BIAB, last time in the house for me

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jflongo

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Well maybe, need to get a bigger bag. I cannot express the importance of having a big enough bag to go around the entire top, if you are doing this by yourself. I got a pretty big bag today, but it was a lot longer than wide, so it didn't cover the whole top of my 30 quart pot. It was a pain in the rear to dump grain in and stir all by myself, lesson learned. I'm doing the initial 60 minute mash right now, so just venting at myself a little :(
 
I just tie a knot in my bag all the way at the top like you would with steeping grains. As long as the grain has room to move around I figure it shouldn't be a problem. Hasn't been for me yet.
 
I guess i'll see tomorrow how it goes, and hope that it starts bubbling away. I really need a wort chiller.
 
I use paint stariner bags at home depot, 2 for 7 bucks. Reusable, Easy to clean and fit my pot perfectly. Have a bungie cord near by if I think the grain might pull the bag in.
 
I found that same thing out last night - grain bag was too small. It fit great in my 5gal pot, but would not fit my 7gal. I cut the top of mine and used five binder clips to hold it on to the edges of the pot. I also found that 16lbs of grain is a pain in the shoulders to hold up and drip. Definitely not doing a shoulder day at the gym till the end of the week.
 
As my pot increased, I ended up with my bag being about 2" too narrow to get around my pot, but everything seems to be working fine regardless. I clip off two sides then hold the bag open with one hand in a triangle shape and dump the grain bill with the other. Going somewhat slowly at first, I haven't really had a problem. Ultimately, the bag size is a matter of convenience at the pour in stage. I might go to pour my grains into a large bowl, then scooping them in with a pitcher I suppose if I felt the bill was too high to sneak in there. When I am finished loading the grains, I mix it up well and then clip off to one side. Too easy.
 
I think I'm going to get a bigger bag, I believe the one I bought was 19 x 24. I'll get a 24 x 24 one next time. But there will be NO next time IN my house :) I spilled some of the wort on the stove, the stove was so hot, from the burner being on, that it seems impossible to get off, wife isn't too happy about that. Also my 30 quart pot is just too big/tall, having a microwave above my stove.

Next time i'll do this on a turkey burner in my garage. Airlock isn't bubbling yet, hopefully later today it will start. Wort was about 75 degress, but the yeast packet may still have been a hair cold when i put it in yesterday evening.

I sure did learn a lot yesterday though, good and bad :eek:
 
Just checked and the airlock is bubbling now, and it's been less than 18 hours so that's good.

I'm also looking out for a used or on sale 10 gallon beverage cooler, to start doing mashes in the future.
 
jflongo said:
I think I'm going to get a bigger bag, I believe the one I bought was 19 x 24. I'll get a 24 x 24 one next time. But there will be NO next time IN my house :) I spilled some of the wort on the stove, the stove was so hot, from the burner being on, that it seems impossible to get off, wife isn't too happy about that. Also my 30 quart pot is just too big/tall, having a microwave above my stove.

Next time i'll do this on a turkey burner in my garage. Airlock isn't bubbling yet, hopefully later today it will start. Wort was about 75 degress, but the yeast packet may still have been a hair cold when i put it in yesterday evening.

I sure did learn a lot yesterday though, good and bad :eek:
Click to expand...

Moving your brewing out side is a good idea if you want to stay married. I don't know what your stovetop is made out of but you can try using some Barkeeper's Friend on it or make a small batch of PBW and boil it and then dip a rag in the hot PBW solution and lay it on top of the mess you made and leave it there for a while. You can keep spooning hot PBW onto the rag if it starts cooling off. I had a starter boil over onto our new gas stove, luckily the wife wasn't home, so I took the burners off and soaked them in hot PBW for a while and the burnt sugars came right off after a couple hours of soaking.
 
What I do is lightly wet my stove top with water while doing a boil. It keeps the surface temp down and if anything spills, there's enough moisture on it that it'll wipe right up with a rag.
 

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