BIAB Help!

[Mr T]

So I decided to treat myself to the Home Brew Companys basic BIAG starter kit. At £76 including delivery I thought it was a good deal and knowing I would want to develop my brews in the future I thought what the heck!

I got a blonde ale kit with it so I'm good to go. I have little idea where to start with this and the basic instructions still leave me a little confused.

Has anyone used a good tutorial or have the time to point me in the right direction? I have the grain and hops which have times on.

Going to take some reading up on before starting this one!

As always thanks in advance!

Andy

 

[MyQul]

Perhaps start with some specifiic questions

Are you basically completley clueless about what to do or would you like to know specifically for example, how much water you need to add to the grain to to mash, how to mash and what temp to mash at? How long to mash at? How to sparge? When to add the hops to the boil? etc

 

[Alcoholx]

theres is a basic guide on the hbc website... this i think should come with the kits but it doesent

i would also add... put the wort chiller in the boiler 10 mins before the end of the boil to sanatise the chiller

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.co.uk/guide-to-brewing-8-brew-in-a-bag-biab-c-58_239.html

 

[Wicks]

I've used Clibits "Have a go at simple AG" thread which basically is BIAB, not looked back since
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51779

 

[Mr T]

So i understand that i have to control the temperature of the grain during the 60 - 90 minute soak.

After this i pour 80 degree water over the grain bag to bring the level up to the target level - is this the sparge?

Then i bring this to the boil - should this be done in the kit heater (will this be hot enough) or will this need to be done in a pan on the hob?

The hops have timings on - 0 minutes, 15 minutes and 60 minutes. Is this how long they need to be boiled for? So the pack of 0 minutes are used to dry hop and not be boiled at all? Or is it they should be introduced at 0 minutes into the boil?

Thanks

Andy

 

[clibit]

The easiest method, and the method intended with that equipment, is to do a no-sparge method - put a the water in the mash, stabilise the temperature and hold it at around 66/67C for one hour. Lift the bag and drain it back into the boiler, then start the boil, add hops at times specified in the recipe, switch off, cool, transfer to FV, pitch yeast when temp is about 20C.

 

[MyQul]

I'd also advise a stir of the mash about half way through. This will help your efficiency

 

[clibit]

I'd also advise a stir of the mash about half way through. This will help your efficiency

And at the end, before lifting the bag.

 

[Mr T]

Thank You Chaps!

I am going to start this next week (other half has confiscated equipment as it's supposed to be a birthday present )

Really looking forward to this!

Andy

 

[Cwrw666]

The times on the hops refer to how long they're in the boil for. So if you're having a 1 hour boil, then the hops labelled 60mins goes in right at the start. 15mins goes in 15 minutes before the end of the boil, and 0 mins goes in as you switch off the boiler.

 

[Mr T]

The times on the hops refer to how long they're in the boil for. So if you're having a 1 hour boil, then the hops labelled 60mins goes in right at the start. 15mins goes in 15 minutes before the end of the boil, and 0 mins goes in as you switch off the boiler.

Thanks for this - That clears that up then :thumb:

The 0 hops then will just remain in while i cool the wort down using the wort chiller before transferring to the FV?

The hops that go in early will they add the bitterness / flavour and the ones that just get 10 - 15 mins as the wort cools add the aroma? I need to read up on these so i get a basic understanding, i like to know what each element is adding.

Thanks again

Andy

 

[Dogmcdog]

I've also just bought the basic BIAB kit so would be interested to hear if you've given it a go yet and if so,if you've got any tips now that you've used it...

 

[clibit]

Thanks for this - That clears that up then :thumb:

The 0 hops then will just remain in while i cool the wort down using the wort chiller before transferring to the FV?

The hops that go in early will they add the bitterness / flavour and the ones that just get 10 - 15 mins as the wort cools add the aroma? I need to read up on these so i get a basic understanding, i like to know what each element is adding.

Thanks again

Andy

The text books say 60 mins for bitterness, 15 for flavour, 0 and dry hops for aroma. And this is largely the case.

Though 15 will add some bitterness and aroma. 0 and dry some flavour, and some people reckon bitterness, which I think is chemically impossible. 60 can provide some hop flavour, I reckon. A kind of background flavour, some hops more than udders.

 

[Leon103]

I've also just bought the basic BIAB kit so would be interested to hear if you've given it a go yet and if so,if you've got any tips now that you've used it...

I have the kit.

You want to wrap the boiler with a sleeping bag it similar during the mash.
Invest in a large sieve so the bag can rest and drain easily after the mash.
The bag will be very heavy so a pulley system is worth the few pounds investment.
A hop strainer is also worth buying.
I have used mine twice and posted both times in the brew day forum with tips and things I need to consider for future brews