First BIAB brew on new equipment today

[evanisnor]

I've been scrambling for months trying to build and obtain equipment to let me brew 5+ gallon batches. Yesterday I picked up an order from Dave to complete my arsenal, so I was really excited to brew today. It was hectic because I had to (unexpectedly) watch my 3-year-old daughter, and it was somewhat disappointing because the OG sample tasted weird and I ended up with only 16 litres in my fermenter when I was aiming for about 24 litres.

Recipe, American Pale Ale, 6.5 gallon batch, 90 minute boil:
OG 1.051
6lbs Maris Otter
6lbs Vienna
0.5lbs Caramel 30L
0.5lbs Carapils

FWH: 0.25oz of each Amarillo, Citra, Cascade. Simcoe
45min: 0.25oz Simcoe
15min: 0.25oz of each Simcoe and Cascade
10min: 0.25oz of each Amarillo and Citra
5min: 0.25oz of each Amarillo and Cascade
0min: 0.25oz of each Citra and Simcoe
(I saved a few quarter ounces for dry hopping.)

I've got some photos as well: https://imgur.com/a/vKhHS

Started off with 9.43 gallons of water.
I did a 90 minute sacch rest starting at 156F (beersmith lied and it didn't drop to 152 after dough in, it was at like 160 ), only lost 5F the whole time with my reflectix wrap.
I have no way of knowing what my pre-boil volume actually was, but it didn't look much different from before dough-in. My estimated pre-boil gravity was 1.041, I hit 1.050. wtf?
The expected OG at 70% efficiency was 1.051 of 6.5gal, I landed 1.054 of 4.23gal. The sample had a lot of trub in it and it tasted bitter in a silly way. Maybe I overdid it on the hops, maybe FWH is a big lie.

I suspect this is because my propane burner was on way too high and evaporated 2.27 gallons more than I calculated. I pitched a rehydrated pack of US-05 anyway, hoping it'll be quaffable. Anyone mind offering an analysis? Thanks.

[spears104]

Don't get discouraged on your first all grain brew. Its going to take you some time to learn YOUR system. They are all a little different!

I found I had to experiment with my system to determine what temperature my water had to be in order to end up at the mash temp I wanted. Why are you mashing for 90 minutes? 60 minutes is fine.

As far as your final volume goes, you are going to have to measure the volume of your pre boil wort, and then determine what your boil off rate is. Either run all the wort into a primary fermenter and measure the volume or calibrate a dip stick. Once you have this data, you can make the necessary adjustments. I generally have the burner on high to get the boild started and then dial it back to just maintain a boil. This had a huge influence on the boil off rate.

Grain absorption factors in the software are pretty accurate. so as long as you are accounting for this, you should be fine here.

The excessive bitterness is probably partially related to your lower volume. This will be reduced when you ferment so you could end up with something drinkable.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

[evanisnor]

That helps a lot, thanks. I'll have to find a way to get my pre-boil volume. Dip stick sounds interesting. Do you have one? How did you make it without using a Sharpie or something that might contaminate?

I thought about installing a sight-glass but to be honest I'm done spending that kind of money on this for a while.

[Woody]

Did you factor in grain absorption? boil off? So if you figured you needed 9.43 gallons of water that is around 35.7 litres of water. Is that what you used? If you were doing a 6.5 gallon batch and had 13 pounds of grain multiple that by 0.1 for grain absorption for 1.3 gallons added to 6.5 gallons for 7.8 gallons. I may take a few brews to figure out your boil off but for 90 mins mine is 2.11 gallons so I would add that to 7.8 gallons for 9.91 gallons needed. That is around 37.5 litres. You were not far off but I cant explain why you ended up with so little. Your gravity was higher so a calculation was off. Pitch the yeast and let it do its thing and the results may surprise you. The wort will generally taste very sweet/bitter etc. Your were at the top end at 160 F but should be good. You can always add cold water to get the temp down and stir. Generally at dough in I shoot for 7F higher and sometimes higher. It's all about dialling in your system and for everyone its different. As others say you will end up with beer. FWH is a great way to add a smoother bitterness to your beer and extract more bitterness so it has it's place. Never underestimate the power of a good rolling boil. I very much doubt you over did it but it's possible. I bet the beer will taste good after you give the yeast time to do it's job.

[spears104]

To make a cheap dip stick just use an old long handle spoon, which you probably already have. Scratch marks into the handle at 5 litre intervals.

[evanisnor]

So it's fermenting away in a ClearBrew bucket. I noticed that the lid seems to be creased. When I push it down it pops back up again, not sure if it's from the pressure or if it's just permakinked now. Has this happened to anyone else before?

[RubberToe]

Wait a minute, did you snap that lid down? Does it have an air lock?

[AllanMar]

That's just those buckets when you snap them down. They "self vent"

[spears104]

I'm assuming it wasn't like that when you started? The clear brew buckets can self vent because they don't have a seal like a regular plastic bucket has. A really active fermentation may stretch its venting limit though, which would probably result in your kink. i just leave the lid float, at least for the first two days.

[saosborne]

That helps a lot, thanks. I'll have to find a way to get my pre-boil volume. Dip stick sounds interesting. Do you have one? How did you make it without using a Sharpie or something that might contaminate?

I thought about installing a sight-glass but to be honest I'm done spending that kind of money on this for a while.

my dip sticks are all hard wood dowels cut them with a saw at 2 liter intervals, then used a sodering iron ( new tip never used for soder) and burned numbers into it.

[evanisnor]

Going to buy a dowel soon, thanks everyone.

Apparently the kink in the ClearBrew bucket is normal. A colleague at work uses them as well and mentioned that his do the same.

Also, my APA is at high krausen now and it smells great! Like... grapefruit, lemons and cream.

[Keith]

and great idea on the dowel!

[LiverDance]

when fermentation takes off I just crack my lid a little by the handle to prevent any damage, I usually snap it back fully after 3 days or so.

[evanisnor]

Update:

I dry hopped this using the slurry method described in the "Dry Hopping" thread. Smells really good.
0.25oz Cascade on day 7
0.25oz Amarillo and 0.25oz Citra on day 10

Decided to take a reading on this tonight after 12 days. OG was 1.054, FG came out to be 1.021. 4.3% ABV. Lower alcohol than I wanted, but it tastes pretty good and isn't overly bitter like I expected. I expect that the attenuation was low because I mashed too high (154F +/- 2F).

I'm pretty confused by all of this, but I'm relieved that this beer should be drinkable so long as I don't contaminate it. Bottling it tomorrow!

[LeafMan66_67]

Update:

I dry hopped this using the slurry method described in the "Dry Hopping" thread. Smells really good.
0.25oz Cascade on day 7
0.25oz Amarillo and 0.25oz Citra on day 10

Decided to take a reading on this tonight after 12 days. OG was 1.054, FG came out to be 1.021. 4.3% ABV. Lower alcohol than I wanted, but it tastes pretty good and isn't overly bitter like I expected. I expect that the attenuation was low because I mashed too high (154F +/- 2F).

I'm pretty confused by all of this, but I'm relieved that this beer should be drinkable so long as I don't contaminate it. Bottling it tomorrow!

You could let it ride a couple more days to see if the yeast will bring that down a bit more. I usually keep it in the fermenter for 2 to 3 weeks.

[evanisnor]

Yeah, I should do it on sunday. I'm just low on buckets to be used for priming :/

[evanisnor]

10 days in primary should be enough, right? Today is day 13. I'll take another reading before I bottle anyway.

[Keith]

10 days in primary should be enough, right? Today is day 13. I'll take another reading before I bottle anyway.

I keg after 7 days, and use to bottle after 10 days.