Thoughts on First All-Grain (BIAB) Recipe

Prairie Dog

Active Member
Premium Member
Established Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2024
Messages
113
Reaction score
151
Points
43
Hi all,

This is my first time posting on here and my first time creating an all-grain recipe. I have done extract brewing 5 times or so and finally have a space where I think I can start doing some serious brewing, so a friend and I are jumping into BIAB sometime in the next couple of weeks. I thought about using someone else's recipe, but I figured why not start using the BF software and create the exact beer that I'm looking to brew.

I decided to do a SMaSH pale ale for my first all-grain because I want to understand the ingredients and my first goal as a homebrewer is to make an excellent pale ale. Here is the recipe that I came up with. I included instructions for everything I could think of in the notes, so I wouldn't forget anything on brew day. If you had any thoughts or if I'm making any mistakes, I'd appreciate the feedback.

Thanks all!

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: SMaSH Cascade & Maris Otter

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: American Pale Ale
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.11 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.041
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)

Hop Utilization Multiplier: 1

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.053
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 5.55%
IBU (tinseth): 41.79
SRM (morey): 5.94
Mash pH: 5.71

FERMENTABLES:
11 lb - Maris Otter Pale (100%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 26.19
1 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 15 min, IBU: 13
0.5 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 2.61
0.5 oz - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 7, Use: Boil for 0 min

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
0.5 each - Whirlfloc, Time: 15 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 81%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 54 - 77 F
Fermentation Temp: 68 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

PRIMING:
Method: dextrose
Amount: 5.1 oz
CO2 Level: 2.45 Volumes

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Balanced Profile
Ca2: 0
Mg2: 0
Na: 0
Cl: 0
SO4: 0
HCO3: 0

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Strike, Start Temp: 164 F, Target Temp: 155 F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 7.11 gal

WATER REQUIREMENTS:
Strike water volume, 8.74gal (34.9qt)
Mash volume with grains, 9.62gal (38.5qt)
Grain absorption losses, -1.38gal (-5.5qt)
Mash Lauter Tun losses, -0.25gal (-1qt)
Pre boil volume, 7.11gal (28.4qt)
Boil off losses, -1.5gal (-6qt)
Hops absorption losses (first wort, boil, aroma), -0.11gal (-0.5qt)
Post boil Volume, 5.5gal (22qt)
Volume into fermentor, 5.5gal (22qt)

Total Water Needed: 8.74gal (34.9qt)

NOTES:
Brew Day Instructions

1. Pour 8.74 gallons of strike water into kettle and start the heat.

2. Once strike water reaches 164F, put bag in pot, and dough in 11 pounds of MO.

3. Kill burner at 155F and cover. Hold for 60 mins, stirring every 20 mins. or so.

4. In the meantime, sanitize equipment for racking into fermenter: spray bottle, racking tube, air lock, hydrometer & tube, sample extractor, yeast packet, scissors, lid, and fermenter.

5. When 60 mins. are up, remove bag, and squeeze to release more wort.

6. Bring wort up to boil and start timer for 60 mins:

7. 1 oz. Cascade @ 60 mins.

8. 1 oz. Cascade @ 15 mins.

9. 1/2 a Whirlfloc tablet @ 10 mins.

10. .5 oz Cascade @ 5 mins.

11. .5 oz Cascade @ 0 mins.

12. Cool wort down to ~68F.

13. Rack into fermenter. *Make sure to spray kettle nozzle with sanitizer before attaching tube.

14. Take sample to test OG.

15. Pitch yeast and ferment for ~2 weeks @ 68F.

Bottling Instructions

1. Once FG reads steady for 2 days in a row, bottle.

2. Sanitize all bottling equipment: bottles, caps, capper, bottle wand and tube, bottling bucket, etc.

3. Make priming sugar mixture and dump into sanitized bottling bucket.

4. Rack beer into bottling bucket.

5. Rack beer into bottles from bottling bucket and cap.

6. Let carbonate for ~14 days at ~68-70 F.
 
Looks good, only things i would change

Sub out the MO for American pale. MO is a great grain, but the nutty doesn't work for a pale, IMHO.

Lower your mash temp to 148-150F. 155F will have alot of residual sweet
 
Last edited:
+1 on lowering the mash temp. 152° tops.

Couple things I would do:

If your tap water has chlorine or chloramine, then DEFINITELY add a Campden tablet. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for off flavors.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/campden-tablets-sodium-metabisulphite-25.html

Since this is your first BIAB, make sure you finely crush your grain. Some powder is not a bad thing. If you are ordering your grain pre-crushed, make sure the people who are crushing it know that it is for BIAB. My first BIAB brew day I missed my OG by a country mile.

You can probably move Brew Day Step 4 to Step 8. Probably doesn't matter, but there's no sense sanitizing that early.

I strongly recommend that you take a "Pre-boil" gravity reading. Essentially, pull a hydrometer flask's worth of wort as you are squeezing the bag. Chill the sample and measure this gravity to see if you are in the ballpark. Brewer's Friend's software will give you this target. It's a good habit to get into because pre-boil you still have time to make gravity adjustments if need be. Short on gravity? Add a bit of sugar or extract. Overshot gravity? Don't boil as long and take the extra volume, or just take the extra ABV to the end.

If possible, pitch your yeast as the fermenter is filling. This isn't critical, but it's good practice.

Good luck! Keep us posted.
 
+1 on lowering the mash temp. 152° tops.

Couple things I would do:

If your tap water has chlorine or chloramine, then DEFINITELY add a Campden tablet. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for off flavors.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/campden-tablets-sodium-metabisulphite-25.html

Since this is your first BIAB, make sure you finely crush your grain. Some powder is not a bad thing. If you are ordering your grain pre-crushed, make sure the people who are crushing it know that it is for BIAB. My first BIAB brew day I missed my OG by a country mile.

You can probably move Brew Day Step 4 to Step 8. Probably doesn't matter, but there's no sense sanitizing that early.

I strongly recommend that you take a "Pre-boil" gravity reading. Essentially, pull a hydrometer flask's worth of wort as you are squeezing the bag. Chill the sample and measure this gravity to see if you are in the ballpark. Brewer's Friend's software will give you this target. It's a good habit to get into because pre-boil you still have time to make gravity adjustments if need be. Short on gravity? Add a bit of sugar or extract. Overshot gravity? Don't boil as long and take the extra volume, or just take the extra ABV to the end.

If possible, pitch your yeast as the fermenter is filling. This isn't critical, but it's good practice.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

Thanks for all the info! I wasn't aware of this method of pitching yeast, so that is very helpful.

It seems like a lot of people are telling me to mash at or under 152F. I mentioned this to another poster, but the only reason I have it at 155F is because if I lower it to 152-150 or so, the BF recipe builder ends up putting the FG at 1.009, which is a bit outside the recommendations for the style.

I'm probably just being an idiot because this is my first recipe, but I wanted to try to keep it within the pale ale style to the best of my abilities. It seems like maybe I shouldn't worry about this, however, unless I want a sweet pale ale, which I don't think I do.
 
Thanks for all the info! I wasn't aware of this method of pitching yeast, so that is very helpful.

It seems like a lot of people are telling me to mash at or under 152F. I mentioned this to another poster, but the only reason I have it at 155F is because if I lower it to 152-150 or so, the BF recipe builder ends up putting the FG at 1.009, which is a bit outside the recommendations for the style.

I'm probably just being an idiot because this is my first recipe, but I wanted to try to keep it within the pale ale style to the best of my abilities. It seems like maybe I shouldn't worry about this, however, unless I want a sweet pale ale, which I don't think I do.
I mean, you can do it either way. But the recipe biulder will use best case. It won't take much for it to end up in the 1.011-13 area.

And honestly, even if it finished at or near 1.009, it will still be good. 155F is just real close to the denature temp for the conversion enzymes.
 
Teo things:

Squeezing a very hot bag may need some gloves. It will be HOT.

Once SG is stable for three or four days it is ready to bottle. Don't rush this step. The yeast needs time to clear the diacetyl. It is ok to stay in the fermenter for weeks so be patient at this step.
 
There is no need whatsoever to squeeze the bag, unless you want to...
Whatever your process is, you just need to repeat it to have consistency. If you squeeze, squeeze, if you don't, you don't. Brewing isn't a competition.
 
There is no need whatsoever to squeeze the bag, unless you want to...
Whatever your process is, you just need to repeat it to have consistency. If you squeeze, squeeze, if you don't, you don't. Brewing isn't a competition.
Won't effect quality, just volume
 

Back
Top