First Ever BIAB - Trials and Tribulations!

[talltwits]

Hi everyone! Hope you are well today.

 

So I thought i'd share my experience of my first ever BIAB with you all. I imagine this is going to be a lengthy post so feel free to not to read on. However for you beginners out there (like me) you may pick up some tips, but more than likely you won't! For you pro's any help is more than welcome.

 

My history of brewing looks like this

 

- Got Starter Kit in Jan 2016...done that...it was good...done two more...they were also good...ok good now were up to date.

 

Then I kept seeing these post about all grain and BIAB and I thought id dig a little deeper into what it meant. And on reading and watching videos about it I thought, hey i can give that a go. I went into my LHBS and spoke with the guy for a good wee while about BIAB, in the end he recommended i use Maris Otter grain and go with a simple SMASH recipe to start off with. I then went onto Brewers Friend I believe it was, and found a maris otter cascade SMASH. I then bought myself a 19 litre pot, as discussed in another post i wanted to try slightly smaller batches. I then got pointed in the direction of the dreaded BIABacus and after a while...a long while...a long long while, i finally figured the basics of it out and this is what it told me to do.

 

I have translated this into basic steps -

 

- Heat 14 litres strike water

- add the grain (in a bag) into the water and mash (keep in the water at 67c) for 90 mins

- after 90 mins remove bag and sparge with a further 3 litres, then squeeze the goodness out the bag and back into the pot.

- whilst bringing to the boil add 11.5g Simcoe Hops (I believe this is called first wort hopping)

- after 40 mins add 35g simcoe

- after a further 15 mins add another 11.5g simcoe

- after a total of an hour boiling switch stove off.

- This should leave me with about 10 litre or so in FV.

 

Now this is the stage I'm actually at as I'm writing this post. The pot is currently in the sink surrounded cold water (not so cold anymore) trying to cool it to about 20c as i type. My next stage is to transfer to the FV and add the yeast.

 

I would now like to tell you about some issues/queries i have.

 

- My grain bag was smaller than i thought, the grain was packed together tightly and i was afraid that the grain never had room to move around and for all the goodness to come out.

- There were lots of little floaters, bits of grain and flour, coming through the bag, is this ok?

- Maintaining the temp at 67c was easier than i thought. My final temp was about 64c.

- Removing the grain bag is a B*tch!That dude is heavy and holding it above pot to sparge was downright awkward. Note to self...must buy draining board or similar to put above pot.

- I had a wee muslin bag that i tied to the handles of the pot and put my hops into (similar to king ruddagers youtube vids, they appeared to submerge nicely. Im unsure if First wort hopping was good or bad though. Should i have waited and put the first lot in when it first started to boil.

- The hops smell amazing and i could easily sit with the packet tied to my nose, the smell at the end of the boil was perhaps quite bitter? I don't know I'm still learning? It doesn't smell like i was hoping it would...maybe it'll be better when it cools.

- Cooling the pot so far seems like hard work...another note to self, invest in one of those copper swirly things to cool pot faster.

 

So i can't foresee many issues with with pouring the wort into the FV. Ill take my time and hopefully get all the floaty bits out by passing it through a strainer...a very small strainer...wooops. Then after that its pretty much what I've done in the starter kits packs etc etc.

 

Just a wee side note for Kelsey if you read this. I took reading in order to get my mash efficiency. Stupid me though forgot to buy a wee stick to measure my volume so i guesstimated the volume pre boil at 16 litres (ill be more accurate next time). The SG was 1.026 however the temp of the sample was 58c. I put all of this in the calculator you told me about and it gave a reading of 1.038. Once i get the wort into the FV ill get a more accurate volume reading and take another hydrometer reading.

 

Sorry for blabbing on, i wish i could have took more time to write this properly but its early in the morn here (0115) and I kinda want bed. However i thought id share my experience with you all.

 

***UPDATE***

 

Volume in FV was 11 litres. OG appears to be 1.038. Tasted the sample and the hops about blew my head off. Have i over hopped, very powerful. Will this die down.

 

Cheers!

[MikeC1525229119]

Hey Tallwits,

 

Really excited you are doing the BIAB as I am at the same stage as you. Picked up my 20L pot on the weekend and plan for my next brew to be BIAB :)

A few questions:

Do you put all the hops in the same muslin bag at different stages?

Does the 3L of sparge water need ot be at the same temp? 64-68C

Did you have anything on the bttom of the pot to stop the bag touching it?

Do you need to stir the grain for long? How did you measure the temp? I bought a candy thermometer so I hope that will do the job.

Did you put the lid on to keep the temp stable for the mash?

I am guessing you used 2.5kg of Marris Otter?

 

I will be watching this post to learn how to do BIAB :)

 

Looking forward to move on from extract.

 

Thanks for the detailed post.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[Otto Von Blotto]

It sounds like it all went pretty well mate overall, well done! I'm interested in the way you've written the hop schedule though, is that the way the BIABacus actually tells you to do it? If so, it's pretty bloody weird. Every recipe states the hop additions in terms of minutes left before the end of boil so it would say something like;

 

11.5g Simcoe @ FWH (which you did)

35g Simcoe @ 20 mins

11.5 Simcoe @ 5 mins

 

Those minutes figures are the time that's left before you switch the stove off (or whatever heating method you use). I've never seen a recipe written where they instruct you to add hops 50 minutes after the boil starts or something.

 

I just put that pre boil SG information into my conversion tool on my phone and it came up with 1.0405, accounting for the temperature discrepancy. Your OG will be more than that after doing an hour long boil, not less or the same. That 1.038 OG would be incorrect. Unless of course you left the lid on during the boil which I hope you didn't.

 

Fermentation will drive off some of the hop influence. I like to taste my wort before I ferment it too, it's interesting to note the differences. It always tastes really separated between sweet and bitter, and the bitterness doesn't come through as it should, but once those yeasties get to work on it, it completely changes and everything melds together nicely. So, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

[talltwits]

Hi again Mike!

 

Yeah, i was in the same boat as you. Super excited to have done it. I just hope it turns out ok. I found the process pretty simple, I was just a bit fingers and thumbs at times but so happy to have one under my belt. Whether successful or not we'll soon find out.

 

To answer your questions.

 

- Yes I put all the hops into the same Muslin bag. I did however have the same question as you when I was doing it myself but as I mentioned the hops are very very powerful. This may be the norm though.

- Yup, I heat up the sparge water to 67c, the same as the 19l pot.

- I had nothing at the bottom of the pot. During the mash the bag was like a tea bag if you like. Just floating around doing its thing. It never had an open top, which I think brings me on to your next question. I didn't stir mine as my bag was doing the tea bag technique just floating around. My bag was smaller than I was hoping and the grain was quite compact during it. I did have a low gravity reading after the mash and I think this may be to blame.

- There was a saga involving my thermometer but in the end I used a meat thermometer I bought from tesco for £12. It's digital and done the trick.

- I did put the lid on for the mash. And wrapped two bath towels around the pot...I maybe should mention they were the dogs towels...I panicked and grabbed the first ones I could find.

- And finally yup, it was Marris otter I used.

 

On a final note I think I pitched my yeast at too high a temp. It was reading 28c when I pitched which I know is way to high. I'm hoping it drops to about 20c over night. I would my biggest issue was cooling to the pot. It was easy just took a lot longer than I expected. I put it in the sink...things I'm worried about are the strength of the hops, my littles yeasties not liking 28 and my gravity reading being a little too low.

 

Cheers and good luck! It was fun and you'll have a blast!

[Otto Von Blotto]

I can probably answer some of these questions. Obviously the last 2 and a half can't be answered by myself though..

 

Hey Tallwits' date='

 

Really excited you are doing the BIAB as I am at the same stage as you. Picked up my 20L pot on the weekend and plan for my next brew to be BIAB :)

A few questions:

Do you put all the hops in the same muslin bag at different stages? Yep, as per the recipe instructions.

Does the 3L of sparge water need ot be at the same temp? 64-68C Usually it's a bit higher, mid 70s.

Did you have anything on the bttom of the pot to stop the bag touching it? Only if you plan on applying heat during the mash, otherwise no need.

Do you need to stir the grain for long? How did you measure the temp? I bought a candy thermometer so I hope that will do the job. The grain should be stirred when it is first added to the strike water to get rid of any potential dough balls. After this it can eitherb e left alone or stirred intermittently, up to you.

Did you put the lid on to keep the temp stable for the mash?

I am guessing you used 2.5kg of Marris Otter?

 

I will be watching this post to learn how to do BIAB :)

 

Looking forward to move on from extract.

 

Thanks for the detailed post.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[talltwits]

Hi Kelsey,

 

Thanks, I'm pretty happy so far but a little nervous. As I said to Mike my temp on pitching was too high. It's now 25c and should settle at 20c over night as that's the ambient temp here the now. Usually I can see the yeast sitting on top when I have used starter kits but it just looks like flat water on top. Fingers crossed.

 

Oh yeah, your totally right, the recipe set out the hop additions the way you did. I have no idea why I wrote it that way but I added them at the right times anyway. I just took another hydrometer reading. To make sure there weren't any bubbles etc on it. It's still sitting at 1.037 at 25c. It's quite a small batch so didn't want to take any more but thought I best check.

 

That's good to know about the hop flavours. Hopefully the yeasties are happy in there. I'm kicking myself. Why didn't I wait a bit longer for it to cool. And reading your reply to Mike it looks like I will probably want to invest a bigger brew bag. The guy in the LHBS was dead decent and said if it was too small, even after use, to bring it back!

 

***UPDATE***

 

I never left the lid on during the boil. But did during the mash. I did on occasion have the lid on whilst I was trying to cool it as I didn't want an infection. Ta

 

Cheers

[Otto Von Blotto]

You'll get away with pitching it up there. I do it routinely in summer with my no-chill cubes. They often go into the FV about 25-26 degrees and then I pitch 4C yeast into them, obviously begin bringing down to 18 in my fridge as soon as it's pitched though. Usually I see a healthy krausen in about 12-15 hours.

 

That SG reading is very weird. If you'd managed 1.040 before the boil then it wouldn't have dropped after the boil, it would have increased. Sure it's not saying 1.047?

 

They'll be right mate, don't worry about it. Yeah, ideally the grain bag would basically line the inside of the pot rather than float around like a tea bag. It sounds like a bigger bag might be the go.

 

That'll be fine leaving the lid on through the mash and during cooling (although you'd cool it faster without the lid on). I wouldn't worry about getting an infection while cooling it, getting the yeast into it pretty quickly would see to it that the risk is decreased quite substantially.

 

 

[MikeC1525229119]

Hey Kelsey,

 

I have a temp controlled fridge.

Instead of cooling the wort in cold water could I transfer straight to the FV and then put it in my fridge to bring the temp down to 20C before pitching the yeast?

 

I think this might be the quickest/easiest option to get the temp down to pitching temp.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[Otto Von Blotto]

It may be easier but I don't think it would be quicker. If I was going to do something like that I'd just put it in a no-chill cube and seal it up and just let it cool in the ambient overnight. Which is what I do now anyway since I don't have a chiller for 25 litres of hot wort.

 

It also needs to be left sit for a little while after 'flameout' before draining from the pot to let all the trub settle out, so you might as well use that time to start cooling it with a cold water bath as well.

[MikeC1525229119]

Cheers Kelsey.

 

On a side note... where to you get your grains and hops from? Do you buy in bulk?

 

My LHBS look like they only do grain in 1KG bags :(

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[jeremy-o]

***UPDATE***

 

Volume in FV was 11 litres. OG appears to be 1.038. Tasted the sample and the hops about blew my head off. Have i over hopped' date=' very powerful. Will this die down.

 

Cheers![/quote']

 

When I first read your process that seemed very high to me - with similar batch volumes my hoppiest beer so far has used 35g of hops total, and only 10g of that was used in a true bittering role. If you're going for an IPA you might hit the target IBUs but with such simple malts and low alcohol, the bitterness will likely be the predominant feature.

 

edit:

 

Cheers Kelsey.

 

On a side note... where to you get your grains and hops from? Do you buy in bulk?

 

My LHBS look like they only do grain in 1KG bags :(

 

Cheers' date='

 

Mike[/quote']

 

Give them a bell or shoot over an email and ask. One of the stores near me in Sydney (with the biggest range) only lists down to 1kg on their website, but I enquired this week to make sure I could get a custom bill like I do at my LHBS, and it's fine.

 

 

 

[King Ruddager]

... squeeze the goodness out ...

 

Heh' date=' I see my videos have rubbed of you [img']biggrin[/img]

[Bolchy]

Cheers Kelsey.

 

On a side note... where to you get your grains and hops from? Do you buy in bulk?

 

My LHBS look like they only do grain in 1KG bags :(

 

Cheers' date='

 

Mike[/quote'] i actually found a joint in wodonga. Cheeky peeks brewery. Google it that will sell u grain to order. And hops etc. The more the cheaper. They were really cheap and shipping was not bad. Was cheaper than my lhbs even with shipping

[talltwits]

You'll get away with pitching it up there. I do it routinely in summer with my no-chill cubes. They often go into the FV about 25-26 degrees and then I pitch 4C yeast into them' date=' obviously begin bringing down to 18 in my fridge as soon as it's pitched though. Usually I see a healthy krausen in about 12-15 hours.

 

That SG reading is very weird. If you'd managed 1.040 before the boil then it wouldn't have dropped after the boil, it would have increased. Sure it's not saying 1.047?

 

They'll be right mate, don't worry about it. Yeah, ideally the grain bag would basically line the inside of the pot rather than float around like a tea bag. It sounds like a bigger bag might be the go.

 

That'll be fine leaving the lid on through the mash and during cooling (although you'd cool it faster without the lid on). I wouldn't worry about getting an infection while cooling it, getting the yeast into it pretty quickly would see to it that the risk is decreased quite substantially.

 

[/quote']

 

That great, I was dead worried about my yeast. Woke up this morn, that's it been in for about 6 hours not much more change. I'll obviously hope there more movement round the 22 hour mark. Don't know what's wrong with the SG reading, something to watch out for in the future. Agree though that it's bizarre. I'll also be sure to pick up a larger grain bag, I take this would likely give me a higher SG reading? Thanks again!

 

Hi Jeremy, the style was APA, hopefully the hops won't be too over powering but if they are a lesson will have been learned. Hopefully I end up with something drinkable in the very least then I can tune it further down the line.

 

Haha yes KR, they have indeed. In all honesty they have genuinely helped. The grain bag tied to the handles was another idea I borrowed from you.

 

Mike, keep us posted as to how you get on. Hopefully my yeasties are hard at work meantime!

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Cheers Kelsey.

 

On a side note... where to you get your grains and hops from? Do you buy in bulk?

 

My LHBS look like they only do grain in 1KG bags :(

 

Cheers' date='

 

Mike[/quote']Yeah mate, I have my own grain mill, so I buy base malt in 25kg sacks and specialty malts in 2-3kg amounts at a time. Craftbrewer is where I go because it's about half an hour's drive from me. They do online sales and shipping as well.

 

Hops I buy online from Yakima Valley in the US. I've always been satisfied with their service and their range just keeps on growing. There are so many on there now to choose from, it's hard to decide what to order.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yeast actually like higher temperatures, it's just that the beers they produce at those temperatures aren't what we like very much, aside from things like wheat yeasts or saison yeasts. However, the pitching temperature, for ales at least, doesn't seem to have much effect on it. It's the ferment temp you really want to get right, which you are so it should be fine.

 

That SG reading is pretty weird. There is no way in the world that the SG would decrease AFTER the boil, it just isn't possible. You boil off water and decrease the volume but all the sugars stay in there, so you get less volume of wort with the same amount of sugars which of course leads to a higher SG reading post boil. I'd suggest next time you brew, wait for the pre-boil sample to cool down to room temp before sticking the hydrometer in it. Or put it in the fridge for half an hour or so to chill it faster. Take its temperature and convert it anyway, but yeah I wouldn't be taking readings at 58C. It's a possibility that it has damaged the hydrometer, although it seems unlikely.

 

I actually have two hydrometer test jars, a 250mL and a 100mL one. They're both made from borosilicate glass. I use the 250mL one for pre-boil samples; I drain some of the wort into it (usually while it's boiling because I always start with more than my predicted pre-boil volume), then stick it in the fridge for a while, then take the reading and tip it back into the boil. For the post-boil reading I drain the urn into the cube first, then drain whatever sludge is left into a 500mL Pyrex jug and leave it on the kitchen bench to cool down. Once it cools and all the crap settles out, I have enough clear wort to tip into the 100mL test jar to test that gravity.

 

A larger grain bag would certainly stop the grains from being too squashed up, which probably would help in getting a better extraction, which in turn should lead to better efficiency, i.e. higher SG readings from the same amount of grain. The crush of the grain affects it too. I've found quite a coarse crush works best for me; the finer crushes with more flour didn't yield as much as the coarser crushes with less flour.

 

[talltwits]

Cheers Kelsey!

 

That's the yeast been in the FV for about just over twelve hours and the Krausen is starting to form. So that's good. Got a yeast question for you though. My volume in FV was 11 litres, I used a packet of US-05, the full packet. On the packet it did recommend that it was best used for 23 litres. Does the amount of yeast affect the brew at all?

 

Yeah the SG reading has got me stumped. Dunno what I've done but some good advice from you there when I get to it the next. (Already planning my next brew, thinking of a blonde ale).

 

Yeah as you said a larger grain bag is defo at the top of my to get list. So hopefully pick one up soon.

 

Overall I'm really happy to have my first BIAB under my belt!

[Otto Von Blotto]

The amount of yeast does affect the brew but in this case I can only see it affecting it positively. You've pitched a healthy amount of yeast which is likely why you're seeing krausen beginning to form quite early on, so you should get a nice healthy fermentation from it. This is the reason I build yeast starters.

 

Besides, if the theory of dry pitching killing 50% of the cells is correct, you've probably pitched only half a packet anyway.

 

As for the SG readings, just check your hydrometer in water at 20C again just to make sure it is still reading properly after being exposed to that high temp. It probably will be fine, but it doesn't hurt to check it anyway.

[talltwits]

That's good to hear! The yeast are alive and kicking now and appear to be having a small party in there. The hops smell has died off a little (Just to be clear I love the smell of hops, they were just very overpowering at first, but are still very strong) and it's starting to smell like my other brews? Like a very slight sweet smell maybe?

 

The krausen is about 1.5cm tall, which is smaller that my 23 litres batches but this is only a ten litre batch so makes sense.

 

My plan is to leave it three weeks in the fermenter as I done with my last two brews. I don't want to be taking lots of hyrdometer samples as the batch is small so I'll take a final reading on week three and just bottle.

[Pilch]

That's excellent Tall Twits, congratulations on your first BIAB run.

 

What type of hydrometer are you using? If it is the plastic Cooper's one, I saw one of Gash Slugs videos last night in which he described a batch manufacturing fault that lets water in the sealed joint between the top part and the red bulb at the bottom. This obviously makes the hydrometer heavier resulting in lower gravity readings, this could possibly explane your readings? The above mentioned 20c test will answer that question though.

 

When cooling your wort did you change the water in the sink regularly during the early stages? I change the water four or five times to get it down to about 45c before I add ice to some fresh water for the final pull down to 20'ish. It still usually takes 40-45 minutes though.

 

Sparging - I use a seperate 10lt pot with a large sieve sat on top of it to pop the bag onto after removing it from the bigger pot. Then I pour the heated sparge water (hotter than the mash temp, 75-78c) over the bag before tipi g the collected run-off back into the boil pot.

 

I am going to pick up a refractometer before my next brew to avoid all the BS of either having to cool the pre-boil wort or use calculators to adjust for temp (which I must say I find to be somewhat unreliable?). I plan to use the refractometer for hot wort samples but stick to the hydrometer for FG readings ????

 

As for yeast pitching rates - I have used the same sized dry yeast packs in two of my 10lt BIAB batches and it seems to work very well.

 

I took Kelsy's advice to cold crash and fine with gelatine for my last 10lt brew (a local craft brewery's Pirate Life pale ale clone) and was really happy with the resulting improvement in clarity I saw during pre-bottling transfer. Might be something worth trying a little later down the track after you have ironed out your process over the next couple of brews.

 

It is a very steep learning curve though, I have only done the three BIAB batches now but have learnt so much with each one and am feeling a lot more confident now. I am rather quite excited about getting home from work later this week to try that Pirate Life clone, if the FG sample was any thing to go by it should be a right cracker - a lovely, clear, hoppy, cracker!

 

If all else fails - Don't Worry And Have A Home Brew (DWAHAHB)

[talltwits]

Hi Pilch!

 

Yup super chuffed with it. Everything seems to be going ok so far. It's funny because before I started I kept thinking to myself it all sounds too easy. Surely I'll get it wrong! But so far so good. Your right about the learning curve, it's so good to have done one as you learn so much. Even if it is things like where to OT your strainer, or other thing to add to your brew equipment just to make things a tad easier. I already have a wish list on Amazon of little bits n bobs to pick up.

 

One those is not a hydrometer though. The one I'm using is indeed the red and white coopers one. I'll do a calibration test hopefully by the end of the weekend to see if it's still working right. I've seen these refractometers being used on YouTube vids before but havnt checked the price of them. They sound ideal though.

 

With regards to cooling the pot, yes I did change the water a few times. The cold water heat up amazingly fast and I did change it a few times. I lost patience though as it was stupid o'clock in the morning and I needed bed and that's why I pitched the yeast a little high.

 

If not seen this gelatine technique being mentioned before I'll need to have a look for it. And my plan down the line is to have a brew fridge to cold crash.

 

Some great advice! Thanks again!

 

Kyle

[Dingo 1525229558]

Great thread, talltwits.

 

I am doing my first ever all grain BIAB tomorrow and i'm a little nervous

 

I am doing an English Bitter that BeerLust suggested in a previous thread. I will only be doing 11.5L batch with this recipe....

 

1.4kg Marris Otter (84.8%)

150g Carapils (6.7%)

150g Wheat malt (6.7%)

40g Chocolate malt (1.8%)

6g Target @ 60 mins

12.5g Fuggles @ 20 mins

12.5g EK Goldings @ 20 mins

S04 English Ale Yeast.

 

My only issue is cooling the wort to pitching temp. I live in a climate where the tap water is 30C on a good day so i will need to leave the pot in the sink / bath for quite a while. I have frozen a bit of water to cool it down so hopefully it works. I think ill leave it in the sink with tap water then get it down with ice at the end.

 

Thanks for all the info everybody! Lots to take on.

 

Dingo.

 

 

 

[Pilch]

Hi Pilch!

 

With regards to cooling the pot' date=' yes I did change the water a few times. The cold water heat up amazingly fast and I did change it a few times. I lost patience though as it was stupid o'clock in the morning and I needed bed and that's why I pitched the yeast a little high.

 

If not seen this gelatine technique being mentioned before I'll need to have a look for it. And my plan down the line is to have a brew fridge to cold crash.

 

Some great advice! Thanks again!

 

Kyle[/quote']

 

FYI - I pitched in my first attempt at about the same temp you have ???? I made the mistake of chucking all my ice in at the start of the process and expecting the one lot of cooling water and ice to do all the cooling, after over an hour of waiting I finally got jack of it and pitched at about 26-27c.

 

Another method you can employ is to do a sort of basic counter flow. Have two large spoons (or similar) for stiring, keep one in a jug of sanitiser next to the laundry trough and use this to stir the hot wort in the pot in one direction whilst stiring the cooling water in the other direction. It's amazing the cooling benefit you get from doing this. Just be aware that as the wort cools with an open top you are exposing it to a greater risk of infection?!

 

Good luck Mate.

[jeremy-o]

It is a very steep learning curve though' date=' I have only done the three BIAB batches now but have learnt so much with each one and am feeling a lot more confident now. I am rather quite excited about getting home from work later this week to try that Pirate Life clone, if the FG sample was any thing to go by it should be a right cracker - a lovely, clear, hoppy, cracker![/quote']

 

Heh, I'm about at the same stage as you with all-grain but my experience has almost been the opposite. I was super sure of what I was doing going into my first one, didn't second guess myself, and I pulled it off without a hitch - it was all too simple. My only misgivings about that batch came out of trying to judge the taste too early. It ended up as good as you could possibly expect. Flash forward and I laid down my fourth BIAB yesterday and I almost feel like each has been a slight step backwards: efficiency has crept down and I've ended up with trubbier beers.

 

I'm sure they'll be fine, but I'm finding the hardest thing to be getting the balance right between taking it easy and becoming too complacent...

[Pilch]

It is a very steep learning curve though' date=' I have only done the three BIAB batches now but have learnt so much with each one and am feeling a lot more confident now. I am rather quite excited about getting home from work later this week to try that Pirate Life clone, if the FG sample was any thing to go by it should be a right cracker - a lovely, clear, hoppy, cracker![/quote']

 

Heh, I'm about at the same stage as you with all-grain but my experience has almost been the opposite. I was super sure of what I was doing going into my first one, didn't second guess myself, and I pulled it off without a hitch - it was all too simple. My only misgivings about that batch came out of trying to judge the taste too early. It ended up as good as you could possibly expect. Flash forward and I laid down my fourth BIAB yesterday and I almost feel like each has been a slight step backwards: efficiency has crept down and I've ended up with trubbier beers.

 

I'm sure they'll be fine, but I'm finding the hardest thing to be getting the balance right between taking it easy and becoming too complacent...

 

I'm a bit OCD and stress out if I am not 100% clear on all aspects of what I am about to do, this leads to a LOT of procastination. My Brewing journey has been a little stressful because of this?!

It's great to be starting to feel a little more confident with what I am doing but there is still so much to learn, I spend heaps of time (to much if you ask my wife) researching aspects of the game on line to try and piece it all together bit-by-bit. Having said that though, I don't get too hung up on the resulting numbers as long as the initial numbers and process steps are on the mark I reckon the beer will be what it will be. They have all tasted good so far, they haven't been exactly what I was expecting but they have been good none the less ;-)

 

Brew Strong, Brother!