Intermediate Brewing

1. If you had no money restrictions, would you keg or bottle?

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   First post by PistolPatch, 9 years ago

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   I know this seems a silly question as all of us brewers dream of having beer on tap.
   
   I have 8 kegs and can have 6 of them easily on tap. All 8 if I really want but...
   
   One thing I never thought of before following this dream was that most of the beer that comes out of those kegs, ends up in the bottle anyway. I don't consume much of my beer without company and this is usually on a brew day. In other words, most of the beer I make, I take elsewhere so I am bottling it out of the keg anyway....

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   Apart from this I also have a fermentation chamber / smaller chest freezer with a temperature controller...
   
   On the main beer storage option for kegs & taps, I wanted it to be simple. Set and forget temperature. Readily available and not expensive on Craigslist.
   37 Replies
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   Last post by Scott
   3 months ago
2. Gordon Strong-Modern homebrew recipes

   14 Replies 8671 Views

   First post by HomebrewJp, 3 years ago

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   Hi there Guys and Gals
   
   I need some help. 
   I am looking at brewing a recipe from Gordon Strong's book - Modern homebrew recipes.
   Now i am trying to convert the recipe into biabacus.
   But i am not sure of the VAW.
   
   This is the info the book gives me.
   Batch size / final volume  :headhit:: 25L (This is the issue as i am not sure if this is VAW)
   OG: 1063
   Efficiency: 70%
   Mash: 60min @ 64C
   Kettle volume: 32L
   Boil: 90min
   VIF: 21L
   
   Please see if my recipe detectiveness is correct. :peace:

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   No. Remove the 70% from the BIABacus. That was only for detective mode. Removing the 70% efficiency allows the spreadsheet to determine the efficiency.
   
   Awesome - thx MS!
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   Last post by shetc
   11 months ago
3. How to use all-grain kit with BIABacus?

   24 Replies 10739 Views

   First post by shetc, 3 years ago

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   Hi Gang,
   
   Long time no see.  Hope all is well with everyone.
   
   Morebeer is having an Xmas sale with 12% off most things on their site. This includes their  Russian River's Pliny the Elder kit , which is $51 (with yeast), or $44.88 after the 12% discount. I reckon it would cost at least $62 if I bought the ingredients from my local homebrew shop. So I'm kinda into the idea of brewing this great IPA at a somewhat reduced price. Question: How hard is it to set up the recipe in the BIABacus? Below...

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   Hey there Steve,
   
   For some reason I and others have totally missed this thread. (There's an email notification problem going on that, thanks to Microsoft etc will need a university degree to correct ;) )
   
   Anyway, let's have a look...
   
   I think you are correct and they are wrong. Would need more info though to confirm that. For example, if you order the kit, are they delivering the exact weights you have listed on the left hand side of Section C of the BIABacus? If yes, then, even if you set your...
   24 Replies
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   Last post by PistolPatch
   1 year ago
4. BIABacus Rudder Corrections for Mini-BIAB

   3 Replies 3339 Views

   First post by BrewJeep6, 2 years ago

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   I am a small batch brewer (1 gallon/3.8L). I recently conducted my third mini-BIAB attempting to clone Bass Ale. I have found the BIABacus to be extremely helpful, but want to ensure that I am getting the most out of it. I was hoping that someone could take a look at my numbers and see if I am on track, or if there is something that i could do to improve my brewing process. My biggest concern after my most recent brew was the amount of trub in my fermenter after transfer. I am used to trub, but...

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   That's great BrewJeep!
   
   Lol on the bone head bit. You aren't a bone head at all! The problem is that there is so much info around the net, a fair bit is wrong and none of it is structured very well. (That's the mammoth task we're taking on behind the scenes here.) Personally I'm annoyed that it is taking so long for us to get the right info written and structured but we will get there :)
   
   That's fantastic you are using the checklist. I wrote that years ago and found it very helpful as it made...
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   Last post by PistolPatch
   2 years ago
5. Tweaking stuff

   4 Replies 3632 Views

   First post by Streamer, 2 years ago

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   I keep refining my APA recipe, and I’ll be changing two things on my next batch: making a late addition of hops for both flavor and some modified bitterness, and dropping the Crystal Malt from 60 to 15 to lessen the caramel flavor I've been getting. The caramel flavor has been too noticeable, overpowering the other beer flavors I’m looking for, thus the reason for reducing the Crystal Malt.
   By changing from Crystal 60L to 15L, while keeping the % of Crystal malt the same in relation to the...

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   MS and Scott, thank you for your replies. MS, It took me some thought but it finally hit me what you were saying about percentages. Yes, I'll start playing with that.
   Scott, that article is pretty interesting. I hadn't considered dropping the Crystal altogether and bringing in another malt, but I agree with Tony Lawrence about sweetness masking other flavors. I may drop Crystal altogether and substitute another malt - looks like I've got some research to do, and pretty darned quick.
   I'm...
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   Last post by Streamer
   2 years ago
6. Value!

   3 Replies 3623 Views

   First post by Streamer, 2 years ago

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   It's been a while since I had time to think about my next batch, but things are settling down and I'm tweaking my current recipe.
   In reviewing the attached recipe I see that in section A and B under SRM the sum comes up with a Value! notice. Typically on Excel spreadsheets I see this when I've messed up a formula. If I play around with numbers I don't seem to be able to get it to go away. What am I doing wrong?
   
   Thanks as always

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   Thanks for looking. You were right MS, I plugged in .01 for the Maltodextrin and viola!
   3 Replies
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   Last post by Streamer
   2 years ago
7. Replacing some base malt with DME for a BIG Beer

   12 Replies 8779 Views

   First post by aamcle, 3 years ago

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   Evening All.
   
   If you have time to look this over I'd really appreciate some advice.
   
   In January I'd like to brew Effin Stout it's a RIS with a OG of about 1.104, for 20 liters it takes 7kg of base malt and near to ten in total.
   
   Reasonably gear will mash 5 - 6 kg I don't think I can maxi baib it as it just wouldn't fit.
   
   7000g Pale Malt
   850g Flaked Maize (GW Recipe uses Maltose Syrup)
   790g Amber Malt
   500g Crystal Malt (105L - Standard Crystal)
   500g Chocolate Malt
   250g Black Malt
   It's a...

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   There is a fair bit on the net about reiterating mashes and I read a good deal of it before I considered doing it, it works but water treatment is a bitch, you are more or less guessing after the first mash. Fortunately I was able to get advice from a much more experienced and able brewer.
   Even so I resorted to a pH meter and constant checking it didn't go badly and although much too young to be at it's best the beer seems to be progressing well which is what's important.
   
   I was half asleep...
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   Last post by aamcle
   2 years ago
8. Big Mistake - first batch I've ever dumped from fermenter.

   7 Replies 6884 Views

   First post by PistolPatch, 3 years ago

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   This is in the intermediate forum because beginners would never have this problem.
   
   The Background
   
   Brewed a very simple recipe a few weeks ago, very few malts and only one hop spread over two additions. On transfer from primary to secondary, had a taste and pretty puckering. It was an ale so in secondary, I ramped up the temp but tasted today and, it is going to be ditched.
   
   What Went Wrong?
   
   Definitely one thing, possibly two...
   
   Yeast: The yeast I used was a dried one, just bought, but,...

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   I have now stuck permanent markers where I can easily get to them.
   
   I started doing that too, but then mistakenly used permanent on my whiteboard I use for my brew days.
   They are now strictly separated. :idiot:
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   Last post by Muggy Dawson
   3 years ago
9. Dealing with evaporation indoors

   6 Replies 5803 Views

   First post by onkeltuka, 5 years ago

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   So we got a small place rented out all for brewing! Yay. :champ: It's a small wooden building with concrete floor, an old sauna. I've just started thinking that if we boil two large brews there back-to-back in one day, and evaporate something like 20+ liters of water into the ceiling, won't that cause problems...? So what are our options? I was thinking if we would put up a plastic tarp above the kettle, with one corner lower than the others, would the condensating water drip nicely down from...

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   An urn is one of those large electric coffee pots, right? Urn is not a common term over here in the United States, and not for that...
   
   Okay sounds good. I would still be cautious about brewing inside unless you have a good system to get rid of the steam / moisture. JMHO.
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   Last post by Scott
   3 years ago
10. Experimental Brewing by Beechum and Conn

    4 Replies 3956 Views

    First post by shetc, 3 years ago

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    Hey All,
    
    I downloaded a copy of  Experimental Homebrewing  (Beechum & Conn, 2014) from Amazon for 3 clams American. Naturally, I wondered if the recipes could be made with integrity in the BIABacus. I have outlined below some of the information provided in the introduction to the book:
    
    Basic Assumptions (some assumptions not shown)
    Most recipes assume a 5.5-gallon batch at 75 percent efficiency. If your batch size or efficiency are different, be sure to adjust grain amounts...

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    Hey Steve  :peace:, I remember scanning the above just after you posted it, and, like you, noticed the 12 weeks in primary. That would definitely be a typo, maybe they meant 1-2 weeks in primary?.
    
    Experimental Brewing Errata
    pg. 27 - California Magnum - Notes  - It says ferment for 12 weeks. Should read - ferment for 1-2 weeks
    Good catch!
    4 Replies
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    Last post by shetc
    3 years ago
11. Low / No Alcohol beer ?

    8 Replies 6413 Views

    First post by JayP, 3 years ago

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    Any one experienced in brewing a low / no alcohol beer ?
    
    I'm 39 and recently diagnosed with heart failure, and have been told by my docs no alcohol for the foreseeable future. Which is a shame as I was enjoying my BIAB endeavors and had a number of successful brews under my belt. So these days I'm drinking Cooper Birrell (0.5% abv) or the Holsten (0.0%) reluctantly, but would like to try brewing my own if possible. I've read that one way to remove the alcohol from beer is to reheat after...

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    Three quick thoughts, least valuable first ;)...
    
    3. The BrewDog DIY is something we've had a lot of trouble interpreting .
    
    2. Low alcohol beers are a tremendous amount of work so....
    
    1. Don't brew, or, if you do, blend.
    
    Blending is Excellent!
    
    If you really want to brew, then that's great, however, consider the following first...
    
    You're in Perth so you'll know of Nail Red Ale (6.0%ABV). Mix 1 part of that with 4 or 5 parts of your Birrell. You'll be amazed at how much flavour and aroma...
    8 Replies
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    3 years ago
12. More Hops!!!

    9 Replies 5333 Views

    First post by Streamer, 3 years ago

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    Well, I'm posting this under Intermediate because I meet the criteria, but barely. 
    I'm getting prepped to brew my 2nd batch of SNPA Clone, and want to up the IBU's slightly as well as the hop aroma. My last batch was pretty mild to my taste, but I liked the beer in general. Original IBUs were  32.7. So my questions are:
    1. Is going from an IBU of 32.7 to 37.1 a big jump, a baby step, or a Goldilocks just right?
    2. My 1st batch had 32.7 grams of 7.8% AA Cascade hops added at 5 minutes and 32.7...

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    Hi Streamer,
    
    I would give it a shot without adjusting the Perle addition... My opinion. Give it a shot. I think you will be okay. And let me know how you like Perle at 10 minutes...
    
    Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast says 60 to 72 deg F. I would think 63-64 deg F should be okay but on the lower side. WLP001 and US-05 are supposed to be the same but list slightly different numbers for most everything.
    
    7 days to ferment an Ale seems like it's on the low side. :scratch: Might be done but may not....
    9 Replies
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    Last post by Scott
    3 years ago
13. Stone Pale Ale

    6 Replies 4193 Views

    First post by Brew4me, 3 years ago

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    looking for some one-over-one checks on my attempt to take Stone Pale Recipe from their site into BIAB.  Any input is appreciated.  I was wondering on the Mash - the site recipe talks about a 156 degree F conversion and at 165 degree F mash - which I interpret as a step mash of say 156F 30 minutes and 60 minutes 165F.  But, thought I should check here before finalizing.
    Here is the Stone Brewery site recipe:  
    And here is my BIAB recipe (also attached):
    Stone Ale
     
    Recipe Overview
     ...

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    I am very curious about this.       It's very interesting how and why they get to 75% attenuation
    Starting Gravity of 1.057 and FG of 1.014 are  within an APA style.  APA's are supposed to feature a slight sweetness but not as much caramel of British pale ales.   
    The 13% Crystal malts will accounted for un-fermentable sugars for a Pale Ale, maybe more like a British Pale Ale.   Then the high mash temp of 156 for sure would ensure un-fermerntable sugars.  
    I can't figure out the 20 minute mash...
    6 Replies
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    Last post by LI Mike D
    3 years ago
14. Double Mash Biab 1/2 then 1/2 - please advise water treatment?

    9 Replies 5371 Views

    First post by aamcle, 3 years ago

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    I'm planning a Big Stout and I going to have to split my grain bill and I'd really appreciate your help.
    
    Related BYO article :- 
    
    My plan is to mash 1/2 then this will require 33 litres of water and remove the grain. Sparge to make up to initial volume (33 litres), and then mash the other 1/2 in the wort from the first 1/2..   Sparge again to get to the correct pre-boil volume.  
    Continue with processing in the usual way.
      But I don't know about water treatment.  
    I'd very much like...

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    I have a report and routinely test for Alkalinity prior to brewing.  My water supply is very hard, so hard that I can't use it for lagers even with additions  but with little in the way of treatment it makes good stout.  
    
    ATB    aamcle
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    Last post by aamcle
    3 years ago
15. Efficiency

    11 Replies 7738 Views

    First post by Philip321, 3 years ago

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    Attached is the BIABacus
    
    In my 100 Litre electric kettle I brewed a Bag End Bitter, here is the link.
    
    My problem is, The Gravity of Ambient Wort @ 20c = 68F was only 1.034 and the recipe requires an original gravity of 1.043
    I mashed at 66c = 150.8F for 90 minutes. I did raise the temperature to 70c = 158F before striking as it is quite a big bag full and it did drop to 66c
    
    I checked the temperature halfway through the mash and raised it back to 68c
    I mashed out at 78c = 172.4F for 10...

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    What I think PP was saying is that if your water reaches 70 and you turn the heat off the residual heat of your kettle will actually raise the water temperature more. Did you fill in section E on the biabacus with your grain temperature? That will tell you what strike temperature to use. My kettle is pretty thick so I stop heating and couple degrees lower to compensate for the kettle heat.
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    Last post by Lumpy5oh
    3 years ago
16. Crap boil

    9 Replies 5878 Views

    First post by Oldgit, 3 years ago

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    I made a Greg Hughes milk stout yesterday
    I just could not get a good rolling boil, British wether/need more kw's
    At the end off 2 hours I had 8 litres to much Walt
    No trub to speck of, tastes ok
    Is it a bin job or would you ferment it
    Any advice would be great
    I'am going to upgrade my gas ring

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    I used to have heaps of trouble with boils. 2 ring burner, no good... 3 ring burner, no good... bigger regulator, no good...
    
    would take ages to get to boiling, then would boil then die down, build back up etc... never a vigourous boil
    
    what I have done is 3 ring burner with 2kg/hr regulator and I place bricks around the pot three high in alternating pattern. Traps all the heat in there! Boil 35L from mash temp in 30 minutes and hold vigourous boil constantly!
    
    Its a bit primative but I figure...
    9 Replies
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    Last post by ninja_drift
    3 years ago
17. Continuing efficiency 2 - long sorry

    7 Replies 5432 Views

    First post by aamcle, 3 years ago

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    Continuing efficiency 2
    
    To day I'm brewing a Directors clone – a Malt Miller AG kit.
    
    I set up to use Biabacus but it seemed to want 39 liters of water my calculations on paper and the calculations of Biabcalculator.com both came out about 33 liters and that is in line with my past experience.
    
    So in the end I mashed with 23 litres and sparged with 10 litres.
    
    Water Report from United Utilities.
    Ca…………...73ppm
    Mg…….…….29
    Cl…………….49
    So4…………..60
    Fe…..……....<3
    Na…………...29
    Alkalinity……211 tested...

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    I'm no pro, but, I had a Biabacus file that cot corrupted somehow and showed my kettle as 125 liters. I redownloaded the original file and I'm much closer to dialing in my system.
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    Last post by FatDog
    3 years ago
18. Fruit Decomposition in Secondary

    1 Replies 3313 Views

    First post by naib, 3 years ago

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    I started a Belgian strong ale about two and a half months ago, it was a 5 gallon batch with ten pounds of sour cherries in the secondary. I was following the general intent of this link on kegerator . He said he left the fruit in secondary for two months to let your fruit have plenty of time to be eaten by the yeast . I don't know exactly what I expected, but the cherries all floated up to the top and have stayed there for eight weeks. I attached a picture, it looks exactly the same now as it...

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    I have done a few fruit beers, last one I did strawberries but I generally only leave the fruit in for a week or so, or until fermentation activity has stopped and gravity stabilized. I haven't done cherries, but strawberries definitely turn to mush after a week. I use a plastic bucket and a mesh bag to contain the fruit / control the debris. Perhaps because cherries have a 'skin' they don't decompose as much. The nice thing about the bucket and bag approach is that you can use a sanitized...
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    Last post by goulaigan
    3 years ago
19. Any Limit on Size for BIAB?

    4 Replies 4974 Views

    First post by Hvacman, 3 years ago

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    Seen a company building systems up to 100 gals doing 1 pot set ups.
    Where do we start loosing eff?

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    I guess you're limited to your strength! I know even full batches that I do, without a pulley is difficult!
    4 Replies
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    Last post by Oliverb
    3 years ago
20. maltodextrin

    17 Replies 8469 Views

    First post by BDP, 4 years ago

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    Hi,
    
    I'd like to hear from anyone who's had experience with using maltodextrin powder. Did it help achieve the desired objective, and were you happy with the results?
    
    The intended use is to add gravity without fermentability. How to Brew lists it as contributing about 40 ppg, and it is marginally fermentable.
    
    Is there a way to deal with this in BIABacus so that it:
    * adjusts the hop bill (upward)
    * adjusts OG, FG, etc. according to the gravity contribution and lower fermentability
    * does not...

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    I've used malto with good results. I had entered a recipe wrong and only realized it when I tasted the finished product. After looking at my notes I was right....a thin beer :(
    
    So I put 500g of malto into a sauce pot and boiled it up and cooled it in the fridge, added it to the keg. Now of course it is all subjective really but I felt it really repaired the problem of mouthfeel and when I served it at a party no one seemed to think it was thin and drank the whole keg up
    17 Replies
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    Last post by Squared
    3 years ago
21. Mini BIAB

    12 Replies 8677 Views

    First post by Primavera, 4 years ago

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    So.....
    
    Weather forecast is for cold and snow this weekend. I will go crazy if all I can do is sit around and watch TV.
    
    I have a 15L / 4G kettle that BIABacus says will give me 5L 1.3G VIF
    
    Assuming I can persuade my wife to let me brew indoors;
    
    Anything I need to do differently for a 1G batch?
    
    Any suggestions for a recipe?
    
    Do people in Australia have globes with the South Pole on top?

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    I'm a mini BIAB brewer with a 15L pot and am getting 9.5-10L into the fermenter.
    
    Basically I'm mashing in with 10L strike water, adding around 5 L or thereabouts before the boil to give me a boil volume of about 14L and after Evap (1.3L / hr) and trub losses and regularly ending up with 10L brews.
    
    This is all based on BIABacus and the withholding water section towards the end. Reaching OG of 1.05 with 2kg grain bills no problem.
    12 Replies
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    Last post by JayP
    3 years ago
22. Pumpkin in the mash

    1 Replies 3563 Views

    First post by obsidian, 3 years ago

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    I've had a look around, and can't find the answer to this question.
    
    I am trying to convert the Pumpkin Spice Ale recipe from Brewing Classic Styles using biabacus. In the all grain option section, the book suggests that you can add pumpkin and rice hulls to the mash. How do I do this in biabacus? Do I add them as grain and adjust in section Y? If so, what values would I be using? I assume the pumpkin is adding some fermentables to the wort, as the recipe says to reduce the grain if using...

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    That's a difficult question to answer (correctly anyway)!
    
    I believe pumpkin adds very little fermentables to your brew, there will be some but it will depend on the product.
    I don't have BCS so am unsure of their recipe, but if it is tinned pumpkin, it should let you know the sugar content maybe?
    If it is fresh produce then....??? :scratch:
    
    I did a pumpkin ale a few years back and looking at my BIABacus file I set the ppg to about 1 (as it was fresh pumpkin).
    I set this in section Y as you...
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    Last post by mally
    3 years ago
23. Going Simple - 3

    2 Replies 4261 Views

    First post by aamcle, 3 years ago

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    Thats my first Biab done without recirculation.
    
    a simple batch :-
    Pale 4kg
    Munich1 0.5kg
    Mash 65DegC
    Galaxy 30g at 70mins
    Galaxy 30g at 0mins
    Wai-iti 30 at 0mins
    Dry Hop 20 for 4 days
    
    I have some interesting numbers, because I found my self short of soft water I mashed with 20 litres and dunk sparged with 10 litres of hot tap water.
    
    After lifting the grain bag but prior to sparging.
    15litres in kettle 1.060 SG 63% Eff
    
    After dunk sparging a sample was caught dripping from grain bag....

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    I put the box together to run a Nextgen BM clone, the section on the left runs the on/off pump cycle that BMs require, the other functions are PWM and PID and there is a switch to choose between them.
    
    aamcle
    2 Replies
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    Last post by aamcle
    3 years ago
24. Rye Beer and Rice Hulls

    14 Replies 8876 Views

    First post by aamcle, 4 years ago

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    I'm planning to try a Rye beer again (Ratio 3/2.5 Rye to Pale Malt) on my recirculating system, the last time I tried this I got a stuck mash, very stuck even suspending the bag to drain resulted in a slow trickle of liquor.
    I had used a beta glucan rest but it still stuck this time I'll give it longer 20 mins at 45C and I'm considering adding Rice Hulls.
    
    I've never used rice hulls before, never needed to, my question is will they make the difference I need and prevent the mash sticking? I...

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    I don't think there's an absolute number. It will depend on your bag, other grains used and whether or not you are recirculating.
    14 Replies
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    Last post by Contrarian
    3 years ago
25. Going Simple - 2

    6 Replies 5615 Views

    First post by aamcle, 3 years ago

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    Next week or the one after I'll brew my first BIAB without recirculation, I'll either do a traditional no chill or chill in the boiler. I've just removed the tap and drain so now I have a simple boiler no nasty places for things to hide.
    
    Now when it comes to getting the wort out into a FV I'm inclined to use a syphon. I know I can fill it with StarSan and run it out or even suck and dump the the end into StarSan.
    
    But I have been thinking about alternative ways to start a syphon made from...

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    I've just bottled my current batch a Duseldorf Alt so in the next week or two I'll brew my first traditional BIAB no recirc or any other fancy things like dunking, my personal experience is that I'll need to add a little more grain but that's Ok.
    
    ATB. aamcle
    6 Replies
    5615 Views
    Last post by aamcle
    3 years ago