BeerBorg

Hey guys,
Wrapped up my first BIAB a few days ago . Went really smoothly, but I designed the recipe on the fly and it is probably going to be too hoppy. Oh well!

3 lbs. Ex. Light dme
1 lb. Vienna malt
.5 lb. Maltodextrin
.5 oz. Chinook 60 min
.25 oz. Cascade 20
.25 oz. Chinook 10
.25 oz. Cascade 0
4.5 gal boil with a final volume of 2.5 gal-ish (just a bit more than 2.5)

Picked up the Ex light dme without meaning to and since i was brewing with a navy buddy who was in town and didn't have time to get a different dme I went ahead with it.

Anyway, here are some pics of the fermentation.

Good on ya! For me, there's not such thing as too hoppy but I'm not sure what you're going for.
Looks like she done blowed up good.

NICE!! That's some good beer pr0n there!

If you haven't already, I'd take off the bubbler, clean/re-sanitize it, then put it back on. (oh, and clean all the other crud too ) At least you know the yeast are doing there job!!

Krausen stalagmites. Sweeet.

they's a party going on! that's why I get a 3 piece bubbler, easier to clean

Picked up the Ex light dme without meaning to and since i was brewing with a navy buddy who was in town and didn't have time to get a different dme I went ahead with it.

FWIW almost all of the extract recipes/articles I've seen suggest using the extra light (DME or LME) and drawing on the specialty grains selection for building the character you are after.

To me yours looks a really solid beer but of course I don't know, when you say too hoppy, what you prefer in a beer style.

Glad you had a great brew while your buddy was there and hope you enjoy the final product.

That's interesting, Brewbirds... but it makes sense to build off of a light base. I suggest that it will be too hoppy because 1. I calculated with brewersfriend.com for a 4 gallon batch that would have 50ish IBU but the final volume of the batch was more like 2.75 gallons which I think would jack up the hop utilization, and 2. my friend dislikes hoppy brews.

I was going for an american style pale ale with the hops, but the DME and the Vienna malts didn't lend the color I was hoping for. This has by far been the best learning experience for me (except maybe for my very first extract batch).

Looks like you got some good fermentation going on, and as said above definitely take your airlock off and clean it ASP, use sanitizer or cheep vodka in it. A 3 piece airlock would be a good thing for you to use for an aggressive batch like you have, I use both but use the s type for my secondaries. You could also go with a blow-off tube.
Looks good, you are making beer

Looking forward to bottling this one! I sanitized the airlock and got it back on there, but then it got gunked up again, so I sanitized again. This pic is from the final grav reading. It started at 1.060 and is now down to and holding at 1.019 which is about 5.3%

Are BIAB typically this cloudy? Any recommendations on cold crashing to clear it up? I would appreciate some help as I hoped this would be a pretty clear brew (understanding that it's not gonna be a filtered beauty).

Mine are usually pretty cloudy but not as much as yours. Once you rack and bottle and they sit a few weeks conditioning, just put them in the fridge 2-3 days before you drink them and they should clear up.

Did you use whirlfloc or irish moss or any other clearing agent in your boil? I find that helps a lot.

That's a really cool color you've got going on there....almost looks like orange juice!!! I addition to what Beer-lord said about conditioning, I've also found that they will clear quite a bit after a week or even two weeks in the fridge. Of course that's after they go through the proper carb/condition time at room temperature.

Cold crashing would also help clear it up. When it gets down to its FG, put it in the fridge for 3 or 4 days, then bottle it up!! The crash will definitely help clear it up.

when your primary fermentation is finished the yeast and other stuff will fall out of suspension. How many days in are you??

Whirfloc rules for clarity. Cloudy never bothers me though. Heady Topper is cloudy as sh*t & it's fantastic.

The color isnt quite that orangey, my camera's flash gave it that hue. No whorlfloc or moss. Its been in primary 13 days at 62-64 degrees. Cold in my house lately and the electric bills have been going up
Not sure if I should just stick it in the fridge. Will enough yeast remain in suspension?

give another week what yeast did you use?? the temp most likely is fine