2nd brew went much the same as my first brew. I managed to only have only 2 pints while making this batch. Even so I forgot to measure the flame out volume and nearly forgot to mash out (drained the bag and then put it back in ). My temps were a bit all over the place (too much stirring) but I still hit my expected OG spot on (with refractometer). I am using a steel ruler to measure my volumes atm so I am not really accurate (but I think I could be using mm's) but Im not to fussed. I did buy a sight glass before I started AG but Im not sure if Ill use it or not. I used a liquid yeast this time which seems to have went really well. Wyyeast 1968 London ESB. I made a starter in a 3lt Pyrex jug but I think Im pushing my luck so Ill stick to dry yeast until I get a few more brews under my belt and get a better setup for making starters.

A friend of mine gave me 22 bottles of an English beer that he said was past best before date (2010) and that I could tip out the beer and use the bottles (really nice bottles). His uncle had a bottle shop that closed down. It turned out to be Fullers London Pride. Ive drank 19 of them so far. One foamed up and tasted a bit C02ish so I didnt drink it but the rest were pretty dam tasty I thought. Im sure they had heaps more flavour back in 2009 but I got a taste for English Bitters any way.

I used the "Im not Bitter, Im Thirsty" recipe from BCS on page 119. My LHBS says to round up/down to 5g's so my final grain bill was a wee bit different. The hops I got were only 4.5 AA, first time Id ever taken notice. As a beginer I was only going to follow the exact recipe and the with BIABicus use the "What you will use". This time I actually took notice and entered in the AA's trying to match the IBU's. I got the 80g pack which meant I was a bit short. I used the given weight for 60 and 20 mins and then used the rest for 1 min. If it was a n APA I would have went the other way around.

SO finally the original called for

4.21kg (9.5lb) Brittish pale ale malt
.227kg (.5lb) Aromatic
.227kg (.5lb)Crystal 120l
.113kg (.25lb)Special Roast

and hops EK Golding 5%AA
60min 34G
20min 14g
1min 14g

Heres my recipe


[center]BIABacus Pre-Release 1.3K RECIPE REPORT[/center]
[center]BIAB Recipe Designer, Calculator and Scaler.[/center]
[center](Please visit http://www.biabrewer.info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for the latest version.)[/center]
[center]Im not bitter, Im thirsty[/center]

Recipe Overview

Brewer: Noss
Style: Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Source Recipe Link:
ABV: 4.5% (assumes any priming sugar used is diluted.)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.047
IBU's (Tinseth): 28.3
Bitterness to Gravity Ratio: 0.6
Colour: 19.5 EBC = 9.9 SRM

Kettle Efficiency (as in EIB and EAW): 86.2 %
Efficiency into Fermentor (EIF): 77.6 %

Note: This is a Pure BIAB (Full Volume Mash)

Times and Temperatures

Mash: 90 mins at 66 C = 150.8 F
Boil: 90 min
Ferment: 14 days at 20 C = 68 F

Volumes & Gravities
(Note that VAW below is the Volume at Flame-Out (VFO) less shrinkage.)
The, "Clear Brewing Terminology," thread at http://www.biabrewer.info/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Total Water Needed (TWN): 37.44 L = 9.89 G
Volume into Boil (VIB): 35.88 L = 9.48 G @ 1.035
Volume of Ambient Wort (VAW): 25.53 L = 6.74 G @ 1.047
Volume into Fermentor (VIF): 23 L = 6.08 G @ 1.047
Volume into Packaging (VIP): 22.15 L = 5.85 G @ 1.012 assuming apparent attenuation of 75 %

The Grain Bill (Also includes extracts, sugars and adjuncts)

Note: If extracts, sugars or adjuncts are not followed by an exclamation mark, go to http://www.biabrewer.info" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (needs link)

88.4% Simpsons Maris Otter (5.9 EBC = 3 SRM) 4156 grams = 9.16 pounds
4.6% Dingermans Aromatic (37.4 EBC = 19 SRM) 217 grams = 0.48 pounds
4.6% Simpsons Dark Crystal (236.4 EBC = 120 SRM) 217 grams = 0.48 pounds
2.4% Briess Special Roast (98.5 EBC = 50 SRM) 111 grams = 0.24 pounds





The Hop Bill (Based on Tinseth Formula)

24.4 IBU East Kent Goldings Pellets (4.5%AA) 53.1 grams = 1.873 ounces at 60 mins
3.5 IBU East Kent Goldings Pellets (4.5%AA) 12.6 grams = 0.446 ounces at 20 mins
0.4 IBU East Kent Goldings Pellets (4.5%AA) 17.7 grams = 0.624 ounces at 1 mins






Mash Steps

Mash Type: Pure BIAB (Full-Volume Mash) for 90 mins at 66 C = 150.8 F





Mashout for for 10 mins at 78 C = 172.4 F




Miscellaneous Ingredients

1/2 Tab Whirfloc (Boil) 15 Mins - Clarity






Chilling & Hop Management Methods

Hopsock Used: n
Whirlpool: -5 mins after boil end.
Chilling Method: no chill (Employed -20 mins after boil end.)

Fermentation & Conditioning

Fermentation: Wyeast 1968 London ESB for 14 days at 20 C = 68 F

Secondary Used: n
Crash-Chilled: y
Filtered: n



I would really like to brew again this weekend but I think I should stop until I actually taste my first 2 brews. I dont really care about efficiency at this stage (or maybe not ever)but I want to get my process better. Ill try a hop sock next time. I have some voil left to make a really nice sock shape but it might be too small compared to the BIAB bag??? Dear old mum is having problems with her chooks and the neighbors fence so I dont want to rush her for the sock. I think my whirlpooling actually IS working I just need to let it drain into the cube a bit slower and maybe use the elbow I got for my bulkhead(?).

Question? BCS recipes make 20.8lt into the fermantor. Even when I set my VIF to 23lt my grain bill is still under the BCS recipe? I reading the How to convert a recipe to equipment thread http://www.biabrewer.info/viewtopic.php ... +bill+less so I think Ill find the answer in there eventually. A lot to read. Im still hitting expected gravities so not Im not worried for now.

Also in section O it says Expected Original Gravity 1.0??/?. I have a cheap hydrometer and a cheap refractometer so Im am guessing at my 3 decimal point readings. How the hell do you get 4 dec point readings? Maybe a $50 hydrometer can do it in which case I may never know.

and! Also BCS said the 1 min hop addition was 1.7 IBU's. When trying to adjust my recipe I could not get it high enough. I went up to 100g or so and it would not get close to 1.7. For a late addition I could understand the low IBU's so then why would it be so high in BCS?

Im done for now

Cheers!

Okay, I'll try and answer your questions as quickly as I can. Firstly, if my system is more efficient than yours then I will need less grain than you to produce the same amount of beer. BCS recipes are all based on a fixed kettle efficiency of 70%. The BIABacus has calculated your kettle efficiency will be 86.2% therefore you will need less grain than BCS.

Another brewer's kettle efficiency is irrelevant to you. All you need to know from them are the grain percentages and the OG.

Btw, the BCS recipes are actually designed to make 22.7 L of ambient wort but we type in 20.8 L which casuse the hop bill to increase to adjust for the lower utilisation you get in an all-grain recipe compared to an extract. See here.

Also in that link, notice the differences beetween the Garetz, Rager and Tinseth methods of IBU estimation? Pretty silly differences eh? Anyway, BCS recipes use the Rager system which is fine for extract recipes but crappy for all-grain. Tinseth is best for all-grain. Welcome to the silly world of existing brewing formulas .

As for decinal point readings, you are right. You can't get an instrumaent that will read that accurately. The point of showing the extra decimal point is to give you more transparency. I've explained it in a bit of detail here.

nos, you say aren't worried about efficiency. Ignore posts you see on other forums that say, "Such and such an efficiency. Not bad for starting out." This implies that efficiency is something that can be constantly improved which is a real bit of misinformation. There is no reason why you shouldn't have the right efficiency from day one. In fact, it is important that you know that you are getting in the ballpark of the right efficiency because if you are not, it means there is a problem that needs fixing. See this post.

How's that mate? Let me know if I missed anything or if you are still scratching your head on anything.


PP

Thanks PP, your a very patient man . Your answers are spot on. I try to read as much as I can but time is limited. Im sure you understand.

I would like to work out my efficiencies but I have to remember to take all the readings first
My main challenge atm is trub management or at least working how much I will have left. I might try and let it cool over night in the kettle next time.

Thanks again.

Cheers.

No probs nosco. It's hard to know where to look for the info here as it is all currently pretty buried. That's the next job after the BIABacus.

Trub will vary from brew to brew so don't expect it to be repeatable. In the final BIABacus, I have put in a trub recommendation that looks at the hops you are using etc. You have to type these recommendations in manually though as there is no way opf doing it automatically without it causing a circular reference.

The BIABacus defaults on a general brew should make allowance enough for trub so it is more likely yu will end up with a bit more beer into packaging than predicted.