Jools wrote:Will keep plugging away until it becomes clearer!
Hi there Jools. Don't worry, it's not as hard as it looks
. Seeing as we haven't written the process down as yet of how to change an existing BIABacus recipe to suit your own equipment let's have a crack here.
I am going to attach a BIABacus file here for you. It is version 1.3A which is exactly the same as 1.3 except one of the warnings that went AWOL has been re-instated.
BIABacus PR1.3A - American Pale Ale - NRB's Amarillo APA - jools.xls
The notes below might look long but it is all pretty quick and easy stuff to do. Just focus on the red circles and ask questions on anything that isn't clear.
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PART 1 - Initial Set-Up[/center]
Step 1 - Fill in Section B (Completed)
You have put in your kettle height and diameter and you have also typed in s desired VIF. Simple!
Step 2 - Look for Volume Warnings (Completed)
The first warning you would have noticed would have been at the bottom of Section B where it would have said,
WARNING: Mash volume exceeds kettle size. There are several ways to get rid of this warning. For example you can reduce the Desired Volume into Fermentor in Section B and/or hold back some water from the mash by using Section W as Mad-Scientist suggested.
To make things comfortable for you, I have not only put 6 L (1.59 gal) beside 'Water Added Before the Boil' in Section W as suggested by Mad-Scientist but I have also reduced your 'Desired Volume into Fermentor' in Section B to 20.5 l (5.42 Gal). This still gives you 19 L or 5 Gal to put into a keg or bottles.
Step 3 - Look for Other Warnings (Completed)
At the bottom of Section K, you will see,
Advanced trub management has been used - See G and/or H. This is referring to the 'Y' that has been put beside 'Hopsock (Y/N) in Section G. I am leaving this in but ask questions on it if you like.
Step 4 - Remove any Substitutions in Sections C and D
In Sections C and D of the BIABacus for NRB's Amarillo APA, you would have noticed in your version, various things written under 'Substitutions' in sections C and D. Get rid of them as you will hopefully be using the same grains and hops as used in the original recipe.
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PART 2 - Ordering the Ingredients[/center]
Step 1 - Find out the AA% of the Hops you will Use
It is extremely unlikely that the hops you have on hand or will be buying, will have the same AA% as those in the original recipe. In your case Jools, you will need to find out the AA% of the AMarillo hops that you will be buying. Either ring your home brew shop or, if they are online, see if the AA% of their Amarillo hops is noted.
I am assuming that you have rung your shop and they have told you that their Amarillo hops have an AA% of 8.7%. I have typed this into the BIABacus file below but you will have to over-write those numbers.
Step 2 - Order the Weights listed under 'What you will use...'
Here's the weights that you should order (assuming your hops are 8.7%
)...
BIABacus - Weights to Order.JPG
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PART 3 - On Brew Day[/center]
Step 1 - Prepare Strike Water
Let's have a look at how Section K looks...
BIABacus - TWN and SWN.jpg
If you were doing a pure BIAB (full-volume mash), the circled numbers, TWN and SWN, are really easy to explain. For example, in a full-volume brew, if TWN said 30 L, then SWN would say 30.59 L. Why? Because water swells as we heat it up. So, 30 L heated to mash temperature will, at that temperature, occupy 30.59 L of volume.
So far, so good? The BIABacus. at present, assumes that all new all-grainers will full-volume mash (pure BIAB). In reality, this is not the case. QUite a few first-timers, like yourself will not be full-volume mashing. In your case, you will be holding back 6 L from the mash. This makes TWN and SWN a bit harder to explain but not
too hard I hope...
32.05 L - 6.0 L = 26.05 L In other words, 26.05 L of cold water is what you will need for your mash. Why then does SWN say 26.56 L? Well, when you heat your 26.05 L to mash temp, it will take up a volume of 26.56 L.
So, in summary, put 26.05 L into your kettle, heat it to mash temp at which stage, it will fill 26.56 L of your kettle. (See PostScript)
Step 2 - And On
Once you have heated up your water to strike temperature, all you have to do is add your bag and grain and follow the procedures explained in
The Commentary. The only thing you have to remember that won't be in The Commentary is to add 6 L into the kettle after you pull your bag but before the boil starts.
If you have a saucepan that can bring 6 L of water to the boil then bring it to the boil on your stovetop as this will speed things up a bit.
Finally
If you get time to take some measurements, try and take the following measurements. Don't stress though. It's interesting if you can get them but it is nothing to worry about.
1. A volume and gravity reading before the boil - Cool your sample before measuring the gravity.
2. End of Boil Gravity (EOBG)- A gravity reading at the end of the boil. Cool the sample.
3. Kettle to Fermentor Loss (KFL) - After you drain your kettle, pour what is left into a jug and measure the volume.
4. Volume into Fermentor (VIF)
5. Original Gravity (OG) - Unless you diluted your wort after the boil or added DME, your OG should be the same as your EOBG. Doing a double check is interesting though as you'll sometimes find discrepancies.
PP
PostScript
On the second sheet of the BIABacus, there is a 'Water/Wort Expansion and Contraction' section. In the BIABacus file I have attached here, it looks as follows...
2.JPG
You'll see a discrepancy between the 26.04 displayed here and the 26.05 I mentioned above. This is simply due to rounding. (i.e. Change 26.56 to 26.564 and 26.04 will then change to 26.05).
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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. If you are happy to go with it, then just go with that. If you need a hand understanding the BIABacus side, ask your questions here.
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