Starter wort shelf life?

First post by pr8headed, 14 years ago

First post

---

Hello,

I made a starter wort on Tuesday and the yeast was dead so I put it in the fridge. I plan to brew on Monday will the wort still be good? Can I just heat it back up and maybe add a little fresh DME? I've never used liquid yeast so I don't know. I can make a new wort but I hate to waste 1/2 a pound of DME. HELP!?

Last post

---

stux,

I already set it free of it's earthly burdens :) I figured as BrickBrewHaus said it's only a couple bucks and a few minutes for piece of mind. I spent $45 on the kit so it's worth it to be safe. It's all in the fermenter now becoming yummy goodness.

Hop Socks

First post by amcd72, 15 years ago

First post

---

G'day all,

One BIAB down! Yeah!! ...Fermenting right now and can't wait to taste.

I was wanting to get a feel for BIABers preference around the topic of hop socks or hop bags. Some brewers will use these to keep the hop gunk out of the wort while others say you get less utilization and you should just let them be free, so to speak. If no hop sock is used, a whirlpool is necessary. On that, I must find out the finer points on this topic also.

Interested in this community's response.

Andy

Last post

---

I have just splashed out and bought a new BIAB bag. Now I have one for grain and one for hops. I'm going to use the old bag for hops and the new one for grain. All is well in the world!

Scaling Brews

First post by bobzed57, 14 years ago

First post

---

Hi All

First post after the initial registration, so here goes.

As a long time extract brewer, having made about 90 brews, two of which only were the same recipe, I though that when moving to BIAB I would develop maybe half a dozen favourite recipes and brew them regularly. While experimenting with styles, I don't really want to brew 23 litre batches and then have to drink it all while waiting to develop or tweak the recipe. Accordingly, I thought I would do a batch of wort, and divide it...

Last post

---

Thanks

Once I have a couple of full sized brews down, I'll explore some of the smaller batches. It seems most brewing software has options for scaling recipes, so might check them out.

Bob

Whey hey... Decisions made

First post by Rooster, 14 years ago

First post

---

I need a beer, :drink: after around 3 weeks of dithering I've finally made some decisions. :clap:
Barley crusher is winging it's way to me from USA
Eventually decided on Hop and Grape 50 litre electric boiler with stainless steel ball valve and hop strainer (I thought the larger ones would be too heavy for me to easily move to where I could put a hoist).
Grain, hops and yeast and a few other items ordered, just a grain bag to sort now and then sit back and wait for all to arrive.
I'll order...

Last post

---

Trouble is I've got room in the keezer for 2 more cornies - there may be another shopping list to compile...

"Round like a circle...

First post by Rooster, 14 years ago

First post

---

...in a spiral like a wheel within a wheel... as the song goes.
Is anyone else as indecisive as me?
I've spent the last couple of weeks going around in circles.
I'm anxious to get into BIAB as quickly as possible, I'm rapidly running out of kit beer.
First I was all set to get a Buffalo 40 litre electric urn but was unsure about element gunging up, element cutting out and ease of thoroughly cleaning the tap.
Then I thought I had settled on the Hop and Grape electric 50 litre boiler perhaps...

Last post

---

Thanks very much goulders - now I have to reconsider the Buffalo :roll:

hello! new to biab, various questions.

First post by robwalker, 14 years ago

First post

---

I'm sure you get this post once a week so most simple introduction ever - Rob, 22, Birmingham England, moving from partial mash to biab, I hope.

My current setup is a 2 gallon stockpot boil, its done the job until now but I want to move on. Here we can buy a 33 litre boiler for just 60 quid - I want to use this to start biab - I have no qualms with topping up providing I'm not using extract, we have brilliant water.

Someone has recommended that I mash in the boiler using maximum space, then...

Last post

---

Yeah, that's the method I'm leaning towards for sure. My friend made a sparger from a 99p washing up bowl and drilled holes it in...sounds very cheap :p
Thanks for the help, I will let you know how I get on! :)

About to take the plunge into BIAB

First post by Rooster, 14 years ago

First post

---

Hi all,

I'm about to take the plunge into BIAB brewing. I've made 4 kits so far and although acceptable, I want more (flavour that is, not beer, hang on maybe both).
I am a lazy brewer and much prefer drinking the finished product to spending all day brewing and would like to keep the necessary first step of the actual brewing process to a minimum.
I will be brewing in the kitchen and plan on using an electric boiler.
I expect that the majority of my brews will be British ales around 4 to 5%....

Last post

---

Hi there Rooster,

The evaporation will be quite high from the 98 litre pot on a single batch. This is n't a major problem, just something to bear in mind.

I have two 70 litre kettles which do double batches (38 L of beer) of standard gravity brews with 90 minute boils with a little bit of topping up after mash out. I'm happy with that size.

Another alternative (expensive though) could be to get two of the 50 litre urns and do two simultaneous bit different brews each brew day.

:peace:
PP

Mash out procedures

First post by bucknut, 14 years ago

First post

---

I do full volume BIAB no sparge and I was wondering what procedures everyone uses during a mash out , and was wondering if what I'm doing is right, or could be improved on. I'll add heat to start to bring the mash temp up to 168f, while constantly stirring, then once I hit my temp I remove from heat, let set for 20min covered then lift bag and squeeze. I'm thinking that it might be better if I keep stirring and remove bag rather that letting it sit for 20min?

Last post

---

I can't say enough about having a pulley system. I have 10 BIAB's under my belt, last 2 with a pulley, all of them I suspended the bag over the keggle which is centered under a garage door track. The first 8 I didn't think about squeezing the bag in place, but used a colander.

I mash out by lifting the bag just high enough so it's not touching the bottom (a simple knot and I catch it on the cleat), turn on the burner, heat wort to about 174*F per my 3 dial thermo on keggle, turn burner off,...

Brew in Many Bags - has it ever been tried?

First post by wambrewer, 14 years ago

First post

---

Thanks for the informative forum. I have never brewed BIAB, but am very interested in trying it. I really appreciate the simplification of the brewing process and equipment. However, even now some specialized equipment is required (such as the large bag), plus the step of lifting the bag out seems a bit awkward and unwieldy.

I wonder if you can modify this concept to use not just one large bag, but dividing the grain bill into smaller bags, kind of like one does with steeping grains in an...

Last post

---

Welcome to the forum wambrewer :salute:

You'll find that lifting the bag isn't as hard or messy as it sounds wam on a 'normal' batch size. I've actually hand-lifted double batches several times.

Like the others above, I can see heaps of inconveniences and potential problems with multiple bags so my advice would be unequivocally, use a single bag.

Watching this video at 3 mins 30 secs will give you a better idea of how easy it is.

As the guys mentioned above, a pulley makes everything very...

Crystal clear in record time - is this a problem?

First post by rich27500, 14 years ago

First post

---

Morning all. Last night I bottled a Timothy Taylor Landlord recipe after 10 days in the FV FG=1.008. It was crystal clear, no odd tastes, the only finings used was a protofloc tablet in the kettle. Have I just been very lucky or could this be something else at work.

Previously I have put two nearly clear beers into bottles but recently I have had beers that stayed cloudy for weeks although they had either torrified wheat or dried elderflower added which I think made a big difference.

Lots of...

Last post

---

I just kegged a TTL clone about 10 days ago, it's only now beginning to clear, but I used TT's own yeast

How to: 2 Pot BIAB process?

First post by deanriowa, 14 years ago

First post

---

I have a 8 gallon tamale pot and a 4 gallon pot. I want to brew up a 5 gallon finished batch. I heard I could do BIAB using two pots and use the second pot for sparging.

Any information on how to use two pots for BIAB?

I plan an doing a 9lb malt and 1 lb specialty grains, Czech Pilsner.

thanks,
Dean

Last post

---

Thank you, I think that clears a few things up and now I am going to work up my plan.

Dean

Recipe suggestions for leftover ingredients - help please

First post by rich27500, 14 years ago

First post

---

In my ingredients box I currently have 400g of crystal malt, 25g fuggles, 70g northern brewer and 65g challenger hops. I know I'll need some pale malt and yeast but what suggestions have others for this 'mish-mash' (ooh I gave it a name!)

I brew using a 25L electrim bolier/mash tun and do a kind of maxi style to get 23L

thanks in anticipation

Last post

---

You need to look into bulk priming :)

Basically, prime in bulk which means every bottle gets the right dose of priming sugar

o-flannagain stout conversion help

First post by zap_1961, 14 years ago

First post

---

So I would like to try my first BIAB. For the record I search for this conversion on the site and did not see it, and I also search for posting the spread sheet and I did not see that either. :blush:

I have a recipe that I would like to try based on it's simplicity and comments made about the final product. I have filled in the calculator the best that I can. I added a English conversion column on the first page for a reference for me. I don't see how to post/add the calc spread sheet that I...

Last post

---

Hi zap, in regard to your question on strike temperature. I'd suggest you aim for your mash temp. So if you want to mash at 64°C that should be your strike temperature.

I say this because I also use a 50l keggle and find the temperature of the liquor continues to rise after I turn the gas off. I believe this is due to the stored heats in the base of the keggle.
So If I shut my burner of at 64°C, then add my grains, the mash temperature, on my set up, will settle at 64°C.

Also if your...

How big a pot do I need to get a brew length of 23L

First post by Snotpooodle, 15 years ago

First post

---

Hi Everyone,

Moving from Kit (skipping Extract) to all grain BIAB.

Want to get my hands on a pot (i have gas burner + bag), but not sure how big a pot I need.

My FV is a plastic bin (25L - standard coopers plastic one) with airlock.

How big does my pot need to be so that I can add water + grains and come out with enough to fill my FV, but obviously leave space for krausen etc. I am not sure on the calculations involved, but pretty sure with boiling off and adding grain, a 25L pot is too...

Last post

---

Nice work Paul. I think you'll be really pleased with the versatility of the 70 litre pot :thumbs:.

Equipment for my first BIAB

First post by sjcampbell, 15 years ago

First post

---

I have a 4 ring burner, material for a bag, siphon, everything except my pot. I have been brewing for nigh on 30 years, mainly kits, and now I want to give AG a go and BIAB seems the way to go.

I think I have just about everything, but the pot.

I don't want to spend money on a pot that can only do single batches if I find I like the system and I want to start doing doubles (if your going to spend a few hours making the wort you may as well make a couple of fermenters full!).

I was gong to...

Last post

---

Steve how did you go with your brews in your 70 litre pot? I've just bought one myself and can't wait to get started. I still need to purchase a burner what are you using in your set up or if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.

Cheers paul

First brew... thougts on this IPA recipe?

First post by Leisure Master, 14 years ago

First post

---

Good day all.

So I'm pretty close to getting ready for my brew day, and as part of my prep I was hoping that some folks who are a bit more experienced than myself might be able to give me some insight on this beer I want to brew.

Two things I'm curious about of note...

1) The mash is only for 45min... that seems strange to me.
2) I won't be kegging this beer, but bottling it. Any advice on what to use as a primer before it goes into the bottle?

This is an IPA recipe posted by...

Last post

---

Looks pretty tasty to me.

1)I would disregard the 45min mash and go with a 90min mash.
2)Corn sugar is the standard priming sugar.

159 F mash temp seems a little high for an IPA (but he did that intentionally to keep the FG a little higher). If it were my beer, I'd drop that down to 152ish to get a little drier finish, just my opinion.

Ready to go!

First post by Zelig, 14 years ago

First post

---

Finally I'm ready! I've got my bag, malts, hops, grain mill and so on.
I think this weekend I'll move my first step in AG brewing! :party:

But I've got one last minute question...

I realize that I didn't buy any PH meter and correctors. Do I really have to worry about it during the mash?
Maybe I could use bottled water instead of tap water, so probably I can read water's PH level on the label. But water's PH is not wort's PH, am I right? :think:

Last post

---

Ok, then I'll skip this this step in my first one, and just cross my fingers! :)
Maybe I'll try fo find some strips for the next one. I think that aquarium shops shoud sell them, right?

Not sure, my ones are in the beer specific range and I got them from onclick= window.open(this.href);return false;

BIAB with All-Grain Kits

First post by kzimmer0817, 14 years ago

First post

---

I'm posting this here as I have not yet BIABd - though I've been reading thru the forums here as well as in MoreBeer chat. I'm probably being much too anal about a lot of this.

I've brewed 2 beer kits from Northern Brewer: The Nut Brown Ale and the American Wheat. The NBA was extract with specialty grains. I have two more extract w/specialty grain kits to brew (MoreBeer's B3 Stout and NB's Smashin' Pumpkin Ale) before I move into all-grain.

My understanding - after reading on this forum - is...

Last post

---

I will be bottling my first all grain this weekend (NB Dunkelweizen). I just took my first gravity sample after two weeks and all is well. The beer tastes fantastic (sipping the sample as I type, very different then what I usually brew/drink). Bottling is definitely easier with two people involved... I have been very close to my OG with both BIABs I have done with out changing the recipe. I think you will be fine to order the kits as they are. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

New to BIAB needing help with allgrain recipe and volumes

• 1
• 2

First post by Lars, 14 years ago

First post

---

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...

Last post

---

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

Simple recipes to start with

First post by Zelig, 14 years ago

First post

---

So I'm going to start my AG-BIAB adventure... :pray:

The brewing season (cold) is coming, here in Italy. I don't have any HB shop in my area, so I have to order all the ingredients for my winter brewings online. I want to place a single order for all of them, to save on shipping costs, of course... But that means I have little time to plan all the recipes I'll make (5 or 6, I think)!

Before deciding to go with BIAB, I was thinking about some extract recipes from the book Brewing classic...

Last post

---

Thanks Shibolet,I have used it a lot and like it.

2nd BIAB - SMaSH Recommendations?

First post by Mikale, 14 years ago

First post

---

I'm thinking of doing a SMaSH brew for my second go at BIAB.

I don't have any speciality malts at the moment, just a nearly full 25kg of Maris Oter Pale malt, but I have loads of different hops in the freezer.
Can anyone suggest a good recipe? The hops I currently have are:

East Kent Goldings
Styrian Goldings
Fuggles
Challenger
Northern Brewer
Progress
Saaz
Hallertau

Thanks!

Obviously it doesn't have to be single hop really, just single malt!

Last post

---

Mikale, as Lylo said, it should be single hop so you can get a good understanding aof the malt and the hop.

Because you have Maris Oter as your base malt, I'd use the EKG and make an English Ale/Bitter/Best Bitter...

Say, OG 1055, throw some hops in at 60, 20 and 5. You could leave the 5 minute hops out if you don't want a big hop flavour. I'd probably have it at around 35ish IBU's.

Let us know what you end up doing.

Please Check My Calculator Results - Do I Understand This?

First post by TopRowSeat, 14 years ago

First post

---

Planning out my second BIAB batch based on a recipe I found randomly online. I searched for something similar to the Great Lakes Christmas Ale.

Original Recipe:

Size: 5 gal
Original Gravity: 1.077 (1.000 - 1.100)
Terminal Gravity: 1.019 (1.000 - 1.100)
Color: 12.19 (0.0 - 50.0)
Alcohol: 7.67% (0.0% - 10.0%)
Bitterness: 21.0 (0.0 - 50.0)

Ingredients:
12.0 lb 2-Row Brewers Malt
.75 lb Midwest Wheat Malt
.75 lb Crystal 45
.25 lb Special Roast Malt
.25 lb Roasted Barley

1.0 lb Honey at Flamout...

Last post

---

online resources basically say 1 pound honey = 1.007 so you can estimate what your taarget gravity will be with that. I think you meant 1.037? If not, you should check your resources :shock: How to Brew says 1.038.

Whoops! Lesson learned in proof reading :headhit:

Definitely 1.037 = one pound in 1 gallon water

NOT 1.007 ------->lol!

If how to brew says 1.038 then go with that too. I've generally seen values that can range from 1.036-1.040 but I take the values that are about in the...

Bottles & kegs alternatives?

First post by Binoclard, 15 years ago

First post

---

Hi, here I am again, with another naive beginner question :lol:

I read about the concept of real ale (basically beers kept in casks/barrels and dispensed via a manual beer engine, without CO2 adjunction? Please correct me if I am wrong)

From my point of view, kegs are a big no (too pricy, too much stuff, too much tanks, tubes, etc.), but storing and filling a gazillion of bottles (did somebody say cleaning…?) doesn't fill me with pure joy either :headhit:

So… I am sure you see where I am...

Last post

---

I've refitted a couple of 5L Bitburger mini-kegs and they work pretty well.
When it comes time to dispense, you can attach a keg charger to the top and add CO2 when the beer stops pouring (if you are only drinking part of the keg) or you can just open the top valve and allow air in and pour via gravity (if you plan to drink the whole thing)
They seem to be holding up ok.

Brewing times ands other newbie questions

First post by Zelig, 14 years ago

First post

---

Hi all,
While waiting to get a proper bag, I'm getting infos for entering BIAB world!
I've read your great guide (many times) and it's quite clear, but I still have some questions.

About brewing times: the guide recommends a mashing time of 90 min. whitout any test, but if I do a iodine test, say after an hour, and it's positive, I can go on to next step, right?

And about boiling, I can't understand why you suggest a 90 min boiling time, but only 60 min hopping. What's the reason of the first...

Last post

---

Well 30 minutes ;)

From doughin to finished cubing takes me less than 4 hrs and thats with a 90 min mash and a 90 minute boil

I could probably cut it to 3 hrs if I wanted to by dropping to 60/60

The prep on the day is to fill the pot with hot water. Grain and everything I do the night before. Rest of the cleaning I do during the mash. I do hop weighing etc during the first part of the boil. And I finish cleaning the cube and the mash stuff during the boil.

Then all I need to do is fill the...

Recipe Efficiency and grain amounts.

First post by chefeffect, 14 years ago

First post

---

I have done 6 BIABs now and am starting to feel more comfortable with how I am going but I am starting to look at things a bit more and have a few questions that would help me lots. I have been doing some google searchs for about an hour and am still scratching my head.

First I use the calculator for my brews and it works great thanks to Pistol Patch helping me out. I will be giving beersmith 2 a demo tomorrow. First in a recipes from say Aussie Home Brewer in the efficency section they all...

Last post

---

Shib: I always like undertanding what I am using and there's actually a lot of stuff the simple calculator version does that the fancy stuff won't :thumbs:

chef: The trub figures that Pat used were just to get you started. Some people who use flowers and a whirlpool or hopsock would get very little trub so don't be surprised if your trub figs turn out completely different.

Cheers!