First time super bare-bones BIAB

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by acannell, Aug 2, 2019.

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  1. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd recommend waiting at least two days between measurements.
     
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  2. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    ok will do

    also this time Im bottling one in plastic so I can see how it expands over time

    may even put a pressure gauge on it for fun
     
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  3. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    woke up this morning to an inch of yeast on the trub..they dropped out sometime in the last 12 hours

    still hazy of course but looks more like a very hazy beer instead of a milkshake

    color isnt my favorite but I suppose normal (beige)

    airlock still bubbling but much slower than last night, maybe 1 bubb every 4 seconds, last night more like 1 every 1.5 and peak a couple days ago 1 every second

    still small bubbles forming in beer

    that is all
     
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  4. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    This pic is last night, and it looks very different than last morning! The beigeness is gone and now its a nice orange with the milkshakey particles gone. Bubbles have slowed to a crawl. Tonight is dry hop night.

    Unfortunately its 6" from beer surface to the trub, and its 8" from the hydrometer bottom to say the 1.020 mark. So I cant measure gravity in the fermenter. I really dont want to take a sample and waste it. Also siphoning is messy and risky with my setup for a few reasons and pipetting would take forever for 250ml. So I am not going to confirm fermentation is over with gravity readings. Instead I'll dry hop tonight, and give it 48 more hours, then bottle (and take an FG before the priming sugar)

    [​IMG]
     
  5. riptorn

    riptorn Pooh-Bah (1,776) Apr 26, 2018 Georgia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Maybe this has been mentioned (TLDR)....there are gravity calculators that make corrections for wort temperature. The one at MoreBeer (linked here) corrects yours to 1.073, assuming your hydrometer is calibrated to 60° F. 0.001 is pretty much a rounding error, or maybe attributable to how you eye-balled your hydrometer reading. If you will continue with 1-gallon batches consider using a refractometer.
    Check out Brewcipher for recipe development and calculations. It was created by VikeMan and is available HERE.


    You said the bag got a hole in it (near the top). I'd inspect it all over because that's a lot of trub, and you're going to end up with less beer than if you'd taken steps to keep as much as possible out of the fermentor.
     
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  6. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    Yeah looks like a refractometer is going to be the tool of choice for taking measurements to confirm end of fermentation.

    There werent any other holes in the bag, however I think I may not have a choice here as far as filtering anyway?

    Since all the hops were added at flameout, and the time between flameout and pouring into the fermenter is just the cooling ice bath time, which is about 15 minutes, if I filtered (fine wire mesh) the wort then those flameout hops would only have had about 15 minutes in the wort. Would that be okay?

    The trub is mostly yeast, I will take a picture and upload it. High flocculating indeed. When the yeast fell the beer appearance changed drastically in a half day.
     
  7. Push_the_limits

    Push_the_limits Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2018 Antarctica

    You know, I bet I am not the only one that sometimes takes only an OG and a FG. For one thing, extremely slow airlock activity is a pretty sure sign that fermentation is over, and it's wise to wait a few more days just to be sure. Secondly, the yeast clearing out of the beer is another confirmatory sign that fermentation is over. Again, it's good to wait a few more days to be sure. Lastly, fermentation usually ends in 6-10 days as a rule of thumb.

    There is a pattern you probably have already noticed: Pitch yeast --> No airlock activity --> medium activity --> fast activity --> medium activity --> slow (yeast often clear out around this time) --> extremely slow --> imperceptible.


    I know this is only your second beer but with some experience you can get away with just the OG and FG readings.
     
  8. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    Yes it sure seems that way. I mean the consequences of bottling too early are bottle bombs? That seems pretty unlikely if airlock activity is zilch. Priming sugar activity would dominate right
     
  9. riptorn

    riptorn Pooh-Bah (1,776) Apr 26, 2018 Georgia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    You can pause the cooling and let the hops sit in the hot wort (hopstand aka whirlpool). It's not uncommon for a hopstand to be 30 - 45 minutes. When the hopstand is over resume quick-cooling for the cold break, which helps the solids to precipitate.
    Then you could slowly pour the cooled wort through a fine mesh strainer, leaving the solids behind. Depending on the mesh and diameter of the strainer you might need to scoop the cold break glop from the strainer a few times.
    Funnels like this with a screen (< link) are available in a few sizes at any homebrew supplier worth their salt….online or brick & mortar. The mesh on those is tight and the diameter is small; you will be scooping glop.


    If what went in the fermentor looked like the hydrometer sample in post #3, it will be surprising if the trub is mostly yeast.
     
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  10. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California


    I think the trub today is mostly yeast..but ya before definitely not!

    I will do that hopstand next time. I do have a fine mesh strainer (splatterguard) that I used on my first batch to filter out debris on the funnel pour..and there was ALOT

    I just dry-hopped. And it turns out...hops float! So instead of plunking in and splashing in the trub like I was worried about, they are slowly dissolving at the surface and will presumably ooze their goodness into the beer, and by the time they get to the trub they will have dissolved from pellet shape to particles! right?
     
  11. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    Hmmmmm

    So I went back a few minutes after dry hopping to see if the hops had dissolved yet.

    They had, but were just floating on the surface.

    I also noticed they were indistinguishable in color and texture from the ring of green goo stuck to the top of the carboy.

    So I sanitized my racking cane and gave them some stirs. Definitely created a shower of particles in the beer. Tried to to disturb the ring of green goo (although now I wonder if that even matters)

    Once I got the racking cane out I tasted the stuff on it..hmm..tastes like weak hops. Definitely got some tannins going on (still tasting some lingering bitterness as I write this..and apparently thats not "proper" although it does seem tasty). Doesnt taste gross or weird though. Of course not sure if what I tasted is the hops I just put in, the ring of goo on the carboy, or both.
     
  12. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Couple of things here:
    - You don't want to aerate the wort/beer after yeast pitching time.
    - The ring of goo is what was left of your fermentation's krausen. Normally, you don't want to do anything to reintroduce it, as it won't help your beer.
     
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  13. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    hmmm

    The top (yeast) section of the trub has grown maybe 20% in the last day or so (1/8th to 3/16" maybe?). And there are still bubbles going, although much slower. Maybe 10 to 20 times slower than peak. I want to say that adding the hops and stirring started something..but I cant really tell because maybe it wasn't done when I did that.

    If I can't take gravity measurements to determine end of fermentation, can I observe the trub and see when it stops growing to determine something?
     
  14. Push_the_limits

    Push_the_limits Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2018 Antarctica

    Trub volume is partly determined by the flocculation of the yeast and the falling of other suspended matter. So I would say that that's not a great indicator.

    Also, if stirring it started more bubbles it easily could have been because there is CO2 dissolved in the beer at this point, which "off-gasses" when it's agitated. (Don't we all?)
     
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  15. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    Bottled!

    Got 0.73 gallons in the bucket. Wow...okay I need to be getting a 12 pack out of these batches, its just too much work for 7.5 beers. So maybe I can get a 1.5 gallon setup or something. Why didn't anyone suggest I move up to a bigger batch size!! Help!! If only someone had told me earlier to make bigger batches I would have been saved. Now its too late.

    Just kidding. About the telling me part. I think I will see if I can do a bigger batch size. All I need is a bigger fermenter really.
    .
    The trub measures almost 2.5"!! So thats where my missing beer is. I had way more liquid this time into the fermenter but less out than last time.

    Final gravity 1.010, OG 1.072...8.12% ABV? 85% attenuation? Hmm. I think my first measurement wasnt so accurate. Also FG was at about 75F

    Added 17 grams of priming sugar.

    Note to self: final bubble rate, 1 per 25 seconds

    Tasted a small amount. Do I detect an ethanol burn? Cant smell it. Lots of different flavors. Not like the last one. My palate isnt refined enough to detect grassy. I can just barely distinguish between hop bitterness and tannins.

    Added an experimental bottle with a pressure gauge just for fun. Something to do with the hydrometer sample. That bottle has had its beer poured THREE times and been in contact with the funnel, hydrometer, and hydrometer cylinder. Will be interesting to see if it gets oxidation damage. Should be an infected purple monster right?

    I see three distinct layers in the trub.And also a strange dip like jupiters spot (see pics).

    At least four distinct smells throughout the bottling process:

    -ever present stale beer smell, presumably from the spillage during bottle filling and what not

    -the smell of the fermenter..smells like I wish the beer would smell, like juicy hops were added 5 minutes ago

    -the beer smell..(bottle bucket)..hmmmmm...I slurped that tiny amount in the bottle so I guess I like it. But it doesn't really smell juicy. The fermenter smell is misleading.

    -the yeast smell (fermenter after racking) lots of hops and a not great yeast smell

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  16. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    7psi at 12 hours

    significant white trub in bottles
     
  17. Push_the_limits

    Push_the_limits Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2018 Antarctica

    you definitely want to be bottling at least 5 gallons in my opinion. Just upgrade your kettle and fermenter and you are set. Get some more bottles from the store or you can meet your local bartender and they will happily give you tons of bottles. Bring a bag or box.

    That actually looks like a ton of trub. Maybe your mesh bags aren't fine enough and are letting too much grain matter through.
     
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  18. Push_the_limits

    Push_the_limits Initiate (0) Feb 8, 2018 Antarctica

    That's a nice idea with the gauge on the bottle. I used to use a soda bottle, which became firmer and firmer, to get an idea of carbonation. When it was really firm, it was done.
     
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  19. riptorn

    riptorn Pooh-Bah (1,776) Apr 26, 2018 Georgia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    @acannell you should be getting about (10) 12-oz beers from a one-gallon batch. In order to get a 12-pack from a 1-gallon (128 oz) fermentor you’re going to have to add at least 16 oz of liquid to your bottling bucket…..and that doesn’t account for trub loss and removal of the dry hops (and the absorbed beer that is removed with them).

    Since you already have good ferm temp control, consider figuring out the largest fermentation vessel you can use based on the constraints of your existing fermentation chamber, unless you’re willing to 1) make another chamber, or 2) stick with 1-gallon batches for the near future.

    Although it seems like a lot of work for 7.5 – 10 beers, it might be better to tune your process toward getting less sediment to your fermentor. Not only will you get more beer, but it will likely be better beer. If you don’t get that squared away before moving on to bigger batches, you’ll get more beers but still less than optimal for the batch size……you’ll be replicating the same issue but on a grander scale.
     
    #39 riptorn, Aug 13, 2019
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2019
  20. acannell

    acannell Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2017 California

    I didnt even think of that (adding to bottle bucket). I really think I could have afforded it this time too because the ABV is probably higher than I wanted anyway.

    So what I did is I went and boughteded myself another 1 gallon glass carboy! Only 6 bucks at more beer! And eyeballing it I should be able to fit two of them in the temperature controlled fridge. I think this will be the sweet spot. Combine the bottle bucket top-off with twice the fermenters and I really should not need more beer than that. 22 bottles? Yikes. I dont even have 22 bottles.

    And yes to less sediment. I totally forgot to use my fine mesh strainer on the wort pour into the fermenter. On my first batch, that caught a TON of stuff. Its just a splatter shield for pans on the range but I may try to modify it into a funnel for ease of use.

    So just curious..if I was to take that significant amount of trub in the fermenter and squeeze all the juice out of it..what would it taste like? Lets say a gentle squeeze.
     
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