Brew in a Bag (BIAB) First Time! - Brewing a Kölsch beer
Вставка
- Опубліковано 25 лют 2020
- Time for Kölsch Brew in a Bag!
I've been wanting to try out BIAB for quite some time now. I view it as cool way to try something new and keep the hobby fresh for me. I am also very interested in the ins and outs of how BIAB works scientifically by tracking the numbers and making sense of the BIAB folklore.
This week, we sample my first batch, a small batch, of BIAB Kölsch. It's a very cool style and an easy drinking beer. It is a good beer to make this time of year to take advantage of cooler fermentation temperatures.
We both found this beer to be a pretty good example of the style. I used only Pilsner malt this time around. We thought for next time that a little more depth in flavor might be warranted. I may add a touch of Vienna or Munich in the grist but we will see.
We discuss in this video 3 or 4 observations I made while giving my first BIAB a try.
Hope you enjoy the video.
CHEERS!
Check out our blog:
www.brew-dudes.com
Thanks guys! I've done a couple 3 gallon BIAB recipes so far as I transition from extract to all grain. So far effeciency has been awesome, and the process was easy and effective. Keep up the great content!
Excellent - thanks for the comment. - John
Loving how many videos you guys are putting out
Sweet! Thanks. One a week! Cheers! -Mike
You guys are legends.
Maybe. To kind of you to say. Thanks much. Cheers! -Mike
Great video, great seeing people try new things. I just started doing pressure fermentation and am loving it. Cannot wait to here about your next BIAB with all your lessons learned. only suggestion I have is to wash the grains with about half gallon or so of hot water while the bag is sitting in the spaghetti strainer, that should help your efficiency a little and keep you from having to add water to your boil.
Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't take the time yet to calc my current efficiency (I want a handful of batches first), but I am getting better than 1.050 with most batches so far just as it. We will see where I go from there. Cheers! -Mike
Just the look of John when imagining Mike doing 10 gallon. Epic. Thanks for always great content! Skål
Cheers! -Mike
Bang the bell! Cool vid guys. Always enjoy watching.
Thanks Thomas - appreciate it! - John
Been BIAB'ing for 8 years, couldnt imagine going back
I am really enjoying it for my 2.5 gallon batches. Cheers! -Mike
Good video. I just started brew in bag with a mash and boil.just made a triple pearl blonde. Can’t wait for the next video
Thank and cheers! - John
BIAB is the way to go. I use a Granite Ware 21 1/2 quart canning pot $24.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond and 5 gallon paint strainers from Lowes, 2 for under $4.00. You can use the canning strainer to strain and sparge the grains, just keep an eye on the wort level as to not get right up on the bag. I spin the bag instead of squeezing, I was told that you can get off flavors from squeezing. I do come up with more than 2 gallons so I boil for 30 minutes before any hop additions. I hope this helps out any new brewers out there, I am one myself.
Great info from experience. Thanks for posting. -Mike
I brew exclusively 3 gal biab ... I've been fine tuning and experimenting with all sorts of techniques. I just brewed an IPA using the Northern Brewer "Gigawort" electric kettle for my 60 minute saturation time and it worked really well for holding temp ... and yes, I squeeze 'dem grains! Great videos fellas, Cheers!
I've been enjoying the smaller batch size and using BIAB is perfect for that IMO. Thanks for the comment. -Mike
awesome video
Cheers! - John
I've been doing BIAB for almost 3 years. It's definitely my preferred way of making beer because of its simplicity without any sacrifice to efficiency. I have my LHBS mill the grain twice and I run with about 80% efficiency - without sparging! In my opinion, it's best to just let the bag drain out into your kettle. I used to squeeze the bag dry, but found that doing so made a giant cake at the bottom of the fermenter and I'd end up losing over a gallon in volume.
I like the ease of it. I don't have a way to suspend the bag yet over the kettle so for the most part I let it drain 90% or so, then move it to a colander type thing over another pot. I adjust for preboil volume and start heating. The whatever else drained out of the bag I toss that in the kettle. Cheers! -Mike
Good clean fun
Always! -Mike
Just a hint from a BIAB brewer who uses a similar sized kettle - you can get a lot more grain in there than you think judging by your "I could probably squeeze 5 pounds in there". I regularly brew with 3kg (6.6lbs) of grain without thinking it's much of a squeeze. I'm guessing the main difference is that you're thinking of BIAB as a full volume mash process. I usually mash with 7.5-ish litres in the kettle and then sparge the bag with another 5-7L in a fermenting bucket (usually the one I'll be fermenting in so it's not extra equipment). It's easy enough to do 5-6% ABV batches that are essentially the full kettle volume into the fermenter this way. Bigger beers or larger-than-the-kettle batches are achievable with a bit of pan juggling and dilution in the fermenter.
I look forward to seeing how you get on with the technique.
I'm still experimenting. I mentioned in an different comment that I chose to go with the traditional BIAB approach that puts you at preboil volume once you pull out the bag. So can't really sparge at that point. But I am still experimenting and once I feel like I have a good handle on the #s using BIAB this way. My plan is to start sparging like you mention. Stay tuned! Cheers! -Mike
Nice video, as always.
What was the FG of the beer ? I wanted to try that yeast but wasnt sure because there wasn´t much info about it. Do you think It is worth a try ? Thanks.
Its totally worth it. I have more BIAB videos coming and I'll try and make it a point to call out the FG. This Kolsch was 1.010. It was nice. -Mike
On a typical 5 gallon batch with about 12-15 lbs of grain I will get a half gallon or so when I squeeze the bag.
You don't have to worry about squeezing the bag. If a decoction mash doesn't produced tannins, squeezing the bag sure won't.
I'm not worried about tannins, but after letting it completely drain and do a squeeze on the side I didn't see much of a gain. I adjusted my future BIAB recipes to get the gravity I wanted with just a little more grain. I let the bag naturally drip into a secondary pot while I get the boil going and only worry about capturing that last little bit. I suppose it could be a more substantive % recovery if doing a full size batch. I am only doing 2 gallons and the loss doesn't' seem like much. Thanks for the comment and sharing you're experience. Cheers! -Mike
Thanks, Mike. I look forward to more BIAB videos!
Cheers🍻
Welcome to BIAB. I do full volume BIAB in a picnic cooler (should really be called mash in a bag) with double ground grains. When squeezing the bag I get a substantial amount of wort. Considering I target for 6.25 gallons into the fermenter, my mash starts with over 7 gal.
Excellent - I think Mike's going to brew more in the future. - John
I know you said not to but squeeze that bag like it owes you money. If I didn’t squeeze the bag my efficiency and grain absorption would be trash.
I am still experimenting but I think the bag's material plays a big part in it. Maybe look for a different bag at your shop. Once with slightly looser mesh. I will keep researching it in the future. Cheers! -Mike
My next beer!
CHEERS! - John
BIAB is great. I've been doing it for about 3 years now. I typically do 5 and 10 gallon batches with it and use a 16 gallon Bayou Classic with the basket and use one of the bags from brewinabag.com. It can be a lot of grain but I use a pulley in my garage to just pull it out of the pot. I think the method makes great beer and I get usually around 74% efficiency with it. Some of times that I found it really helps to squeeze the bag is when you have a bunch of adjuncts in it, especially if you're making a NEIPA with flaked wheat and oats, etc.
I've wondered about pulling that big a bag out. I have a hoist mechanism in my garage for engines and stuff so I might get there eventually. For now the 5lbs of grain in a 2 gallon batch has been fine. Cheers! -Mike
Hi guys. Good video. I am interested in possibly reducing the amount of trub in my fermenter. Seems too fine to filter.
The only solution is to try and increase recipe so your post boil volume is say 10% larger than it is now. Then post chill you'd carefully transfer only the clearest wort into the fermentor. That way you don't have more equipment, like a filter or trub dam, to worry about. Good luck! Cheers! -Mike
In regards to the dumper batch you described... I've gotten bizarre, extremely-strong peachy esters from US-05 before. It was when I fermented low, around 60. Does that sound like what you experienced?
I have heard of the peach US05 thing and I experienced it once in a friends homebrew. I have never been able to replicate it so I can't say from experience what brings it out. But it is a real think. Sorry I can't help with sorting it our for you. -Mike
I routinely use US-05 at upper 50’s to around 62, and have no peachy esters.
If a decoction mash doesn't extract tannins then squeezing a brew bag won't. I don't actually squeeze the bag I pour hot water over it and rinse out any remaining wort aka sparging. I think that is pretty standard at least here in England.
Definitely on my list of things to start trying with the technique eventually. Cheers! -Mike
I brewed a Kolsch last year with that yeast at 17oC. It was too fruity for style. Any suggestions! I have a Kolsch on keg at present which was fermented with WLP029, very Kolschy, like normal. I brew Kolsch several times a year and the dry Kolsch yeast was the only fruity version.
What temperature do you use with wlp029?
Usually start at 17oC, move to 18oC after a few days and finish at 20oC before taking it down to 2oC for two weeks or more.
Great info thanks for posting it. Cheers! -Mike
Very nice. I think you made the right choice not squeezing the bag. Cheers!
It didn't seem to yield much. I have since brewed a couple more BIAB and didn't squeeze. Getting 1.050+ OGs pre boil! Still experimenting thought. Cheers! -Mike
High wheat beers are great for BIAB as you don't need rice hulls.
Great benefit! - John
Always squeeze the bag
Is there some reason why you deleted/hid all the comments that were on this video previously?
I haven't seen that to be the case. All the comments were visible when I checked. We certainly didn't change things in purpose. -Mike
@@BrewDudes Odd. A couple of days after the video went up I came back to have a read of any new comments and could only see mine and a couple of others. I looked on another browser logged out of YT and there were only two comments visible where there had been maybe a dozen. I just thought maybe you'd accidentally hit a moderation function or something but just YT being YT, I guess.
i don't worry about time as i am retired oh yeah :]
Ah Sweet! Brew on! -Mike
where can i get that t shirt?
Which one?
Biab a wheat beer.
100% wheat is something on my mind. -Mike
Woah. WOAH woah. Did someone say Reserve?!
Ahhh Yeah! Cheers! -Mike
You can sparge the bag to rinse all the grains. I have burned the F out of myself every damn time I tried to squeeze.
I like the colander and push with a spoon thing. I am experimenting with BIAB still so bare with me. But I don't see the point of sparging the bag when I get so little out of it when I squeeze it. On top of that, classical BIAB calls for all the water in the mash up front so that when the bag is pulled out you are at your desired pre-boil volume if you sparge then you have more volume then you need. I know there are variations to the BIAB technique, but that's where I started. Still experimenting. Cheers -Mike
hahahahah lol, bag squeeze...... no fuss about extraction come on, look how beautiful ur beer is............cool 1
Cheers! -Mike
squeeze squeeze and squeeze again.....then squeeze
I've been experimenting with BIAB. I haven't found the need to squeeze aggressively. I get pretty good efficiency just letting it drip. But I am still experimenting. Cheers! -Mike
The metric system is so easy, just sayin. Pounds, quarts and gallons? Interesting video otherwise 👍
Look - we know. The fact is we started homebrewing following recipes using the Imperial system and it's a hard habit to break. - John