talltwits Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Testing testing... (My first BIAB 4 days in FV). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy-o Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Testing testing... (My first BIAB 4 days in FV). Heh' date=' the beer looks so... insubstantial in that full-size FV [img']tongue[/img] I'm glad I brew mine in the craft fermenter or I might start feeling like I've got an inadequate, er, wort. (p.s. the image itself didn't show inline, I had to right click it to open the source. maybe try something like imgur for the upload, it's quick and you can do it without logging in or anything.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Haha yeah it looks pretty small right there. I'm comfortable with the size of it though ;s It's not the size that matters though I'm told.... PS I'll have a look an imgur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Hey guys, Just a quick update regarding my brew for you who are interested. I know this is mostly second nature for you all but being my first ever BIAB I thought you may like to see. I've attached an image (hopefully) using imgur of the FV. I took the lid off very briefly, I know I shouldn't really, just so I could have a look at the yeast on top. There are remnants of the krausen still lying on top of the brew. It is disappearing but not as quick as the coopers kit has in the past. Hopefully you can see this from the image. The smell is absolutely amazing. You may remember I was worried that I put too many hops in. Now I think it may be just right. It certainly smells that way. Delicious. I'm getting very excited. Now you may laugh but it's been very warm over here in Scotland. Up to 25c plus. Yes yes I know that's winter for you all but in my case that's summer been and gone. I don't have a brew fridge and the temp has crept up to about 22-24c. Not ideal but I'm Just going to have to deal with it the now until my setup includes a fridge. Oh and that'll be two weeks in the FV come tomorrow (Thursday) and I plan to bottle after 3 weeks. I'm assuming the left over krausen should be gone by then. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Haha cheers Ben!!! How'd you do it. I downloaded imgur and followed the instructions. Doing it on my iPhone though, wonder if it's gotta be a pc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I think it does need to be a PC. I'll leave that to someone else It sounds pretty good though mate. I wouldn't worry too much about the temp creeping up after that long in the FV, the flavours will all be set by now so a small temp rise won't cause any issues. My normal schedule is ferment temp for 4-5 days (18C) then let it free-rise to about 21C for another few days until I cold crash it for a week. Beautiful beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Haha yeah I'll read up about the photos another time. All happy with the brew though, very exciting. Can't wait to do Another and drink this batch! It's so addictive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Nice work, the first one is always exciting. Actually, the first taste of all your beers is pretty exciting. You need to be careful of those Scottish heat waves, they are a killer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilch Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Great to hear it is all going well TT, very exciting indeed. My Pirate Life Ale clone turned out brilliantly after a few weeks in the bottle, I will definitely be making some larger batches of that one. Interestingly I have experianced to exact effect of gelatine fining that OVB mentioned earlier in this thread, I have never had such unstable / fluffy yeast sediment in any of my brews before?! Maybe it's not so,much of an issue if you are kegging? The other new thing I found with the finished product is that there is quite a bit of difference in carbonation levels in different bottles. I might have to give the beer a gentle swirl after decanting it onto the pre-mixed dextrose syrup in the bottling vessel to try and get a more even distribution through the solution? My first brew day with the new 40lt urn went well on Monday. It was the also the first time I have used Whirflock and whirl-pooled for 10mins before cubing which certainly helped to drop out a lot of kettle trub and collect it in the middle of the urn bottom but I left a lot of good wort in the kettle trying to avoid picking it up again during transfer, 3.5lt kettle to fermenter loss is too much. I might pick up a Bazooka Screen and run most of it of next time? Can't wait to hear how your brew turns out in 3 or 4 weeks time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 3.5 litres kettle to fermenter loss seems like a pretty normal amount to me. There are ways and means of reducing that, but it's not a huge deal. I still have to do my upside down stainless bowl with the bottom cut out experiment.. just gotta find one that will suit first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsey Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 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' date=' 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. [/quote'] you realise hops are from the same family as pot hence similar smell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC1525229119 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 The time has come. I am going to the LHBS shop tomorrow to get all the ingredients I need to brew my firs BIAB Amarillo Pale Ale. Planning on getting the Following: Grain Bill Pale Ale Malt (Marris Otter) . 2035 grams = 76.9% Munich 1. 407 grams = 13.6% Caraamber. 204 grams = 7.7% I do not have a mill so should I ask for the grain to be milled for me? Also planning on trying to re-use the yeast from this brew. Anyone have some instructions for harvesting and re-using yeast? Cannot wait to get my first BIAB under my belt. I will report back on the status. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilch Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Probably too late now but yes, get them to mill the grain for you if you haven't already popped Diwn the shop yet. Also, it's a good idea to write a little checklist for your brew process including check/test points such as taking pre-boil and post-boil gravity, pre and post boil volumes and OG just prior to pitching your yeast. If you use the check list as you go you won't forget anything which is very easy to do on your first couple of brews. Good luck and have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 The post boil gravity is the OG so you don't really need to take it again before pitching yeast if you take it on the brew day itself. There are a couple of ways that people harvest yeast from batches. Some just scoop up some slurry and keep it in a jar in the fridge, others rinse it out of the trub. There are threads on rinsing yeast somewhere around the place. I have done it before, but it's a bit of faffing around. I began making yeast starters a while ago and didn't even think to harvest from them until I read it on Brulosophy. I do this now and it's easy as. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC1525229119 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Hey Pilch, I picked up the grain on Saturday. The LHBS were really good. They milled it all for me and put it in separate bags. The best thing is it only cost $5 per kg of grain. So the grain bill will be less than $15 for this brew :) Planning on putting the brew down tonight. Did a test run last night with water to see how long it takes to get up to temp. Also marked 10 and 15L on the inside of the pot. Is there an easier way of determining the volume? Thanks for the info Otto. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Hey Pilch' date=' I picked up the grain on Saturday. The LHBS were really good. They milled it all for me and put it in separate bags. The best thing is it only cost $5 per kg of grain. So the grain bill will be less than $15 for this brew :) Planning on putting the brew down tonight. Did a test run last night with water to see how long it takes to get up to temp. Also marked 10 and 15L on the inside of the pot. Is there an easier way of determining the volume? Thanks for the info Otto. Cheers, Mike[/quote'] Get yourself a metal ruler and work out the volume for various depths. You will find it will be linear and can extrapolate it after the first few litres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC1525229119 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Hey Pilch' date=' I picked up the grain on Saturday. The LHBS were really good. They milled it all for me and put it in separate bags. The best thing is it only cost $5 per kg of grain. So the grain bill will be less than $15 for this brew :) Planning on putting the brew down tonight. Did a test run last night with water to see how long it takes to get up to temp. Also marked 10 and 15L on the inside of the pot. Is there an easier way of determining the volume? Thanks for the info Otto. Cheers, Mike[/quote'] Get yourself a metal ruler and work out the volume for various depths. You will find it will be linear and can extrapolate it after the first few litres. Thanks Hairy. That is a good idea. Another question. What do you put on top of the 20L pot when you are sparging? I was thinking of just using a strainer of some sort. I guess I will have many learnings from my first brew. Have to take the plunge :) Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talltwits Posted June 13, 2016 Author Share Posted June 13, 2016 All the best Mike!!! Keep us posted! Quick question for you all. I bottle on Friday (3 weeks in FV). I'll not be taking two FG reading as my batch is small, but I will take one to determine ABV. I'm assuming that fermentation will be finished. I still have a few "sedimenty" but floating on top. Leftovers of the krausen of u like. Is this ok? Do I just go ahead and bottle it anyway or should I fish it out? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Just bottle it as is, the leftover krausen bits won't cause any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC1525229119 Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 All the best Mike!!! Keep us posted! Quick question for you all. I bottle on Friday (3 weeks in FV). I'll not be taking two FG reading as my batch is small' date=' but I will take one to determine ABV. I'm assuming that fermentation will be finished. I still have a few "sedimenty" but floating on top. Leftovers of the krausen of u like. Is this ok? Do I just go ahead and bottle it anyway or should I fish it out? Cheers![/quote'] Hey Talltwits, Sorry for the delay. I agree with Kelsey. However I normally cold crash my brews for a few days after 2 weeks. This drops most of the yeast and clears the beer. Has worked well for my last few brews. Ran out of time to brew last night so I think tonight is the go. Also think I might transfer the wort to my FV after cooling for a bit then put it in my bre fridge overnight to bring it down to 18C and pitch the yeast in the morning. Kelsey, can you see any issue with doing this? am I risking infection? The main issue is timing and I figure it should come down to temp overnight in my brew fridge. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think there would be an increased risk of infection if you cool it down before putting it in the fermenter overnight yes. If you do want to do that it might be better to just dump it in there hot. The other point is, it depends what the temperature of the wort is when it is cooled. If it's in the mid 20s just pitch the yeast and pop it in the fridge to start cooling down to 18, it won't cause any harm. It's the temperature during the initial stages of fermentation that influences the flavour, not so much the pitching temp* (unless it's stupidly high or something). *Lagers are an exception in my opinion, I do think they turn out cleaner when pitched at fermentation temps, but ales have more to hide behind so it doesn't seem to affect them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC1525229119 Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I think there would be an increased risk of infection if you cool it down before putting it in the fermenter overnight yes. If you do want to do that it might be better to just dump it in there hot. The other point is' date=' it depends what the temperature of the wort is when it is cooled. If it's in the mid 20s just pitch the yeast and pop it in the fridge to start cooling down to 18, it won't cause any harm. It's the temperature during the initial stages of fermentation that influences the flavour, not so much the pitching temp* (unless it's stupidly high or something). *Lagers are an exception in my opinion, I do think they turn out cleaner when pitched at fermentation temps, but ales have more to hide behind so it doesn't seem to affect them. [/quote'] Thanks Kelsey, I think I might just dump it into the FV hot straight after the boil and let it cool overnight. That way I can get to bed at a reasonable hour :) Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC1525229119 Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I think there would be an increased risk of infection if you cool it down before putting it in the fermenter overnight yes. If you do want to do that it might be better to just dump it in there hot. The other point is' date=' it depends what the temperature of the wort is when it is cooled. If it's in the mid 20s just pitch the yeast and pop it in the fridge to start cooling down to 18, it won't cause any harm. It's the temperature during the initial stages of fermentation that influences the flavour, not so much the pitching temp* (unless it's stupidly high or something). *Lagers are an exception in my opinion, I do think they turn out cleaner when pitched at fermentation temps, but ales have more to hide behind so it doesn't seem to affect them. [/quote'] Hey Kelsey, The BIAB experience went well last night. There were things that I have learnt from the same as Talltwits. Need to find a better way to sparge. Need to get a ruler to accurately measure volumes. I managed the correct OG at the end and transfered direct to the FV after the boil. This went straight into my brew freezer set to 18C. Went to bed and when I woke up it was down from 75C to 18C. I re-hydrated and pitched the yeast. I was not sure about aeration. Should I have pitched the yeast and shaken the FV or is it ok to just pitch the re-hydrated yeast? The smell and taste of the wort was good. Happy with the result and I am hoping the fermentation goes well. I think I might get a cube for next time to transfer the wort to cool down overnight. Then I will get the aeration when I transfer to the FV to pitch the yeast. Also think I will get a yeast starter for my next brew. Think I might also get a digital thermometer as my temp was not accurate. Is it necessary to mash for 90 mins? I have had people tell me this is a too long. my temp dropped below 60C so I heated up and stired. Is this a good or bad idea? All in all it was a good experience. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Hey Mike, Glad to hear it all went well mate! You should be ok without shaking it, aeration is preferable but the yeast should still work fine. My extract batches back in the day probably weren't aerated anywhere near as well as they should have been and still fermented out ok. A cube would be useful yeah, not just for being able to get a bit of aeration into it by transferring, but it's a safer option for storing wort in regards to potential infection due to there being no air (or very very little) inside the cube. I use cubes myself, although bigger as I brew either 21 or 25 litre batches. Usually get a 6 inch or more layer of foam on top of the wort after transfer due to the splashing. An accurate thermometer is a must for AG brewing. I'm sure there'll be the muppets who will use the old "well they didn't have that 250 years ago..." nonsense, but we have them now and they are very useful for getting the mash where you want it to achieve the outcome you're looking for. I bought a Hanna thermistor thermometer not long after I began AG'ing, and it has served me well. I am looking at getting a laboratory glass thermometer now though under the recommendation of a bloke on AHB (who knows his stuff well), to use as a reference. Just have to find a good quality one. 90 minute mashes are standard in my brewery. In terms of conversion of starches to sugars, it probably isn't necessary, however it also means I don't have to rush around cleaning everything really quickly either. It makes the brew day a bit more relaxed. Nothing wrong with stirring the mash, or heating it if need be. Stirring it might result in more trub, but otherwise no issues. I have a false bottom on my urn for exactly this reason, saves having to insulate it when I can just leave the urn switched on and it will come on if it needs to, to keep the temp where I want it. I'm not obsessively anal about the mash temp staying exactly at X degrees, but at the same time I don't want it dropping too far either. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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