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   1. Im a BIABACUS convert

      by Lars, 9 years ago in BIABrewer Old Hands

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      Tried beersmith a few years ago and wasn't impressed. Really just use it for putting recipes together. Anyway, I've always brewed by the seat of my pants and made some great beer. Until recently, I never even measured my starting water, just knew approximately what was going into my kettle.
      I recently used the BIABACUS for the first time and I intend sticking with it as I'd like to achieve some consistency and predictability. Ive attached the file.
      Had a couple of problems with this brew....

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      Thanks Rick. Didn't see a response/reply here or there but I've just written a post here which explains why software working on fixed amounts of ingredients and efficiencies (something the most simplistic of spreadsheets can do), can be very incorrect and cause so many problems.
      
      If anyone thinks this post is unfair or incorrect in any way, as with everything I write, I am most happy (would love, in fact) to be corrected*.
      
      :peace:
      PP
      
      * From my personal point of view, I really think we need...
      20 Replies
      20666 Views
      PistolPatch
      9 years ago
   2. Measuring water volme in your boiler?

      by Lars, 12 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      Hi, I recently purchased a 40l buffalo. How do you people measure liquid volume in your boilers? My local hardwares don't seem to have a stainless steel ruler long enough. I have a crappy plastic mash spoon but I'm reluctant to scratch marks onto it as a measuring stick because I reckon it'd be a hiding place for bacteria. I considered buying a piece of oak in a local but it's probably virtually impossible to get untreated timber.
      
      Thanks
      
      L

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      Ive used a 1m steel ruler that I got from a cheap shop for $5. I found that steam actually helps to leave a mark on the ruler that you can read off. You can use the BIABicus to get your volumes or I have found that the equation, pi x r x r x cm works pretty good if anyone is interested.
      24 Replies
      20876 Views
      nosco
      10 years ago
   3. Capacity of 40L buffalo

      by Lars, 10 years ago in The Boil (Sweet Liquor to Wort)

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      Will my 40L buffalo hold 35L water + a 7kg grain bill? Doing the Pliny clone tomorrow and just need to know in advance?
      Thanks
      L
      
      Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk

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      Hi Lars, I have a buffalo urn, when you put your measurements into Biabicus you will see it calculates the total volume to around 43.2 litres. All you need to do is measure the depth and width and the smarts in Biabicus works out all the tricky stuff for you.
      
      So the volume right to the rim is a little more than the stated capacity. However a word of warning (from my own failure) don't fill the urn and grain bill right to the very top. The Swiss voil acts like a syphon. The guys here call it...
      4 Replies
      10953 Views
      bundy
      10 years ago
   4. Question for all brewers using urns

      by Lars, 12 years ago in Electric BIAB

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      Guys, after my first brew with my 40litre buffalo I ended up with a load of scorched material on the element which caused the boiler to cut out a few times during the boil.
      It looks like my strainer stopped the buildup where it hangs over the element, lookin at the pic. A brewer I know reckons that my custom BIAB bag isn't find enough and there's more flour getting through than I should have. I've bought but haven't used an scr based dimmer switch to reduce the boil ferocity if needed. Can...

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      Just wanted to thank you guys for the great intel, I have been scrubbing my Burco element down at the end of a brew day. Lots of work, the lemon trick (and the washing soda) both work great.
      
      And ....
      
      They work away, while I relax with a brew.
      
      Thanks chaps
      17 Replies
      20276 Views
      Yettiman
      10 years ago
   5. Buffalo boiler cutting out during boil

      by Lars, 12 years ago in Electric BIAB

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      Just used my buffalo 40l boiler for first time today. I noticed that it was cutting out during the boil and cycling back on when it had cooled a little. There turned out to be a buildup of scorched 'stuff' on the element. I've 2 questions about this
      1. Should I be overriding this cutout and how do I do that ?
      2. Will this buildup screw up the flavour of me beer and how do I avoid it?
      
      Thanks
      
      L

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      I use this boiler and had the issue of cutting out - that is why I started to use the the BIAB method. Simply using a bag with a pizza screen inside and tying the bag on the handles means it doesn't hit the bottom and scorch. When I spoke to Buffalo they said there might be a weight switch in the bottom (depending on age) which stops it being over filled, which would mean adding 5Kg of grain is going to stop you filling it full of water.
      
      Still I don't have any issues (at least not recently)...
      11 Replies
      13694 Views
      TurnDevil
      10 years ago
   6. Considering First wort hopping

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      by Lars, 11 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      Guys, I want to brew an ipa. Clear, pale, about maybe 35~40ibus. I'm thinking all lager malt and I want citrus so I was considering all finishing and dry hops would be cascade and I would fwh with Amarillo. I've never done this before(fwh) so I know nothing about it. I thought I'd just throw the bittering additions in after I pull the bag. I then read this beersmith article which has me thinking there's a bit more to it
      This is what I've got in the way of hops.
      
      Frozen:
      Northern brewer 10.4%...

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      I had a lot of success with FWH in combo with cube hopping, where I threw my flameout additions into the no chill cube.
      65 Replies
      58602 Views
      Lylo
      10 years ago
   7. Biggest grainbill in a 40L boiler

      by Lars, 11 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      Hi, I'm considering an imperial stout. I have a 40L buffalo. What's the biggest grain bill I can mash in a 40L buffalo and still get a 19L brew length? What's your experience? I'd rather not have to top up

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      I have a 40l crown boiler and I managed 1.082 with around 8kg (something like that). My efficiency dropped to 64 I think. That is into fermentor efficiency.
      4 Replies
      5965 Views
      aydanrogers
      11 years ago
   8. Advice on Grain Mills for BIAB

      by Lars, 11 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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      Guys,
      I've been buying my grains pre crushed in group buys. This is great but I dont get to brew as often as I'd like so I end up with my grains being stored for too long. I'm thinking of getting a grain mill so I can buy whole grains and have the opportunity to get in on a group buy for a crankandstein mill. Can you guys, that use mills, tell me what I should be buying(or does it matter?). Also, do we need to crush differently from a traditional 3V brewer?
      And, how long does it take to crush a...

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      I have a Cereal Killer Grain Mill which was $89 including shipping. It is similiar to the Barlely Crusher. I highly recommend it.
      10 Replies
      15299 Views
      swamproad
      11 years ago
   9. Strange fermentation and dry hop

      by Lars, 11 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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      Guys, my brew from this thread has been in FV for 10 days. It started at 1.054 and is now at 1.014. I pitched a vial of wlp001 as I hadn't made a starter so maybe under pitched. Airlock hasn't shown too much activity but there's been a thick 1 inch krausen on it and it's not subsiding. Took gravity sample today and there's a big creamy bubbly honey comb like yeasty head on it. I hope it'll drop another point or 2. It's cloudy as hell hasn't dropped out at all, been sitting at about 17/18c. Any...

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      Gravity down to 1.011, dry hopped with 30g cascade and 30g Amarillo
      4 Replies
      5645 Views
      Lars
      11 years ago
   10. Dicks wheat elixir porter

       by Lars, 11 years ago in BIAB Recipes

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       Randy Moshers recipe. If you like stout/porter you must brew this. Excellent beer but with terrible head retention unfortunately. I'll say no more
       2.3kg wheat malt
       1.8kg Munich
       1.4kg lager malt
       0.7kg medium crystal
       0.227kg porridge oats toasted in oven at 150c for 40mins until brown and smelling of cookies
       0.17kg black patent malt
       14g northern brewer 7% 90mins
       14g northern brewer 7% 10mins
       10g santiam 6.5% 10mins
       One hour mash at 66.5C
       Missing info:
       19l batch
       OG 1.073
       I actually ended up with...

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       This is what I actually brewed that taste so wonderful:)
       Fermented with Wyeast1469
       
       Ingredients
       Amt Name Type # %/IBU
       2.30 kg Wheat Malt, Ger (3.9 EBC) Grain 1 34.5 %
       1.80 kg Munich Malt (17.7 EBC) Grain 2 27.0 %
       1.40 kg Lager Malt (3.9 EBC) Grain 3 21.0 %
       0.37 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (157.6 EBC) Grain 4 5.5 %
       0.33 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC) Grain 5 4.9 %
       0.23 kg porridge oats toasted in oven at 150c for 40mins until brown and smelling of cookies
       0.17 kg Black...
       11 Replies
       10508 Views
       Lars
       11 years ago
   11. Overnight mash and mashout

       by Lars, 11 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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       Is there any point in mashing out if I'm doing an overnight mash?
       
       Thx
       
       L

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       Great post thylacine :thumbs:. Thanks for all that excellent info :salute:.
       12 Replies
       14656 Views
       PistolPatch
       11 years ago
   12. Timothy taylor Landlord

       by Lars, 12 years ago in BIAB Recipes

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       Hi, can anyone give me a tried and trusted TTL recipe that they'd swear by? I've never drank this stuff but it seems to pop up a lot on forums and be very popular. I notice there appears to be different versions of it also. I have some wyeast1469 and I'd like to try this out!
       
       Thanks
       
       L

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       I used Graham Wheeler's recipe and it's very close to the real thing. Really nice :)
       
       Bob
       7 Replies
       9524 Views
       tractorboy
       12 years ago
   13. Hobgoblin Clone

       by Lars, 12 years ago in BIAB Recipes

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       Style: Seems to fit American Amber Ale profile best in Beersmith(should be English Brown Ale)
       Name: Hobgoblin Clone
       Yeast: WLP002
       Fermentation Temperature: 20deg~ish(room temp)
       Original Gravity: 1.058
       Total IBUs: 38.8
       Colour(EBC): 21.8
       Efficiency at end of boil: ??
       Mash length: 90mins
       Boil Length: 60mins
       Vessel Type: 33litre Youngs plastic fementer converted to boiler
       Source/Credits: LordStilton
       Notes/Instructions/Comments: My first BIAB attempt and I got kind of screwed up with volumes and...

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       Well, I stand corrected. We have a local store (Beers of the World) which, as the name implies, imports beer from all over the world. I just checked on-line and it appears they stock several Wychwood beers including HobGoblin! Reckon I need to wander outside of the Belgian section next time I visit that store.
       13 Replies
       13910 Views
       thughes
       12 years ago
   14. Overnight mash

       by Lars, 12 years ago in From Mash to Lauter (Water to Sweet Liquor)

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       Is it ok to leave a mash sit overnight and if I do should I still mashout?
       
       Thanks
       
       L

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       Doughed in about 45 mins ago. Havin a budvar before bed. First overnight mash in progress
       5 Replies
       6801 Views
       Lars
       12 years ago
   15. Trub management- need help please

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       by Lars, 12 years ago in Intermediate Brewing

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       Guys,
       I have a major issue with trub management. i.e. too much goes into my fermentor. It makes it very difficult for me to rinse and reuse my yeast because the quantity of water required to actually get the trub to settle quickly is very large. Anyway, my hop strainer fell off on my last batch and I ended up pouring my kettle into the fermentor through a sieve. I'm going to lose about 4 litres of the 20 in the fermentor to trub and it'll be too much hassle to rinse and reuse the yeast, but...

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       Think I'll be buying a pack from brouwland and splitting it, good idea Stux...
       
       Thanks
       
       L
       
       Here's a good link on how to split wyeast packs.
       
       onclick= window.open(this.href);return false; ... opic=45866
       
       here's me preparing to split 3 different yeast packs I pre-ordered
       
       splitting wyeast.jpg
       
       I don't bother smacking the pack before splitting anymore and I find I get better results
       
       You can just use onclick= window.open(this.href);return false; to work out your steppings. Just enter 25B for...
       39 Replies
       27310 Views
       stux
       12 years ago
   16. Fitting tap on buffalo urn

       by Lars, 12 years ago in Bags, Mashers, Thermometers, Kettles etc.

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       Hi guys, I've a 40litre buffalo and I want to fit a ball valve(I know PP , but I'm doing it anyway:)). Has anyone here managed to do that without having to enlarge the hole? The guys on Jimsbeerkit seem to be enlarging the hole which I'm reluctant to do??
       
       Thanks
       
       L

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       My goodness! I was so negative in my last post here :P. I haven't seen a braumeister in action but hear good reports. In fact the only automated systems I have seen in action have been three vessel systems.
       
       I think thughes, nala (and many others) have got theirautomated single vessel systems working well now and I know you have followed their posts so you should be able to avoid some of the teething problems they had. One thing's for sure, you'll have lots of fun with it so ignore my...
       15 Replies
       12794 Views
       PistolPatch
       12 years ago
   17. Mashout - should I bother?

       by Lars, 12 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       Hi, just wondering, does the mashout actually add much to the process. With my old setup that I'm gettign rid of it was a pain in the a$$ lifting the bag off the elements to achieve mash temp etc. My new setup is much better as I've abuffalo 40litre and a cake rack to keep the bag up. Does the mashout just add a few % points to the efficiency that I could achieve anyway with a little more grain or is there a more compelling reason to mash out?
       
       Thanks
       
       L

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       Thanks guys. I'll be mashing out with my new setup so.....
       
       L
       3 Replies
       4482 Views
       Lars
       12 years ago
   18. Why 90 minutes?

       by Lars, 12 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       Hi, can someone tell me whats the advantage of firstly a 90 minute mash and secondly a 90 minute boil?
       I understand the whole DMS/90 minute boil thing but I thought that only applied to lager/pilsener malts, other than that is it just adding unnecessary time to brew day?
       Also, I dont know much about the science of mashing but it seems that a 60 minute mash is standard in the homebrewing world?
       Are these BIAB specific or what?
       
       Thanks
       
       L

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       Another point with the 90 minute mash in BIAB. With a batch sparge you actually have a much longer runoff period. If you included that time as part of the mash you might be closer to a 90 minute mash. With biab you pull the bag and start the boil immediately. It makes sense that sacharification is going to be halted sooner
       
       I do a 90 minute mash including mashout
       9 Replies
       8483 Views
       stux
       12 years ago
   19. New to BIAB needing help with allgrain recipe and volumes

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       by Lars, 12 years ago in BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

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       Hi, I'm doing my first BIAB recipe soon(as soon as I clear up what I need to do). I have a 33litre plastic boiler(355mm diameter and 390mm deep). I want to keep it as simple as possible, no sparge. I'm going to pick up some styrofoam insulation and make a jacket for the boiler and cover the lid and bottom too with several layers. I want to try the following AG hobgoblin clone that was recommended to my by an AG brewer.
       
       20 litres of hobgobliny style goodness
       5kg. Pale malt
       200g. Crystal Malt...

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       Guys, thanks for the excellent advice, the beer is fine, despite what hit me in the face from the fermenter. I've posted the recipe as I think its going to be worthy of sharing.
       
       Thanks Again!!
       
       L
       25 Replies
       22570 Views
       Lars
       12 years ago
   20. Help with choice of boiler

       by Lars, 12 years ago in Electric BIAB

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       Guys,
       I've done one BIAB(my first AG) brew and I'm definitely sticking with this method. I used my 33litre plastic boiler with an extra kettle element installed. Its a bit small to do full volume 23litre brew so I want to get something more suitable. From the calculator it looks to me like a 45 or 50litre vessel would be ideal. My boil off was much less than the calculator suggested. More like 2.5litres per hour(kinda damp here in Ireland). I see EoinMag has had similar experience. Anyway, 45...

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       Thanks PP, I was considering transferring the crappy plastic one over from my plastic boiler when I invest in the SS setup. You've given me something to think about . Ill be using plastic for a few more brews so I can mull over it in the meantime.
       
       Thanks
       
       L
       14 Replies
       14628 Views
       Lars
       12 years ago

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