First BIAB, mash out time... - RealBeer.co.nz2024-03-29T08:07:05Zhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/forum/topics/first-biab-mash-out-time?commentId=1500433%3AComment%3A113875&feed=yes&xn_auth=noAway from the computer for a…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1137292011-05-24T06:05:39.221Zdavid wildhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/davidwild
Away from the computer for a while, come back WOW look @ all this, definately be trying the sparge option, right Rhyno. Reviled thanx for all the material, will look into the pH & citric acid thing too, future questions I'm sure. Matt hope you got a question or two answered, this forums gr8 man, cheers guys...to know ones self is to know ones system, lol.
Away from the computer for a while, come back WOW look @ all this, definately be trying the sparge option, right Rhyno. Reviled thanx for all the material, will look into the pH & citric acid thing too, future questions I'm sure. Matt hope you got a question or two answered, this forums gr8 man, cheers guys...to know ones self is to know ones system, lol. Hey David, I have just done m…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1139692011-05-24T05:26:27.058ZRhynohttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/RyanCutbush
<p>Hey David, I have just done my 2nd BIAB now and didn't use a mash out.</p>
<p>I wasn't planning on sparging either, but after losing 1-2 litres from the pot being too full when I put my lid on (AGAIN, I thought I had reduced my totals enough so it wouldn't happen this time!), I "sparged" with 2 litres of 77C. Ended up 4 points over on my pre-boil estimate gravity reading but bang on for my OG.</p>
<p>I will have to look into sparging next time as it will allow my to have a slightly reduced…</p>
<p>Hey David, I have just done my 2nd BIAB now and didn't use a mash out.</p>
<p>I wasn't planning on sparging either, but after losing 1-2 litres from the pot being too full when I put my lid on (AGAIN, I thought I had reduced my totals enough so it wouldn't happen this time!), I "sparged" with 2 litres of 77C. Ended up 4 points over on my pre-boil estimate gravity reading but bang on for my OG.</p>
<p>I will have to look into sparging next time as it will allow my to have a slightly reduced volume when mashing.</p> Actually come to think of it,…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1139672011-05-24T05:00:21.175ZReviledhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Reviled
<p>Actually come to think of it, strips should give you a feel for the PH band as well, at a cheaper price!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Note - People are probably reading this thinking im giving really bad advice - but its simply what I do, and has served me fine so far! Personally ive found throwing away the calculator and brewing on 'feel' can be great!! Whilst a little more variable ;o) haha</p>
<p>Actually come to think of it, strips should give you a feel for the PH band as well, at a cheaper price!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Note - People are probably reading this thinking im giving really bad advice - but its simply what I do, and has served me fine so far! Personally ive found throwing away the calculator and brewing on 'feel' can be great!! Whilst a little more variable ;o) haha</p> My advice, is if you can 'bor…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1138792011-05-24T04:58:00.805ZReviledhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Reviled
<p>My advice, is if you can 'borrow' a PH meter for a while, eventually you wont 'really' need it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once youve acidified a few times, you get a feel for how much acid you need - I find I dont ever bust out the PH meter any more, as im not trying to hit 5.2 bang on, just get somewhere between 5.2 and 5.7 which works well for me. If I was going to go any more hardout id look into water chemistry... A teaspoon or two - depending on how much specialty malt I have - does the trick for…</p>
<p>My advice, is if you can 'borrow' a PH meter for a while, eventually you wont 'really' need it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once youve acidified a few times, you get a feel for how much acid you need - I find I dont ever bust out the PH meter any more, as im not trying to hit 5.2 bang on, just get somewhere between 5.2 and 5.7 which works well for me. If I was going to go any more hardout id look into water chemistry... A teaspoon or two - depending on how much specialty malt I have - does the trick for me :)</p> Each of the food acids have t…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1137792011-05-24T04:40:52.763ZRalphhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Ralph792
<p>Each of the food acids have their own particular taste, and the tastes are often associated with fruit, as that is where you will most often find the food acid in concentration. I know what citric tastes like in solution and I think I would be hard pressed to taste it at 2 teaspoons per 26 litres in plain water, let alone in beer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hmm maybe I will look at getting a pH meter somewhere down the line too.</p>
<p>Each of the food acids have their own particular taste, and the tastes are often associated with fruit, as that is where you will most often find the food acid in concentration. I know what citric tastes like in solution and I think I would be hard pressed to taste it at 2 teaspoons per 26 litres in plain water, let alone in beer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hmm maybe I will look at getting a pH meter somewhere down the line too.</p> the most i've added is two te…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1138782011-05-24T04:23:41.629ZReviledhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Reviled
<p>the most i've added is two teaspoons of citric acid to 26 odd litres of mash - it was a pale ale, and I personally didn't taste the acid in the slightest..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It says on the packaging of citric acid - 'Used to enhance fruit flavours in cooking' - so perhaps it simply enhanced all those delicious fruity flavours of the hops, but not in a way that I noticed..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some people say you can taste it, but I think youd be hardpressed</p>
<p>the most i've added is two teaspoons of citric acid to 26 odd litres of mash - it was a pale ale, and I personally didn't taste the acid in the slightest..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It says on the packaging of citric acid - 'Used to enhance fruit flavours in cooking' - so perhaps it simply enhanced all those delicious fruity flavours of the hops, but not in a way that I noticed..</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some people say you can taste it, but I think youd be hardpressed</p> Out of interest, can you ever…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1138752011-05-24T03:50:09.756ZRalphhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Ralph792
Out of interest, can you ever taste the acid you add to get the pH correct? The amount you are adding might be under the taste threshold, but I am curious.
Out of interest, can you ever taste the acid you add to get the pH correct? The amount you are adding might be under the taste threshold, but I am curious. Ralph I used to squeeze, and…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1137242011-05-24T03:19:44.896ZReviledhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Reviled
<p>Ralph I used to squeeze, and I didn't adjust the mash PH and my beers looked like milk, or apple juice despite months in the keg and finings and sh*t like that... I could never get it even remotely clear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, I stopped squeezing the bag (it was widely referred to years ago on AHB), and started acidifying the mash down as close to 5.2 as I could get it - just using citric acid or tartaric or whatever. And I was pouring bright (still a bit hazy but come on) beer after only a…</p>
<p>Ralph I used to squeeze, and I didn't adjust the mash PH and my beers looked like milk, or apple juice despite months in the keg and finings and sh*t like that... I could never get it even remotely clear.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, I stopped squeezing the bag (it was widely referred to years ago on AHB), and started acidifying the mash down as close to 5.2 as I could get it - just using citric acid or tartaric or whatever. And I was pouring bright (still a bit hazy but come on) beer after only a week or two in the keg, and no post fermentation finings (I do use kettle finings). The other thing I noticed, was there was fu*k all difference in my efficiency, so squeezing was really doing me no favours.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p> No worries. Thanks for that i…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1138692011-05-24T03:14:06.395ZRalphhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Ralph792
<p>No worries. Thanks for that info. Knowing that you use approx a litre for every kg of grain is helpful.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I notice most BIAB talk about letting the bag drain etc, but I have not seen comments about squeezing or pressing. Do you start to get bad things into your wort if you are squeezing the bag?</p>
<p>No worries. Thanks for that info. Knowing that you use approx a litre for every kg of grain is helpful.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I notice most BIAB talk about letting the bag drain etc, but I have not seen comments about squeezing or pressing. Do you start to get bad things into your wort if you are squeezing the bag?</p> "I assume you calculate"
lo…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2011-05-24:1500433:Comment:1138682011-05-24T03:07:02.812ZReviledhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/Reviled
<p><strong>"I assume you calculate"</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>lol, I wish as it would make it easier to explain ;o) haha</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No calculations, I've just got to know my system quite well, so I know if my preboil volume starts at the 'scum line' (the line you cant scrub off no matter how hard you try) and I boil for 90 mins, I get roughly 20-23 litres of the good stuff. I sparge more or less depending on the grain bill - for example 4kg ill sparge with say 4 litres and…</p>
<p><strong>"I assume you calculate"</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>lol, I wish as it would make it easier to explain ;o) haha</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No calculations, I've just got to know my system quite well, so I know if my preboil volume starts at the 'scum line' (the line you cant scrub off no matter how hard you try) and I boil for 90 mins, I get roughly 20-23 litres of the good stuff. I sparge more or less depending on the grain bill - for example 4kg ill sparge with say 4 litres and ill up it for a 6 or 7kg grist. Grain will absorb roughly 0.75 - 1 litre per kilo if you're not squeezing the bag.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But - Were probably confusing David a little now ;o) So my advice really, is to take the plunge, figure out what works for you and get to know your system. That way youll iron out the variables!</p>