causes it? I realise that it may be perfectly normal, but now I'm curious.
 
Simple answer: yeast.

Any more complicated than that, i'm just guessing - possibly something to do with oxidation causing the browner-than-normal colour?
 
Next time around you could try a 90 minute mash and a mash out.
Made a big difference for my set up.

An old sleeping bag throw over the pot works pretty well at maintaining mash temp.

The Brown stuff (if my memory serves me right) is break material and protein's
 
Thanks Shmang. I did do a proper mashout this time - probably one of the reasons I had a better result than last time. I will try a longer mash next time, though. If I can maintain better temps, I should have a better (or more consistent) extraction, and increasing time is no big deal.

I might have a look to see if I have some old blankets/etc. I can probably fashion something not-so-ghetto looking from those. As much as I like ghetto, I also enjoy making things look purpose built and subtle if at all possible. I've got a bit of food for thought.
 
No problems with ghetto here. Once I hit strike temp and dough in, I wrap an old doona and then a sleeping bag around my urn. Usually get 1 degree loss over 90 mins.
 
lukiferj said:
No problems with ghetto here. Once I hit strike temp and dough in, I wrap an old doona and then a sleeping bag around my urn. Usually get 1 degree loss over 90 mins.
+1 ... today I mashed with the external temp at 10 degrees Celsius (being generous) and using a camping mat and blanket held an 67 degree Clesius mash temp for 90 minutes straight. It is a really effective and commonly used idea.

On a side note how do you find NS ??? I persisted with it for a few brews and just don't like that winey/two fruit/ tropical cordial/two fruit cordial/ type taste at all. I'm completely off that hop.
 
Well done, only thing i would change is the airlock on your starter.

The airlock lets out co2 but does not allow any o2 in, loosely fitted aluminium foil is best to keep bacteria and wild yeasts out.
 
Yes 100% you want o2

But the airlock stops that happening
 
I was wondering about this. Wouldn't the old foil thing be just as likely to let unwanted microbes in as oxygen? I was going for the whole airtight is microbe tight theory. So do you think I'd be much better off ditching the airlock altogether? Or keeping it on until the yeast start showing signs of activity, and then switch to foil?


KingKong said:
+1 ... today I mashed with the external temp at 10 degrees Celsius (being generous) and using a camping mat and blanket held an 67 degree Clesius mash temp for 90 minutes straight. It is a really effective and commonly used idea.

On a side note how do you find NS ??? I persisted with it for a few brews and just don't like that winey/two fruit/ tropical cordial/two fruit cordial/ type taste at all. I'm completely off that hop.
No idea about NS, this is the first time I've used it. It's also only the second beer I've made (I jumped straight from ginger beers to AG beers). Everything I've done has always been "from scratch". No kits, no partials,... so I'm still finding my feet a bit at the moment.
 
Foil all the way for me, secured with a rubber band, I once found a fruit fly had crawled up under the foil and got into the starter so I make it a double wrap with the foil now.. it really doesnt take long for co2 to start being pushed out.

Microbes cant turn corners so as long as the wrap is turned down you are OK.
 
Ok, so if it doesn't take long before there's a positive pressure of CO2, won't that prevent any more O2 from making its way in from that point onwards? If that's the case, I don't see a huge difference between airlock or foil. Unless I'm missing something, it appears to be the same as the airlock vs gladwrap on a fermenter argument (Doesn't have to be airtight, as long as a positive pressure is maintained inside the vessel). Just wondering if the airlock isn't as bad as it looks at first glance, that is all.

I'm not beyond changing my practices, I just want to be sure that what I do (whatever it is) is the right way to go. I just need all the evidence first, and that's what I'm out to collect at the moment.
 
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