Begginer BIAB few questions

[crash568]

So last night I did my second BIAB and had tried to fix a few things I ran into with my first batch. So first problem from last time was I ended up with a little over 1/2 gal in what was supposed to be a 1 gal batch. In this brew I was told I can mash with the total water I would need for a boil so I mashed 3lbs of grain in just about 1.5-1.75 gal of water. Now the issue that caused was that when I added my grain it wasnt enough to drop the mash water temp to where I wanted so I ended up mashing at 164* so I know that will result in less fermentables so my last question is can I add some honey to my secondary in a week to help boost the gravity? Brewtoad said the og of the beer should have been 1.070 and at the end of cooling its og was acctualy 1.064 so I assume I didnt screw up too bad? just looking for some input, thanks

 

[seckert]

sure i just brewed a Mad elf clone which called for 2 lbs of honey. It is expensive to add though so you might want to just add some DME if you have it to raise the OG.
As far as your temp goes, remember you can always bring the temp up to where you want your mash to be, but you cant take it down without adding more water...so start lower and if your temp is 5* too low then just kick the heat on for a lil bit until you hit your temp. make sure to stir while doing this so the heat spreads throughout the grain. With time you will know exactly where your temps need to be in order to hit you mash temp.

 

[NivekD]

Sounds like your boil of rate is pretty high. Take two gallons of water and boil it and after an hour measure what's left...what boiled away will be your boil of rate per hour...adjust your starting volume from there. And take grain absorbsion into consideration as well.

EDIT: Simple BIAB Calculator.

 

[crash568]

thanks for the input guys. so with that og do you think I need to add the honey or is 1.064 good enough?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I think you are best not adding honey, as honey ferments almost completely and will really dry the beer.

Plus, you are not far off the recipe OG.

 

[smyrnaquince]

So first problem from last time was I ended up with a little over 1/2 gal in what was supposed to be a 1 gal batch. In this brew I was told I can mash with the total water I would need for a boils

From this statement, it seems that you did not allow for the water that would be absorbed by and retained in the grain.