First BIAB

[Timelord_]

Hey gang.

Just finished my first All Grain (BIAB), and I am left with a few questions.

I started with approx 7.5 gallons of water for the mash. Let the grains soak in the bag for a good hour. Removed the grain, and fired up the burner. Here is where things get interesting.

The boil/hop additions went as planned, however I was left with a LOT less wort than I am used to (estimating 12-13 liters).

1. Wha' happened?
2. Is this normal?

The only thing I can guess is that I didnt "squeeze" the grains enough when I pulled them out. I transferred the bag to another bucket and set it on top of a colander so gravity could do it's thing. After approx 15 minutes, I dumped the recovered wort into the kettle (I would guess 1-2 liters).

Any suggestions? Advice?

[Jimmy]

Seems odd, as BIAB actually tends to do the opposite (you're able to drain more liquid than batch or fly sparging). You shouldn't have to squeeze the bag to properly drain the wort.

Did anything else change? New boil kettle or burner, more hops than normal, etc? Did you measure your pre-boil volume?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[LeafMan66_67]

If it helps, here's my typical volumes for a 5% ABV or so BIAB brew day:

35L strike water
4.5-5kg grain
Just under 32L for pre boil volume
Boil off 6.7L during 1 hour boil
25L post boil
20 to 22L to fermenter, depending on the hop quantity

Like Jimmy said, was this a new pot, new burner?

[Timelord_]

Seems odd, as BIAB actually tends to do the opposite (you're able to drain more liquid than batch or fly sparging). You shouldn't have to squeeze the bag to properly drain the wort.

Did anything else change? New boil kettle or burner, more hops than normal, etc? Did you measure your pre-boil volume?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

Nothing changed other than it was an AG recipe vs. Extract recipie. Have another brew scheduled for this weekend, so we will see how it goes.

[Jimmy]

Seems odd, as BIAB actually tends to do the opposite (you're able to drain more liquid than batch or fly sparging). You shouldn't have to squeeze the bag to properly drain the wort.

Did anything else change? New boil kettle or burner, more hops than normal, etc? Did you measure your pre-boil volume?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

Nothing changed other than it was an AG recipe vs. Extract recipie. Have another brew scheduled for this weekend, so we will see how it goes.

That's probably the cause. Did you account for grain absorption?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[ackes]

I'm fairly new to the whole BIAB / AG thing too. But have found this site helpful for starting volumes, etc.

http://www.simplebiabcalculator.com

[Timelord_]

Seems odd, as BIAB actually tends to do the opposite (you're able to drain more liquid than batch or fly sparging). You shouldn't have to squeeze the bag to properly drain the wort.

Did anything else change? New boil kettle or burner, more hops than normal, etc? Did you measure your pre-boil volume?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

Nothing changed other than it was an AG recipe vs. Extract recipie. Have another brew scheduled for this weekend, so we will see how it goes.

That's probably the cause. Did you account for grain absorption?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

No - which is what I was kind of thinking it might be when I mentioned that perhaps I didnt "squeeze" the grains enough after the soak.

[Timelord_]

I'm fairly new to the whole BIAB / AG thing too. But have found this site helpful for starting volumes, etc.

http://www.simplebiabcalculator.com

Thanks - for this weekends brew, that site calls for approx. 8 gallons of water to start with. I will go with that and see where we end up.

[mthibodeau]

Time lord, yeah you don't normally squeeze, rather you add in more water to account for absorption, most calculators have a tool to figure that out. There's also a general rule of thumb about gallons per pound, but I can't remember right now

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk