‘My First BIAB’ – or, ‘How I became a sewing machine technician…’

[Karstiron]

Sorry, this is a long post but it just kind of came out. Feel free to hit ‘next topic’ now…

 

So, here I am having just completed my first BIAB and overall my fifth home brew of all time. A few weeks ago I would have thought a BIAB was some sort of physical ailment (‘Doctor, I’m afraid I have a BIAB on my right buttock’). Yet on Saturday I brewed my first all grain American-style Pale Ale with nothing other than a pile of grains and some hops. Haven’t drunk it yet so better not get too excited I suppose…

 

The journey? Brew # 1 – Coopers Aussie Pale Ale with some steeped Galaxy hops. Brew # 2 – used the lager can that came with the kit but added some steeped Saaz hops. Brew # 3, an Extra Strong Vintage Ale Coopers Recipe with steeped speciality grains and some boiled hop additions. Brew # 4, a ginger beer with added ginger that I only bottled on the weekend.

 

And finally, # 5, my most recent experiment, a 12 litre all grain APA style that I transferred to a 25 litre cube for primary fermentation (using a cube as a FV is another first for me, and only so I can get a 23-litre brew going in the main FV).

 

So, after reading through all the first BIAB stories and excellent information here and elsewhere, imagine the surprise of my better half when in a trip to the local Big W a 19-litre stock pot appeared in the trolley while she was picking through size 3 winter jackets in the kids clothing aisle.

 

“It’s only twenty bucks, how good is that?” I ask in a futile attempt to deflect the quizzical look directed towards me and the massive pot taking up most of the trolley, and to divert attention away from the growing amount of beer-related paraphernalia taking over the house.

 

When the 6kg of grains, hops and yeast turned up at the front door the gig was pretty well up and she was resigned to the latest expansion of this new hobby.

 

She’s a good sport, and pretty accommodating to my hobbies, so after a trip to the LHBS where the guy told me they were all out of grain bags but thanks anyway for reminding him to chase it up, my better half was happy to pop off to the local Spotlight and grab a couple of metres of muslin to make me a grain bag for the pot. She likes her projects too so I left the design and delivery of the bag to her, having first delivered a comprehensive set of functional requirements the bag had to deliver. It’s Thursday night and Saturday is brew day. I have everything I need now except the Bag part of ‘Brew In A Bag’, which, as you may guess, is a pretty essential component of this method of brewing.

 

There were some occasional mutterings from the sewing machine that I only half heard over the din and clatter of the Taliban insurgents destroying my house. It’s Thursday night and I’m putting the finishing touches on my BIAB recipe while drinking my HB Coopers ESVA in the United Nations Protected Zone (the kitchen bench where the Taliban can’t bomb me, harass me, or hit me directly in the face with small arms Nerf fire).

 

Mumble, mumble, mumble, “bobbin thread”, mumble. Mumble, mumble, mumble “bobbin”, mumble.

 

I didn’t even know what a bobbin was, and to be honest, the sewing machine has always intimidated me. It just looks so…complex. Threads going this way and that. Lots of moving parts. I respect those that have mastered its intricacies. Anyway, I was only half listening because I really didn’t understand a word of what she was saying until she said “I can’t sew it, the machine isn’t working”.

 

“What?”

 

“The sewing machine doesn’t work. I think we need to get it serviced.”

 

Now I was interested. Very. Over in a flash, and taking a Nerf hit to the temple on the way, I’m like “what’s wrong? Talk me through it”. Then, shortly afterwards “how the fudge does this thing work?”

What followed was about two hours of me reading through the sewing machine manual, adjusting settings here, there and everywhere, and replacing the needle. Sadly, I come to the same conclusion…it doesn’t work, and I think it needs to be serviced.

 

Using our friend Google, I discover there’s a sewing machine service centre around 3 kilometres away! Perhaps all is not lost. I convince my better half that she can’t possible live without a sewing machine, so she had better go first thing the next morning to get it looked at. I load it, and her, into the car the next morning and off she goes. Back about 30 minutes later “how did you go?” I ask, hoping against all hope to hear “great, it was only a minor adjustment to the bobbin timing and it’s all fixed, he didn’t even charge me for it”.

 

I don’t hear that. No. Instead I get “he looked at it, and it’s the bobbin timing. It will cost $180 to get it fixed and I’ll have to leave it there for a few days, so I said there’s no point, I can get a whole new machine for that”.

 

“Did you?” I ask, my hopes now fading fast. It’s Friday morning. It’s supposed to be brew time tomorrow morning and I’ve got it all planned out. The Taliban are going to be out but I’m still without the Bag part of BIAB.

 

“Did I what?”

 

“Get a new machine?”

 

“No. He had some there but they were too expensive. I can get one cheaper elsewhere. I’ll have a look on the weekend.”

 

Gulp. Far out, brew day was tomorrow! Is there any hope now? A new machine? Or $180 to get it fixed? Neither option is unlikely to get me a bag in time. And this is now turning into an expensive first BIAB. Do you ever have those occasions where you just seem to keep going one step backwards?

 

Well, Friday night comes around and I’m home from work and straight into that machine, and into Doctor Google. I’m reading WikiHow and watching YouTubes of sewing machines, working out how to adjust the timing of the bobbin thread pickup hook by altering the gear timing on the main drive shaft. True story. Breaking out the tools I’m like a man possessed, panels off and fingers covered in grease. After half an hour or so and on the first timing adjustment attempt, I put it back together and…voila! We have bobbin thread pickup and a working sewing machine!!! And, importantly, that night, I have a grain bag!

 

Apart from sewing machine timing what have I learnt?

 

- The grain bag is hot. Real hot. Squeezing it out was an uncomfortable chore.

- A 19 litre pot will only give you about 10 litres in the FV. Believe the figures in the BIAB calculator.

- I deliberately made the wort up to a higher OG, and higher IBU, then added another 2.5 litres of filtered water to bring the OG to 1.041 and IBUs to around 40. I wanted a more sessionable beer and more volume for the BIAB effort, and got about 12.5 litres in the FV in the end

- Cooling the wort took a long time (got it down to 20)

- Write a checklist so you don’t forget to re-hydrate your yeast (which I don’t normally do but pitching into a cube I thought I’d better).

- A 90-minute mash and 70-minute boil does not equal approximately 3 hours from start to finish. Oh no. No. Not even close.

- Get a siphon.

 

If this beer survives the next three weeks or so without infection, I’ll report back on how my Amarillo APA style turns out…

 

 

[joolbag]

Karstiron, that was a very well written and entertaining read. If the effort is proportional to brew quality, you will be in for a treat!

 

I haven't yet BIAB'd yet - I'm enjoying kits n bits and extract brewing. All just a matter of time! Good luck and I will follow this one with interest

[Otto Von Blotto]

Get a pair of those bigarse red PVC gloves from Bunnings, very useful for squeezing the bag while it's still hot.

[Mark D Pirate]

Good fun isn't it !

so ,so many reasons why i live alone .

 

hope it turns out well

[Karstiron]

Get a pair of those bigarse red PVC gloves from Bunnings' date=' very useful for squeezing the bag while it's still hot. [/quote']

 

Yeah - I think they're a necessity. But I have to laugh, it's yet another thing to add to the kit...!

[Karstiron]

Karstiron' date=' that was a very well written and entertaining read. If the effort is proportional to brew quality, you will be in for a treat!

 

I haven't yet BIAB'd yet - I'm enjoying kits n bits and extract brewing. All just a matter of time! Good luck and I will follow this one with interest[/quote']

 

Thanks Joolbag - hope you're right but not convinced in my delirium that I stuck to decent enough sanitation protocols. We'll see. Looks and smells alright now though.

[Karstiron]

Good fun isn't it !

so ' date='so many reasons why i live alone .

 

hope it turns out well [/quote']

 

It is good fun - thanks Markoman.

[GregT5]

I am having a bit of trouble with my Janome of late...any chance of popping around...???

[Karstiron]

I am having a bit of trouble with my Janome of late...any chance of popping around...???

 

LOL. My experience is quite limited. Unless it's a Singer and it's related to the bobbin timing' date=' you're outta luck I'm afraid...[img']lol[/img]

[headmaster]

Karstiron,

 

That was a most entertaining and well written read, thanks for that!

 

Regarding the amount of time it took, I split things up somewhat, by No Chilling, meaning the tasks of sterilising the FV, getting the yeast ready etc can be left to the following day after the wort has chilled down in the cube. I guess for your batch size that was probably not an option, as you don't really want a big headspace if no chilling.

 

I related to your comment about the cheap pot, I bought the exact same one and made almost identical remarks to my wife!! I modified the pot to make a 'malt pipe' I also dodge nerf gunfire from the 4 foot mercenaries..

 

I do most of the brewday work after they have all gone to bed, using an electric BIAB RIMS system which needs less supervision than a gas one. I can put on the mash after dinner, let the STC1000 control the mash, get back to it at 10pm approx, and finish with 25 litres or so in the cube by midnight or just after. Next evening I pitch the yeast into FV.

[GatorBrewing]

Fantastic read!!!