Wit Beer Biab Mash Schedule For Belgian Wit Need Help

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scmgre

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I have made about 20 AG's using my converted eski for a simple infusion mash and 2 decoction mashes.
My brewhouse efficiency always seemed to be a pitiful 53% after some research I have decided to switch to BIAB.
I went out to spotlight and spent a painful 2 hours buying the material suggested in the BIAB PDF came home with the swiss voile but in chocolate not ivory and some upholstery thread i then downloaded my SHMBO's sowing machine manual and spent a very frustrating 3 hours threading the machine and sowing together the bag that I am very proud of. i.e. must use at least once for the sake of my male pride.
I want to do a Belgian wit this weekend
recipe
3 KG of JW torrified wheat
2 KG of JW Pilsner
1 KG of JW pale
200 grams rolled oats
40g saaz in the boil
25g coriander seeds
25g mandarin peel off my mandarin tree in the garden.(still greenish so should be bitterish)
WLP400 belgian wit

I use Beersmith and it is telling me to add 15.69 litres of water for a 22 litre batch size.

I think this is crap can't I just add water to a few inches of the top of my kettle (36litres) so around

raise it to 50 for 45 minutes protein rest (unmalted wheat)
then raise the temp to 64 for 60 minutes raise the bag and lauter at 76 until the kettle is up to my pre-boil level for a 22 litre batch?

or are the water to grain ratios really important in BIAB?
 
Look up Stux's BIAB calculator spreadsheet. If it's not on this site you'll find it on the BIABrewer.info site
 
Well its late, Im cut and feeling whimsical so here we go.
First up the bag bet your wishing you just bought one about now, the manual for the large agricultural implement must have been very confusing, but once past the sowing machine and onto the needle work. I wouldnt worry about the colour, if the dye is well fixed it wont leach into the brew, might be a good idea to soak it in boiling water for 10 minutes or so to make sure.

Your grain bill has more unmalted than malted grain; you are looking at a long mash to give the enzymes in the malted fraction time to chew through a hell of a lot of adjunct. You really need to be careful to do everything you can to keep your enzymes active so watch your temperatures and pH a healthy dose of Calcium will keep the Alpha Amylase going longer. At least its all torrefied so Glucans shouldnt be too much of a problem.
Something like 20-30 Minutes at 50-55oC for protein, a longish Maltose rest in the lower 60s say 40-60 Minutes @ 63-4oC then 20-30 minutes at Saccrification temps 72-4. Bump it up to just short of 80oC for 10-15 minutes to mash out. With that much adjunct and no dark or crystal malts; I wouldnt be too worried about Tannin extraction and you will see a sharp increase in the wort fluidity (bag draining easier) at the hotter mash out temperatures.

Water volumes should be clear enough without resorting to software; if you are doing classic BIAB i.e. all in at the start no sparge you need: -
L to fermenter + L left in kettle + L taken out with the grain + L evaporated during the boil.
If you are sparging same answer just not all in at the start.
So for your brew, lacking precise information and doing a bit of guessing.
22 L to fermenter, about 10 % left in kettle is fairly typical so 2.2L, about 1L/kg of grist (often a bit less but with high adjunct allow a bit more) 6.2L for a total of 30.4L plus your evaporation loss which at 10% give you a starting volume of 33.8L. You should have a better idea of what your true kettle loss and evaporation are going to be so yes 36L might be very close to the number.

One thing I am having trouble understanding is why your Brewhouse Efficiency should have been so low. If you want to have a talk through your processes feel free to give me a call tomorrow because 53% is seriously wrong and just switching to BIAB might not be the fix.

Sorry about the farming implement crack, I really am the last person who should give people shit about their spelling; it just evoked such an entertaining mental image when I read your post, see guy trying to run a BIAB bag through a combine... and having struggled with a sewing machine a couple of times, I get your use of the word frustrating.
Mark
 
thanks for the Info I started the protein rest 5 minutes ago so will see how we go :) Yes my spelling is terrible.
 
My biggest Wit "Duh" moment was when I compared freshly-ground corriander seeds aroma and flavour to pre-ground. Might as well be different spices.

Fresh-ground has a peppery anise thing happening that is an instant 'Hoegaarden!' in your mind; ground, smells like dirt and celery.

Put some corriander in your garden and let it go to seed. The seed is easy to collect and it'll make all the difference to your Wits.
 
I was pulling some basil seeds off the plant the other day then smelt my hand.. smelt kinda peppery and lemony.. got me thinking about using them in a wit..
I did a quick google search but couldnt find anything much.. I dont suppose anyone has used them before?

Anyone have any experience with these drinks?

When immersed in water, basil seeds form a spherical jelly coating, a kind of natural tapioca pearl. Bite down and the sphere pops, releasing a mild floral flavor napped with basil and the slight savoriness of charnushka. The interior seed cracks with a light crunch, a final textural reward. Basil seeds are a singularly strange textural and flavor experience, and if this description sounds at all appealing to you, they're worth seeking out.

Basil seeds are most common in Southeast Asian and Indian beverages. In Thailand the drink is called nam manglak, usually scented with rose water and honey. India has a version as well called falooda, an adaptation of a Persian dessert from the Moghul emperors, containing anything from scented syrup and milk to thin noodles and melted ice cream. All of which is to say that basil seeds are mild in flavor, more texture than taste, and rife for experimentation.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/04/spice-h...lak-drinks.html
 
My biggest Wit "Duh" moment was when I compared freshly-ground corriander seeds aroma and flavour to pre-ground. Might as well be different spices.

Fresh-ground has a peppery anise thing happening that is an instant 'Hoegaarden!' in your mind; ground, smells like dirt and celery.

Put some corriander in your garden and let it go to seed. The seed is easy to collect and it'll make all the difference to your Wits.

A little OT, but theres definitely no comparison between pre-ground and freshly ground spices.

Try cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger etc freshly ground compared to its dusty excuse of a pre-ground brother.

Not much extra expense, for a whole other world of flavour and aroma.


Sponge
 
I'm always surprised of the smell of citrus you get from fresh corriander seeds.
Deffiently worth getting the real deal.
 
Llightly toast your coriander seeds in a fry pan before you crush them
It brings out the flavour and aroma
 
well all done and my OG ended up at 1.044 a bit below what i was aiming for and Efficiency a woeful 50.7 % should still give me a 4.7 % beer which is good. But i think i will switch back to decoction mashing for my next brew :)
 
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