Hey guys,
Ive got quite the conundrum here. I did my first BIAB on Saturday,
and ended up with a pre-boil gravity of 1.020 on a 13 pound grain bill. I
will post the recipe and describe my technique below.
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP001
Yeast Starter: Absolutely
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.070
Final Gravity: 1.018
IBU: 67.4
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 4.8
13 Pounds 2-row (US)
6 ounces Thomas Fawcett amber malt.
I put 5.6 gallons of store bought water into my kettle and heated it
up to the strike temperature. After it was reached, I slowly mixed in
all the grain, and nailed my mash temp of 152. Roped a blanket around
the kettle and let it sit, about every 20 minutes I stirred and measured
the temperature with my kettle thermometer, as well as a hand held
thermometer, I had to slightly heat the mash about halfway through (60
minute mash) but it still maintained 150-152, so im 99% sure temperature
was not a factor here.
Afterwards, I pulled the bag and let it drain on a stove grate above
the kettle. I squeezed it a bit, but did not “strangle” it, so to say. I
then heated my 2 gallons of sparge water to 170, and slowly poured it
over the grains for about 15 mins.
I took a sample of the wort, and stuck it in the freezer. Once it
reached my hydrometers calibration temp using my thermometer, I checked
the gravity with 2 separate hydrometers, both were 1.020.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?? I feel like I followed everything to a T. I
nailed my pre boil water amount, and ended up right at 5 gallons at the
end of the boil. I specifically requested my LHBS to double mill the
grains for me.
Im at a loss here and not really sure how to move forward to increase
my efficiency drastically with my next batch, if anyone can offer some helpful advice it
would be most greatly appreciated.
EDIT: I added roughly a half pound of DME during the boil, and my post boil gravity was 1.068.
Thanks!
