Interested in brewing with just one pot and no strainer?
The Brew-in-a-Bag method is for you
After years of practice, that’s now the only way I brew
The method started in Australia and has now gained so much popularity, it may well be the most popular technique among homebrewers
Basically, instead of having to separate the wort from the grain at the end of the mash in a complicated way or another, you just lift the bag and you are left with the wort ready to boil
Simple, clean, effective, what more can you ask for?
This is my BIAB equipment
- 10Qt (10L) IKEA pot
- 5 Gal mash bag US | CAN | UK
- Stainless IKEA trivet to let the bag sit on the pot for sparging
Just mash the way you normally do (see recipe below), but with the grain in the bag
After 1 hour, lift the bag and squeeze it firmly. Pour about 1 Gal (3.8L) of hot water on the bag for a minimalistic sparge. Finish your brewing as you would normally do
1 gallon BIAB recipe
You can give a try to this recipe which will give you a superb IPA (you can, of course, also use it with your standard brewing method)
1-Gallon
Crush, or buy already crushed, these amounts of grain
2 lb Pale Ale
2.67 oz Carared
1.33 oz Crystal 45°L
Heat 0.67 Gal of water to 160°F (= 1.2qt mash water/lb of grain, which is ideal)
Pour the crushed grain, stir well, REMOVE the pot from the heat, check the temperature to make sure you are as close as possible to 152-153°F, adjust if necessary (this is a fantastic thermometer US|CAN|UK), ideally place a blanket on and around the pot and leave it so for 1 hour
After a 1 hour mash, mash-out by raising the temperature to 170°F and leave it there for 5 minutes
Lift the bag and squeeze firmly
Add 1 gallon of hot water (from your tap) to the wort, preferably by pouring it onto the bag for some minimal but sufficient sparging
(Note: your best bet to clean the bag is to turn it inside out and rinse it from the inside with a shower)
Bring to a boil
0.18oz Nugget
0.56oz Amarillo
0.56oz Centennial
0.38oz Columbus Tomahawk
0.38oz Simcoe
When the boil starts, remove the lid, reduce heat halfway down and add 0.18oz Nugget
10 minutes before the end of the boil, add 0.18oz of Amarillo and the same of Centennial
At the end of the boil (= after 1 hour), chill the wort just a little bit down to about 180°F, add 0.18oz of Amarillo and the same of Centennial, Columbus Tomahawk, Simcoe and cover the pot with the lid and blanket and leave it at this temperature (~180°F) for 15 minutes, this is called “steep hopping” and it’s one of the best methods for hop utilization
After 15 minutes, finish chilling your wort down to 70-73°F
Sanitize your fermenter
Transfer the wort to the fermenter
Pitch 1/4 pack of US-05
Shake your fermenter vigorously for 5 minutes
Place a sanitized stopper and blow-off tube or a bubbler
Let ferment for 10 days in a dark place at 66°F (64°F is even better)
After 10 days, carefully open the fermenter and add 0.2oz of each of the following hops: Amarillo, Centennial, Columbus Tomahawk, Simcoe. This is called “dry hopping” and it’s a great technique for aromatic hops
Close the fermenter back again and let ferment for another 4 days
Bottle with minimal oxygenation and with 0.7oz of table sugar for priming
Leave the bottles in a dark place at room temperature 68-72°F for 3 weeks
Refrigerate overnight
Enjoy!
From then on, try to store your beers at the lowest temperature possible (but not below freezing) in order to preserve their hoppy flavors, or, more simply, drink them quickly!
5 liters
Crush, or buy already crushed, these amounts of grain
1.19 kg Pale Ale
100g Carared
50g Caramünich EBC 120
Heat 3.35L of water to 71°C (= 2.5L mash water/kg of grain, which is ideal)
Pour the crushed grain, stir well, REMOVE the pot from the heat, check the temperature to make sure you are as close as possible to 66-67°C, adjust if necessary (this is a fantastic thermometer US|CAN|UK), ideally place a blanket on and around the pot and leave it so for 1 hour
After a 1 hour mash, mash-out by raising the temperature to 77°C and leave it there for 5 minutes
Lift the bag and squeeze firmly
Add 4L of hot water (from your tap) to the wort, preferably by pouring it onto the bag for some minimal but sufficient sparging
(Note: your best bet to clean the bag is to turn it inside out and rinse it from the inside with a shower)
Bring to a boil
5g Nugget
15.5g Amarillo
15.5g Centennial
10.5g Columbus Tomahawk
10.5g Simcoe
When the boil starts, remove the lid, reduce heat halfway down and add 5g Nugget
10 minutes before the end of the boil, add 5g of Amarillo and the same of Centennial
At the end of the boil (= after 1 hour), chill the wort just a little bit down to about 82°C, add 5g of Amarillo and the same of Centennial, Columbus Tomahawk, Simcoe and cover the pot with the lid and blanket and leave it at this temperature (~82°C) for 15 minutes, this is called “steep hopping” and it’s one of the best methods for hop utilization
After 15 minutes, finish chilling your wort down to 21-23°C
Sanitize your fermenter
Transfer the wort to the fermenter
Pitch 1/4 pack of US-05
Shake your fermenter vigorously for 5 minutes
Place a sanitized stopper and blow-off tube or a bubbler
Let ferment for 10 days in a dark place at 19°C (18°C is even better)
After 10 days, carefully open the fermenter and add 5.5g of each of the following hops: Amarillo, Centennial, Columbus Tomahawk, Simcoe. This is called “dry hopping” and it’s a great technique for aromatic hops
Close the fermenter back again and let ferment for another 4 days
Bottle with minimal oxygenation and with 26g of table sugar for priming
Leave the bottles in a dark place at room temperature 20-22°C for 3 weeks
Refrigerate overnight
Enjoy!
From then on, try to store your beers at the lowest temperature possible (but not below freezing) in order to preserve their hoppy flavors, or, more simply, drink them quickly!
Brewer
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