Display posts from previous
Sort by

Help! First non-BIAB kit brew using BIAB method

Post #1 made 12 years ago
by mtate75
Hi all,

I will be brewing my second BIAB brew tomorrow and could use a little guidance. My first BIAB was the Northern Brewer De Belge Belgian IPA which turned out fantastic. This beer turned out much better than any of the extract brews I've made. NB only has four BIAB kits and I wasn't really interested in the other three, so I just purchased their Dead Ringer IPA All Grain Kit. The instructional document can be found here.

I've plugged the recipe into Beersmith in addition to a couple of calculators to try to figure out the water needed for mash and am getting varying results. The calculator here tells me that I need 33.73 liters. The calculator on the classist.net blog tells me 29.83 liters. simplebiabcalculator.com tells me 29.53 liters. And finally Beersmith tells me I need 49.51 liters. Since three other calculators give similar results I'm thinking I've done something wrong in Beersmith. Does anyone have any ideas?

How would some of you more experienced BIABers brew this? Which calculator is giving me the best number? Am I correct in assuming the calculator here does not figure for squeezing the grain bag? I'm sure there are other questions that I'll come up later, but I would like to get this one figured out before brewday tomorrow.

Thanks!
Last edited by mtate75 on 18 Feb 2013, 00:13, edited 2 times in total.

Post #2 made 12 years ago
by Lylo
mtate75,first we will need to know your kettle diameter and ht.I am going out but put thhose numbers up or attach your file from The Calculator and someone/everyone will give you a hand.
AWOL

Post #3 made 12 years ago
by mtate75
My kettle is 17.25" high by 13.5" in diameter. I'll also attach the calculator file. I left the boil time at 90 minutes but I usually do 60. What will be the benefit of the longer boil?
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Post #4 made 12 years ago
by Yeasty
Those NB recipes are for 5 gallon, is this Volume into fermenter ?? I think I've looked into this before but I can't find the thread. :headhit:

I don't have time tonight to look into this but should be able to have a go tomorrow if one of our American brothers doesn't jump in first.

:salute:

Yeasty
Why is everyone talking about "Cheese"
    • SVA Brewer With Over 50 Brews From Great Britain

Post #5 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
I have to race out the door and so can't make any reasoning comments sorry mtate.

I have adjusted the Calculator file and attached it below. Go with this. It's the best we can do on a recipe where critical information is lacking. You will be fine though with this file. Just go with the volume there.

On your next brew, use the BIABacus Pre-Release as it is much easier to understand than The Calculator.

:luck:
PP
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
If you have found the above or anything else of value on BIABrewer.info, consider supporting us by getting some BIPs!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From Australia

Post #6 made 12 years ago
by mtate75
Thanks for the calculator update ! These numbers make sense to me.

I would prefer to get five gallons after fermentation if possible. What critical info is needed for better advice?

Post #8 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
Np mtate,

To get five gallons after fermentation (the existing calculator calls this the 'BrewLenght' whereas the term we are using now is 'Volume into Packaging (VIP)'), you will need to use more grain. You can see how much more grain you will need by changing this on the spreadsheet.

You can also improve the yield from a given amount of grain by managing your trub losses better. But, let's get you on a much easier and faster learning curve...

As mentioned above, the next step for you is to download the BIABAcus Pre-Release. At a first glance, it looks scary but this is only because all the info is on a single sheet. It is actually much easier than The Calculator and far more powerful. You will earn a lot from it as well just by playing with it. So, do that first.

The Pre-Release thread is here and there should be another Pre-Release coming out today. It will be called BIABacus PR 1.3.

As for your question re critical info in recipes, the best thread to read on this currently is the Does this recipe have integrity? Can I copy it? thread. There's only 24 posts in that thread atm but a read of that will teach you heaps in this area.

As for strike temp, The BIABAcus will work out it out for you so copy your Dead Ringer IPA into it as your first BIABAcus project. Once done, post it to this thread and we can check it for you.

Mash temps for an IPA would be 65-66 C (149-150 F). Mash time on any brew should be 90 minutes (in a few cases more) if you want to get good value out of your grain.

Doing the above will put you on a very rapid learning curve so put 'The Calculator' aside and focus on The BIABAcus. Your experience in Post #1 is very common. 'simplebiabcalculator' is not even a BIAB calculator at all! Some other programs require months of study to work out their errors and how to 'drive' them safely. The BIABAcus is just a spreadsheet but avoids all this and actually gives you more 'real' information.

Great first thread mtate :clap:,
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 18 Feb 2013, 19:42, edited 2 times in total.
If you have found the above or anything else of value on BIABrewer.info, consider supporting us by getting some BIPs!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From Australia

Post #9 made 12 years ago
by mtate75
Thanks again Pistol! I downloaded BIABacus and posted it in the recommended thread. I wasn't able to copy and paste for some reason so I just attached the file. Looking forward to seeing what kind of responses I get.

Post #10 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
Just saw that and you did a truly excellent job. I'm really impressed.

Give them a little while to look at your file but later, let them know a bit more detail on what your copying and pasting problems was. e'g' Were you trying to copy the whole file into a post or just trying to copy and paste some numbers?

Great job mtate :thumbs:.

Now you just have to read the recipe integrity thread. Grab lots of beer :lol:.
If you have found the above or anything else of value on BIABrewer.info, consider supporting us by getting some BIPs!
    • SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From Australia
Post Reply

Return to “BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members”

Brewers Online

Brewers browsing this forum: No members and 47 guests