Trying my first BIAB. Noob questions

[adamdillabo]

First question. I only have a 5 gallon pot. I'd like 2 gallons of beer. Would my pot be big enough for 3gallon mash plus grains. Looking to do a medium strength pale ale.

Second. Water. I have gypsum and campden tablets. Below is the 2014 water report. Anything stick out that I should avoid using tap water?

http://va-norfolk.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/15287

Third. When building my recipe what kind of sugar conversation should I expect for my first try. ( I've practiced holding my temps while steeping in perpetration for this day)

 

[McKnuckle]

Your pot will be fine for that size.

Below I've excerpted the brewing aspects of your linked water profile. It's pretty good, definitely good for a first try on a pale ale. Use the Campden tablet, though, as the report does mention chlorine and chloramine. It wouldn't hurt to put a little gypsum in there and get the SO4 number up to 80-100 if the beer is a hop forward style. But it's not "necessary." Check out the BrewersFriend.com water calculator and plug in the numbers.

Ca*, Mg*, Na 9-26, Cl 14-23, SO4 29-36, Alk 15-33

*Total Hardness 29-65; this reflects Ca + Mg but the individual values are not stated.

Estimate 75% efficiency. Give the bag a good 30 minute drain after mashing, while coming up to a boil. Pour in whatever you recover at a convenient time thereafter.

 

[EJay]

First question. I only have a 5 gallon pot. I'd like 2 gallons of beer. Would my pot be big enough for 3gallon mash plus grains. Looking to do a medium strength pale ale.

Second. Water. I have gypsum and campden tablets. Below is the 2014 water report. Anything stick out that I should avoid using tap water?

http://va-norfolk.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/15287

Third. When building my recipe what kind of sugar conversation should I expect for my first try. ( I've practiced holding my temps while steeping in perpetration for this day)

1) I do 2.5g into the fermenter all the time with a 5g pot, you'll be fine. The boil starts higher, of course. Its a nice size for Mr Beer LBK or Brewdemon Conicals.

2) I'm not knowledgeable enough to help here, sorry.

3) I don't usually get more than about 65% conversion but I'm not milling my own grain yet.

 

[Gavin C]

Just a note on the campden tablet. One tablets good for 20 gallons so just break a little bit off with a knife. 1/4 tablet for 5 gallons of water.

To much campden can impair yeast health apparently.

I think a 5 gallon pot would be fine for a 3 gallon batch

I do 5.5 gallons in an 11 gallon pot as full volume no Sparge BIAB.

You can use one of the online calculators to see how much volume you will need in your pot and lots of other things too.

 

[adamdillabo]

Thanks for the help guys. I plug it into Brewers friend but I don't know what it did. I'll have to read more about it later. I only have the free one maybe it's better on the paid.

I smash up my campden tablets and sprinkle w small amount in stir and smell till any chlorine odor goes away.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1425728803.282418.jpg

Does this look like a good grain bill for a first try?

 

[McKnuckle]

Looks okay if you know what it will produce and like that kind of beer - you had the pick the malt bill somehow. It should be light, a little bready, and midrange in terms of alcohol. What about the hops? I'd say they're important in a simple bill like that.

(I put those items into my own calculator and came up with the same OG using 75% efficiency and a post-kettle volume of 2 gallons, if that reassures you.)

 

[eadavis80]

I asked my home brew store about campden tablets because one of my buddies said he tasted something odd, maybe chlorine, in my beer, which nobody else detected. Anyway, I asked the home brew store about those tablets and said I had read 1 tablet was good for 20 gallons of water. I specifically asked if I should put in 1/2 or a 1/4 tablet and he said putting in a whole tablet is totally fine and will not do any harm. Of course, being the paranoid, OCD home brewer than I am, I just used 6 gallons of store brought spring water instead on yesterday's home brew (NB's Extra Pale Ale), but wondered if anyone else here has used an entire tablet on a 5-gallon recipe and, if so, what the results were.

 

[McKnuckle]

Winemakers typically use a single Campden on their (also standard) 5 gallon batches. That said, as a cheapskate and similarly OCD person, it's arguably better to buy sodium or potassium metabisulphite - what Campden tabs are made of - in powder form. Then measure out only what you need every time.

 

[adamdillabo]

I have .5 oz magnum. I'm going to use .25 oz at 60 and save the rest for my next 2 gallon brew. That will give me 35 IBU's. I've been digging the stone delicious ipa. If my LHBS has el dorado or lemon drop I may try those. If not something with cascade.

 

[adamdillabo]

I'm open for any suggestions to grain bill or hops. The magnum hips are the only thing I'm dead set on because I want to use them up

 

[TexasWine]

Winemakers typically use a single Campden on their (also standard) 5 gallon batches. That said, as a cheapskate and similarly OCD person, it's arguably better to buy sodium or potassium metabisulphite - what Campden tabs are made of - in powder form. Then measure out only what you need every time.

Actually, the standard for wine makers is to use 1 tablet per gallon when treating the must. Later in the wine making process, for prevention of oxidation, the dosage can vary depending on the free SO2. But potassium metabisulphite has a completely different purpose in wine making than what we're talking about in this thread.

 

[adamdillabo]

I'm 10 min in to my mash. I forgot to ask. Do I stir it at all?

 

[Thedutchtouch]

I'm 10 min in to my mash. I forgot to ask. Do I stir it at all?

Looks like you're probably 40 min at this point. I typically stir it in well at the beginning, and then one more time at the 30 min mark. Keeping a consistent temperature is more important than stirring though. Good luck with the rest of the brew day

 

[RM-MN]

I only stir the grains into the strike water and not again. I have stirred a couple times and it seems like I'm getting higher readings on the refractometer when I do but when it gets into the fermenter I discover that it really didn't make any difference.

Actually, the standard for wine makers is to use 1 tablet per gallon when treating the must. Later in the wine making process, for prevention of oxidation, the dosage can vary depending on the free SO2. But potassium metabisulphite has a completely different purpose in wine making than what we're talking about in this thread.

Your LHBS proprietor may be a winemaker and have given you the advice based on that experience but as TexasWine pointed out the amount used for wine has a different purpose. If you follow the advice to use lots you may find that your yeast either won't start or quit before they should.

 

[adamdillabo]

Mash is done. It got a little low twords the end 148 range so I turned back on the heat very low and went another 20 mins.

I have 2.75 gallons of wort at 1.051 after temp corrections. Does this sound right? I took out a liter and put it in the fridge to get it down to 130f. Will all the proteins at the bottom mess up my readings. Thanks for all the help so guys. Just like an extract from here on out right?