And still another first BIAB brew day

Hello all. Finally got the time to do my first AG BIAB batch over the weekend
The recipe was an 5 gallon AG kit from brewmasters warehouse (anonymous blond ale aka Centennial blonde ale). Seemed like a good straight forward kit to try as my first attempt at BIAB. I've been doing extract kits for a few years and generally liked the end product but they seemed to be lacking something. Also noticed that I couldn't seem to make lighter colored brews with the extracts and I wanted to have a batch that I could keep around as a "quaffer."
Anyway the brew day went well with only the typical stumbling blocks so that is a success in my book. I recently purchased a new 10gal brew pot but was disappointed to find that it only held about 9.4 gallons. This lack of volume pushed my mash to the limits of this pot. Looks like a new pot may be on the future wish list but it will work for now. I also seemed to be boiling off a lot faster than anticipated. Not sure if it's the pot (14"ht x 15"dia) or burner (105k BTU) but I ended up cutting the 90 minute boil down to 70 minutes. Not bad just unexpected.
Results:
My recipe had the following
7.0 lbs 2 row brewers malt
0.75 lb 2 row carapils
0.50 lb caramel 10
0.50 lb weyermann vienna

From the write-up I should have been trying for an OG of 1.045 so I'm glad that I came in as close as I did. Not too concerned about hard numbers as I tend to round off too much but I do want to get all I can from my process.
I mashed a bit too high and had to stir down to 155F for 90 minutes and did a 10 minute mashout @ 170F. Seemed like I held more wort in the grains than I was expecting. I hung and squeezed the brain bag like a bad milk cow for 15 minutes and did manage to recoup some wort. My pre-boil volume came in between 6.5 and 7 gallons which combined with my fast boiling cut me short.
I ended up with a pre-boil gravity of 1.032 and a post boil gravity of 1.041. Not sure but it seems close to me. All in all a good day.
In hindsight I think I could have gotten more water in the pot. It seemed a lot close to the top at the time but it looks like I still had room from the pics.

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Thanks all. I'm super excited about trying out the first batch. I also figured that a lower gravity beer would be in the keg a little faster which would allow me to enjoy the fruits of my labor all that much quicker.
I felt things went fine and there is always room to improve and make things more efficient. As with most processes it's often the little seemingly insignificant things that have the biggest impact. This is a long term process and if I mastered it right out of the chute then it would lose its mystic and become boring. Part of the appeal of brewing for me is that little bit of uncertainty and lack of repeatability.
Every batch is like a Christmas present when your a kid,,,you know what you asked for,,,you'll love whatever it is,,,,,you've got an idea of what it is,,,,,,,,but until you open it it's still a mystery.

Pistol, you noticed all the bright colors huh LOL. I was in the family game room we have behind the house. The previous owner was a cabinet maker and it was his shop. Since we don't have too many basements here in the south and no garage it really makes for a great multipurpose room that has been game room central for my son and his friends. I usually brew on the porch but it was drizzly and cold so I moved it indoors. I didn't pick up on it at the time but the pics with the hydrometer were taken on the air hockey table with a bright colored Nerf gun and remote controlled monster truck as props,,,,,we're all big kids right.?
The rod is a piece of PEX hot water tubing I was using transfer to the fermenter. I couldn't find my regular tuning and I figured this wouldn't kink. I figured I'd run the first gallon or so threw a mesh bag to catch the first stuff coming out the kettle

So I guess I should be looking for my next recipe. How about something simple light or brown ale I can bottle off fairly quickly that might be a step up from my previous batch?

Cheers,
M

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Been a little busy recently but last weekend I pulled the tap on the first batch. Good news and bad news.
The good news is that the beer was very good. The bad news is that I only got two pulls off the tap before the wife absconded i.e. stole i.e. heisted i.e left me high and very dry!!!! Apparently I had promised the wife that I would make a batch of home brew for a conference she was hosting for work and this was the only batch on hand. I don't recall the conversation but she said I was in complete agreement. Being a happily married man I though about hording my precious liquid all for myself. I thought long and hard, really hard. In the end, though, I gave in and helped her load the keg into the car and watched as she drove away. Bye bye.

A couple of thoughts on the first batch.
While my sampling size was VERY small it did seem to me that the flavor is err WAS better overall than the extract brews I have made in the past. Nothing at all against the extracts but I compare it to cooking with 100% farm fresh ingredients vs just using a few fresh ingredients. Both are way better than the not fresh stuff but the AG just seemed better.
1. I did notice that the beer never did clear up like my others, not sure why
2. There was a distinct fruity aroma that I wasn't expecting. Not at all bad just wasn't expecting it. Didn't notice any fruity flavor just smell. Could this be a result of the centennial hops? I've never used this hops before.
Guess I'll just have to wait for the Caribou Slobber to finish.
Thanks for all the help guys,
M

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Oh I forgot to mention one little thing that was a bit like adding salt to a wound. After the wife returned with the very empty keg she mentioned that the beer was an overwhelming success with folks raving about how much they liked it. Even the other brewers really liked it. I'm sure this was the best brew ever made and will never again be replicated LOL.
I am very happy that my first BIAB attempt was such a success but dad-nab-it I would have loved to have been the judge of that myself On the other hand, though, I'm looking for another recipe to make for an upcoming meeting at the end of March.
Now looking for a good 5gal light or amber ale recipe for a 10gal kettle.

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Thanks PP. I always try to find some humor in my daily ejection from the mary-go-round of life

As for the beer I've started another thread with perhaps a little more/better explanation. Since this next batch will be both an experiment for me with hops as well as being used for another work function I was looking to keep it "not too dark" just to appeal to the masses. I like just about everything. I still have a lot to learn about beer styles even though I've been extract brewing for years. My local area is smack dab in the middle of the old school, super socially conservative, give me ice tea or give me death till it's time to crack open an ice cold yellow fizzy water (approx 10:30am by the way) Heart of by God Dixie where any beer with a name longer than one word or not associated with an acronym is considered fancy yuppie beer. This keeps the good stuff out of many stores and when it is there it's a bit pricey. Needless to say I have come to appreciate the many everyday cooking uses of PBR.

Cheers,
M

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