Brew Dudes

When we first evaluated brew in a bag as a method we approached it from the eyes of an experienced all grain brewer that uses a traditional mash tun and sparge set up. After that video posted readers and. Viewers had some comments to add to our video and assessment. We decided to shoot another video to dig a little deeper into those responses and open our conversation a little wider regarding brew in a bag.

The one batch of brew in a bag that we’ve done so far was easy and straight forward. Both of us are looking forward to try it again. John has plans for some more small batch tests. While I am planning a couple full sized batches to compare to my normal method. All in all we are looking forward to brewing more beer. And tasting and trying them I video format as well.

Our first impressions for BIAB was that there may be now real time savings for us based in how we brew already. But we both admitted that might be an experience issue. Which is why we still plan to do a few more BIAB batches.

We made the comment before that brew in a bag, in our minds, could replace the partial mash technique entirely as brewers progress to all grain brewing. We should have been clearer in not dismissing BIAB as an all grain brewing technique in its own right. What we meant to focus on was that BIAB is so easy we could see people forgoing the tedious steps of doing a small mash and calculating the extract needed to complete a partial mash session. BIAB allows you to get right into all grain and leave extract behind with out much issue. Without much new equipment. Without much added skill sets. BIAB really is an easier way to get into mashing than partial mashing is. And for that reason we predict in the short long term it will trump partial mashing as the next progressive step in home brewing for many brewers.

Ultimately homebrewing for is about two things. Making good beer and having fun. If it isn’t those two things then why do it. Brew the way you want and don’t look back. In the end good beer is good beer and it doesn’t matter who brewed it or how or where it was brewed. Right?

BREW ON!

When we started playing with brew in a bag we wanted to use the technique to do some side by side experimentation. Our first experiment was to compare red vs. white wheat. Those beers are ready and we review our tasting notes in this weeks video!

Both of us felt that the red wheat was somewhat more robust. It had a slightly stronger grain character. It seemed more grainy, but not by much. The white wheat was slightly crisper maybe more softer on the edges of the palate range. The white wheat malt beer was slightly cloudier and seemed to retain its head a little better.

Both beers had a slight apple like note to it. Not a green apple acetaldehyde character, more of an apple juice or cider like quality. Some people reference a “tartness” when using wheat, perhaps this is where that idea comes from. John chalked this flavor profile up to being that thirst quenching character most people expect out of wheat based beers (albeit not at 100% wheat levels).

Both beers had a crisp mouthfeel. Mashed at 154F its interesting to note that the beers seemed very light almost as if they wort was produced at a lower mash temp range.

I think I was expecting more head. Really thick foam. Many brewers believe that adding a pound or two to a 5 gallon batch will help with head retention. These two beers seemed to have no more head than a standard barley malt beer. Further research into that I think is needed. Perhaps another round of wheat beers ranging in wheat percentage would be interesting. Say 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% and 10% wheat complimented by 2 row barley.

What’s the final take home here… I am not really sure. Red vs. White Wheat might get lost in a more complex beer like a dunkelwiesse. It might even get lost in a German or Belgian Style Wheat beers as the yeast character is the prominent feature. If I was trying to pick between the two for an American wheat summer beer I’d be hard pressed to maybe not use both split evenly. Taking the red wheat for its slightly more robust wheat like presence and using some white for its cleanliness and crisp character. Hard to say without more research.

And I guess that means its time for more brew in the bag sessions on our end.

BREW ON!

We brewed our first batch of beer using brew in a bag techniques!  I will say that it felt foreign and strange to only have one burner and one pot.  We also only brewed one gallon batches for our White vs. Red Wheat BIAB experiment, so that contributed to the not quite right feel of the day.  What follows is a summation of our impressions of brew in a bag.

Let me start with this caveat before the BIAB hate mail starts coming. Overall, I think we both enjoying trying new brewing techniques. Playing with something like brew in a bag helps put our regular practice of making beer in a different perspective. We will most certainly brew by BIAB again. Homebrewing should be fun first and everything else is second to that. If you LOVE brew in a bag you should do it. We make no qualms about what method is better, because its always been about fun. That said our first pass straight up impressions of brew in a bag were mixed.

First I think we were both expecting a faster brew day. Heating only one gallon of water, no sprage water, no mash tun to clean… Overall I think we spent 3-4 hours doing this. I can normally do a full 6 gallon brew session in about 4.5 hours if I push and I am well organized. So from that point of view, I was surprised.

Second, brewing in the bag wasn’t as straight up easy as I first thought. That lack of insulation in using the pot as a mash tun meant we had to add heat a couple times. I feared scorching the bag to the bottom of the pot so it meant holding the bag up while we applied heat. That was somewhat more labor intensive than a mix and stir approach of single infusion in an insulated mash tun.

We both recognized its sort of unfair to be so critical with it being our first time. (Like I said we will be trying this again. Hopefully several times.) We need more practice. Just like brewing with our normal setup.

Despite those detractors lets be honest. The brew session was indeed pretty straight forward. John and I shot the breeze during most of the process. Maybe that contributed to the slightly longer session that I anticipated! It was a beautiful late summer day when we brewed and that laid back summer aura sort of over took us.

The second big positive is that we certainly can conceive of other small batch ideas to throw your way. Doing small batches is really the strength of BIAB in our opinion. And small batches are really the greatest way to experiment with ingredients and with yeasts or process. We like BIAB very much for that purpose.

Our last take for a brew in the bag review involves brewer evolution. When I finally decided to take the plunge into mashing vs. using extract I did partial mash. Partial mash techniques have served as an ideal way to mash a little bit, but still use extract while you got over the anxiety of heating water and mixing in base malt (never really understood the trepidation that partial mash was supposed to over come for that reason).

I only did partial mash a handful of times because it seemed like a lot of work to still be producing a mostly extract beer. That’s when I went full all grain. John and I both agree that brew in a bag really lowers the barriers to going from extract to all grain. You don’t need more equipment. If you miss your mash temp you can add heat pretty easily as well.
We predict that brew in a bag could (and may) replace the partial mash concept entirely in just a few more short years. If it hasn’t happened all ready.

The best thing is that it keeps it easy. Keeps it fun and keeps brewers brewing. Isn’t that what its all about?

Let us know what you think.
BREW ON!