First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

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donk

First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by donk » Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:37 pm

Finally mangaed to attempt my first brew in a bag on Christmas Eve, which despite a lot of phaffing
eventually went fairly well, despite the mild temperatures at the moment, my wort cooling did not go
exactly to plan, thermal mass and all that, so it was rather late before I eventually pitched my yeast.
I will say the bagging and the boiling went perfectly, so not every thing was frustrating. :o

So how long do you leave your brew fermenting before checking for final gavity? my original gravity
measured 1042,the fermenting bin is kept at reasonably even temp at around 22 deg C and I can see yeast
moving about in the bin and a good scum has formed on the sides of the bin and the lid.

Also do you stir or aerate the brew at anytime while its fermenting?

jimp2003

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by jimp2003 » Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:10 pm

Hi donk! Glad to hear that your first BIAB went well - welcome to our little club! =D>

Unless I suspect something might be wrong with the yeast that I have used (as happened when I pitched some old liquid yeast on my last brew) I don't take any readings before 7 days in the FV. I tend to leave the beer in the FV for at least 2 weeks before bottling so there is no reason to check before a week is up.

I haven't had to aerate during the fermentation period so far but there might be a reason to do this if you find that you have a stuck or very slow fermentation. Also there are some strains of yeast that need to be roused one or more times during the ferment - what was your brew and which yeast did you use?

Valley Commando

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by Valley Commando » Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:32 pm

Shake FV well straight after pitching to aerate wort.
I leave the FV alone for at least a week, as the ferment will take some days to get done and you dont want to bottle until primary ferment done ie no bubbling/ stable hydro readings .
The beer improves as it ages and conditions, so once fermentation complete get it primed and bottled and place in a cool place for a further period of at least 2 weeks to carbonate. The best bottles are always the last ones of the batch in my experience, patience is a virtue!

RdeV

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by RdeV » Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:39 pm

Hey there donk, firstly congratulations on your maiden all- grain, sounds like it was close to an ideal run! Wort cooling problems can be overcome in various ways but if gets to be too much of a PITA, perhaps also consider no- chill.
Its a bit hard to predict when your Final Gravity will be reached, particularly without knowing which strain of yeast you're using! Obviously its an ale strain, IMO most of them will perform best at a little under 20C if you can manage it. Regardless of the strain though, its generally not finished within a week, a healthy pitch has SG plummeting quite rapidly in the first few days but then the rate drops approaching FG, while you want at least two and preferably more days stable at or very near the expected SG before deciding to bottle.
Most commonly, the only time you want to aerate a fermenting wort is in the initial day or two, never past that. Depending on how you got the wort into the fermenter it may have a little or lot of dissolved oxygen, by the sounds of it (an active ferment within a day) it was adequate, however a brief beating with a sanitised whisk, slotted spoon or similar should be helpful, but again only within the initial 24- 48 hours.
When it comes to stirring (as opposed to aeration), that is usually only required when the ferment becomes stuck and it is only to rouse some yeast back into suspension rather than sitting idle on the bottom of the fermenter. Most of the time it is unnecessary, however some strains (Ringwood, 1768PC to name two known recalcitrants) often require it. The decision to rouse should be made on the basis of a suspected incomplete ferment, a forced ferment with a small sample will confirm it. If you're confident the target Final Gravity has been achieved, then it is not required.
Hope that helps! :)

Bribie

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by Bribie » Tue Dec 27, 2011 3:26 am

Christmas Eve brew - mate you were keen, glad it went well. As RdeV says you only should aerate / whisk the yeast in the first 24 hours, if even that. Graham Wheeler recommends it for "Northern Style" ale yeasts, generally I only ever do it with Yorkshire Stone Square yeasts such as Wyeast 1469.
When you've got a few brews under your belt you'll eventually get a sixth sense about when fermentation is finished ( everything gone quiet, brew starting to clear from the top, etc) but a hydrometer check is always a good insurance policy.
I go on the old Yorkshire saying of giving the beer "two Sabbaths" then drop the temperature for a week (shouldn't be hard where you are :D ) so it settles out and clears a bit more prior to bottling / kegging.

jimp2003

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by jimp2003 » Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:40 am

Sorry Donk I should have explained that what I was describing was rousing the yeast rather than aerating - that'll teach me for posting after drinking more than one of my barley wines... :oops:

Luckily the dynamic duo from down-under were about before I sent you down the wrong track.

donk

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by donk » Tue Dec 27, 2011 11:57 am

Hi follks merry christmas,
I did not intend it to be a christmas eve brew, I was hoping for it to be a beer drunk at christmas, the usual
work went ape , my bag was held up due to illness so arrived late plus the christmas where does time go effect kicked in.
A free day ooooh its christmas eve, ideal, no chores etc play time, I had a strange idea that i would involve my 12 year old son
keep him occupied learn a bit, watch his dad be a bit of a twat, perfect, for all my ideas all I got was eww this stuff stinks and
that was just the weighing out the malts followed by dad can i go and play my xbox!!

the recipe I used was Timmy Taylors Landlord, from Graham Wheelers book.I had asked on the forum eariler which yeast to use
so which I pitched in Safale S-04 as the book recipe does not state any yeast. I took the advice of members of the forum and
rehydrated my yeast in some of the wort before pitching, I was quite amazed in how quickly it starts to activate and pitched it in about 23 deg C.

the recipe was spot on I ended up with a nudge over 23 litres for my FV after my boil and not much left in my pot but hops and a
litre of liquid or so, just enough to swill round a chuck over the lawn.

So I am best to keep an eye on it and check it in about 12 - 14 days check the final gravity and then prime and bottle yeee haa.

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Goulders
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Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by Goulders » Tue Dec 27, 2011 12:09 pm

Nice one! I am sure you will enjoy it. My first BIAB went well and very clear in the bottles.

As for rehydrating yeast, Jamil Z says use water, and not wort. For small batches, it may not make much difference though. My daughter moans at the smell of the grains and hops too before the grains are even.mashed!

Bribie

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by Bribie » Wed Dec 28, 2011 10:48 am

Off topic, but my Mrs grew up in Central Sydney and had to walk past the Tooth's brewery on the way to primary school when it was in full swing. When I started AG and got a whiff of the boil, she was suddenly 7 years old again. Her sister came up here on holiday and when I fired up the urn she burst into tears. Still remember, from when I was a teenager, the glorious aroma from Newcastle Breweries when it was at St James Park :cry: :cry:

guest5234

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by guest5234 » Wed Dec 28, 2011 10:54 pm

Nice one and it gets easy after your first brew, I have done 6 up to now and every one has been and excellent tasting brew, I mash at about 67c as I prefer a sweeter malty taste in my ale.
Chilling after the boil is not a problem as I do a "no chill" method and just siphon the wort the following day into my fermentor, it does not even matter if you get some trub into the fermentor as it will do no harm to the finished beer.

donk

Re: First attempt at BIAB take 2 checking gravity

Post by donk » Sun Jan 01, 2012 3:14 pm

Bribie wrote:Off topic, but my Mrs grew up in Central Sydney and had to walk past the Tooth's brewery on the way to primary school when it was in full swing. When I started AG and got a whiff of the boil, she was suddenly 7 years old again. Her sister came up here on holiday and when I fired up the urn she burst into tears. Still remember, from when I was a teenager, the glorious aroma from Newcastle Breweries when it was at St James Park :cry: :cry:
Wierd that smells from your youth, that malting smell, bit like marmite/vegamite you either like it or loathe it, I my yooff I went to college in Wandsworth south west London, which was right by Youngs Ram brewery, evey so often that used to vent beer niffs, which would normally end up with trip to the pub at lunch time for a few pints of Ram rod and Special. As I travelled from home by motorbike to college I would pass through Battersea past a big sugar factory called Gartons Glucose, which again would chuck out a similar if not more acrid smell. Fast Forward 20 years and I moved to Scotland, and worked in a place downwind of Scottish and Newcastles Fountain brewery in Edinburgh, which without fail like clockwork would engulf the town with a malty niff. So now I have started making my own.

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