Since there is no sparge on a BIAB set up you will be extracting a lot of beta-glucans which can affect head retention and cause clarity issues.
^^^^^ That is so true, Denny. Keith’s post about cursing like crazy and throwing the pot in the woods reminded me of stories of my own like that. Pitching too warm, forgetting hops, crappy pH, etc. Drinking while I brewed didn’t help back then, either. The best learning for me came from screwing up, getting pissed, and being determined not to do it again.
Thanks for all of the help and words of advice.
Don’t give up! I stop brewing during the warm months of the year, which was May til a couple of weeks ago this year. I’ve been brewing all grain for a few years, and it always takes a couple of batches to get back in the swing of things. You are still gaining experience and figuring out your system. That is fine! You’ll figure it out. And then figure it out some more!
Get a system ironed out and it will become pretty easy. Brewing is a craft, and it takes time to craft your process. And unless you buy a prefabbed set up you are simply going to have to iron out the kinks. Settle on a method (I really think you can’t go wrong with denny’s batch sparge method out of a converted cooler) and concentrate on crafting great beer and refining your process.
At least its not golf. Even if its frustrating at times at least you end up with beer. right now I’m doing batch sparge for larger batches and starting to do biab for smaller batches so I can brew more often. Decide what’s best for you and stick with one method for a bit. Eventually certain parts become routine and it becomes fun.Its also fine to do extract batches and dial in your fermentation, hop additions, and adjuncts before tackling all grain. You can make really good beer that way. I think the key for you ( and all of us) is to learn to be curious and enjoy the process and not get too attached to each beer being right the first time or for it to go a certain way.
Brewing should be like sex. Think about it anytime you’re not thinking about something more important. Its easy. Its never perfect though you’re always looking for perfection. There’s always someone with a bigger mash paddle, but who cares as long as yours is getting wet.
Funny. I just used that analogy the other day regarding Ebola. I basically said study and prepare all you want, first time it happens will be messy, confusing, and nobody will be happy.
Im saving my ebola for that special someone
LMAO. I like a good analogy.
So I went into the garage this morning and started cleaning my brewing equipment again. I’ve ordered a sure-fire kit (Heady Topper clone) to get me fired up about brewing again! Thanks again for all of the support, cheers!
I’ve never heard of this before. I’ve never had head retention issues, and (with the exception of my hop bombs) my beers have no problem dropping brilliantly clear. Why would beta-glucans be an issue for no-sparge?
To the OP - use a heatproof glove to squeeze your bag. It makes life a lot easier. But if you do really want to go the BIAB route, you should really make or invest in a purpose-built bag.
Personally, I BIAB in a cooler so it’s the best of both worlds between batch sparging and BIAB to me. It’s like batch sparging but you don’t need to heat up sparge water and don’t need an extra pot. I’m very happy with my results and I enjoy my brew day quite a bit. But it’s what I’m familiar with and I pretty much tweaked my process to what works for me. I don’t proclaim that it’s the best for everybody, but it is the best for me.
If it works for you then that’s all that counts. But if someone else is having clarity issues and head retention issues then maybe they can fix it by changing the way they sparge. Plus, I know the same argument has been made about batch sparging and I don’t have any problems with it - though I do vorlauf about a gallon or two before running off.
Another advantage of using a cooler to BIAB is that you can vorlauf if you’d like. I have on a few occasions, but I can’t say that I saw a significant difference in clarity compared to baseline. Actually, my setup would probably be the ideal way to test vorlauf vs no vorlauf. You could run off half your wort, then vorlauf and run off the remainder.
5 hour all grain brew day is pretty good in my opinion. it’s about how long it takes me to brew a 5 or 10 gallon batch.
as everyone else has already said, stick to it and it’ll get better.
+1. If I mash 60 and boil 60, I can do it in 4.5 hrs if I clean as I go. A long mash or boil puts me easily over 5.
Continuous sparging (a.k.a. fly sparging) is also pretty simple once one has one’s system dialed in. It also takes less physical effort than batch sparging or BIAB.
Honestly, my difficulty was more of a pH issue. I also started back when Charlie P’s book was a chunk of what we had to go on, and pH info was spotty at best. Beers/grists that luckily fit my water came out good, others not so much. So not long after I started getting pH dialed in, I switched to batch sparging after watching a friend and the consistency came in. I agree that fly sparging isn’t hard - I just find batch sparging a little simpler and more enjoyable.
Five hours is a relatively short all-grain brew day. While all-grain brewing gets easier with practice, there are going to be days where nothing seems to go right. I have had brew days that spanned the better part of nine hours between the time that I started to heat my strike water and the time that clean up was complete.
I’m not trying to disagree with everything you say, but my experience is that batch sparging takes far less effort than when I fly sparged.