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My First BIAB.

Post #1 made 12 years ago
by BrewMitta
Hi all,

I finally received the last of my ingredients and brewing gear today and commenced my first BIAB.

I wasn't to concerned at getting things 100 percent right today , excepting the basics.

My system consists of a 50L SS pot modified with a ball lock valve, gas 2 ring burner and home made BIAB bag.

My first recipe was Dr Smurtos Golden Ale (Best bitter / Extra Special)

Dr Smurto's Golden Ale (Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale))

Original Gravity (OG): 1.050 (°P): 12.4
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol (ABV): 4.91 %
Colour (SRM): 7.3 (EBC): 14.3
Bitterness (IBU): 33.2 (Average)

56.47% Pilsner
18.82% Munich I
18.82% Wheat Malt
5.89% Caramunich I

1 g/L Amarillo (8.6% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
0.8 g/L Amarillo (8.6% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.8 g/L Amarillo (8.6% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil)
0.8 g/L Amarillo (8.6% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 66°C for 90 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 18°C with Safale US-05

I aimed at producing 26 L final volume of wort (knowing a would probably not hit this). I started the boil with 34L.

Mashed in at 72c with grist at 20c and bam! Hit my mash temp 1 degree high at 67c. Quick stir and I covered her all up with a heavy blanket for 90 minutes. After which I hitched up with grain bag and squeezed as much of the remaining wort out. Temp after mash was still 65c. I was stoked with that.

Began boiling the wort and after about 90 minutes, had the wort at a boil. I completed the hop schedule with whirfloc at 10 minutes.

Drained the wort into my no chill cube which is cooling as I type. Only problem I encountered was I had to leave a lot more wort behind with the trub then I expected (about 5 litres). The extension leading from my ball valve into my pot needs to be moved. So this can easily be fixed this and probably change trub losses down to about 2 litres. I wasn't so happy with this aspect.

My OG was actually 1044 which was 6 points shy of my target. The efficiency I aimed for was 75% but my actual efficiency was 67% (according to brew mate). Brew mate also provides an 'actual brew house efficiency' of 59%. But this includes the few extra litres I lost due to my large trub losses.

OK so I'm pretty happy with today. There are a couple of things I can improve with my brewing equipment. (Well actually I'm sure there are heaps of things but a couple I will start with.)

Questions I have are -
Are brewmates efficiency calculations accurate. (I have no idea how to work them out otherwise.)
What does the actual brew house efficiency mean as opposed to the efficiency?
I've read a sacc' rest and mash out will improve my efficiency. I have to look into these techniques. But would people generally agree with that?


Any other positive suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Over all it was a very enjoyable day!
Last edited by BrewMitta on 14 Jan 2013, 17:31, edited 2 times in total.

Post #2 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
Congratulations :champ: on your first BIAB Brewmitta.

I'm on a laptop atm and will be stuck on it for a few days. I can't type quickly on the dam thing though so I won't be able to answer your question as well as I'd like.

The main thing is that the numbers you get on a single brew are often quite inaccurate so don't give them too much weight.

As some of the brewers here know, I've written pages on terminology and definitions :). You should be able to find quite a few of these posts if you search for "efficiency", "terminology", "definition" or "meaningless" in posts written by me. (If I wasn't on this laptop I'd find them for you sorry).

Also look at this Brewing Terminology Chart. This will give you clear terminology to use. Many commonly used terms you read on forums and in software are actually meaningless these days. For example, "brewhouse efficiency" can mean several completely different things. In your case though, it means "Efficiency into Fermentor (EIF)". The term efficiency is also meaningless for the same reason. In your case though it is referring to "Efficiency into Kettle (EIK)."

I would study the BIABacus before your next brew as great emphasis has been placed on it being an educational tool. It also does things no other software does. Finally, it also helps us to find any potential problems in your brewing in a few seconds.

Anyway, don't go worrying for now about your numbers too much. Read this checklist to make sure you haven't missed anything.

Finally, on your next brew, stir the mash several times, not just the once and check its temperature. And, don't rely on one thermometer!

Sorry the above is not written very well but congratulations once again and let us know how it ends up tasting.

Good on you :salute:,
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 14 Jan 2013, 23:49, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #3 made 12 years ago
by 2trout
Hi BrewMitta!

Great job getting your frst BIAB complete. It sounds like you had now significant problems with the process so that is excellent, and dont worry, your beer will be good.

Efficiency is a tricky word as it is a calculation that can be made at several points during the brewing process, and very few recipes will state exactly which "efficiency" they are using. Pistol Patch can give you all the info that you could possibly want on this subject. Also a quick search of this website will give you lots of reading on the efficiency

.I have messed with BrewMate, but found that it did not work for me and BIAB(I just could not figure it out for BIAB.)

For me, a mash out process does yield an additional 1-2 points of gravity. My pre-mashout gravity may be 1.044, and after mashout will be 1.045 or 1.046. My mash out is a quick raise in temp to 168-170F hold there for 10min and pull the bag.

Also, I would encourage you to post your next brew here http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=286 Where your recipe and your equipment can be scaled into the BIABacus, a BIAB based spreadsheet that makes you life easy!

trout
Last edited by 2trout on 15 Jan 2013, 00:01, edited 2 times in total.
"All I know is that the beer is good and people clamor for it. OK, it's free and that has something to do with it."
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Post #4 made 12 years ago
by BrewMitta
Thanks PP and 2T.

Ill have to have another good look a the brewing terminology in future. Thanks for pointing that link out and the check list PP. I'm still learning my way around efficiently using the search function on this forum.

When you say the thermometer is not calibrated to the mash temp, what do you mean? My thermometer is one of the old school mercury based ones (but brand new) running from 0 to 110. I think it's pretty good quality. I have no idea what my pH was? I have left worrying about that for a few brews. I will eventually try adjusting the pH. From what I've read its one of the last variables a brewer will normally play with. But Ill get there. I'm certain the other points are all o'k. But I see what you mean by the number of variables that can effect my efficiency.

Stirring the mash will improve my efficiency strait away. I was worried about temp loss. Now I know my system has only lost 1 degree C over 90 minutes Ill be less hesitant to open it up and give it a good stir.

In regards to programs I'm pretty happy with Brewmate. It has a BIAB function and a no chill function (Im a bit dubious about the no chill calcs) but I don't have enough experience with BIAB to make a judgment on that yet.

I'd love to be able to use BIABACUS ... BUT unfortunately I don't run Microsoft Excel on my PC. So as far as I'm aware that means I cant use your program. I have heard read so many good things about it, I wish I could. Suggestions on getting around this would be great!

Thanks again PP and 2T for taking the time to respond.

Post #6 made 12 years ago
by BrewMitta
johnaberry wrote:BIABacus has been programmed to have cross-program compatibility so you do not need excel to use it so you can download it happy in the knowledge you can run it
None of the programs on my PC will run it.
Last edited by BrewMitta on 16 Jan 2013, 01:18, edited 2 times in total.

Post #9 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
The BIABacus looks best in Excel (same colours as BIABrewer.info appear).

Second best looks are in LibreOffice.

Very poor third is OpenOffice as fine lines appear around the cells.

The number side of things works fine in all programs.
Last edited by PistolPatch on 16 Jan 2013, 18:19, edited 2 times in total.
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