Yet Another, Another 1st BIAB not go so well

[woodwormm]

So, after months and months of net research and asking questions here, I got around to attempting my first BIAB today.

It didn't go so well.

last night I'd done a bit of a wet test with the burner and pump etc, everything worked great, left some water in the pot overnight and my cheap ally pot has tarnished, not where the pot was full of water but the lid and above the water line!

not sure what my cheap ally pot is made of!

I went too far with strike temp, so stirred the water and knocked it back down to strike temp, I doughed in and wrapped it all up and the mash temp rose like crazy to 70 - aim was for 66. I unwrapped it and stirred for ages to try and knock the temp down. Finally got down to mash temp, re-wrapped and only lost 1 degree over the remainder of the mash.

My bag - just a big circle of Voile, didnt fit the pot perfectly and it bunched and leaked a little grain.

I underestimated how hot the bag would be and how hard it would be to tie it up and dropped it in the wort and let a HEAP of grain out of it. I had to spend 15-20 minutes after mashout, before boil, scooping out grain with a sieve and re-circing with the brown pump through a another sieve. Little Brown pump worked great for this.

After the boil I realised I'd mixed my hops up when measuring so my flamout hops were actually POR rather than Galaxy!

I think I did ok with preboil OG - 1046 (target 1043)

pre boil volume was spot on at 55L

post boil the brown pump didn't work, so I had to switch to No chill Cubes and I only got 30L of final wort. i'm yet to check post boil OG.

all in all I guess that's how you learn, and i got some beer.

a few pics





the regulator actually goes to 11!

 

[fletcher]

you'll make some beer mate. might not be your best but you learn a lot from your mistakes. i learned a **** load and still am! keep it going. i still brew ****** beers and average beers but there'll be one i make and i flip out at how nice it is. keep trucking and you'll get some amazing beers i guarantee!

 

[Rowy]

If you are doing BIAB why the little brown pump?

 

[AJ80]

Well done mate, gotta start somewhere! Focus on the positives and learn what you can improve on next time.

 

[meathead]

Sounds like a normal brew day for me
If you keep up the good work you'll be the guest of honor at the next Vic case swap

 

[MCHammo]

55L down to 30L sounds like a hell of a boil off rate. Was that expected? Looks like you've got a huge surface area on your pot for that volume. I think some people float pie tins, etc. on top to reduce the effective surface area of the pot. Should be one way to bring the boil off rate down a bit if it's not accounted for.

Is that an engine hoist I see for pulling out the bag? I had the same idea, but it's a bit of an expense for me as I wouldn't need it for anything else... yet.

Nice work, anyway. I'm sure you'll wrinkle out a few teething problems before your next attempt. It's an ongoing learning experience for everyone. Some of us just have a little more to learn each time

 

[Diesel80]

I reckon it could be the best beer you will ever make. Unfortunately though there is almost 0 chance of replicating it if this turns out to be the case! Welcome to the club mate, enjoy your stay. Have fun Office Spacing the can opener. Cheers D80

 

[woodwormm]

If you are doing BIAB why the little brown pump?

Little Brown Pump is to push it through the plate heat exchanger, into the fermenter. It was not meant to be No Chill!

55L down to 30L sounds like a hell of a boil off rate. Was that expected? Looks like you've got a huge surface area on your pot for that volume. I think some people float pie tins, etc. on top to reduce the effective surface area of the pot. Should be one way to bring the boil off rate down a bit if it's not accounted for.

Is that an engine hoist I see for pulling out the bag? I had the same idea, but it's a bit of an expense for me as I wouldn't need it for anything else... yet.

Nice work, anyway. I'm sure you'll wrinkle out a few teething problems before your next attempt. It's an ongoing learning experience for everyone. Some of us just have a little more to learn each time

yeah I thought it was a MASSIVE boil off too. really concerned me, was meant to be a double batch, now by the time i lose ferment trub and filter losses, most likely barely be 1 1/2... pie tin, good idea, i thought that was to make boil easier, I didnt need easier as the Italian Spiral cranks, but if it helps evaporation i'm keen.

anyone boil with the lid on? is this a no no?

yep engine crane. it's something that sits around 99% of its time doing nothing, so if I can multiskill it, it's floorspace is more justified, only issue is mates borrow it, so i'll have to re-jig for when it's out on loan.

picked up a crab cooker basket today, should make retaining the grain inside the bag a bit easier.

I'm still keen

 

[Diesel80]

Don't boil with lid on.....
It is a no no.

Cheers,
D80

 

[CosmicBertie]

Ha! Dont worry about it. I've been brewing for over 2 years and my last brew I ended up mashing at 74C! I kegged it yesterday, and I reckon its one of the best beers I've ever done

If you take out the screws from the brown pump, the end comes off and you'll find grain in there. Wash it all out and it'll work again.

Oh, and I've set fire to my bag before too. That makes an interesting brew day

 

[jaymzica]

don't stress I did my first biab with my new pot and set up last week. Being new I didn't know how quick things would heat up or how to control temp correctly. I went over a few deg for strike temp, then mash out temp over a bit more. held the temp during mash but it was still in high 70's.
I still did it all and its been in the fermenter for 4 days now. had a taste last night and it was good so ill see how we go when I transfer to keg and carb it.

its all learning. I know how powerful my gas burner is now so I know to shut it off before it reaches strike temp so it doesn't go over.

 

[Khellendros13]

Don't boil with lid on.....
It is a no no.

Cheers,
D80

Yea, even with the lid half on...boil over in a 50l kettle with less than 20l in there.

 

[Diesel80]

Yea, even with the lid half on...boil over in a 50l kettle with less than 20l in there.

Aside from this issue (which will make a mess of your brew area), the lid on could prevent the DMS precursers being driven off out of the brew during the boil.
This will make a mess of your brew, serious stuff indeed.

Cheers,
D80

 

[mash head]

Re the heat exchanger, I just gravity feed through mine. You do have to start with your boil up high so you can get enough fall to go through the exchange and then into the fermenter.
Hitting mashing temps is the biggest problem with BIAB I have found you have to stir like hell while the heat is on to ensure the heat up is even, otherwise you will get pockets of extra hot wort well above optimum temps, which will bring the over all temp up after flame out. I flame up 1 or 2 times during the mash to ensure the temp stays aprox where I want it.
With those adjustable regs and spiral burner turn it to max to get a boil, but once boiled knock it back to maintain a slow rolling boil might slow down the evap rate.
Well done on the first effort, I don't think there would be too many people who could say they nailed their first attempt at AG.

 

[mash head]

Carma has struck, yesterday I blocked my plate chiller with trub so maybe a pump is a good option. Maybe a hop screen also.