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First BIAB done!

Post #1 made 15 years ago
by Aleian
Hi all

I've just finished my first BIAB, woohoo! The wife's not as delighted as me so I thought I'd share it with you lot :thumbs:

I did a Mini-BIAB following NRB's All-Amarillo APA but slightly higher amounts of grain - 2kg MO, 400g Munich and 200g CaraAmber.

It all went pretty well for a first go. My pre-boil volume was 14.3 litres with a gravity of 1.040, post boil volume was 12 litres with a gravity of 1.048 so I reckon I got an efficiency of 75% - not bad for a beginner! I was nervous as hell about getting started and was expecting the whole thing to be a mad chaotic mess but I've been reading up on it for weeks now and the information seems to have sunk in - the process was very enjoyable once I'd got started and I found I had plenty of time on my hands for keeping notes, tidying up and having a couple of beers.

I got quite a lot of heat loss during the mash, I insulated the pot with towels secured with bungee cords and a sleeping bag but I don't think I got it right as the temperature dropped by about 5 degrees over the 90 minute mash (I started off a degree high at 66C and ended at 61C). I think a lot of this was due to the fact that I didn't make a bag, I just used a square of Voile in the pan and this could have resulted in a less than perfect seal between the lid and the pan. I also noticed the towels became very damp, possibly because of the capillary action of the excess fabric drawing liquid out of the pan and into the towels. Hopefully I can improve on this next time and reduce my heat losses to improve my efficiency, if not then at least I've learned what I can do with my equipment and just increase the grain bill accordingly.

Many thanks to everyone involved on this site (and especially Ralph for his excellent guides) for getting me started on all-grain brewing - I'd still be saving up for boilers, mash tuns and HLT's if it wasn't for you!

Cheers,

Ian

Post #2 made 15 years ago
by Ralph
Great news Ian, congratulations! :champ: Yes, I found it a bit disconcerting to begin with, but after a while it settles down to be a fairly easy few hours. :smoke:
Yeah, I'd work on sealing the lid of your pot but also look to pre- heat the lagging and also where the stockpot rests, this will help to minimise heat loss. It is important to be consistent where and how you measure the temperature. If you're putting a cool thermometer into a warm mash, move it around a bit to ensure you're getting a good measure (Important note: the thermometer is not a stirrer!). Consistency in measurement method though is vital, but so is a reliable thermometer- check its calibration in boiling water or with a reference thermometer. (Nb. Boiling temperature reduces with increasing altitude, up here at 660m it is around 98C.)
FWIW I did a UK Bitter yesterday and lost <0.5C :o , pre- heating and using plenty of lagging I think is the answer, also just leaving it alone to quietly go about its business of conversion is far better than checking it every five minutes, the heat loss from lifting the lid all adds up, same with stirring, the net effect is a lowering of mash temperature.
I'm glad you found the resources here helpful, hope the beer is a cracker (it should be great!) and many thanks for the plug! :blush:
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Post #3 made 15 years ago
by Two If By Sea
You'll be fine, the majority of conversion usually occurs in the first 15 minutes or so. A fairly good seal on the cover is key, steam escaping is a big heat thief. Efficiency depends a bit less on temperatures with that little difference than on other things like crush, squeezing. grain quality, etc. Keep copious notes, take more readings, more often than you need. These will be tools to help dial your procedures in. That is the most crucial thing: the way YOU do things, not others. Be consistent and you'll find your results will be predictable. Then you can dial things in the way you want.

Congrats!
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Post #4 made 15 years ago
by Yeasty
Well done Aleian.
Glad you took the plunge and got stuck in !! Its not as difficult as you think is it ?
I've just finished my second brew and filled the house with steam! luckly the wife likes the Malty smell and just lets me get on with it.
I used a square of voil the first time held down with those bulldog clips with the folding wings. This enable me to get the lid on quiet tight. I then wrap it with a sleeping bag and put a folded one on top. I only lost 2 deg today although the kettles on an electric hob over 3 rings so there is a fair amount of latent heat keeping things warm.
Do you use the check sheet? I found it ace for keeping on track and recording the important bits. As 2xc says good notes are the key.

Whats Next??

Yeasty :thumbs:
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Post #5 made 15 years ago
by BrickBrewHaus
Aleian wrote:I got quite a lot of heat loss during the mash, I insulated the pot with towels secured with bungee cords and a sleeping bag but I don't think I got it right as the temperature dropped by about 5 degrees over the 90 minute mash (I started off a degree high at 66C and ended at 61C). I think a lot of this was due to the fact that I didn't make a bag, I just used a square of Voile in the pan and this could have resulted in a less than perfect seal between the lid and the pan. I also noticed the towels became very damp, possibly because of the capillary action of the excess fabric drawing liquid out of the pan and into the towels. Hopefully I can improve on this next time and reduce my heat losses to improve my efficiency, if not then at least I've learned what I can do with my equipment and just increase the grain bill accordingly
I exclusively do mini-BIABs and maintaining steady mash temps is difficult. The simple answer is that you have a smaller thermal mass so losing a few degrees is tough to avoid. Like 2XC said, most conversion happens quickly so it probably doesn't matter too much. Remember that you can always add heat pretty easily if you lose a lot of heat quickly, don't forget to stir.

Congrats on a successful brew day. :clap:
Last edited by BrickBrewHaus on 10 Jan 2011, 09:27, edited 5 times in total.

Post #6 made 15 years ago
by Aleian
Hi guys.

Thanks for all the feedback and advice. One thing I'd like to ask you all is how much do you stir during the mash? I'm guessing this is when most of the heat loss happens so I don't want to make this worse than it needs to be. I did four stirs at 10, 20, 40 and 65 minutes, is this about right?

I remembered to do a calibration check on my thermometer before the brew. Iced water read -1C, boiling water read 104C so my conversion was nice and easy (reading + 1 / 21 x 20 = actual) so my mash temperature needed to be just over 67 on my thermometer, I got 68 so I was quite happy with that. I took the pot off the stove for the mash and put it on the floor on a folded towel, wrapping with more towels and a sleeping bag. I'll use extra insulation next time and try to sort out the seal on the lid by making a proper bag.

I didn't use the check sheet this time but took a load of notes by hand. Next time I'll plan a bit more in advance so I can use it as I go along.

The beer's looking good at the moment, fermentation has started fine and it smells lovely - Amarillo is a great hop (I'm drinking a Coopers APA at the moment made up with extra malt and 100g of Amarillo added as in NRB's recipe then dry hopped with another 25g) so I can't wait to see how different this version turns out.

As for my next brew, it's winter here so it's dark beer season and I'd like to do a stout or a porter really. If anyone's got a good recipe I'd love to try one out.

Cheers,

Ian

Post #7 made 15 years ago
by BrickBrewHaus
If you want to stir out of curiosity, then go ahead and do it. I feel more comfortable with leaving it alone for the entire mash. IOW, once I hit my mash temp I'll put the lid on, insulate with towels, and let it sit without checking temps.

Post #8 made 15 years ago
by Aleian
Hi BBH

I might try that next time, I've got enough ingredients to do an identical brew again so it'll be interesting to see the difference between stirring with more heat loss and not stirring to maintain the temperature more effectively. The stirring was more because I thought this was essential rather than out of curiosity. I assume you've tried both methods - did you get much difference in efficiencies?

Post #9 made 15 years ago
by BrickBrewHaus
Aleian wrote:I assume you've tried both methods - did you get much difference in efficiencies?
I've tried both and haven't noticed any difference in efficiencies.

I don't think stirring is "essential", at least I don't remember hearing/reading anything like that. But give both a shot and see which you are most comfortable with. Unless someone chimes in saying the contrary, then we'll both have learned something.
Last edited by BrickBrewHaus on 11 Jan 2011, 04:38, edited 5 times in total.

Post #10 made 15 years ago
by Aleian
I'm more than happy to leave it alone next time while I go out and do something useful for an hour or so instead - the dog's always happy for another walk and there's a very nice real ale pub near here with a constantly changing selection of guest beers, I'd just about have enough time for a quick pint!
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