Brewed my first all grain beer today. I chose to try a 2.5 gallon BIAB since I only have a 5 gallon pot. I brewed a Special Bitter. I couldn't believe when I went to my LHBS to buy my ingredients. I told the clerk I was going to try BIAB and he did everything in his power to discourage me from even trying this technique. He said you will get no kind of efficiency unless you have a way to suspend the bag over the pot the whole time, so you will have to use a lot of grain to brew. He told me other "facts" trying to discourage me.
Well, I still went ahead and gave it a try. I ran the grains through the LHBS mill one time and I hit my mash temp of 152 degrees dead on and held for an hour. Iodine test showed conversion so I went on ahead with my boil. My brewhouse efficiency came out to be 60%. I think that is pretty good for a first BIAB. Next time I will try and mill the grains twice and my efficiency will be even better. The naysayer at the LHBS can stick it! I will brew with this method again. Very simple and I expect the beer to be great.
With 2.5 gallon batches I will just brew more often and hone my all grain skills in a shorter period of time. This hobby is wide open to experimentation. Don't be afraid to try new techniques. Simpler can be better.
Well, I still went ahead and gave it a try. I ran the grains through the LHBS mill one time and I hit my mash temp of 152 degrees dead on and held for an hour. Iodine test showed conversion so I went on ahead with my boil. My brewhouse efficiency came out to be 60%. I think that is pretty good for a first BIAB. Next time I will try and mill the grains twice and my efficiency will be even better. The naysayer at the LHBS can stick it! I will brew with this method again. Very simple and I expect the beer to be great.
With 2.5 gallon batches I will just brew more often and hone my all grain skills in a shorter period of time. This hobby is wide open to experimentation. Don't be afraid to try new techniques. Simpler can be better.