BIABrewer Old Hands

1. Color Calculation questions

   6 Replies 9243 Views

   First post by CSchenk, 13 years ago

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   Hey All,
   
   I'm trying to work out color calculations and I'm running into a problem. So far I'm using Morey's calculation {SRM=1.49 }. To calculate my MCUs I'm doing {(grain weight (lbs)*Lovibond of grain)/Volume (gal)}. Does this formula estimate final beer color, or the color going into the boil pot. The boil pot should contribute some color through Maillard reactions and the caramelization of some sugars. Finally to make the question really fun, how does post boil dilution effect final color?...

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   That's great Shenk and can't wait to hear how it goes! Hopefully they'll let you borrow the machine a few times so as you can test the consistency.
   
   Thanks for the update :salute:,
   PP
   6 Replies
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   Last post by PistolPatch
   13 years ago
2. Software Terminology, Gravity and Bitterness Discrepancies.

   11 Replies 12157 Views

   First post by PistolPatch, 13 years ago

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   [For the moment, I'm going to regularly edit this post so as I can refer brewers who are learning to use The Calculator or other software to it. Feel free to quote or comment on anything anything though as you see fit and, if appropriate, I'll try and include your thoughts here.]
   
   Overview
   
   Discrepancies between different software can be very frustrating especially for brewers just beginning to dive into the calculation area. A new brewer will often wonder what they are doing wrong when they...

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   Interesting discussion here.
   
   My mind seems to work backwards sometimes. :roll: If it were not for the calculator I would likely brew a few batches so-so beer now and then, and propably quit. What the Calculator is allowing me to do is to get started, and develop a feel for the BIAB process while brewing good beer(I hope.) As I improve I know that I will want to dig deeper and understand the calculations going on in the spread sheet. See I have to do it first(or break it :headhit: ) then I can...
   11 Replies
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   Last post by 2trout
   13 years ago
3. Souring

   8 Replies 10256 Views

   First post by Two If By Sea, 13 years ago

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   I've had this question in the back of my mind for a while now. I often partigyle my spent grains after a brew by adding in another pound of fresh grains and some hot water. I then mash 24-48 hours with my bag in a cooler to get a soured mash and brew a light beer where I add different things such as coriander, grapefruit peels, grains of paradise, etc. The plus is I can use all the same equipment since the souring is pre-boil so the bugs get killed off in the brew pot.
   
   I've always wanted to...

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   Thanks for the info both of you. I read the BYO article which of course made it seem a little more complicated. Excluding oxygen sounds like it would be tricky in my BIAB urn as I'd need 30L (A LOT) of mash to fill to the brim. I wonder about experimenting with lactic acid and, more likely, other bug strains post-primary for souring some beer. I've got a bottle of Mikkeler 'Yeast Series' Brettanomyces which I'd love to add to a big porter or old ale.
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   Last post by Cameron
   13 years ago
4. Cold break experiment

   8 Replies 10406 Views

   First post by Beachbum, 13 years ago

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   Cold break is good, cold break is bad, I wish I had a hundred dollars for every time this discussion pops up on forums. My experiment today, with my double urn setup, is to do two identical brews then no chill them overnight. Tomorrow I'll pour the top half of each cube into a fermenter and the rest into the other fermenter.
   So one will get little or no CB, the other will get all of it.
   
   4000g Galaxy Pale Pilsener
   1000g Rice
   330g Carapils
   
   20g Northern Brewer 60 mins
   30g Saaz 10 mins
   
   S-189...

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   Explains why my beers have such good mouth feel, all the cold break goes into the fermenter :)
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   Last post by hashie
   13 years ago
5. RO/DI Water and pH readings

   8 Replies 12438 Views

   First post by pHman, 13 years ago

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   Here is some thing that I posted on another forum which I think could be useful to all.
   
   Since starting to use 100% RO/DI (reverse osmosis de ionised water) water for my brewing (salts added) I have found great improvements with my beer quality. One thing that I and my fellow brewers have found that we were getting great fluctuations in pH measurements of the RO water.
   
   Well today after pondering if all our pH meters were stuffed Mr X found this great post below and we are now much relieved ....

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   Yep Ted, sounds fair, the only exception I'd make is that not all BIABs use that 7:1 ratio which assumes mashing and sparging are combined. Maxi-BIAB is a point in case, it uses 4:1 and 2 * 2:1 or something like that depending on how it is sparged. So it is really quite similar to the more conventional mashes, not by design but just by coincidence. I use Maxi-BIAB almost exclusively (I do the odd partial mash now and then), I just love it for being competitive at the state level and also...
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   Last post by Ralph
   13 years ago
6. Extract conversion question

   3 Replies 5123 Views

   First post by Two If By Sea, 13 years ago

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   I have a recipe that calls for 6.6 pounds of Briess CBW Traditional Dark Malt Extract Syrup that I'd like to convert to BIAB. There are no other grains in the recipe. I went to the Briess site and found this Produced from a big grist, this intense malty flavored extract is excellent for color adjustment. Ingredients: Base Malt, Caramel Malt 60L, Munich Malt, Black Malt. and 30 degrees (8 degrees Plato).
   
   Recipe is for 5 gallons @ 1.046-1.050 20 SRM
   
   Any idea how to figure out the percentages...

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   My personal choice would be to have 1kg of Munich, because I love the flavour it imparts. The reason I kept it low was to stick to the original recipe you had 1046 - 1050 OG.
   
   You could always use a dark munich and use more while cutting back on the crystal. Make the recipe along the lines of 75, 15, 5 & 5% ???
   
   I don't have a rule of thumb, I just fly by the seat of my pants :)
   3 Replies
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   Last post by hashie
   13 years ago
7. Long term aging

   13 Replies 12278 Views

   First post by Two If By Sea, 13 years ago

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   Ok, so I am 2 weeks into the ferment of my RIS that I am going to age for 5 years. What things can I do to help successfully aging that long?
   The specifics:
   OG: 1.104
   IBU: 111
   FG:TBD
   Right now it sits in a 6 gallon betterbottle.
   
   Normally I would bottle this after 4 weeks in primary. Since this is going to age, bulk aging would be a better idea for a bit? How long?
   Bulk age on the yeast or transfer to secondary? When?
   Would it make sense to drop campden tablets in this at some point to kill...

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   Meh. If I waited to get things I cannot afford, I wouldn't be brewing. O2 is on the list, but there are other things needed first. This would be the first time I ran into O2 issues...if that is indeed what this is.
   13 Replies
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   Last post by Two If By Sea
   13 years ago
8. Rice

   5 Replies 6230 Views

   First post by hashie, 13 years ago

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   I made a Cream Ale yesterday, using rice. But I'm unsure how to put my figures into Beersmith.
   
   For 27 litres;
   Pilsner 4.5 kg
   Rice 1 1/2 cups dry - 850 grams cooked.
   
   Hallertau 50g 4.4% a/a 60 minutes
   Hallertau 25g 4.4% a/a 20 minutes { I know this will be out of style - overly bitter}
   
   1 tsp salt
   
   US-05 Ale yeast
   
   OG = 1046
   
   In Beersmith the only options for inputting rice are; rice hulls and flaked rice. How do I input cooked rice (or dry)?

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   This cereal mash sounds interesting BB, I'll have to have a good read up before I do my next brew and give it a go :)
   5 Replies
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   Last post by hashie
   13 years ago
9. Going bigger - 60L fermenter

   14 Replies 15913 Views

   First post by stevem01, 13 years ago

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   Hi all
   I picked up a 60L fermenter for $30 (couldn't resist a bargain) and now need to find a use for it.
   
   I am thinking of 55L of a light summer ale, OG around 1035 (3.5% - 4%), but my pot is only 50L to the brim.
   
   Am i on the right track doing a 27.5L batch at about 1060 then watering down by half in the fermenter?
   
   Or is there a much better way of doing this
   
   Cheers

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   Nice work Steve!
   All's well that ends well ;)
   
   Lloydie
   14 Replies
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   Last post by LloydieP
   13 years ago
10. Mistakes

    2 Replies 4381 Views

    First post by hashie, 13 years ago

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    Isn't it crazy that after 80 odd brews, I still make mistakes! Or maybe not.
    
    This week I made a cream ale;
    
    4.5 kg Pilsner
    0.45 kg rice
    
    Bittered to 21 IBU's with Mt Hood @ 60 and 20 minutes.
    
    I was aiming for 27 litres final volume, which is what I generally aim for. My system usually loses 10 litres during the brew process to grain absorption and boil off.
    
    So this week, I started with 37 litres, as usual. The thing that went wrong was that I only lost 1`litre to grain absorption. I figure...

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    Thanks Ralph. It is very forgiving, I fully expected to have 29 litres of weak beer. Instead I've ended up with lots of good beer, or at least I hope it's good when it's finished.
    
    I think 'mistakes' was possibly the wrong title for the thread. Forgiving brewing might have been better?
    2 Replies
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    Last post by hashie
    13 years ago