Last Sunday was my second AG brew using the BIAB technique and things went a little smoother this time around. It certainly helps when you know what to expect as the day goes on. Here's the recipe, based on other people's attempts to replicate one of my favourite brews: Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted.
Recipe, i.e. what should have happened
2.8kg Lager Malt (Warminster)
240g Wheat Malt (6.4%)
240g Cara Gold (6.4%)
240g Flaked Oats (6.4%)
Mash: 22.4 litres, 90 minutes, 66C
Sparge: 5 litres
Boil: 75 minutes
Estimated volume into fermenter: 20 litres
Efficiency: 75%
Hops
60 mins: 25g Perle
15 mins: 30g Hallertau Hersbrucker
10 mins: 30g Hallertau Hersbrucker
5 mins: 10g Bobek
5 mins: 25g Celeia
1 mins: 10g Bobek
1 mins: 25g Celeia
Yeast: Safale US-05
OG: 1.039
FG: 1.007
ABV: 4.22%
IBU: 39.98
Reality, i.e. what actually happened
27.4 litres of Sainsbury's basics water was treated with 34ml of CRS and 3g of gypsum and brought up to 68C. The grain was added and my first mistake was made. I added all 3 1kg bags of lager malt instead of 2.8kg. Not a disaster, my ABV will be up a bit and the percentages of the other grains are now slightly lower.
Mash temperature settled at 66C and now I've got one of those silver space blanket type insulation things around my boiler it didn't drop to less than 65.2 over the 90 minutes. The iodine test proved a complete conversion. The wife poured over the sparge water while I held up the heavy and wet grain bag. No squeezing the bag this time after I read that you can squeeze out tannins that way.
Boil was uneventful. I used pellet hops in a big muslin bag that I tried to position directly over the roiling part of the boiler to give them the best chance of mixing it up with the wort. Removed the hop bag before chilling.
Cooled to 24C in about half an hour with my coil-type immersion chiller. Lots of bits suspended in the wort. I guess the hop and grain bags aren't a total block to the smaller fragments getting out.
Drained into the FV. Got about 17 or 18 litres in the end which was less than estimated, maybe because I declined to squeeze the bag this time. OG is 1.044 which will give 4.7% if the US-05 goes all the way down to 1.007. That's a bit stronger than I would have liked and if I'd been thinking at the time I would have diluted it down with some water. Never mind. Efficiency was 70%.
The US-05 was rehydrated before adding to the FV.
Another improvement this time is my temperature controlled fermentation fridge. In it went and the temperature was set to 18C.
A sastisfying thick krausen formed within 2 days and now on the 7th day the krausen is breaking up into floating pieces on the top. Fermentation must be entering the final days.
I plan to dry hop with 50g of Bobek on day 10 before cold crashing with finings for a week starting next weekend if fermentation has finished by then.
Recipe, i.e. what should have happened
2.8kg Lager Malt (Warminster)
240g Wheat Malt (6.4%)
240g Cara Gold (6.4%)
240g Flaked Oats (6.4%)
Mash: 22.4 litres, 90 minutes, 66C
Sparge: 5 litres
Boil: 75 minutes
Estimated volume into fermenter: 20 litres
Efficiency: 75%
Hops
60 mins: 25g Perle
15 mins: 30g Hallertau Hersbrucker
10 mins: 30g Hallertau Hersbrucker
5 mins: 10g Bobek
5 mins: 25g Celeia
1 mins: 10g Bobek
1 mins: 25g Celeia
Yeast: Safale US-05
OG: 1.039
FG: 1.007
ABV: 4.22%
IBU: 39.98
Reality, i.e. what actually happened
27.4 litres of Sainsbury's basics water was treated with 34ml of CRS and 3g of gypsum and brought up to 68C. The grain was added and my first mistake was made. I added all 3 1kg bags of lager malt instead of 2.8kg. Not a disaster, my ABV will be up a bit and the percentages of the other grains are now slightly lower.
Mash temperature settled at 66C and now I've got one of those silver space blanket type insulation things around my boiler it didn't drop to less than 65.2 over the 90 minutes. The iodine test proved a complete conversion. The wife poured over the sparge water while I held up the heavy and wet grain bag. No squeezing the bag this time after I read that you can squeeze out tannins that way.
Boil was uneventful. I used pellet hops in a big muslin bag that I tried to position directly over the roiling part of the boiler to give them the best chance of mixing it up with the wort. Removed the hop bag before chilling.
Cooled to 24C in about half an hour with my coil-type immersion chiller. Lots of bits suspended in the wort. I guess the hop and grain bags aren't a total block to the smaller fragments getting out.
Drained into the FV. Got about 17 or 18 litres in the end which was less than estimated, maybe because I declined to squeeze the bag this time. OG is 1.044 which will give 4.7% if the US-05 goes all the way down to 1.007. That's a bit stronger than I would have liked and if I'd been thinking at the time I would have diluted it down with some water. Never mind. Efficiency was 70%.
The US-05 was rehydrated before adding to the FV.
Another improvement this time is my temperature controlled fermentation fridge. In it went and the temperature was set to 18C.
A sastisfying thick krausen formed within 2 days and now on the 7th day the krausen is breaking up into floating pieces on the top. Fermentation must be entering the final days.
I plan to dry hop with 50g of Bobek on day 10 before cold crashing with finings for a week starting next weekend if fermentation has finished by then.
