Thanks sigurdur!

Well done Ralph, you have certainly proven that you can brew a good beer.

Cheers folks, many thanks for your support.
The AABC scoresheets arrived yesterday, it is a bit confusing and I wonder if all three judges actually sampled the same beer, however the common theme is a diacetyl fault, which is not a brewing fault but a fermentation fault and it was penalised quite badly for that (which in line with the BJCP style guidelines). Nevertheless one comment was, "Well made beer...", another was "Look at ferment to clean up diacetyl and you'll have a real winner." With this I feel it is safe to say that MaxiBIAB has indeed been validated as a legitimate method*, it certainly has to my satisfaction, so as far as I'm concerned it is mission accomplished!
I'm really not that surprised about the diacetyl considering that it was quite a rushed rebrew and it had a very brief D- rest, however I also suspect that I am not particularly sensitive to it (if at all?), while one of the judges perhaps may have been acutely- so. I guess it means that a thorough D- rest should satisfy all palates.

With the recipe (quite similar to the one above), I need to establish a cleaner noble hops presence so I'm in the process of sussing a few more varieties out, any tips on that would be very welcome as I'm just not that familiar with many noble hops. 100% floor- malted Bohemian Pilsner with a single decoction seems to deliver more than enough malt presence, particularly if I drop the bitterness back a shade as one judge suggested and maybe even skip the decoction, that would turn it into a very simple beer to make.

* Puts paid to any suggestion that BIAB is no good for lagers too...

Well done with the lager, Ralph. On the noble hops subject, have you tried Hersbrucker? Apparently they are like Hallertau on Steroids. However I note that the current ones at our normal supplier are getting a tad old, I'd probably stick to the newest season Saaz you can get in the meantime, not those plugs that were fresh when I still had black hair.

Thanks re the stout, it would have scored higher except for one judge, a certain "fourstar" from Melbourne marked it right down as he thought it was too roasty and not complex enough. Nevertheless it came fifth so I'm well pleased.
The dark mild didn't do too well, it was criticised as possibly oxidised and a tad sweet and fruity for a session beer - I think I should have rebrewed it, as it was already about 3 months old on entry. Also perhaps mash a bit lower next time (I mashed at 70 degrees) and use a higher attenuating yeast (I used Ringwood).

However nothing there that wouldn't have occurred with a 3V system.

Hey I just noticed that we finally have a cool selection of smilies available.

Good on you Ralph and BB. I don't think there are any comps coming up so you guys can put your feet up and relax for a while

My fridge is looking bare so if you have comp withdrawal symptoms, send the beers to me for judging. I will give nice, simple feedback such as, "Great beer. Please send six more."

guys!

Thanks PP, I believe felten did pretty well too.

I'm bottling at least two batches this weekend PP as I'm in much the same state as you, everything empty. Maybe we need to crack out the official BAIBrewer Transit Canister again! Actually, there's a BTC MkII in the works, it is more common that you might think, pix on the weekend if it goes to plan.

Thanks BB & DK1, well done to all the BIABers with entries in AABC too, just qualifying for the Nats is a big ask in itself.

BB, thanks also for the noble hops tip and I think you were quite right too the first time about those manky old Saaz plugs (which was maybe a year ago ). I do want to stick with the low- AA% noble hops for bittering, more expensive though it can get, but I also prefer to use at least some plug or whole hops flowers to help with break filtering at MaxiBIAB pitching (chilled in- kettle, poured out through a sieve into the fermenter just prior to pitching). Indeed, the choices we have here ATM for plugs aren't fantastic as far as freshness goes, wondering if I shouldn't use mostly pellets and just toss a single plug of the lowest- AA%, lowest aroma in at flame out, only to set up the filter. But whole hops aren't absolutely necessary, IMO though they do make life much easier at filtering though.
Food for thought... and that's enough of my rambling!

Congratulations to de5m0mike who scored a silver on his first ever all-grain

Great job,
PP

P.S. Details can be read here

The "Golden Growler" competition was completed June 4th 2011! I entered two BIAB's and received two medals! Last year I entered one beer and placed second! I am batting 100%. BIAB rocks! Next year I will brew with one arm tied behind my back so that the three vessel brewers will have a chance!

I must humbly admit that I did not win best of show or anything like that but my brew club took over all winner for the second straight year. (And And And) and I managed to win 6 door prizes of grain, hops, t-shirts and assorted beer related trinkets.

There was no luck involved! Pure skill! Tomorrow I am going to the track and place money on the ponies!!
http://www.cwdb.org/index.php

Congrats Bob,but you know with those pipes of yours,even with 1 arm you are at a huge advantage!!

Well done Bob brilliant result,,just go easy on the 3V guys.

Top stuff Bob, well done to you

Great Stuff Bob. Something that's been puzzling me, is that your real photo and if so are you Mickey Rooney's nephew?

LOL Beachbum!!!

Good on you Bob. Great effort mate. What were the beers?

BTW, I love that Sunset Winter Lake Brew thing


PP

fellow brewers,

I am not related to Mickey Rooney? He is (Height. 5' 2" (1.57 m)) I am 5' 10" (1.778 m) He has be married 5 times (that's called polygamy) I have been married 1 time (that is called monotony)!

Next year all you blokes from down under are invited to freeze your ass off in Wisconsin if you are in the neighborhood. Anyone who wants to brew with fish pee is requested to attend. The British Bitter that I brewed was excellent!
http://www.cwdb.org/

Chalk up another to Maxi-BIAB: Runner up in Milking the Cow English IPA comp! Chuffed to be honest...

Power to your pillowcase Ralph I'll be expecting a bottle if you're in town on Friday.

<general tattle> there's a local prize winning brewer just West of Brisbane who is a throughly nice chap but, being an aircraft engineer he naturally has a setup that looks like a cross between an oil refinery and a commercial dairy, with heat exchangers, PIDs, pumps, pumps, more pumps etc. He's always been a bit "amused" by BIAB and has been waiting for it all to blow over. He's been the undisputed IPA and American APA king for years and not only did Ralph beat him, but (I didn't post at the time as it was just an in club comp) I pipped his APA at the last mini-comp
I bet he now grimaces whenever he passes a fabric store

Good on you Ralphy - you de man!

(That wasn't Tony was that BeachBum is talking about???)

As related earlier, I'm very pleased with this particular result. Me tips me lid to Beachbum for all the encouragement and assistance with this whole BIAB, style and competition caper, he's been a real trail blazer for pillowcasers across the globe, but not forgetting of course the BIABrewer team who also help to make this sort of thing possible for everyday folks like you and I.
There's some really hard yards ahead though with various comps underway already/ coming up, but I'm confident we can all knuckle down and bring home a few more gongs for the humble pillowcase, while also showing the world that competitive craft brewing is not just an exclusive club for well- heeled technophile beer snobs, plus that BIAB stands firmly on its own two feet as a serious all- grain method!