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1. Topics

   1. Hopstand

      by smyrnaquince, 8 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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      After 2 years of traditional mashing, I'm coming back to the BIAB fold. :o
      
      I am wondering if the BIABacus provides any way to take into account the IBUs from a hopstand. For example, in a Blonde Ale recipe I am looking at, there is a 30-minute hopstand before chilling and pitching yeast. According to BeerSmith, the 60-minute boil hop addition contributes 17.9 IBU and the 30-minute hopstand contributes 6.9 IBUs, so for this recipe the hopstand contribution is significant (28% of the total...

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      Dave.....A 30 minute hopstand will impart aromas plus very few IBUs .Just like adding hops at flameout. I will try to find the article I read on adding hops at these time and post the link. If you are looking for IBUs , try adding around 15 minutes. At that time you will get 50% flavor & 50% aroma utilization .
      J
      5 Replies
      12859 Views
      jhough
      8 years ago
   2. Scorching

      by smyrnaquince, 12 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      I use an aluminum pot and do half-size stovetop batches (electric stove). I have done the standard practice of boiling water in the new pot to blacken (oxidize) the sides an bottom of the pot. After several brews, I have noticed that I have some brown stuff on the bottom of the pot, which indicates to me that I've been scorching the beer. I leave the burner on high for the whole boil, which does maintain a full rolling boil. In winter (indoors, dry air), I usually get around 1 gallon/hour...

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      How thick is your bottom Dave? Not your bottom, the aluminum pot's bottom :).
      
      Thin-bottomed pots will scorch your beer whereas thick ones won't. (With thin ones, it is like you are applying flame directly to the wort.)
      
      I know you've been away for a bit but whoever is saying that a BIAB brew is fine with just a 60 minute boil is not giving what I would call wise advice on quality. It's quite likely that many people, me included, would probably not be able to tell the difference between a 60...
      2 Replies
      4321 Views
      PistolPatch
      12 years ago
   3. Double Crush?

      by smyrnaquince, 12 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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      So, what is the current thinking on double-crushing grain?
      
      I crush at the LHBS using whatever roller setting they have, which would be set for 3V brewers. When I first started BIAB 2 years ago, I started double-crushing the grain. The reasons were supposed to be at least one of:
      Raise the efficiency to make up for the BIAB method
      Get additional efficiency because BIAB will allow you to do a finer crush
      
      At this point, I am wondering if it makes sense to double crush because:
      The...

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      I agree that my EIK was just fine. I don't really chase the numbers. I do with efficiency what I do with my car mileage. I check the mileage at every fill and the efficiency at every brew. If the numbers are more or less what I'd expect, I'm happy. If they are significantly off, it tells me to look for a problem.
      
      Three brews ago on a witbier, I had around 71% EIK, where I typically get in the 80's. I brewed the same recipe a month later. The second one was an experiment I had planned to adjust...
      6 Replies
      9106 Views
      smyrnaquince
      12 years ago
   4. Dried Yeast - Sprinkle or Re-hydrate?

      by smyrnaquince, 12 years ago in Fermentation (Wort to Still Beer)

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      MODNOTE: The first six posts below have been moved from another thread as there are several valuable links and ideas below.
      
      5. Just sprinkle dried yeast - If you aerate your wort, which you should be doing, then just sprinkle the dried yeast. This allows it to settle on the bubbles where it can slowly acclimatise to temp, humidity and gravity. When you think about it, it is much easier to shock and damage yeast by rehydrating it especially on a small scale.
      I rarely disagree with PP, and...

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      If this is the case, then John Palmer says
      
      and Mike Brewer says
      
      or Dan Listermann and Dr. Clayton Cone discuss this at
      
      and finally Norther brewer states
      
      I hope these links will help.
      20 Replies
      23601 Views
      joshua
      12 years ago
   5. Do You Strain and Squeeze?

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      by smyrnaquince, 13 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      For context, I am brewing stovetop half (2.5 gal) batches.
      
      After I pull and squeeze the bag of grain, I dump the grain, rinse the bag, and shake it out. (I'm pretty sure everyone does this. ;) )
      
      After I have chilled the wort, I put the bag in my bucket and pour the wort in, using the bag to strain out the hot break. The pouring also helps aerate the wort. I then pull the bag and squeeze to get most of the liquid out. I wind up squeezing because the hot break tends to clog the bag. (Yes, I am...

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      I'm currently designing one(in my head) for the inside of my buffalo for the next brew day
      
      Have a look Here this works a treat and hasn't blocked once. Drains the kettle almost empty. If I were to make it better I would go with just 2 rows of holes as I think I would get more wort out before the syphon pulls air and breaks the syphon.
      
      Yeasty
      yeasty, I'm eternally grateful my new hop strainer based on yours worked a treat today:
      
      First try today using leaf hops an it worked a treat....
      25 Replies
      23126 Views
      Lars
      13 years ago
   6. Hops Increments

      by smyrnaquince, 13 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      When I buy hops in pre-measured packages in the US, they typically come in 1-ounce packages. Of course, when I scale a recipe, it never comes out in even 1-ounce increments.
      
      What is the pre-measured package size for hops in the rest of the world?
      
      I am also curious about how other brewers handle these pre-measured increments of hops. When you scale a recipe and the hops come in at less than the pre-measured increment, do you adjust the time you add the hops for a shorter boil to use the...

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      I measure all my hops using grams. Using 1 ounce = 28 grams just makes it easy to get accurate measures of 1/2 or 1/4 ounce increments.
      8 Replies
      8322 Views
      rockbotton
      13 years ago
   7. Do Your Efficiencies Match?

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      by smyrnaquince, 13 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      My Efficiency into Kettle (EIK) never matches my End of Boil Efficiency. The latter is always a couple of points lower. Yes, I do adjust my gravity readings for temperature.
      
      Does anyone else experience this?
      
      On a related note, I am getting a fairly consistent EIK of around 80%. In a different thread I read a claim that BIABers should get around 99%. Is that really realistic? If so, I guess I would need a much finer crush than I am using now. I use the LHBS's crusher, but they don't like...

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      Oh, no! My thread! Where did it go! :o :lol: You love it Dave ;).
      
      smyrna is a good sport and will find whatever we talk about here interesting. And, it is in the intermediate forum ;). So, while we all wait until we can find a way of collecting figures on the original question, why not talk about colour? :lol: (I love Bob's idea, Thread, lost and found. :lol:)
      
      All I'll say is that the only figures that home brewers can even hope to measure or calculate are volumes and gravities and even with...
      41 Replies
      31814 Views
      PistolPatch
      13 years ago
   8. Multiple Rests

      by smyrnaquince, 13 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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      I found this recipe for a Weissbier on the Weyermann site. It has multiple temperature rests, which I should be able to do by heating and stirring the pot at each stage. (A bonus for BIAB, I'd say!)
      
      My question: Do you really think all these rests are necessary with modern grains? I would think that the last two (30 minutes at 62°C/144°F and 30 minutes at 72°C/162 °F) plus the mashout would be sufficient.
      
      The recipe also mentions adding extra LME and a different yeast to carb the beer:
      At an...

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      I did a 41% wheat Witbier recently. Didn't bother with any rests and did notice the bag drained a bit slower.. nothing squeezing the bejeezus out of it didnt fix though. Turned out really awesome.
      8 Replies
      9305 Views
      deebo
      13 years ago
   9. Evaporation Rate for a Simmer

      by smyrnaquince, 13 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      I learned that Pierre Celis advocated a gentle simmer for a Witbier. Using a simmer instead of a boil would yield a different evaporation rate. Does anyone have experience with a simmer instead of a full boil? I'm looking for suggestions for an evaporation rate to use in my brewing calculations.
      
      I realize that the evaporation rate will vary by how strong the simmer is and that I will come up with my own numbers after a few brews, but I'm looking for a starting point.

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      similar to how BIABacus has a default evaporation rate for a full boil that is based on pot diameter.
      
      It's not a bad idea having a vigorous boil and simmering boil or something similar with different evaporation rates as an option :)
      4 Replies
      6985 Views
      kostass
      13 years ago
   10. Stir During Mash?

       by smyrnaquince, 13 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       Do you stir during a 60- or 90-minute mash? How often?
       
       I'm wondering because it would seem that stirring would make enzymes more readily available to all the grains (including the low diastatic power ones). But on the other hand, every time you open the pot and stir, you lose heat.
       
       So, don't stir at all? Stir every 15 minutes (or 20 or 30)? Stir once at 15 minutes and be done with it? Something else?

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       What were we talking about?
       
       We are talking about stirring the pot and I am stirring the pot! I think?
       24 Replies
       24145 Views
       BobBrews
       13 years ago
   11. Effect of Mash Temperature on Extraction Efficiency

       by smyrnaquince, 13 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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       Two brews ago, my mash temp got away from me (I didn't allow for continued heating from the electric coils on my stove after turning the burner off) and I mashed at 158 F. My extraction efficiency was 77%. With yesterday's brew, I paid attention and mashed at 154 F. That brew had an efficiency of 85%.
       
       From Palmer's book, I recall that beta amylase is denatured at higher temperatures and I was wondering if this might explain my lower efficiency in the earlier brew and the higher efficiency in...

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       PP--Sorry to have been a failed student. Lol Dave. I am such a terminology nazi :roll: :lol:.
       7 Replies
       8543 Views
       PistolPatch
       13 years ago
   12. First AG and First BIAB

       by smyrnaquince, 14 years ago in Stove-top BIAB (also known as Mini-BIAB)

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       At Pat's encouragement, I am posting that this past Saturday I did my first AG brew, which was also my first BIAB. :thumbs: I had previously done two extract-with-specialty-grain brews (Hefeweizen and Stout) back in May. The BIAB was a Sierra Nevada American Pale Ale clone.
       
       This was a stovetop 2.5-gallon batch (i.e., half batch).
       
       I think I did OK. I calculated my brewhouse efficiency/efficiency into fermenter at 72%. I did a 90-minute boil and the color of the wort darkened more than I...

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       Thanks! Do read the NorthernBrewer thread I referenced in the recipe. The guy who originated the recipe actually got help from Sierra Nevada's Brewmaster, which I find pretty amazing. I'll post a follow-up when I finally get to taste my brew.
       11 Replies
       12478 Views
       smyrnaquince
       14 years ago
   13. Leftover Grains

       by smyrnaquince, 14 years ago in Stove-top BIAB (also known as Mini-BIAB)

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       So, I am looking at a recipe conversion for a mini-BIAB (2.5 gal, i.e. a half batch) and I am realizing that one problem is that at my LHBS, most grains are sold in 1 lb (16 oz) increments. A couple of the specialty grains are sold in 0.5 lb (8 oz) increments and a few of the major grains are sold loose in any amount.
       
       Buying the grains I need in the smallest quantities I can to get the required quantities for the recipe, I throw away 38% of my purchase price for the grains.
       
       So, what do others...

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       BrickBrewHaus and joshua, thanks for the pointer to Brewmaster's Warehouse. I dialed up my grain bill just to see how it would come out and I can get the quantities I need at a lower price, even with shipping. I'll use the local guy when I can (liquid yeast, beer brewing supplies where the quantities are OK, winemaking supplies), but there is no way my wife would be happy with a freezer full of leftover grain!
       Good to hear they'll work for you, they have real nice customer service and ship...
       4 Replies
       8121 Views
       BrickBrewHaus
       14 years ago
   14. Converting a Traditional Recipe to BIAB

       by smyrnaquince, 14 years ago in Creating Your Own Recipes

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       Is it possible to convert a traditional brew recipe into a BIAB recipe in a straightfoward manner?
       
       For specifics, consider this original recipe:
       
       Smooth Oatmeal Stout
       Recipe Type: All Grain
       Yeast: S-04
       Yeast Starter: no
       Batch Size (Gallons): 5.25
       Original Gravity: 1.055
       Final Gravity: 1.018
       IBU: 36
       Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
       Color: 35
       Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14days @ 65F
       Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): no
       
       OG 1.055 (80% efficiency, adjust base malt for your...

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       My bad. The grain bill is fine.
       10 Replies
       17299 Views
       smyrnaquince
       14 years ago

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