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Updates as I brew my first AG BIAB No-Chill batch

Post #1 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
Ok here goes...

I am going to brew a SMaSH Cascade Pale Ale

I weighed out 5 kg of 2 row Pale Ale Malt pre crushed by my supplier.

I heated up the 30 L pot with 23.6 L to 70 C and slowly poured in the brain, stirring the whole time. My mash settled down to 68 C.

But then the temperature continued to ride up past 70 C. Then I realised that I had turned of the plate but not removed the pot from the plate. Quickly moved it and took off the lid. Stirred the mash until I got the temp back down to 69 C - took about 2 minutes. I hope my brew isn't ruined already!

Now the temp is a steady 69 C and I have covered the pot with a blanket and a duvet. My plan is to do a 90 minute mash at 69 C and then bring it up to and mash out at 78 C for 1 minute.

After mach out I'm going to fill 3 or 4 5 L cubes and no-chill them until tomorrow when I will do the hopping.

I am using a combination of Beer Smith and the BIABacus and what feels right.

Wish me luck it seems to be going alright so far...

Update: After 30 minutes mash temp 67 C.
Last edited by Saffa on 30 Nov 2013, 15:37, edited 3 times in total.

Post #3 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
mmmm just realised it's not a good idea to fill the cubes before boiling so I'm just going to go ahead and do the hop boil today as well then fill the cubes.

Post #4 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
My hopping schedule will be:

Cascade 9.1 AA 20 grams 40 minutes,
Cascade 9.1 AA 10 grams 15 minutes
Cascade 9.1 AA 30 grams 5 minutes
Cascade 9.1 AA 40 grams 1 minute

Hopefully that'll give me 39 IBUs. I've decided to err on the low side as I understand that No Chill Increases bitterness....maybe I'll dry hop with a bit of Amarillo or Challenger...although that'll take me away from the a true SMaSH....I do have some Cascade plugs that are a bit old.....Ah well I don't have to decide until primary fermentation is over so I'll sleep on it.
Last edited by Saffa on 30 Nov 2013, 15:33, edited 1 time in total.

Post #5 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
Ok 4 minutes to mash out....getting nervous....

Well that all seemed to go smoothly. Got up to mash out temp in about 8 minutes and then left it there for 1 minute before removing bag and draining and squeezing.

I had a little taste of the wort. It was sweet but I thought it would taste sweeter.

Now for the boil!

Post #6 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
Well the boil all seemed very familiar after my years of extract brewing. I managed to get exactly 15 L. One difference is of course that I am doing No Chill so I don't have to do the whole chilling thing. Also I used hop bags for the different additions which made everything a lot easier when it came to filling the cubes.

I don't have any measuring implements to take OG, SG and FG readings so I have no idea of what my efficiency was like but I'll just do the drinking test and guess the alcohol content as I usually do - I'm not that worried about how strong the beer is just that it tastes good.

Tomorrow is to start the fermenting. I am using smack pack of WyYeast American Ale 2 (Brewers Choice 1272) which I'll smack now and then pitch tomorrow at 21 C.

Now the rest is up to good sanitation and time.

I hope I haven't made any terrible errors but if anyone notices something that I could have done differently or has any advice please feel free to comment.

Post #7 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
I'm tied up in some other threads atm saffa so probably won't be able to post back here again but just wanted to say congratulations on your first BIAB :thumbs:.

On your next APA, I would be mashing lower at 66 C and make sure you check your thermometer against a few others. Buy yourself a hydrometer as well as yo don't want to do five brews before you realise that something major is going wrong.

Also, consider using dried American Ale yeast (US-05) on your next APA as this will save you a lot of cash without compromising quality.

I hope you have a nice celebration beer for tonight :drink:,
PP
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Post #8 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
Thanks for the advice Pistol Patch. I did indeed have some good beers to celebrate - a Modus Hoperandi by Ska Brewing from Durango in the USA and a Jaipur IPA from Thornbridge Brewing in The UK.

Funnily enough for the first time I actually did use two thermometers. I calibrated them by sticking them in the boiling water when I was making my pot of tea before I started brewing. One showed 2 C below 100 C and the other showed 1 C below.

Is the lower mashing temperature you suggested specifically for APAs or is that just a better temp in general?

Thanks for the advice about the yeast, you're right the yeast is the biggest single expense in every batch I make - I know I should get my act together and start maintaining a house culture that I feed and keep alive I am just so nervous about getting it wrong and messing up my beer. I guess I just have to suck it up and do it.

Post #9 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
"Modus Hoperandi" :lol: Never heard of that.

One problem with mashing thermometers is that you can't really calibrate them at boiling or freezing point although you will find articles on how they can be in magazines etc :roll:. In real life though this doesn't work. See this post.

The 66 C would be better suited to APA's than 68 C. In real life, a lot of us probably would not be able to tell the difference though. Some brewers will be sensitive to the changes that produces an others will not. The reality though is that most home brewers rely on too few thermometers so they really can't be sure what temp they are mashing at. The main thing though is not to be stepping into the extremes. For example a thermometer reading 68 but the real temp is 74 could lead to a failed brew.

On the yeast, just buy the sachets of dry yeast for now if they suit the style. US-05 will handle a lot of beer styles so unless you have a favourite beer that it won't do, don't even think about a house culture, certainly for now. The first thing would be to wash the yeast. I did that with US-05 for over a year with no problems. The main thing if you do this is to brew regularly and smell and taste the washed yeast bottle before each brew. Always have a spare dried yeast sachet in the fridge in case your washed yeast fails.

I won't have time to write on how to wash yeast but I'm pretty sure someone has written it here before, maybe even me?

Anyway, main thing for now is to realise that liquid yeast is not necessarily superior to dried yeast.

:peace:
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 01 Dec 2013, 21:32, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #10 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
Modus Hoperandi - good name is it:-) Suits the beer. Well worth checking out.

The good news is that my first batch is bubbling in the fermentor and the second batch is No Chilling as I write. I must say this combination of methods - BIAB + No Chill is so labour "unintensive". It feels like I'll be through that first 25 kg of 2 row Pale Ale malt in a flash.

I'll let you know how it turns out. I'll probably bottle it in about 14-21 days and then let it mature for another 14-21.

Post #11 made 12 years ago
by BobBrews
Saffa,

It sounds like you hit the jackpot with BIAB-No-Chill! A happy brewer brews more and a happy brewer brews better. Just remember that "Everyone" here has a few failures! I was good and bragged that I never had a bad beer but then... I had three in a row get infected and had to be dumped. My immersion chiller was leaking well water into my cooled wort. My mistake! I fixed it with no chill.

Once I was leaving on a day trip and was in a hurry to transfer a beer from a no-chill cube to a fermentation bucket. The bucket was in my garage and by coincidence it was being re-shingled (a shingle is the tar and stone covering for you international brewers) anyway, A worker dropped a bundle of shingles on the roof and the dirt and dust fell into my open bucket! I tried to cover it but to late. The beer fermented into a vile and stinky mess.

What I am saying here is when (and it will) you have a bad beer. Don't get you knickers in a knot. It happens to everyone and it's part of the experience. Keep up the good brewing and keep us informed!
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Post #12 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
Thanks for the encouragement, Bob. It really is true that finding a method that suits you inspires you to brew more. I was really losing inspiration and stuck in a rut with extract brewing. Now I'm excited about all the new possibilities that have opened up with all grain. 3 stage mashes here I come!:-)

Post #13 made 12 years ago
by Saffa
Hey PP - just a quick note to say I tried your tip about using dried yeast (T-58) and I have the most vigorous fermentation I have ever experience going on. So much for my fears that dried yeast wouldn't ferment as well as liquid!

Post #14 made 12 years ago
by PistolPatch
Good stuff Saffa and thanks for the update ;),

I have no idea if the next few sentences I write are garbage or not but I suspect that these days, yeast companies would be trying to turn their best quality liquid yeasts into dried yeast. More economical for them etc.

Really don't know much about it. The only thing I do know is that existing dry yeasts have nothing lacking in quality.

:peace:
PP
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