BIAB back to Cheap n' Easy? Hydro temp correction?

Mashing
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I’ve been BIAB brewing pretty much from the start about a year ago. I have a Denny inspired cooler that I only used once last spring.

I’ve gotten very high efficiency numbers from BIAB and due to some recent discussions in this forum regarding efficiency vs beer quality, I decided to re-evaluate some of my processes. So I opened up my mill gap from .028ish to .036 prior to my brew day yesterday. Then at the last minute I decided to pull out the ole cheap n’ easy cooler mash tun and use it.

Actually I made the mistake of treating and beginning to heat my strike water before my sparge water so I figured what the heck I’ll batch sparge in the cooler. I usually preheat sparge water and save it to pour over the bag after the mash is complete.

Overall it was another fun day of brewing. I don’t feel like it lengthened my brew day at all and I may have enjoyed it more. The batch sparge in the cooler was maybe a little faster and less mess for me.

My mash efficiency was still off the charts. Not sure what to attribute this to. I mashed at 5.5 pH 150 degrees and lost a degree or 2 during the mash. Simple grain bill, 10 lbs Pilsner for a patersbier. Kettle pH was 5.3.

BS2 estimated 1.040 OG and got 1.058 after temp conversion. I usually just drop the hydrometer into the kettle after I’ve collected the second runnings and given it a decent stir. Temp is usually in the mid 140s at this time and I plug the numbers into BS 2 for conversion.

Is there an expected variance in gravity readings when you make a large temperature adjustment? I would assume Brad took this into account in BS2 right?

I may have just been reconverted to the cheap n’ easy method.

2

IIRC, hydro conversion over about 90F is pretty dicey. And if you just take a sample from the kettle after the sparge, there could be stratification. That would mean you were sampling less dense wort from the top of the kettle. I wait until it boils, which will eliminate any possible stratification, before taking a sample. Finally, is it possible that your volumes are off somewhere?

You found exactly what I did after trying BIAB…for me, mashing in a cooler was much easier.

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[quote=“Denny”]IIRC, hydro conversion over about 90F is pretty dicey. And if you just take a sample from the kettle after the sparge, there could be stratification. That would mean you were sampling less dense wort from the top of the kettle. I wait until it boils, which will eliminate any possible stratification, before taking a sample. Finally, is it possible that your volumes are off somewhere?

You found exactly what I did after trying BIAB…for me, mashing in a cooler was much easier.[/quote]

Sorry, I confused 2 hydro readings in the previous post. I do take a pre-boil gravity which I understand could be off due to stratification. So taking it at 140 just makes it even less reliable.

My OG is taken after the boil and usually after cooling to pitching temp in the low-mid 60s.

My volumes are probably not terribly precise. I measure my water with a plastic one gallon jug marked in quarts. My kettle has no markings or sight glass. I have my spoon marked for kettle measurements. I marked my carboys prior to first use with the above mentioned plastic jug.