Anyone else mash in a bag in a cooler?

I'm in the process of switching over to BIAB in a cooler and I wanted to see if anyone else did the same thing. My thoughts behind it are:

1. Easier to hold temp. Much easier. Less screwing around.
2. Lets me switch to AG BIAB full-volume boils with an 8 gallon kettle instead of a 15 gallon kettle (much cheaper)
3. No fear of stuck sparges.
4. Great efficiency.
5. Fewer equipment modifications.
6. Easy cleanup.

My plan is to order a wilser bag that bits my cooler, replace the drain with a ball valve and call it a day.

I've had this exact thought but haven't gotten the bag or dedicated cooler. I think it's a great idea though. Some detractors will say, just do regular all-grain if you are going that far. To me, the ease of BIAG and easy clean-up are attraction attributes.

mbbransc said:

I've had this exact thought but haven't gotten the bag or dedicated cooler. I think it's a great idea though. Some detractors will say, just do regular all-grain if you are going that far. To me, the ease of BIAG and easy clean-up are attraction attributes.

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Yeah, I honestly don't see any advantage to conventional AG brewing compared to BIAB. I managed to pick up a 70 quart Coleman for very cheap so that's why I'm getting around to it sooner rather than later.

I do, makes fixing stuck sparges super simple. but more importantly cleanup is super easy. no downsides at all.

What is the volume of the HLT in the picture above?

I also use a bag in a 5 gallon cooler. First BIAB was a disaster trying to keep a consistant mash temp so I bought a cooler. Thinking of moving away from the bag altogether just need to get a bazooka screen. Any benefit of using the bag after getting the screen? Poptarts do you use a screen plus the bag?

I was thinking about this and wondering why I dont see more people doing it as I was cleaning 14lbs of grain out of my MLT out this weekend. Just for ease of cleaning it would be worth it, I think. I do not see any reason why it would hurt efficiency or any negative effects.

Definitely going to mash in a bag in a cooler next time.

Interested in this subject...
I currently brew conventional AG
10g round cooler mash tun, SS false bottom
15g kettle

A small percentage of the bags I sell are used in coolers, and the purchasers seem very satisfied using this method. The advantages I see are easier cleanup, better insulation, and less or no chance of a stuck sparge. I have never used a bag in a cooler, but rather use a SS braid.

A bag for a round 5 or 10 gallon Igloo is pretty straightforward, bags for larger rectangular coolers get quite large due to the shape of the cooler.

A bag in a cooler works quite well, it comes down to personal preference I guess.

I do 11.5 gallon batches and mash in a 72 quart cooler with a bag of sort (window curtain )

works good for me I have done about 35 or 40 batches over the last year like this

all the best

S_M

While I don't doubt the cleanup is easy, I don't personally have any problem cleaning my manifold and mash tun either. I just dump my cooler on the compost pile and spray with a hose or kitchen sprayer.

If I had a bag in there, I think I would still have to spray the mash tun anyway. Am I missing something?

BeerFireBrew said:

What is the volume of the HLT in the picture above?

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8 gal, then I have the 2 gallon dedicated HERMS pot right next to the MLT cooler.

Homercidal said:

While I don't doubt the cleanup is easy, I don't personally have any problem cleaning my manifold and mash tun either. I just dump my cooler on the compost pile and spray with a hose or kitchen sprayer.

If I had a bag in there, I think I would still have to spray the mash tun anyway. Am I missing something?

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No I find it easier to make it into the trash with my grain when i can just set the bag in the trash and shake it out, then take my MLT over to the hose and just spray it and the bag off. If you have a place where you can just dump over your MLT then you dont gain much on the cleanup front. But stuck sparges are still way way easier to fix when they happen.

smAllGrain said:

I also use a bag in a 5 gallon cooler. First BIAB was a disaster trying to keep a consistant mash temp so I bought a cooler. Thinking of moving away from the bag altogether just need to get a bazooka screen. Any benefit of using the bag after getting the screen? Poptarts do you use a screen plus the bag?

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You didn't need a cooler, you just needed a shorter mash period. If you have your grains milled fine for BIAB, conversion will be done in less than 10 minutes. Why are you worried about the temperature loss in a 10 minute mash?:rockin:

RM-MN said:

You didn't need a cooler, you just needed a shorter mash period. If you have your grains milled fine for BIAB, conversion will be done in less than 10 minutes. Why are you worried about the temperature loss in a 10 minute mash?:rockin:

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Your about the only one on this forum that brews with flower.

RM-MN said:

You didn't need a cooler, you just needed a shorter mash period. If you have your grains milled fine for BIAB, conversion will be done in less than 10 minutes. Why are you worried about the temperature loss in a 10 minute mash?:rockin:

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Never heard of a mash only taking 10 minutes. Only been in the hobby for about 6 months but that seems crazy.... Plus I don't crush my own grain so whatever I get from my LHBS is what I use. I also don't like having to babysit my kettle. Like knowing that after I put everything in the cooler I can do other things.

smAllGrain said:

Never heard of a mash only taking 10 minutes. Only been in the hobby for about 6 months but that seems crazy.... Plus I don't crush my own grain so whatever I get from my LHBS is what I use. I also don't like having to babysit my kettle. Like knowing that after I put everything in the cooler I can do other things.

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A mash doesn't have to take even 10 minutes. Here's a thread on it where another user has tested what I said. www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/cutting-brew-day-time-time-challenge-487453

I've seen results from a Basic Brewing experiment where the brewers tested conversion on many of their beers and some beers were fully converted in under 15 minutes, some much longer, but nearly all were converted fully under 45 minutes.

Conversion can vary with grain bill, temperature and pH.

I have an 8gal kettle with a Wilser bag and the grain bill I wanted to use last week was going to be too big for full volume, so I mashed in a 15gal(??) cube cooler with all the grain in the Wilser bag. It worked great and cleanup was a snap with the bag. My efficiency was less than I expected from Brewer's Friend, but I'm guessing that was my fault in calculations as temps were spot on with the cooler. Overall, I'm happy. I may order a bag from Wilser specifically for my cooler.

Sounds like an awesome idea to me. I bought a round, red, 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler at Lowes for $30 something a few months ago and just finished buying parts for it yesterday so that I can turn it into a mash tun. Not having to worry with a false bottom or some type of manifold is a great idea. Just use a custom bag or curtain and I will be good to go.

i did that same thing the other day.
i have a 3 vessel setup and 2 burners and was doing back to back brews.
I had one sparged, heated up the full mash/sparge water in my other burner while one boiled, put all the water in the cooler (albeit a bit cooler) and mashed, as soon as i had my other batch cooled and pitched, i dumped the whole MLT into my BK and started boiling, i think it only added an extra hour or a touch longer to brew day for 2 batches and both were fine indeed.

My 10 gallon is fine with a false bottom, but if i continue this method, i might step to another mash tun that is 15 or so gallons.

This is how I started all grain brewing. I got a 7.5 gallon turkey fryer/burner combo from Menard's for $60, a 5 gallon rubbermaid drink cooler on sale (with a $5 rebate) for $13 net from Menard's, a stainless steel ball valve/bulkhead fitting combo online for $20 and a large course mesh grain bag from Northern Brewer for $6. Total investment = $99 + tax, with free shipping for the valve. Had I gone the bag-in-a-kettle route with the full volume BIAB method I would have easily had to spend two to three times as much to buy a decent 10 gallon kettle with ball valve, a burner large enough to hold it and a high-end bag. I start the mash at 1.25 qt/lb of grain, which leaves me room for temperature adjustments using either boiling or cold water. The cooler is large enough to hold all of the water and grain I need, but small enough to minimize head space, which greatly affects heat retention. (For my system, three gallons of 155 degree water will cool 4 degrees over one hour, but water + grain to 4.5 gallons will only lose 1 - 2 degrees over one hour.) After the mash is complete I open the valve and drain the cooler while lifting the bag just far enough to leave the valve unobstructed. Then I sparge to my desired pre-boil volume.

@KeninMN

So you don't Vorlauf? I dont vorlauf at the moment do the samething you do. Mash in a bag in the cooler and lift the bag while I drain the tun

i'm glad i found this thread. i just bought some bags and will be buying the same 5 gal menards cooler. but, unless there is a problem with the current cooler valve, i don't plan on changing it. i have a bigger rectangular cooler for regular AG 5 and 6 gal batches, but i'm going to start doing smaller 2 and 3 gal batches and thought my bigger mash tun would be too big for a small grain bill.
so, instead of making another tun, i'll get a small cheap cooler and use a bag. if it doesn't work for me, i'll put a false bottom or braided line in it and do the typical AG method, but right now i don't see any big drawbacks to using a bag.
i should know the outcome this weekend

Spinout said:

i'm glad i found this thread. i just bought some bags and will be buying the same 5 gal menards cooler. but, unless there is a problem with the current cooler valve, i don't plan on changing it. i have a bigger rectangular cooler for regular AG 5 and 6 gal batches, but i'm going to start doing smaller 2 and 3 gal batches and thought my bigger mash tun would be too big for a small grain bill.
so, instead of making another tun, i'll get a small cheap cooler and use a bag. if it doesn't work for me, i'll put a false bottom or braided line in it and do the typical AG method, but right now i don't see any big drawbacks to using a bag.
i should know the outcome this weekend

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If your boiling pot isn't too big, do your mash right in it and spend the money you saved by not buying coolers on more grains. Coolers don't make beer, grains do. If you mill your grains very fine, your conversion will happen so quickly that temperature loss in the pot is negligible.

I use a round cooler with a bag. Works great. Don't know if its better or worse than using a manifold or false bottom. If the wort won't drain, just lift the bag a little and problem solved. I did replace the factory valve with a ball valve and I have a 90 degree elbow pointing down to the bottom of the cooler.
I switched to the bag in the cooler because I had problems keeping my mash temp stable in a pot. Also, when I pulled the bag from the pot, usually spilled some wort that then had to clean up. Its also easier to do step mashes in the cooler. You don't really need the cooler with BIAB, I see it as somewhat of an upgrade.

MrSnacks said:

I'm in the process of switching over to BIAB in a cooler and I wanted to see if anyone else did the same thing. My thoughts behind it are:

1. Easier to hold temp. Much easier. Less screwing around.
2. Lets me switch to AG BIAB full-volume boils with an 8 gallon kettle instead of a 15 gallon kettle (much cheaper)
3. No fear of stuck sparges.
4. Great efficiency.
5. Fewer equipment modifications.
6. Easy cleanup.

My plan is to order a wilser bag that bits my cooler, replace the drain with a ball valve and call it a day.

Click to expand...

I switch over to BIAB last year and haven't looked back. Having said that I did hate lifting the bag from the kettle, so I did what you're talking about. I purchased a 10-gallon rubber maid with a false bottom. I still used my bag. Now I can heat the water, transfer, dough in, and walk away (sometimes for a long time). Comeback and immediately (no sparge/vorlauf) drain back into boil kettle. (You may want to get a 10-gallon kettle just to avoid boilovers. With 8 gallons you'll probably have to be careful.) I then take the cooler to the trashcan, pull the bag out (which now has much less water than traditional BIAB), dump it and spray the bag and cooler with water.

I guess it did cost a little more, but it was worth it to me. Less stress of deal with pulling the bag out of the kettle.

You may want to consider some sort of pump if you don't want to lift 64lbs of water.

My $0.02,

JA

RM-MN said:

If you mill your grains very fine, your conversion will happen so quickly that temperature loss in the pot is negligible.

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RM-MN, Do you have any articles on this topic book-marked? I'm starting to see lots of chatter about quick conversion via BIAB and now I think it's time for me to learn more. I'll Google it, but just wanted to see if you knew of any specific articles I should read?

BeerFireBrew said:

RM-MN, Do you have any articles on this topic book-marked? I'm starting to see lots of chatter about quick conversion via BIAB and now I think it's time for me to learn more. I'll Google it, but just wanted to see if you knew of any specific articles I should read?

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It was really hard to find anything about fast conversion so I had to experiment. I'd seen one reference to a 20 minute mash so I decided to use iodine to see how long conversion really took. My plan was to take a sample at dough in and then one every 5 minutes until I showed no change in color when the wort and iodine mixed. That was a great plan until I forgot the timing and took the second sample at 7 minutes and already had conversion. Next brew day I tried it over again and took a sample at dough in and then one every minute until the iodine showed conversion.....at 3 minutes.

More recently another brewer mentioned that the alpha amylase works quickly and would show conversion even before the beta amylase was done. That made me wonder if I was going about the testing wrong and should have used a refractometer to see when the most sugars were produced but before I got to that point someone else did the experiment and found that by 5 minutes the reading quit changing in the refractometer samples. For more about that, read through this thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/cutting-brew-day-time-time-challenge-487453/

smAllGrain said:

@KeninMN

So you don't Vorlauf? I dont vorlauf at the moment do the samething you do. Mash in a bag in the cooler and lift the bag while I drain the tun

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I have, but I didn't see any benefit. The bag does a good job.

scsjohn said:

I purchased a 10-gallon rubber maid with a false bottom. I still used my bag. Now I can heat the water, transfer, dough in, and walk away (sometimes for a long time). Comeback and immediately (no sparge/vorlauf) drain back into boil kettle. (You may want to get a 10-gallon kettle just to avoid boilovers. With 8 gallons you'll probably have to be careful.) I then take the cooler to the trashcan, pull the bag out (which now has much less water than traditional BIAB), dump it and spray the bag and cooler with water.

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to clarify - do i understand correctly that you are mashing in a bag in a MLT that has a false bottom ?

i was preparing to move toward this exact type of system, but to date have not been able to find any other mention of using both.

robwestcott said:

to clarify - do i understand correctly that you are mashing in a bag in a MLT that has a false bottom ?

i was preparing to move toward this exact type of system, but to date have not been able to find any other mention of using both.

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From what I've seen most people who biab in a cooler don't use a false bottom. Not sure what purpose that'd serve.

To add to this thread:
I BIAB in a 10 gallon round cooler. I even go as far as having a dunk Sparge waiting in the kettle for after my initial strike water. So it goes something like this:

1: Mash in to the cooler lined with the bag.
2: heat up "sparge" water in the kettle while mash is going on.
3: take bag out of tun, and place into kettle with clean water.
4: stir for 5-10 minutes and then add contents of cooler to kettle.

This gives me the opportunity to sparge and none of the headaches of stuck sparges.

robwestcott said:

to clarify - do i understand correctly that you are mashing in a bag in a MLT that has a false bottom ?

i was preparing to move toward this exact type of system, but to date have not been able to find any other mention of using both.

Click to expand...

Correct.

It's probably overkill or silly, as some have stated, but I like it. It's easy to clean. Never gets stuck no matter how long I leave it. False bottom also means I don't have to squeeze the bag. I can just open the valve and transfer to boil kettle. As that is heating up, I can continue to drain off from MLT into a 2 quart pyrex. No need to lift bag or squeeze. I may tilt the cooler so that I can get it all the liquid out.

Easy clean up.