First All-Grain (BIAB) Recipe - SMaSH Pale Ale

[Craigerrr]

Yes, I will be using the boil kettle for the mash. I noticed that many people do wrap the kettle in something to maintain temp, but I wasn't sure how important it is. I do have an old sleeping bag that could work (I think?) if wrapping it is crucial for maintaining mash temp.

Otherwise, I was going to put the lid on, keep it on the turned-off burner, and turn the burner back on if it gets too low. Bad idea?

When I did BIAB in the boil kettle I wrapped it with a bunch of old blankets, a sleeping bag will do the trick.
It is good to keep the mash temperature as close to target as possible, but having it drop a bit over the course of the mash shouldn't be a big deal.
As long as you aren't too high, or too low you will get good conversion.
If you were to start at 154 and just leave it sit for an hour, with a sleeping bag you should only lose 2 or 3 degrees F.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Something else to think about with BIAB if this is the first time:
That bag will get heavier than hell with the grain and the water when you get ready to pull it out. The quick, easy, redneck method - get a grill grate, and slip it under the bag and on top of the kettle so you don't need to hold up something that heavy. Better method if you have a burner that sits low to the ground - set a ladder where your kettle is in the middle. Go to Amazon or wherever and buy a couple of pulleys. Set up a pully system on the bag loops and your ladder. This work fairly well with my Blichmann.

 

[Zambi]

Yeah, them grains get heavy!
I do small batches snd generally have between 2 to 2.5 kg grain in the bag.
But heck of a lot heavier to lift!
I lift, free one hand and push a colander underneath.

 

[Craigerrr]

Another method is to lift the bag out and place it in a bucket with holes drilled in the bottom, with that bucket being nestled in another bucket.
When it is done draining just dump it into the kettle.

 

[Brewer #430359]

Thanks for all the help, everyone! This has been super helpful for me, and I appreciate how welcoming everyone has been. I wish I could respond to everyone!

Based on the feedback I got here, I changed up the recipe a bit. I added half of a campden tablet, lowered my mash temp to 152, made sure to put instructions in about wrapping the kettle, nixxed the stirring, and maybe a couple more tweaks. Lowering the mash temp increased the ABV a bit and lowered the FG to where it is just outside the pale ale style range, but I think I'm fine with that.

The only thing I decided not to change is the Maris Otter, mainly because I am really interested in that malt, and I've seen quite a few SMaSH beers made with it on the internet, and it seems like it works. I might end up changing to a 2-row before I brew, but I think I'll keep it for now.

Otherwise, I had one more question. Is it unsafe to use a 10 gallon kettle on an electric stovetop? I've only done extract with a 5 gallon kettle before, and that was fine. I'm wondering if a 10-gallon kettle with ~8 gallons of water and 11 pounds of malt is going to a bad idea on an electric stovetop? My burners are coils, if that is important.

Thanks, all!!

Here is the new recipe if people are interested:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1486350/smash-cascade-maris-otter

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Hey @Brewer #430359
A name is helpful but not necessary.
Your strike temperature is too high. It should be about 157° depending on you grain temperature. I figured 75° for the grain.
You have 7.11 as mash amount and 8 plus gallons of strike water. The mash amount should be the 8 plus number, the net after mash is the 7.11.
Have you boiled in this pot before? What is the evaporation rate? 7.11 seems a bit high to me as a starting point.
Do you have any idea what your water pH is? There may be a water profile on this site for your area.
Most likely you'll need a bit of acid or acidulated malt to get your pH into the ~5.4 range.
After mash in, I don't see the point in stirring. I'd stir well at mash in, get a temperature and then wrap it up and give it an hour to do its thing. Don't sweat it if you miss your mash temperature, just write down what happened for future reference. Adjusting temperature on the fly is nearly impossible.
Setting the bag into another vessel with a colander to let it drain out is a whole lot easier than squeezing a hot, sticky bag of grain. Add the drained liquid to the boil after 30 minutes or so.
I'd drop the IBU's to about 35 for a Pale Ale, but that's a personal preference.
Same with the malt, Pale ale malt is most common, but it's your choice.
Good Luck,
Brian

 

[Zambi]

The strike temp is close to what I use.
But, I'm in a hot climate.

Just wanted to say "good luck with the brew day and we're happy to have you aboard"

 

[Minbari]

Thanks for all the help, everyone! This has been super helpful for me, and I appreciate how welcoming everyone has been. I wish I could respond to everyone!

Based on the feedback I got here, I changed up the recipe a bit. I added half of a campden tablet, lowered my mash temp to 152, made sure to put instructions in about wrapping the kettle, nixxed the stirring, and maybe a couple more tweaks. Lowering the mash temp increased the ABV a bit and lowered the FG to where it is just outside the pale ale style range, but I think I'm fine with that.

The only thing I decided not to change is the Maris Otter, mainly because I am really interested in that malt, and I've seen quite a few SMaSH beers made with it on the internet, and it seems like it works. I might end up changing to a 2-row before I brew, but I think I'll keep it for now.

Otherwise, I had one more question. Is it unsafe to use a 10 gallon kettle on an electric stovetop? I've only done extract with a 5 gallon kettle before, and that was fine. I'm wondering if a 10-gallon kettle with ~8 gallons of water and 11 pounds of malt is going to a bad idea on an electric stovetop? My burners are coils, if that is important.

Thanks, all!!

Here is the new recipe if people are interested:

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1486350/smash-cascade-maris-otter

That is 77lbs. I am not sure i would chance damaging my stove with that weight. Plus you have to lift it off there when you are done?

 

[Craigerrr]

There may not be enough BTU's to boil that volume of water on your stove top, you may want to do trial with just water first to make sure it will actually get to a boil.

 

[Brewer #430359]

That is 77lbs. I am not sure i would chance damaging my stove with that weight. Plus you have to lift it off there when you are done?

That's what I was afraid of. I've seen plenty of videos with people using their stovetops, so I was thinking that it could work, but it seems like a lot of weight.

 

[Brewer #430359]

There may not be enough BTU's to boil that volume of water on your stove top, you may want to do trial with just water first to make sure it will actually get to a boil.

I was thinking about that too. I live in Denver, so I'm wondering if that will help me get up to the boil.

 

[Brewer #430359]

Hey @Brewer #430359
A name is helpful but not necessary.
Your strike temperature is too high. It should be about 157° depending on you grain temperature. I figured 75° for the grain.
You have 7.11 as mash amount and 8 plus gallons of strike water. The mash amount should be the 8 plus number, the net after mash is the 7.11.
Have you boiled in this pot before? What is the evaporation rate? 7.11 seems a bit high to me as a starting point.
Do you have any idea what your water pH is? There may be a water profile on this site for your area.
Most likely you'll need a bit of acid or acidulated malt to get your pH into the ~5.4 range.
After mash in, I don't see the point in stirring. I'd stir well at mash in, get a temperature and then wrap it up and give it an hour to do its thing. Don't sweat it if you miss your mash temperature, just write down what happened for future reference. Adjusting temperature on the fly is nearly impossible.
Setting the bag into another vessel with a colander to let it drain out is a whole lot easier than squeezing a hot, sticky bag of grain. Add the drained liquid to the boil after 30 minutes or so.
I'd drop the IBU's to about 35 for a Pale Ale, but that's a personal preference.
Same with the malt, Pale ale malt is most common, but it's your choice.
Good Luck,
Brian

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely add my name soon. I thought my strike temp might be a little high, so maybe I'll adjust that. I just used what the BF software gave me. I am in Denver--5,000 feet above sea level--so I'm not sure if BF considers this when calculating the strike temp.

I have not used my pot before. In fact, I don't even have a big enough one right now. I'm going to the homebrew store to buy one tomorrow, so maybe I'll have some time to check the evaporation rate before I brew. I'll definitely see if I can find some PH info.

 

[Craigerrr]

I was thinking about that too. I live in Denver, so I'm wondering if that will help me get up to the boil.

You could boil a smaller volume with higher gravity then dilute it to the desired gravity.

 

[Brewer #430359]

You could boil a smaller volume with higher gravity then dilute it to the desired gravity.

I was actually just wondering that. So, could I mash with like 5 gallons and then top it off to the desired volume (7.11 for this recipe) with water and move on to the boil? Or could I dilute it in the fermenter?

 

[Minbari]

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely add my name soon. I thought my strike temp might be a little high, so maybe I'll adjust that. I just used what the BF software gave me. I am in Denver--5,000 feet above sea level--so I'm not sure if BF considers this when calculating the strike temp.

I have not used my pot before. In fact, I don't even have a big enough one right now. I'm going to the homebrew store to buy one tomorrow, so maybe I'll have some time to check the evaporation rate before I brew. I'll definitely see if I can find some PH info.

Strike temp will not be effected by altitude, only boiling temp

I was actually just wondering that. So, could I mash with like 5 gallons and then top it off to the desired volume (7.11 for this recipe) with water and move on to the boil? Or could I dilute it in the fermenter?

You have to check your gravity in the condensed wort and use the calculator to determine topup water. You want to hit your target gravity NOT volume. Better to have correct gravity. Dilute after boil is easier.

I do this for almost every batch

 

[Craigerrr]

Why do you want to end up with 7.1 gallons, why not brew a 5 gallon batch?
I think that would make a lot of things a lot easier.

 

[Craigerrr]

BTW, In my opinion Maris Otter is a great malt for a single malt brew.

 

[Sandy Feet]

For 5 gallon batches with BIAB. You want a 15 or 16 gallon kettle. 10 will not cut it, especially with the huge amount of water you are using. You have to factor in the hot break when you add hops. You need a shitload of space for that unless you like huge messes. I damn near overflowed my 16 gallon kettle the first time I used my Blichmann with a wheaty Belgian.

 

[Minbari]

For 5 gallon batches with BIAB. You want a 15 or 16 gallon kettle. 10 will not cut it, especially with the huge amount of water you are using. You have to factor in the hot break when you add hops. You need a shitload of space for that unless you like huge messes. I damn near overflowed my 16 gallon kettle the first time I used my Blichmann with a wheaty Belgian.

I do 5 gallon batches in an 8 gallon kettle. Can be done easily

 

[Sandy Feet]

Not with no sparge, full volume BIAB as a beginner not using extract.