BIABrewer Old Hands

1. Double Crush?

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   First post by smyrnaquince, 11 years ago

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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...
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   Last post by smyrnaquince
   11 years ago
2. First Wort Hopping

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   First post by ArcLight, 12 years ago

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   How would I First Wort Hop using BIAB?
   I use a hop bag filled with pellets, I dont just dump the pellets in the wort and filter them later.
   
   Would I place the Hop bag in the bag (along with the grain) and perform a regular mash, then transfer the hop bag to the brew kettle for the normal boil?
   
   Someone posted about putting the hops bag in the brew pot after the mash, while waiting to boil, but that seems like just a longer boil. I though with FWH you want the hops exposed for a while at...

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   Lylo, just looking at older/inactive threads.. That's great. I know a couple of dogs that are just that way. I don't know if grains that have had hop juice in them are bad. Certainly hops are. I put my hops in a bag or a large SS tea strainer. But, I'd rather not push the envelop with my lil' girl.
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   Last post by HbgBill
   11 years ago
3. German Mashing Technique: Hochkurz

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   First post by Beachbum, 13 years ago

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   I've been frustrated with my German Style beers and the last one (Pils) turned out more like Tooheys New. For non Australian Members that's like saying you succeeded in making a bad copy of Miller or Carling. :?
   
   So I've been doing some studying up and found a great site Braukaiser
   I've found that the most popular mash used by German breweries today is the Hochkurz (high-short) mashing schedule.
   It's an infusion mash and instead of just mashing at some mid range such as 65 degrees celsius,...

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   going to try this tomorrow morning. will be brewing my double batch Helles bock / Belgian strong - two beers in one brew recipe.
   i hope i remember to post back here in a couple of months with tasting notes.
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   Last post by shibolet
   11 years ago
4. What is the extract potential of potato and rice?

   12 Replies 11711 Views

   First post by mally, 11 years ago

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   Does anybody happen to know the extract potentials of potatoes & rice?
   I have read that potato has about 1/5 carbohydrate (20%) maybe 8ppg, not sure about rice possibly similar :scratch:
   
   I have been designing a recipe in the BIABacus, but adjusting the figures to give you the correct ppg in the adjustable section (Y) is not the right way to go about it. I guess i need to know what the FGDB & MC are for these.

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   Thanks guys, quite interesting info there.
   I liked beachbums post, though don't think i would try that recipe.
   
   One idea i have been toying with, is to brew this with no hops. Not only would it be more like the lite styles, but i could try various hop teas to see which i like, and what suits light beers/my tastes.
   
   Todd - I have seen the instant & pregelatinised adjuncts too, but the normal rice here is much cheaper (40P/Kilo) or ($0.3/Lb). I don't really want to spend too much on this...
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   Last post by mally
   11 years ago
5. Mally's Sour Mash Experiment

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   First post by mally, 11 years ago

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   After getting inspiration from Todd's sour experiment, and input from Shibolet ( see thread here ). I decided to try my own sour experiment. For those that can continue with the proceeding verbosity, congratulations! :thumbs:
   
   The idea of using spent grains appealed to me (AKA Parti-Gyle) in a berliner weisse style low gravity sour beer, and rather than buy (or waste money) on specific ingredients, I thought I would utilise what I had available.
   
   On a slight tangent, I am carrying out another...

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   Quick update;
   it is now fermenting, and the gravity was 1.030, so looks like the lacto don't consume everything.
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   Last post by mally
   11 years ago
6. Force carb or Prime...7.5% Belgian

   2 Replies 4158 Views

   First post by Yeasty, 11 years ago

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   I've got a 7.5% Belgian Strong ale. (Supposed to be golden but ended up dark due to available Crystal).
   I want to get it in the keg tonight ( plus some bottles). I'm undecided on which way to go, Prime with DME or force carb ?. My thinking was to Keg and give it 15 psi for a couple of days then disconnect and leave for 4 weeks Burp and reconnect at 10ish for serving.

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   Yeasty,
   
   When I fill a keg I put C02 on it and release the pressure two or three times to purge the oxygen. I let it set or carbonate with C02 if it's a hoppy and it has to be consumed fresh? Your beer will be great in a month or two? Don't rush it? It sounds wonderful!
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   Last post by BobBrews
   11 years ago
7. Mash Thickness - how thin is too thin?

   8 Replies 10907 Views

   First post by ArcLight, 11 years ago

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   I BIABed 32 Quarts for 10 pounds of grain with diastatic power and for the first time, didn't hit 70%. Maybe it was the crush, but I'm wondering of 3:2 Q : 1 LB is a bit too thin. I mashed at 150F, dropping to 148 over an hour. I even heated it to 155 and let it drop to 148 for 15 minutes extra. I did squeeze the bag, but no sparge, and no mash out.
   
   Have any of you noticed a problem with very thin mashes? (count only the grain with diastatic power).

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   I bet you a pound that half of us don't know what a quart is ArcLight :lol:.
   
   The site that originally developed 'The Converter' have thrown the towel in apparently but admin (NME) is investigating whether or not he can make it work again for us somehow. In the meantime, to get good answers, it might be necessary for us to give our figures in metric and US. Liquor to grist ratios are one of the hardest ratios to convert and even The Converter would not solve this. Here you go...
   I guess I may...
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   Last post by alanem
   11 years ago
8. Ideas on Small Scale, Side by Side Experiments.

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   First post by PistolPatch, 11 years ago

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   MODERATOR NOTE 7th November 2012: This and other recent threads have resulted in the creation of a new forum purely devoted to research. Ideas on how we should structure this new forum can be made here (link to be provided.)
   
   There's been more talk than usual here in the last week regarding side by side testing. Many things in brewing can really only be tested in such a manner and usually have to be repeated several times to get any valuable results.
   
   Large scale side by side testing is...

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   MODERATOR NOTE
   
   A lot of excellent ideas and angles have been expressed on research above and in other threads recently. Your efforts have resulted in a whole new research forum. Please read this thread .
   
   To make the re-structuring of the Research section easier for Founders and Moderators, some posts you might have intended to post here may better be posted in some of the new threads just created. Please explore this option.
   
   Any posts that directly relate to small-scale, side by side...
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   Last post by Nuff
   11 years ago
9. Todd's sour mash experiment

   16 Replies 16599 Views

   First post by thughes, 12 years ago

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   Inspired by this thread and a recent interest in sour beers, I tried my first souring experiment today.
   
   After I finished with my regular brew session, I dumped the grain bag into my old converted cooler MLT. I added 4 gallons of 150 F water and allowed the mash to cool to 120 F over the course of about an hour:
   
   I then sprinkled in @ 4oz of fresh uncrushed malt:
   
   covered the mash with a plastic bag (to keep O2 away) and a piece of insulation:
   
   and wrapped it up nice and snug for a...

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   BTW, this was just posted by James, at Basic Brewing Video
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   Last post by shibolet
   11 years ago
10. Malt Conditioning For Biab - Is It Beneficial?

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    First post by ArcLight, 11 years ago

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    For traditional mashing, using a mash tun, some brewers will condition their malt. This consists of misting the grains with a fine mist, mixing them around, letting them sit for a while, then crushing them. This results in less husk damage, and less dust.
    
    Is this beneficial for BIAB? Brew in a Bag never has a stuck sparge, so what do I care if the husks are a bit shredded, provided my bag is fine enough to retain them?

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    Probably the moisture give more strength and in the same time elasticity to the hull and while milling the endosperm just slide out from the hull without breaking much and eventualy leads to less flour .But the drawback is that you need more power as Bob mentioned and in some cases if you use a weak drill probably it will be damaged or overheat.
    In Biab probably IMHO again would lead to less trub but I can't tell about mash efficiency .I will give it a try sometime just for the record.
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    Last post by nik
    11 years ago
11. Piggy back brew day, one bag, one boiler makes two beers.

    22 Replies 22688 Views

    First post by Beachbum, 12 years ago

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    I was in Aldi the other day and they were clearing a pallet of 36L picnic coolers for $19.95 and in an instant it occurred to me that for very little extra outlay $$ I could do two brews in far less time than two separate BIAB brews end to end, by piggy backing a mash tun onto a standard full volume BIAB mash.
    
    Batch #1 is a Malt Bomb Vienna ale with Vienna, Munich, Melanoidin, NZ Hallertau and US-05
    Batch #2 is a Pom with Halcyon, Crystal, the usual suspects hops and Wy 1768
    
    Equipment: one...

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    Update from the peanut gallery:
    
    This is one malty 'sumbitch, that's for sure but I'm happy because I really like the taste of Vienna malt (and I love the color Vienna gives). Really chewy too (agreed about the melanoidin). The sample I'm drinking is my first taste so it's only been in the bottle for 2 weeks. Next time around I might go with half as much melanoidin, mash a bit lower (I mashed at 153F) and add some wheat for head retention......or just skip the wheat and melanoidin entirely and...
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    Last post by thughes
    12 years ago
12. Why is colour not associated with flavour?

    13 Replies 12406 Views

    First post by PistolPatch, 12 years ago

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    The BIAB brewers working on the BIABacus project have found one of the hardest things in development is working out the logic of existing programs. A myriad of faults have been found. For example, even the most basic of formulas, gravity estimates, is incorrect in some of the most respected software.
    
    Professional brewers I've developed relations with over the years confirm that existing software is, let's just say for now, unreliable.
    
    Much of the commercial software has what I see as...

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    Mark is excellent and has looked after me from day one of my brewing. We still chat a few times a year even though I'm now on the west coast. You'll see a few posts on here where I have quoted him directly as he is certainly one of my go to guys when I want to discuss a grey area.
    
    Wow! We have got off-topic. I think I'll give him a ring and ask him exactly what he thinks of having colour scalers. (I have no problem with colour representations but I do have a problem with colour scalers)....
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    12 years ago
13. DMS information

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    First post by thughes, 12 years ago

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    Darn it! I like Brad Smith and respect his work but I hate it that he is another purveyor of the you absolutely must chill your wort as quickly as possible or it will be ruined by DMS myth.
    
    He has a nice blog post about DMS here:
    
    I just wish he didn't reiterate that nonsense about DMS being a problem if you cool your wort slowly. :angry:

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    Closest I ever came to DMS was when I harvested starter wort from a Hefeweizen.
    
    The 5L demijohn I poured my kettle trub in to separate reeked of vegetable stew, absolutely reeked...
    
    BUT the actual starter after decanting/boiling was fine... and the no-chilled beer was fine too.
    
    I suspect it had something to do with all the hot-break being in the demijohn
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    Last post by stux
    12 years ago
14. Measurement Conclusions (based on 6x2 Brews in 3 days)

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    First post by PistolPatch, 12 years ago

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    Finally got some time to brew thanks to the Easter break here. Decided to go 'all in' and brew 6 recipes, all double-batched, so as to fill my empty beer fridge and create some reserves.
    
    I have two sets of equipment and so was able to do two recipes per day for the last three days. Each boil (recipe) resulted in two batches, one chilled and one no-chilled.
    
    Doing so many brews at double volumes created a measurement opportunity I didn't want to let slide by. (In hindsight, I wish I did. Taking...

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    The concept was inspired by skmeone's HBT post. Most of the theory came from braukaiser, before I expanded and corrected mistakes. I also did some reading of brewing industry papers about extract and conversion.
    
    Most of the theories were expanded by my own experiments (documented here). The sparging section has not had as much hammering as the main section.
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    Last post by stux
    12 years ago
15. Hitting the high numbers

    8 Replies 9080 Views

    First post by Aces high, 12 years ago

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    I knocked up a double batch of this black IPA today. My mate likes the WA bootleg brewery black IPA so i thought we'd make a copy for him. This is based on a 43L batch and had 14.5kg of grain to get to the 1.073 final figure, so its a big brew. I ended up with 1.060 after the boil, even though my volumes were correct right through. So my question is, is BIAB able to hit the big numbers like 1.073, or do you lose efficiency when trying this type of brew? I did a quick dunk sparge , but is there...

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    Yup, pretty much. As your mash thickness increases the mash efficiency goes down. It's due to grain absorption becoming more significant.
    
    You can counteract it with a dunk sparge
    
    You can use my CE calc to work out your process and it will accurately predict your results. It's been used for 1.100OG barley wines before.
    viewtopic.php?f=74&t=1066
    
    I would make the BIAB in your 20G pot, and dunk sparge in your 10G. Enter your gravity a d desired fermenter volume, the. Adjust the sparge value to...
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    Last post by natept
    12 years ago
16. Brew in a solid "bag"

    15 Replies 16374 Views

    First post by Beachbum, 12 years ago

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    Reason I haven't been posting here recently is because I have gone all heretical and gone in a slightly different direction.
    I found with full volume BIAB I was getting a lot of trub and wasting ingredients due to cloudy wort into the kettle that was ending up with up to 3L of cloudy gunk per brew. Note I say into the kettle, not out of it, as the wort out of the kettle after a good boil and a floc can be as clear with BIAB as any other system. However clearer wort into the kettle (i.e....

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    I've just done a BIAB Extra Special (Strong) Bitter for a comp in January - sort of along the lines of a Fullers ESB and easily hit the expected 1060 with 80% efficiency so well pleased. I find that a good mashout at 78 degrees while agitating the mash, and a good squeeze seems to yield good results. I've also gone up from 60 min mash and 60 min boil to 75 mins for each step and that seems to tweak things slightly for the better. I adjust the initial strike liquor a tad upwards to take the...
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    Last post by Beachbum
    12 years ago
17. cereal mashing or not

    23 Replies 18896 Views

    First post by kristfin, 12 years ago

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    i've brewed a couple of cap (classic american pilsner) with 75/25 pale and polenta. most likely the most appraised beers i've ever made.
    dry, but still with a sweet aftertaste, asking for another sip.
    
    anyway.
    
    i hate cereal mashing and since i cannot get a hold of flaked mais or rice here in iceland, i've not bothered with that kind of beers but on special occations.
    
    in cereal mashing, u mix the adjunct and malt in 2:1 to 3:1, give it a sacc rest and then boil it. but why. the malt is to make...

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    As it happens, at the last Brisbane Amateur Beer Brewers meeting I tried a Classic American Pilsner from a guy Nick Barnes (NickB on the Aussie home brewer forum) made with popcorn as an adjunct. It was great - clean, crisp and erm .... corny. He just uses his home hot air corn popper machine that's fairly cheap from the $2 stores here.
    
    Nick is a HERMS brewer but it would translate to BIAB perfectly. I've also used cornflakes but they contain a fair amount of salt which becomes noticeable if...
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    Last post by Beachbum
    12 years ago
18. Sesame Seeds

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    First post by cipher, 12 years ago

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    Hi All,
    
    I made some sesame seed bars last night and I was wondering ... could this be used in beer? I think toasted sesame seeds could impart a nice flavour to a brew. Has anyone tried this? I imagine that hey can get stuck while sparging or clump a lot!

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    look up peanut butter beer. i think the tricky thing is the oiliness which is similar.
    also, personally i don't think sesame seed beer would taste very good. Tahini Beer...
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    Last post by shibolet
    12 years ago
19. How should i adjust my water?

    2 Replies 5781 Views

    First post by redlegger, 12 years ago

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    HI Guys,
    Im going to give a Pilsner a go for my next batch! (INSERT SH!T SCARED SMILEY HERE)
    
    After reading some of 'Palmers how to brew' i need to start with very soft water
    
    Ive never done water additions before and i have no idea if my water is hard or soft, but knowing my luck it will be extremely hard and ill have to change its profile completely!
    
    Anyhooo attached is the EZ Water Calculator with my details already entered. Could any of our resident experts help me out and advise what...

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    Going by your water info on the ez water calculator, I am fairly sure your water is in the soft range. Not as soft as water from Pilsen, but still on the soft side. I would probably brew with it straight out the tap and see how it goes and if you find any issues then start looking at salt additions etc.
    Cheers
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    Last post by wizard78
    12 years ago
20. Oh no, not a water Q!

    31 Replies 27027 Views

    • 1
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    First post by Two If By Sea, 13 years ago

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    Yeah, I hope this doesn't stir up a hornet's nest like the topic tends to in other forums. I'm doing a BIAB oatmeal stout tomorrow and realized I hadn't done water adjustment calculations yet.
    This is my water from our well:
    Starting Water (ppm):
    Ca: 2
    Mg: 1.1
    Na: 6.5
    Cl: 8.4
    SO4: 4.1
    CaCO3: 11
    
    Very clean, little in there. From experience, I know that I can brew malty beers without adding anything and be ok. I also know that if I do hoppy beers they come out with a flat hop taste. The...

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    I just started using this water spreadsheet but a brewing friend of mine swears by this. check out this web page and you can download it from there. Hope it helps ya.
    onclick= window.open(this.href);return false;
    
    That looks good, and the site is interesting too :)
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    Last post by stux
    12 years ago
21. Oxidizing hops for flavour

    12 Replies 14024 Views

    First post by soupdragon, 13 years ago

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    Hi all
    
    Read a post on another forum by Graham Wheeler about oxidizing flavour hops before adding them towards the end of the boil. Has anybody here tried it?
    I've given it a go in my 4th BIAB, it's fermenting away as I type and the smell escaping through the air lock is amazing. My only worry is that most of the flavour/aroma is being lost through the ferment :sad:
    With my next brew, I'll try dry hopping to see how that compares.
    Any views? :)
    
    Cheers Tom

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    I'll more than likely run out of beer before my next one is made and ready to drink :sad:
    Hey ho, live and learn.............
    
    Cheers Tom
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    Last post by soupdragon
    13 years ago
22. can i boil, no-chill and than ferment in my kettle?

    11 Replies 12369 Views

    First post by shibolet, 13 years ago

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    my home brew club is doing a collaborative experiment brew. each member will brew one SMaSH (single malt and single hop) beer. The idea is to sample the base malts on their own in order to better understand what each base malt contributed to the beer.
    
    I will be brewing one with Marris Otter and another with Munich. I'd like to brew mini batches (around 7 liters). I have two 11L kettles. but i don't have anything small enough to ferment in.
    so, here's my plan: boil, no-chill and than ferment in...

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    Are you getting the malt profile you mentioned once?What kind of mash temps?
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    Last post by Lylo
    13 years ago
23. does grain crush effect extract efficiency?

    1 Replies 4024 Views

    First post by shibolet, 13 years ago

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    i'm still unsure of this. i haven't been very good a taking records in the past but i'm a trying harder on my last few brews.
    the problem is that i buy my grain milled from a few different HB shops so i get a different crush every time.
    so does a fine crush give a substantially better efficiency?
    
    any thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

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    Based only on personal experience, yes.
    
    I crush my own grain and find by doing a double crush, I gain 3 - 5 percentage points per brew.
    
    I have tried triple crushing to no advantage.
    
    I use a malt mill with a pre-set gap.
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    Last post by hashie
    13 years ago
24. L:G ratio and enzyme stability

    4 Replies 7368 Views

    First post by Mick71, 13 years ago

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    Just read on another forum that there is some thought that indicates liquor to grist ratio can affect enzyme stabilty at various mash temps and therefore fermentability results.
    
    I thought that if this is so it could be due to a higher ratio leaching the enzymes away from the starches concentrated in the grains and into the liqour where the starches are more diluted. I was questioning (to myself) whether this would be percievable in the finished product and/or whether it affected the...

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    Thanks guys. Will go through those links shortly. I'm happy with my results so far and wasn't really worried, just trying to further my knowledge so I can talk comfortably about technical aspects with 3v brewers
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    Last post by Mick71
    13 years ago
25. Into Kettle vs. End of Boil Efficiency

    15 Replies 15993 Views

    First post by BrickBrewHaus, 13 years ago

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    I was taking a look at this thread and it got me thinking...I have yet to get my Into Kettle Efficiency and my End of Boil Efficiency to match up. Why?
    
    In theory, these two values should always be the same since it's simply the total extract points (gravity x volume) divided by the maximum extract potential.
    
    So, G(start) x V(start) / EP = G(end) x V(end) / EP where G is gravity, V is volume and EP is max. extract potential. Doing simple algebra,
    G(start) x V(start) = G(end) x V(end)
    which is...

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    Glad you enjoyed the read joshua. (I think hashie is just pretending he read it :lol:). Thanks for your explanation above as well.
    
    Today, 'The Calculator', has been modified to correct some misleading terminology that it was using. More details can be found in this post . So, that is one step forward.
    
    This post here will also be of interest to those reading this thread.
    
    :peace:
    PP
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    Last post by PistolPatch
    13 years ago