Grill grate for a bag rest?

I'm prepping for my first BIAB batch in a few weeks. I'm considering buying a grill cooking grate to use in lieu of a pulley for the grain bag. I would lift the bag, slide the grate onto the kettle, and rest the bag on it to let it drain. Does anyone foresee a potential problem with this? I'm brewing a 5 gal ESB, so it won't be a huge grain bill.

The only problem I've seen with this method is when the bag rests its footprint spreads wider than the pot which creates quite the mess. I've tried lots of configurations and found that a large bowl with holes drill for sparging and a pulley system for draining is the way to go for me.

My opinion fwiw....

A ratchet pulley works great with least potential spillage.

If I couldn't do a pulley, i think I would try a 5 gallon bucket with a small overturned colander or sauce pot or stainless mixing bowl in the bottom, just something / anything to keep the bag off the bottom of the bucket so the grain bag will drain.

Place the bucket directly adjacent to the kettle, when the flow out of the bag diminishes, or before your arms get too tired place the grain bag in the bucket and allow it to drain for 20 minutes while you approach boil....

Just a simple effective idea I've seen, and you likely already have the materials.

Some love using a grill grate idk.

Go with a pulley. It will make your brew day much easier.

I use a large colander in a huge mixing bowl. Even though the bag overhangs the sides and drizzles down the side of the colander, it works.

I have a basket that fits into the kettle> i put the bag in the basket then when done mashing (also in the kettle) i lift the basket and slide the grill under it. Works perfectly with no mess.

Do you have any ratcheting tie down straps on hand? I use those to the same effect as a pulley. Didn't have to buy anything new.

Let me get this straight,BIAB'ers hoist the bag then let it drain out in a different container,then dump that liquid back in the BK?? I let the bag hang for 20 minutes above the BK to drain most of the liquid then test my man toughness squeezing the hot bag to get out the most liquid possible,THEN put in a different bucket and dump after brew day.Theres usually only a couple pints of liquid in the bottom of the bucket.Transferring a fresh out of the BK bag seems messy?
To the OP,the bag will most likely touch the pot so if you crank it up and think a flat grill will work it most likely wont.I need to crank it up above the liquid,let drain a bit,crank again,let drain and so on or the bag and liquid will overflow the sides.

chuckcomm said:

I have a basket that fits into the kettle> i put the bag in the basket then when done mashing (also in the kettle) i lift the basket and slide the grill under it. Works perfectly with no mess.

Click to expand...

This is what I do as well. Then take a pot lid to squeeze out the last drop

chuckcomm said:

I have a basket that fits into the kettle> i put the bag in the basket then when done mashing (also in the kettle) i lift the basket and slide the grill under it. Works perfectly with no mess.

Click to expand...

Curious what basket.Between the the basket and bag I got major temp differences from inside the bag/basket to the outside,like 10 deg.I bailed on the basket and all is working fine without it and just using the bag

Double post

chuckcomm said:

I have a basket that fits into the kettle> i put the bag in the basket then when done mashing (also in the kettle) i lift the basket and slide the grill under it. Works perfectly with no mess.

Click to expand...

I do this too.

I actually use the grill grate and it works great! It makes for a nice surface to squeeze the Iiquid out. Just give the bags a few good spins to get a tight ball and place it on the grate. So far I haven't had any mess using this method

This is what I use. It works awesome.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001320PH2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Thanks for the input, folks. I should have mentioned that I brew on the back patio, which is wide open, with no available anchor points for a pulley. I do not own a step ladder that is tall enough to hold a bag above the kettle. I think the grill will work if I can find a way to cinch the top of the bag into a tight ball, so it doesn't spread out beyond the edge of the kettle. Or I'll shop around for a colander that is close to the same diameter as my kettle.

Anderbrau said:

Thanks for the input, folks. I should have mentioned that I brew on the back patio, which is wide open, with no available anchor points for a pulley. I do not own a step ladder that is tall enough to hold a bag above the kettle. I think the grill will work if I can find a way to cinch the top of the bag into a tight ball, so it doesn't spread out beyond the edge of the kettle. Or I'll shop around for a colander that is close to the same diameter as my kettle.

Click to expand...

Theres always this amazingly awesome hoist that works like a charm and has mad street cred

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=508766

I use a grill grate on my
15 gallon kettle and it works great. Never lost more than a few drops in 5 batches and it is super easy to squeeze the hell out of the bag with thermal gloves.

Anderbrau said:

I do not own a step ladder that is tall enough to hold a bag above the kettle.

Click to expand...

Help me understand this. How tall is the ladder you have? Reason I ask is that I'm able to hoist a bag with a ratcheting pulley from a 62 quart (15.5 gallon) Bayou Classic with an anchor point that's eye level. I'm only 5'7", so that puts the anchor point at no more than 5'4".This is for 5 gallon batches, and it's a really big bag.

If you don't have a really tall burner stand (most are pretty short), and your step ladder is of the very common 6' variety, you should have more than enough room to hoist.

First time I used grate, and bag fell over side of brew kettle. Now I use the slotted pizza pan and hole-drilled 5 gal bucket. I also sparge thru that bucket right into the BK to get pre-boil volume. I only hoist if I don't have an extra hand that moment (only hoisted once so far).

A collander works very well. No extra pots/buckets needed. No mess.

If I had space for a hoist and pulley I would absolutely go that route. I don't so a collander is a good workaround.



Get one sized sightly wider than the BK diameter. (16" and 14" in my situation)

JONNYROTTEN said:

Curious what basket.Between the the basket and bag I got major temp differences from inside the bag/basket to the outside,like 10 deg.I bailed on the basket and all is working fine without it and just using the bag

Click to expand...

Its the basket that came with the deep fryer kettle it completely fills the kettle with little room between outside of basket and side of kettle. If there is a temp difference it is minimal.

This thread is a testament to the fact that there are usually a few different ways to accomplish a similar task. What works for one, may not for another....

The grill grate likely works well with a larger kettle and smaller batch, or at least a generously sized kettle, with a 10 gallon batch, 25 lb grain bill and a 15 gallon pot I imagine it could be a challenge.

Where one is brewing is also a consideration, if your outside, spilling half a pint likely doesn't mean too much, while inside on swmbo's new stove, another story.

Some love baskets, some don't go figure....

My grill grate is actually a refrigerator shelf from my kegerator

wilserbrewer said:

My opinion fwiw....

A ratchet pulley works great with least potential spillage.

Some love using a grill grate idk.

Click to expand...

I second this.

I have a grate and have used it for years but ...

Gravity works better than my squeezing, and I can do other things while the bag is draining.

If I didn't have a ratchet pulley for this I would have quit BIAB brewing after the first go around. Pulling the bag up that first 6" is insanely heavy. If I had to do it, then hold the bag up to move the grill/grate in place, I'd make a huge frickin mess. No thanks. Hanging the bag over the kettle also allows me to start running to a boil right away and I can let it sit there dripping with no fear that my bag may be obscuring an imminent boil over.

You can build a tripod gantry with three lengths of 3/4" EMT conduit. Drill a 3/8" hole through all three of them about 1" from the tops. Run some 1/4" steel cable through the holes in a loop and secure with a cable clamp. Put rubber feet over the other ends if it's a patio.