Over squeezing the BIAB

I just did my first ag/biab and everything went okay I think. One question. After removing the hot bag my brother got a bit overzealous and put it in a fruit press to "get all the tasty juice out." I'm guessing he put about 1000 lbs on that bag and yes he did get a lot of wort out. My effeciency was quite good for my first batch (75%) but do you think he could have squeezed some stuff out that should have stayed in?

I always squeeze the sh*t out of my bag. Never to the extent that your brother did, but I always end up with excellent beer and an outstanding efficiency. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If there are off flavors and you know you did everything else perfectly, I would try not doing that next time. Remember to RDWHAHB!

I've seen this debated here. I've done a grand total of 5 BIAB brews. I always hand-squeeze. The prevailing thought is that those who fear that tannins will be squeezed out are wrong. Tannins come from pH and temperature, not squeezing. That being said, I'm not sure what a wine press will do.

Interesting. I had no idea it could be squeezed. I've just starting doing partial mashes and I was just letting the bag drip for 30 minutes through a colander and adding that to wort pot.

It's actually pretty cool. The stuff you get out is basically syrup. Very sticky and dense. HAS to help efficiency.

We tried squeezing it with our hands but it was soooo hot. How do you guys squeeze it?

Heavy rubber gloves from Lowes. Still hot, but doable.

Everyone agrees - babies, beauties, chinese, cabbies, bees, honkeys, ponies, junkies, pixies, grannies, goalies, bunnies, birdies, and donkeys - For the beer to please, you gotta SQUEEZE!!!!! Oh....and BOOBIES!

Seriously, though, I've been doing BIAB for about 30+ batches and always squeeze the bejesus out of the bag, and have NEVER had any off flavors as a result, just good beer!

It puts a little more debris into the wort, but I think the boost in efficiency is worth it.

Yeah, I don't think it's possible to squeeze tannins out. What might be possible is squeezing hard enough that grain husks etc. get into the wort, and when those get too hot, it can lead to undesirable tannins. That's always been my theory anyhow.

Squeeze.
I have a large Colander that fits over a bucket. I let the bag drip over the kettle until it slows down enough to move to the colander. I set it in the colander and then press with the lid from my kettle. I usually get about 1 gallon or so out of it.

I have done this with every batch. I have had not problems.

Do any of you sparge after squeezing using BIAB?

I didn't. Doesn't seem necessary.

AgentHubcap said:

Do any of you sparge after squeezing using BIAB?

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I've done that. I tried doing a dunk sparge with some success, then I tried the pour thru with hot water with some success and then I tried a cold water pour through. I like the cold water best and got my best efficiency that way because I rinsed some of the sugar out with it but also cooled the grain so I could really squeeze without burning my hands. The grain came out really dry that way.

AgentHubcap said:

Do any of you sparge after squeezing using BIAB?

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I sparge prior to squeezing it. I "sparge" in my boiling kettle, then squeeze into my "mash tun" after the first round has been tossed in the BK. I usually collect between a half a gallon and a full gallon, depending on the size of the brew.

I "sparge" in my boiling kettle, then squeeze into my "mash tun" after the first round has been tossed in the BK. I usually collect between a half a gallon and a full gallon, depending on the size of the brew.

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I'm not sure it is technically BIAB anymore if you use two vessels.

TopherM said:

I'm not sure it is technically BIAB anymore if you use two vessels.

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It isn't but the BIAB police tend to look the other way if you slip them a drink.

Find 2 matching buckets,drill a bunch of 1/2 inch holes in the bottom of 1.nest these 2 bucket together,the holy one on top of course.Lift your bag clear and hold for a minute until the fast running wort is done,then slip your nested bucket underneath.Set these on the floor and press down on the bag to squeeze the wort into the second bucket.I usually then let it sit and drain naturally for a while as I bring my brew up to boil temps then toss it in,Works great.
Tip 1:the buckets tend to suck together so I cut a small notch in the top bucket to allow a small length of tubing to go down the outsice and into the other bucket to avoid the vacuum.Follow?
2: those wierd looking slicone oven mitts work great for all things hot!

I BIAB, squeeze the crap out of the bag (silicone gloves) while it sits on two cookie cooling racks over the boil kettle, and then I dunk sparge in another pot (10m @ 170F), combine the two, and then give it another hardcore squeezing. My efficiency is pretty consistently ~82%. Never had an issue with tannins- temperature and pH are the big factors there.

I only squeeze enough to get to my desired pre-boil volume. Generally all it needs is a quick gentle squeeze.