First BIAB into the fermenter

[Hayzer]

I got the brew bug last Christmas with a BD 2.5 conical gift. BEST GIFT EVER. Read on and see why. After the first batch and lots of research, I found out that this will be a fun hobby. I decided to do several 2.5 gallon extracts into bottles before moving up to 5 gallon extracts, then on to BIAB, kegging and finally AG and more kegging. I wanted to be sure I was proficient at sanitation before moving on to each step. I have had one bottle bomb in 15+batches and that came in the first bottling I ever did. Nothing brewed yet has been undrinkable, so I think I am on the right track.

After bottling a couple 5 gallon extracts I HAD to move onto BIAB and kegging. So now here I sit. Yesterday was a long brew day/evening for me. I have a three gallon stainless pot and no wort chiller. Fortunately a patch of ice outside (in 25 F temps) helped a bit. I completed an Irish Red Stout http://www.apexbrewwares.com/Monthly-Sp ... d-Ale.html that a local brewshop put together. I plan on kegging this and have found the necessary equipment to get this done. I am nervous because the steeping got to 160 and the recipe said steep at 150. I got it down to 150 by the end. I steeped for an hour because I misread the instructions. They called for 45 minutes. I had no boil-over in the hour long boil cycle, so I marked that down as a success. The chill took two plus hours to get to 67 degrees, so I am a little worried there. The 212 degrees down to 100 was about 10 minutes in the sink with ice and water. The temp drop plateaued at 100 for the next 1/2 hour so we went outside. (I had poured the wort from the boil pot to my bucket straight from the stove and I think that helped temp drop). Once it got to 67 degrees, I added the kit's yeast. Now I wait until it's finished fermenting and will keg, force carb and enjoy.

Is my plan of scaling up slowly too fast, too slow, just right? Thanks for all the help these past 14 months. I have learned a lot and I am excited to see where the next 14 months takes me.

[John Sand]

Sounds like you're doing fine. Don't worry that your mash started out too warm, it still makes beer. Those enzymes work best at certain temps, but still work outside the range.

[berryman]

I got the brew bug last Christmas with a BD 2.5 conical gift. BEST GIFT EVER. Read on and see why. After the first batch and lots of research, I found out that this will be a fun hobby.
Is my plan of scaling up slowly too fast, too slow, just right? Thanks for all the help these past 14 months. I have learned a lot and I am excited to see where the next 14 months takes me.

I would say go at the pace you have time for, can afford and still make good beer. I think back now, I should have been doing AG and kegging a long time ago, but had fun and made some really good beers along the way. Good luck and ask questions as needed, I still do.

[Kealia]

The timeline is going to be different for each brewer. You seem to have thought things out and planned well, so as long as you are comfortable I'd say your timing is just right - for you.

The difference in mashing at 160 versus 150 is how fermentable your wort will be. At 160, you'll end up with more unfermentable sugar chains that won't get broken down, meaning your beer will finish at a higher gravity than if you mashed lower. So the end result is that your beer will likely be a bit sweeter than intended.

Congrats on your first BIAB!

[MadBrewer]

Congrats on the first all grain batch. You will find the process is pretty forgiving. Enjoy the beer and on to the next one.

[Hayzer]

For the brewers that are kegging, do you put some of each batch into bottles to save for the future? Is it beneficial to bottle a 6 pack before kegging each brew so I can sample it a few years down the road?

What is your reasoning for bottling a few or not bottling a few?

[Beer-lord]

I rarely bottle now except to send some out to friends. Mostly I tap into a growler and take with me to friends to share. Most of the beers I brew probably wouldn't be good years later unless I was very careful to keep them cool and stored properly but certainly, they would change. Most likely not for the best.

[Kealia]

I only bottle now when shipping beers to friends, too. Locally, I'll fill a growler or bottle 1-2 from the keg if I need to.
I used to store a few bottles when I was bottling - to see how they aged. It was just to satisfy some curiosities of mine. Some did well, others didn't.

[BlackDuck]

I keg everything now. If I need to bottle some to send to friends or a competition, I bottle from the keg. It's really pretty easy.

[MadBrewer]

For the brewers that are kegging, do you put some of each batch into bottles to save for the future? Is it beneficial to bottle a 6 pack before kegging each brew so I can sample it a few years down the road?

What is your reasoning for bottling a few or not bottling a few?

I ferment, naturally carbonate and serve all in the same keg so I haven't bottled anything other than off the keg for competitions. To be honnest, unless it's Barleywine or Russian Imperial Stout you won't want to hang on to bottles of regular Homebrew for years down the road. But it is nice to have some bottles around to give away or bring to parties.

[John Sand]

As above, I bottle for friends, or homebrew meetings. If a keg is low and I want to switch it out, I'll bottle a few for the fridge. I did save some Christmas beer from last year, this year too. Both are over 6%, one is Belgian, the other spiced. It will be interesting to taste them aged.

[bpgreen]

When I only had a few kegs, I'd bottle to free up a keg if I had something ready to keg and no empty kegs.

A couple of years ago, there was a sale on untested kegs that were sold as-is. I bought 8, thinking I'd be lucky if I got 6 working. A box of 4 was heavily damaged and they sent a replacement without even waiting to see if I'd complain. One keg needed a new poppet. So I bought 8 expecting 6, but got 12.

I haven't run low on kegs since, and haven't bottled, since, either.

[Hayzer]

I keg everything now. If I need to bottle some to send to friends or a competition, I bottle from the keg. It's really pretty easy.

I'm still new, so trying to learn here.....I assume you bottle from a carbonated keg? How long will the bottled beer last once capped? Does it need to remain chilled? How long can we set them aside and is room temp fine?

[BlackDuck]

Yes, I'm bottling form a carbonated keg. There are a few steps to it, so when you're ready I can explain how to do it in detail. The bottled beer will last quite some time once it's capped. It's in a sealed environment with no oxygen, so it should last a long time. It probably doesn't have to remain chilled, but it would probably help. I bottle when I ship to friends and send to competitions, so it goes through a couple temp swings during the shipping process and I've never heard of anyone complaining about the beer. I'm not sure I understand you're last question. Since it's carbonated you wouldn't need to set them aside at room temp to carb up, if that's where your going with that.

[Hayzer]

I'm not sure I understand you're last question. Since it's carbonated you wouldn't need to set them aside at room temp to carb up, if that's where your going with that.

I meant, can the keg-bottles beer go in a pantry, closet, or some other area besides a refrigerator, before consuming? It sounds like they may be OK to do that. I am just trying to get a good idea what I can do with a near-empty keg rather than toss the contents. I had no ideas people did this. I would assume that I could bottle into a growler if the lid would be tight enough.