Increasing grain for BIAB efficiency

[HarryFlatters]

I reckon most BIAB brewers squeeze the bag

I do a small sparge (a few litres) and give the bag a good squeeze. OG on both brews done so far have been higher than anticipated, so either my efficiency is high, or I'm mashing at too high a temperature.

I still get beer at the end of the process, so I'm not overly fussed.

 

[Covrich]

I give the bag a squeeze and a poke but don't squeeze the hell out of it.. Worts generally clear and the beer clears very well.

I think other factors are more likley to causes hazes I think bag quality can have an effect.

 

[Cwrw666]

I do a quick dunk sparge and also squeeze the bag, but not excessively. With my boiler I've found if I get too much murkiness in the wort it starts burning on the floor of the boiler during the boil. Doesn't affect the flavour but the element sometimes cuts out if this happens due to overheating.

BTW, my latest brew had an efficiency of 75% according to Brewers Friend.

 

[davidgrace]

If you read the smallprint in the GW book he says he uses a small amount of black malt to adjust colour: haven't got the book to hand, think it's at the start of the recipes section rather than in each recipe. I often have to use a bit with his recipes to hit the right colour.

Regarding efficiency, it all depends on your method: I was getting about 63% when I started but now get a consistent 68% with a dunk sparge and a bag squeeze. Although my last few brews have been a bit better as the target OG has been beaten, suspect it was the grain from a different supplier rather than my method as that 68% was rock-solid for 3 years.

Sounds like you're a new BIAB brewer so you won't know your efficiency yet, so 10% more grain isn't a bad guess to start with. If the OG is too high you can always add a bit of extra water, whereas if it's too low you can't get it up unless you add other fermentables.

This is helpful. On page 9 of my copy Graham Wheeler says he uses black malt for both flavour and colour. And yes, I am quite new to BIAB

 

[davidgrace]

Yes, its squirrelled away at the back in my copy but is specific to a few recipes and the LL one in mine definitely doesn't use it.

On page 9 of my copy Graham Wheeler says he uses black malt for both flavour and colour.

 

[AdeDunn]

I do a small sparge (a few litres) and give the bag a good squeeze. OG on both brews done so far have been higher than anticipated, so either my efficiency is high, or I'm mashing at too high a temperature.

I still get beer at the end of the process, so I'm not overly fussed.

Mashing at too high a temp wouldn't so much give you a higher OG, as give you a higher FG than expected. A higher OG just means your brew house efficiency is higher than that estimated on your recipe. This is fine, you just need to adjust for future brews as it means you'll need less grain, so long as it stays that high, and doesn't go all over the place. First time I brew a new recipe, I expect bh to be out a percent or 2 to be honest as I mostly design my own recipes, so the estimated BH is just that the first time I brew it.

I give the bag a squeeze and a poke but don't squeeze the hell out of it.. Worts generally clear and the beer clears very well.

I think other factors are more likley to causes hazes I think bag quality can have an effect.

Yeah, I have 2 bags I use. The one I get incredibly clear wort as the bag has very very fine pores, BUT my pump has to be set incredibly low or I get a void under the false bottom.... My other bag, I get slightly hazy wort as the pores are bigger, but I can run the pump at almost full whack, giving me better temperature control, and better efficiency. The beer drops clear whichever bag I use, so I've gone back to the bag with the bigger holes and the hazier wort. The few times my beer has had permanent haze problems, I've been able to point the finger squarely at cooling the wort too slowly. I don't squeeze the hell out of the bag either though, I don't see the need. I already usually end up with a higher pre-boil volume than calculated, at the exact pre-boil SG calculated, anyway. So I must be squeezing more than the software expects or something... lol I've seen descriptions of people using 2 pan lids and all sorts though. As mentioned, I just wear rubber gloves and use my hands, and twist the top of the bag, then close it off with a cable tie whilst it finishes draining. BUT, if you don't mention that other folks have found correlation between squeezing and haze, folks get annoyed and blame you, so I mentioned it.. Then there's haze from yeast etc etc etc... Tons of reasons a beer can be a bit hazy.



To be honest, my favourite technique was my old one, where I didn't squeeze at all, and drained from the vessel without raising the bag, after running the pump for a while to vorlauf. Doing this gave me super clear wort, but it was time consuming, and these days I go for simplicity and time saving.