This method seems to be gaining popularity. I had just completed my blue Coleman Extreme MLT and done one AG when I heard about it. I kind of thought AG was a hassle after doing extract 40+ years and not wanting to delve into water chemistry, I went back to extract. A friend asked if I would make a lite beer for him so I mashed 6lb. pilsner in a bag in 3 gal distilled water along with 3oz. acidulated malt and 1tsp. CaCl and 1/2 tsp. gypsum at 150F for 1 hour. I mashed out at 170 and rinsed the bag with a gallon of 170F. water. I added 1Lb. corn sugar and boiled 90min. adding 1oz. Tett at 60min. then put it in a fermenter with enough water to make 5Gal. I had a packet of old 34/70 dry lager yeast so I made a starter a few days before (a no no with dry yeast I’m told) anyway I wanted to be sure the yeast was OK. I got it as cold as I could and pitched around 50F. Anyways, drank the last of it today. Was pee water alright, but had a maltiness that I feel like cannot be duplicated with extract. I was pleasantly surprised. So I ordered a Irish Red Ale and a Bavarian Helles AG kit from NB. I am planning to do a split batch in my old 5Gal. pot and a 30Qt. cheapie turkey fryer. I have a few questions I will post in a reply to this thread.
Here are the questions I have about the BIAB post. Thanks in advance for reading my lengthy post:
First, How much pre-boil wort should I shoot for for a 90 min. boil?
Second, will it hurt to split the wort and hops in two and boil seperately?
Third, My turkey fryer is full within 2 inches of the brim with 6-1/2 Gallons. I could try to boil it all in it, but that sounds like askling for a boil over. Should I try it? I did my first AG that way but it sure had to be constantly watched.
Last and most importantly, I am 62 years old and have never seen a spread sheet. I have Brunwater and Microsoft Word. My water is too hard for anything but stouts. I will have to build all my own water for AG brewing. Can I just use these guidelines ( http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.ph … er_recipes) and call it good?
Thanks Again. BTW if any newbies are looking to brew a Natural Lite 3.2 ABV clone, the recipe I posted beats it in flavor hands down.
[quote=“1tun”]Here are the questions I have about the BIAB post. Thanks in advance for reading my lengthy post:
First, How much pre-boil wort should I shoot for for a 90 min. boil?
This will depend on your setup. I start a 90 min boil with 6.75 gals to put 5.25 gals in the fermenter. I keep it a a good low rolling boil, not jumping out of the pot.
Second, will it hurt to split the wort and hops in two and boil seperately?
If you mean just splitting everything equally into two pots, don’t see why not. Someone more experienced may tell you differently due to hop utilization?
Third, My turkey fryer is full within 2 inches of the brim with 6-1/2 Gallons. I could try to boil it all in it, but that sounds like askling for a boil over. Should I try it? I did my first AG that way but it sure had to be constantly watched.
Could you just boil what you’re comfortable with in that pot and top up with water in the fermenter to get your correct volume? Just like doing a partial extract boil.
Last and most importantly, I am 62 years old and have never seen a spread sheet. I have Brunwater and Microsoft Word. My water is too hard for anything but stouts. I will have to build all my own water for AG brewing. Can I just use these guidelines ( http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.ph … er_recipes) and call it good?
If those are the beer types you want to brew it seems like they’d get you in the ball park.
Thanks Again. BTW if any newbies are looking to brew a Natural Lite 3.2 ABV clone, the recipe I posted beats it in flavor hands down.[/quote]
[quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“1tun”]Here are the questions I have about the BIAB post. Thanks in advance for reading my lengthy post:
First, How much pre-boil wort should I shoot for for a 90 min. boil?
This will depend on your setup. I start a 90 min boil with 6.75 gals to put 5.25 gals in the fermenter. I keep it a a good low rolling boil, not jumping out of the pot.
Second, will it hurt to split the wort and hops in two and boil seperately?
If you mean just splitting everything equally into two pots, don’t see why not. Someone more experienced may tell you differently due to hop utilization?
Third, My turkey fryer is full within 2 inches of the brim with 6-1/2 Gallons. I could try to boil it all in it, but that sounds like askling for a boil over. Should I try it? I did my first AG that way but it sure had to be constantly watched.
Could you just boil what you’re comfortable with in that pot and top up with water in the fermenter to get your correct volume? Just like doing a partial extract boil.
Last and most importantly, I am 62 years old and have never seen a spread sheet. I have Brunwater and Microsoft Word. My water is too hard for anything but stouts. I will have to build all my own water for AG brewing. Can I just use these guidelines ( http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.ph … er_recipes) and call it good?
If those are the beer types you want to brew it seems like they’d get you in the ball park.
Thanks Again. BTW if any newbies are looking to brew a Natural Lite 3.2 ABV clone, the recipe I posted beats it in flavor hands down.[/quote][/quote]
I love BIAB! I have a converted cooler mash tun also but only use it for beers that are too big to BIAB in my 9 gal kettle.
Thought of one more question.
I have a Corona grain mill I bought to make whole wheat bread. Also have an attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer that is basically the same thing. These used to be the only option for home brewers until the hobby took off and roller mills came onto the market. My question is this: Finer crushing is said to increase efficiency in BIAB brewing. But how fine is too fine? Obviously, if it is flour it will all pass through the mesh in the bag. That would surely cause tannin issues. So if I buy my grain crushed,as I usually do, since I don’t have a roller mill, would it hurt to re-crush? Or should I buy un-crushed and crush finer? Guess I answered my own question with another: what should crushed grain for BIAB look like? Thanks Again, Dan
Ask for a double-crush if you can get it or you can run the grain through your two options and see how it comes out, or do both. Tannin extraction is a function of pH - I typically crush to just a little above flour when using a bag and do get a little better efficiency by doing so.
[quote=“1tun”]Here are the questions I have about the BIAB post. Thanks in advance for reading my lengthy post:
First, How much pre-boil wort should I shoot for for a 90 min. boil?[/quote]
you need to figure out your own boil off rate. It depends on BTU, kettle dimensions, shape, etc. On my Blichmann burner, I am typically about 1G/60 minutes at a moderate boil
[quote=“1tun”] Second, will it hurt to split the wort and hops in two and boil seperately? [/quote] Absolutely not, in fact this is a great way to explore the gazillion new hop varietals out there. If you can do it easily (like if you have a valve on your kettle), it may help to heat the ENTIRE wort volume to around 180 to make sure you kill the majority of stuff that can be growing before you start splitting the batch.
I’m not that well-versed in water manipulation, but from what I understand, Kai’s sheet was the gold standard before Brungard trumped it!
Thanks Again. BTW if any newbies are looking to brew a Natural Lite 3.2 ABV clone, the recipe I posted beats it in flavor hands down.
Here’s my prior endorsement of BIAB.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=115208&hilit=biab+endorsement