any first attempt at a biab advice?

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KevH
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any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by KevH » Wed Aug 23, 2017 9:56 pm

As per the thread title really.....

I'll be doing my first attempt at a biab within the next few weeks and i'm wondering if anyone has any 'advice' for a first time biab-er? - you know, the sort of thing that isn't written down anywhere, but would have made (or does make) the day run more smoothly if you'd have known about it.

Thanks in advance, for any advice, Kev.
BIAB, working through Greg Hughes (GH) recipes to begin with.

Planning: Patersbier (extract version), Russian Imperial Stout. Turbo cider, IPA, Limoncello.
Fermenting: nothing.
Conditioning: GH American ipa (6.3%), GH Summer ale (3.8%), GH Oktoberfest (6.8%), Japanese Lager AG (4.9%)
Drinking: nowt.
Drunk: GH Czech Pilsner (6.4%); GH Winter Warmer (4.9%); GH Christmas Ale (5.25%), Coopers Wheat beer kit (4.7%)

Fil
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by Fil » Thu Aug 24, 2017 12:14 am

No matter how massive a cock-up you make, or how many, carry on .. (not that you will) .. but if you do..

if using a glass no roll brewers thermometer, tie a loop of string or lazzy band to the knob at its top end and hang it up between uses no roll my arse i lost way to many that rolled off my (not quite level) patio brew table..

when a brew comes upto the boil for the first time it can foam considerably as the initial boil starts, a whisk to beat air in or a trigger spray bottle of water can be very usefull to knock back the foam before it overspills and makes a hot sticky mess.

consider leaving at least 4-5cm between the liquid level and pot rim for the boil, any less and you risk loosing beer over the pot edge with the violence oif the boil and or the initial foam up. if you have extra preboil wort, consider holding some back or boiling in a 2nd pan rather than risk a long messy boil.

(It can only take a single messy boiling over biab brew in the kitchen to get brewing banned from within the house in some households..)

Have fun ! 1st brews can be a bit nerve wreaking but once done are over and done with and will im sure provide you with a brew you will be very proud of..
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

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vacant
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by vacant » Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:00 am

Chuck in an extra 300g of base malt and skip any attempt to rinse the bag in hot water as a way of increasing efficiency a bit. i.e. keep it as simple as possible, any spare time to be spent mulling things over rather than finding extra tasks.
I brew therefore I ... I .... forget

AnthonyUK

Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by AnthonyUK » Thu Aug 24, 2017 10:35 am

Just think about your process and write it down step-by-step.

How much water will I need?
Does it need any treatment to reduce alkalinity or remove chlorines?
How hot will the strike water need to be to achieve mash temp?
How long is the mash? 60 mins?

Just look at the basics for the first run and note down where improvements could be made

Don't bother with a SMASH as it is no easier than any other recipe :wink:
Make something you'll want to drink.

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themadhippy
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by themadhippy » Thu Aug 24, 2017 1:15 pm

check any taps are closed,then check em again.
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Manngold
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by Manngold » Thu Aug 24, 2017 1:30 pm

Been organised. Weigh out your hops before. If you are chilling have the FV ready. If you are not chilling consider what you are planning to do. If you over shoot your strike temp have some cold water ready and gradually add it. How are you going to maintain temp during the mash, get blankets, etc ready.

Be patient and make sure you have a full six hours free to do it all.

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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by IPA » Thu Aug 24, 2017 6:24 pm

vacant wrote:
Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:00 am
Chuck in an extra 300g of base malt and skip any attempt to rinse the bag in hot water as a way of increasing efficiency a bit. i.e. keep it as simple as possible, any spare time to be spent mulling things over rather than finding extra tasks.
I know what you mean. But that's not increasing efficiency. You are adding grain to make up for inefficiency.
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thickodicko
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by thickodicko » Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:55 pm


Fil wrote:
(It can only take a single messy boiling over biab brew in the kitchen to get brewing banned from within the house in some households..)

Have fun !
This ^^

Manngold wrote:
Be patient and make sure you have a full six hours free to do it all.
And this ^^

A wooden spoon across the top of the pan when boiling stops it boiling over.

Enjoy

WalesAles
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by WalesAles » Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:56 pm

Kev,
Read this.......and I mean READ it all, very helpful stuff.
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopi ... 689077f403

WA

Top Tip. DO NOT have one or two beers while waiting for things to boil, cool down etc,
because beer leads to more beer and you will be in a mess after 5Hrs waiting / drinking! :D [-X (How would I know)? #-o

Sent from my Beer Shed

KevH
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by KevH » Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:49 am

Cheers for the advice guys. I will be brewing the Greg Hughes Czech Pilsner as my first one as i've really enjoyed drinking some pilsner (to my surprise!) this summer and this looks like it is a fairly simple recipe. Following that shall be two dark beers for Christmas.

Kev.
BIAB, working through Greg Hughes (GH) recipes to begin with.

Planning: Patersbier (extract version), Russian Imperial Stout. Turbo cider, IPA, Limoncello.
Fermenting: nothing.
Conditioning: GH American ipa (6.3%), GH Summer ale (3.8%), GH Oktoberfest (6.8%), Japanese Lager AG (4.9%)
Drinking: nowt.
Drunk: GH Czech Pilsner (6.4%); GH Winter Warmer (4.9%); GH Christmas Ale (5.25%), Coopers Wheat beer kit (4.7%)

scotsloon
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by scotsloon » Sat Aug 26, 2017 4:11 pm

trigger spray bottle of water can be very useful
Very useful - I'd also suggest you can easily turn down the thermostat thus dropping the temp away from boiling, once you get good at this you can set the thermostat to a point where it just boils without boiling over, not easy to do but worth the effort learning and understanding your system. This is one activity that you have to remain alert though out,

I find that brewing with a buddy is also a good and social thing to do. If you know of another brewer in your local area ask if you can come and witness a brew before you attempt yours.

My first BIAB was close to disaster, I inadvertently decided it was boil in a bag, knowing full well that is should have been brew in a bag. The final result was still pretty good, it didn't put me off!

evoasis

Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by evoasis » Sun Sep 03, 2017 12:58 pm

+3 on having a spray bottle to control boil over, also slow addition of hops (don't just dump every addition).

TheSumOfAllBeers
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by TheSumOfAllBeers » Sun Sep 03, 2017 3:46 pm

Spray bottles +1

Once the boil over starts, they are the only thing that will halt it.

chefgage
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by chefgage » Tue Sep 05, 2017 9:45 am

The first few BIAB I did i was a bit impatient when draining the bag. Give it time to drain, I was surprised how much I was loosing by not letting the bag drain fully (especially as I was brewing small volumes).

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alexlark
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Re: any first attempt at a biab advice?

Post by alexlark » Tue Sep 05, 2017 12:58 pm

Make plenty of notes. I found this vital for the first few brews. Otherwise your volumes will be all over the place.

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