Well I did my first BIAB last night, have some questions.

[jivex5k]

Some things I noticed that I didn't expect:

The temperature seemed to keep rising after I cut the heat source. This was using a gas stove which I figured would immediately stop the heat. I hit 145F and immediately cut heat and wrapped the pot in foil. I checked it 45 minutes later and it had climbed to around 160F.... Seems like I need to cut heat way earlier.

Stirring the mash....uh....should I have done this? I didn't really stir it at all when it was mashing, I just let it sit for 45 minutes.

Temperature reading with a clip on sucks...would a sticker thermometer work if I put it on the pot. I'm gonna say no due to the metal being way different temp than wort most likely, but honestly I have no idea. Probably should look into a weld-less thermometer I can put in my stainless steel pot.

Cooling in an ice bath resulted in a 10 - 5 degree difference in temp between the top of the wort and the bottom. Bottom was way colder, I stirred it up gently to help even it out. Note, I was only cooling to 125F for a sour mash.

Another thing that sucks about the clip on thermometer is I had to open up the pot this morning to take a reading, exposing it to oxygen.

Anyways, I think it went pretty well aside from the higher than intended temp. Right now it's under a heat lamp sitting at 110F while it sours, I swear it smelled a little sour already but it could just be my brain tricking me.

[jimjohson]

Some things I noticed that I didn't expect:


Cooling in an ice bath resulted in a 10 - 5 degree difference in temp between the top of the wort and the bottom. Bottom was way colder, I stirred it up gently to help even it out. Note, I was only cooling to 125F for a sour mash.

I stir my wort periodically thru the cool down, I have to lift the lid to check the temp anyway (I use a floating mercury thermometer). I'm not gentle while stirring and I just stir like I would a stew. not gentle not hard just stir.

[jivex5k]

Some things I noticed that I didn't expect:


Cooling in an ice bath resulted in a 10 - 5 degree difference in temp between the top of the wort and the bottom. Bottom was way colder, I stirred it up gently to help even it out. Note, I was only cooling to 125F for a sour mash.

I stir my wort periodically thru the cool down, I have to lift the lid to check the temp anyway (I use a floating mercury thermometer). I'm not gentle while stirring and I just stir like I would a stew. not gentle not hard just stir.

I see....I was very worried about oxygen since it won't be going into a primary fermentation for a few days. I'm not sure what oxygen does to a lacto culture but I've read multiple sources that say it's not good.

[bucknut]

When adding your grain you want to stir ALOT, it also helps to have a long stem thermometer to better read your temps but not necessary. My procedure is add grain stirring continuously for about 5min, cover and let sit for 10min to let the grain temps level out, then stir and check temp one more time, then cover and let set for 70 to 90 min.

If your adding heat while mashing stirring is key and you really just got to get a feel for when to cut the heat and were your temps settle.

[jivex5k]

When adding your grain you want to stir ALOT, it also helps to have a long stem thermometer to better read your temps but not necessary. My procedure is add grain stirring continuously for about 5min, cover and let sit for 10min to let the grain temps level out, then stir and check temp one more time, then cover and let set for 70 to 90 min.

If your adding heat while mashing stirring is key and you really just got to get a feel for when to cut the heat and were your temps settle.

Ok cool. I'm going to brew the exact same recipe with my next batch taking this new info into consideration. I need a notebook or something.

[John Sand]

Definitely keep notes.
Even though you cut the heat, the pot bottom and adjoining mash were still hotter, also the steel supports. I have trouble nailing down a temp, and often have to heat or cool.
As for stirring while mashing, some do, some don't. I stir every 20 minutes.

[Beerlabelman]

Here's my process. For a 5 Gallon batch, I usually start with 1.5 Qts per lb of grain. Heat to 15 degrees higher than your target temp - flame out. After adding all my grain, I steep & stir to make sure all the grain has been mixed well . I try to pull the grain up from the bottom like a scooping motion for 5 minutes or so. I have a digital thermometer & it works great. Then I cover & set timer for 30 minutes. Flame on if mash is too low for 5 minutes or so to get back to temp. Stir & steep as before. Flame out - Set timer 30 minutes. Do this 1 more time if you can so you get a 90 minute mash! I heat a second pot 3-4 gallons to 165 & take the bag from my boil pot a put it in the second pot for 10-15 minutes. Drain the bag & combine the 2 pots to begin the boil. I leave the grain bag in the second pot to drain further & add the run-off during the boil. It's a piece of cake! Hitting my numbers every time.

[philm00x]

You're fine on the stirring. As for the temp, you could try welding a thermometer to the pot (or screw in one of those weldless ones, but either way you'll have to drill a hole) somewhere around the middle of your fill level. this way you won't have to worry about bringing oxygen into the mash once you've got it sealed and souring. When I did it in my mash tun, I replaced the spigot with a probe thermometer. It worked, but I had to pour the wort out of the top of the mash tun into the kettle, so there's the weight and instability factor. The other thing is since the thermometer was at the bottom, I had to make sure I stirred pretty well to keep the temp of the wort even and not stratified. After that, it was just hoping for the best. One time I did end up opening the mash tun to add boiled water to it so that the temperature would climb back up into the 120-130 range but I pushed the air back out.

It doesn't take very long to smell the sourness, and the higher your souring temp, the faster it will sour. 18 hours was sufficient at 120-130 to get a good puckering sour for JJ and I's Kentucky Common.

[jivex5k]

Thanks guys, I'm going to taste it tonight to see if it's sour.
There was a damn baby cockroach on top of the foil is covering the mash this morning, got under the lid. I've covered the edges of the lid with foil now so hopefully it keeps those bastards out...

I don't have any C02 to push the air out unfortunately.

[jivex5k]

Just tasted it today...omg....it's getting that lacto sour for sure I am loving it.
It doesn't even smell horrible or anything, no vomit smell like I've read about.
The taste is really awesome but not quite as sour as I want yet. I'm going to taste it again on Friday.

Dude...if this beer works...omg....just the sourness I have now is really giving me motivation to keep these up.
The plus side is how cheap the malts are, only 6 lbs! The fruit will be the expensive part, but if the base beer isn't solid I won't even rack it on fruit.

[jivex5k]

So I'm getting ready for my next brew day soon.
Should I be throwing in the grain as the water heats up, or waiting until the water is hot?
Reading these comments again makes it seem like I should heat the water, then add the grain.

Are there benefits to one method over the other?
I'm also going to get some kind of grate or something to put over my pot so I can rest the bag on it instead of holding it.

[BigPapaG]

So I'm getting ready for my next brew day soon.
Should I be throwing in the grain as the water heats up, or waiting until the water is hot?
Reading these comments again makes it seem like I should heat the water, then add the grain.

Are there benefits to one method over the other?
I'm also going to get some kind of grate or something to put over my pot so I can rest the bag on it instead of holding it.

Get your water hot first... To your strike temp...

The grains will cool it a little so shoot a bit higher than your desired mash temp.

A cookie sheet or grill grate works well to drain with... As does a large strainer.