Brew in a Bag Material

First, a quick intro: I've been extract brewing for 4 years now. Plans were always to go to all-grain, but I haven't gotten there yet. Being frustrated with not getting to all-grain yet, I've decided to try brew in a bag.

I went to the fabric store yesterday and picked up 2 yards of three different fabrics. I got them from the bridal fabric area, this was all a strange experience for me.

I'd like some input into if these are what I should be using and in the right way. The plan is to have a finer material inside of a less fine material, with the outer material providing some strength and carrying the weight of the grain.

So, is the fine mesh material used for straining out the grain and particulates, but not the good stuff, number one or number two?

(Coins provided for reference)

Fabric One:


Fabric Two:


Fabric Three (Outer mesh for strength):


Thanks!

My Very Large Grain Bag (VLGB) has a mesh size similar to #2, maybe slightly finer. #1 would probably have clogging problems.

I just noticed some of these products @ HD yesterday. I think they might work for several brewery operations. And you can stay out of the Bridal department!

Number one appears to be some kind of tooling for wedding dresses. FYI, it's also the most expensive. Two yards of these three totalled about 26 bucks.

I guess I would be surprised that clogging would be a problem given the very large surface area available to drian through. The fabric passes water through quite easily.

I'll have to check out HD also.

Perhaps a small experiment is in order?

I have not tried BIAB, so I cannot be of much help regarding the right coarseness for filtration. However, if you are going to double-bag, you should probably use the coarser size as the inner bag. Larger particles will not make it through the inner bag, and the smaller particles will get caught by the outer bag. This is a typical filtration method for other applications.

I would think that the strength of the double bag would be the same (or neglibly different), regardless.

You spent 26 bucks on fabric? You could have bought a cooler from Walmart for a couple more bucks.

I purchased polyester voile. It was on a huge roll at Michael's.
The paint strainer bag is much looser weave in comparison

I asked them about voile, they were less than helpful. So that left me on my own to figure it out. I think what I got looks very similar to yours, though.

That 26 bucks should yield at least 2 very large bags, probably more. And I don't have to buy hardware either. I admit some money was wasted since I bought the 3 different types.

I may build the inner and outer bags separately, that way I can switch the inner and outer.

I guess my point was that you were at least half way to a MLT already. If you went with a Denny Conn braid/bulkhead the hardware would cost about $8. I'm not saying that BIAB is bad, but you'll end up with a cooler mash tun eventually anyway.

Yeah, Bobby is right. You'll end up with a mash/lauter tun out of a cooler, and in my opinion make better beer easier with the cooler. You can do it your way and make good beer however, it isn't the way I would have spent my money.

I appreciate your points, I really do. One of the issues is that in 4 years I have not been able to make the leap to a three vessel all grain system. Various things get in the way, not the least of which are time and space. Thus, I have chosen brew in a bag because it fits what I feel I can accomplish at this point in my life. Will I build a three vessel system in the future, very likely. This is my choice for now.

Still, thank you for your input.

$26 for fabric, I would not even think twice about it. It's fun to experiment with new methods. I intend to do the BIAB method just for kicks as I already have tons of tuns and other assorted brewing stuff lying around.

Report back how it works so I can save some effort!

That's very much why I'm willing to drop some money into this, I want to see what works best within these parameters.

I'm thinking I should get a few pounds of two row already crushed and divide it up to experiment. I'll keep it small scale, just standard pots on the stove.

I just did BIAB this weekend, and I agree with other posters, #2 seems too coarse, but #1 seems too fine. #1 might not be useable even. I would see how well #1 filters water, it looks almost solid. (might just be the pic) You could probably double bag #3 insdie of #2 with some success.

The fabric store shopping was a bit of an experience for me too. Never knew I could be intimidated by "sweet", little old ladies. In the end I found the scraps/clearance hooks and got 3-1/2 yards of white voile. That worked well for me.

Good luck!

We're not fans of the 5 gal paint strainer bags from lowe's/home depot? Lots of folks use those for BIAB and they're "pre-engineered".

That's what I used for my BIAB and it worked fine. I compared it to an Aussie BIAB picture online and mine is a bit finer and they had a basket weave to their fabric. Mine is just polyester voile used for curtain sheers from Joann's fabrics. 1 looks too fine, and 2&3 too course.

Don't let the naysayers sway you...you may never use a cooler. BIAB is not a stepping stone to the multi-vessel system, it is an alternative. It works.

jkpq45 said:

We're not fans of the 5 gal paint strainer bags from lowe's/home depot? Lots of folks use those for BIAB and they're "pre-engineered".

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I think, the thinking is that the paint strainer bags might be a bit restrictive. When I put one on my pot, it only took up about 1/2 of the volume. Maybe that is incorrect thinking, but with 9 lbs of grains, it would have been tight. The great big piece I used for sure was not restricting the water around the grain.

If they work, that's awesome, cause they are pre-engineered, and cheap!

Just as a quick update, I got 58% efficiency with the tightest mesh inside of the loosest mesh (for strength and to protect it from the sharp edges of my keggle). I also failed to do any mashout, which I gather was important. I'm planning another go-round next weekend and will update then.

I want to build a BIAB system for when I travel. The brew-rig is wonderful at my place but not portable, so it would be nice to have a 1 vessel system to brew at a friends house on a propane burner.

Bobby_M said:

You spent 26 bucks on fabric? You could have bought a cooler from Walmart for a couple more less bucks.

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Actually, it costs less than that if you know where to look.


Although I do all-grain and have been thinking about making a huge grain bag to sit inside my MLT, and removing the SS braid.

Daddymem said:

That's what I used for my BIAB and it worked fine. I compared it to an Aussie BIAB picture online and mine is a bit finer and they had a basket weave to their fabric. Mine is just polyester voile used for curtain sheers from Joann's fabrics. 1 looks too fine, and 2&3 too course.

Don't let the naysayers sway you...you may never use a cooler. BIAB is not a stepping stone to the multi-vessel system, it is an alternative. It works.

Click to expand...

Did you use multiple layers, or just one?

I know this is a very old thread, but the idea of men bumbling around a fabric store and getting no help wakes up the mama bear in me and I wanted to shed a little light on the topic.

The photos in your OP are gone, but since you said you got them in the bridal section, I'm going to suppose you wound up with tulle (loosest mesh), chiffon (medium), and organza (tightest weave).

Voile is a fabric you will find in the drapery section of the store. It is nearly identical to chiffon, just called one thing for drapes and a different thing for dresses. However, drapery fabrics come on longer bolts than dress fabrics, so a yard of drape fabric will be about 24 square feet while a yard of dress fabric will be about 12 square feet. So while voile and chiffon are identical, voile will probably wind up cheaper for the same amount.