BIABrewer.info

at my local homebrew shop. Haven't decided on a BIAB recipe yet, apart from it'll be for a total batch of 10 litres or so.

** Complete newbie Alert! **

Just as a rough guide (and pardon my ignorance), is there an approximate amount in weight of malted grains I'd need to have in to do proper starch/sugar conversions for a BIAB brew that'll give aroun 5% abv... ?

Also, my shop sells crushed malts pre-packed (although he does have a mill as well). Are these crushed grains fine for mashing ? Some I've used in the past for pre-boil teas etc., seem quite fine.

Cheers,
G

Good Day Gyro, a rule of thumb is about 1kg to 4L or 0.250kg/L
So,for a finished 10-11 liters, at 77% effiency and a final specific Gravity auound 1.050 (about 5 %abv).
A good grain bill would be 2.5-2.75Kg.
The grains could be Pilsner, Pale, Maris Otter, Etc. and 100-250g of a color/caramel/Roast malt.

This would yield a nice amber/brown ale.

For starters, the LHBS crush is fine. Later on you may like a finer crush, but that is a topic unto itself.

I hope this helps.

Cheers dude. I have a number of books with recipes, most notably Charlie Papazian and Randy Mosher, which I'm sure are convertable to BIAB. It's just a matter of deciding what type of beer I want to do .....

Also depends on what hops my homebrew shop has too, so I might line up a Plan B. Either way, as grain is cheaper than malt extract, I'll probably buy at least 4 or 5 different types so I have a bit of flexibility. Think I have some crushed Belgian malt left too.

What about cooling down the wort? I've always read that with full mash it's really important to do this as quick as possible, but a number of BIAB sources aren't quite so focused on this. One even said they leave it overnight and has never had a problem .....

You really don't convert to BIAB. Recipes are brewed as they are written. As you get more skilled you may tweak a recipe to enhance your brewing results but BIAB stands on it's own. Gyro, your on the leading edge of brewing. Welcome!

Hi Gyro, Bobs right in that beer recipes are brewed as they are written, what you do have to do though is scale them to your equipment. Once you have decided what you want to do post the recipe Here along with your pot size. Someone will then have a look at it for you. Have you looked at the calculator yet? if not look at this thread Here

What type of ale are you looking to brew, let us know as someone may already have a recipe for you.



Yeasty

Cheers. So, if I look at an all grain recipe, I can essentially follow it as a BIAB, with the proviso that I'm probably halving everything, right .... ?

What I'll probably end up doing is what I've done for all my extract brews bar the first one, which is basing my recipe on a main one, but taking bits and pieces from others and maybe adjusting the odd ingredient and measures.

Looking forward to it; will let you know how I get on. Maybe I'll post what I'm planning to brew before I do so....

If you have a 19 liter brew recipe. (5 gal) Then yes, your about right. Half of 20 is 10? so just about right! Just remember this! Brewing beer is very forgiving! Don't worry about exact (anything)! Your beer will turn out super as long as you keep everything clean and sanitized! You will love BIAB because it is very EZ and simple. Good luck and just ask if you need help! Only don't believe anything I write? Cheers!

definitely post it up before you brew. BIAB is very easy but can seem complicated at first, I'd find a recipe and stick to it for your first brew, adding and changing measurements may lead to confusion and mistakes. Have you thought of doing a simple SMaSH using Pale malt and a nice aroma hop like Fuggles or East kent Goldings.

Have just posted what I think is the sort of thing I want to try on the Recipes board. All suggestions or thoughts are welcome. It is as follows:-

2kg pale wheat malt
150g chocolate wheat malt
150g Caramunch
120g Pale Belgian malt
500g aromatic malt

Saaz hops – 30g for 60 mins
Liberty & Saaz hops – 15g each for last 15 mins
Liberty hops – 20g last 5 mins

Yeast: Fermentis Safale S-04


Cheers,
G