Why doesn't everyone just BIAB?

looked at your set up earlier......
you have a great set up which shows you put some good thinking into developing it.

i 'm considering moving to this set up but have some reservations..cons: #1 i have this thing about using plastic in a heated solution....plastics migrate in heat as well as cold. i'm thinking a cooler isn't made of food grade plastic which is supposed to be stable or more stable than non food grade. #2 need a pump...
i guess the best scenario is a S.S. cooler or buying some 4" styrene making a insulation box with a top to house the mash tun during mashing. this would get me around the plastic thing i don't feel comfortable about.

that fold up rack is a bomb.....saving for that!

again, great job putting this together!

GD51

A cooler is made from HDPE. That's as close to food grade (and used for food grade products) as you're going to get.

gizmodog51 said:

looked at your set up earlier......
you have a great set up which shows you put some good thinking into developing it.

i 'm considering moving to this set up but have some reservations..cons: #1 i have this thing about using plastic in a heated solution....plastics migrate in heat as well as cold. i'm thinking a cooler isn't made of food grade plastic which is supposed to be stable or more stable than non food grade. #2 need a pump...
i guess the best scenario is a S.S. cooler or buying some 4" styrene making a insulation box with a top to house the mash tun during mashing. this would get me around the plastic thing i don't feel comfortable about.

that fold up rack is a bomb.....saving for that!

again, great job putting this together!

GD51

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As Denny said, the coolers are safe.

As well, if you're doing a no sparge BIAB, your strike water will generally be lower; my strike water is normally about 160* .


As for the pump, it's not really necessary. I only use it because I had it from my single tier setup.

Jimmy_B said:

As Denny said, the coolers are safe.

As well, if you're doing a no sparge BIAB, your strike water will generally be lower; my strike water is normally about 160* .

As for the pump, it's not really necessary. I only use it because I had it from my single tier setup.

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I use coolers but have often wondered about their inertness. Is there a source to confirm their food worthiness at mashing temperatures?

I do both BIAB and 3 vessel system.

Depending on my mood and recipe, sometimes it's preferential for the simplicity of BIAB.

logdrum said:

I use coolers but have often wondered about their inertness. Is there a source to confirm their food worthiness at mashing temperatures?

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Look up the qualities of HDPE.

Are all-grain vs. extract and glass vs. plastic the Pepsi/Coke of this forum?

I'm a bit of a gun nut so it's the same for AK vs. AR, Colt vs. Glock on other forums. Things seem to get contentious when a lot of time and resources are invested in a passion. Everyone's got their preference for their own reasons. The point is to enjoy the differences in approach and be civil.

Arrheinous said:

Are all-grain vs. extract and glass vs. plastic the Pepsi/Coke of this forum?

I'm a bit of a gun nut so it's the same for AK vs. AR, Colt vs. Glock on other forums. Things seem to get contentious when a lot of time and resources are invested in a passion. Everyone's got their preference for their own reasons. The point is to enjoy the differences in approach and be civil.

Click to expand...

i agree whole heartedly. this form shouldn't be a venue to defend each brewers preference's but a forum of exchange, of ideas, trials & errors and support to each other in the pursuit of juice of the barely!

GD51

Jimmy_B said:

My all grain adventures started out on a 3 vessel single tier system. Brew days were long, there was a lot of lifting involved for cleaning, extra time spent cleaning, more steps involved, the possibility of a stuck sparge, etc.

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In your set up you still have to clean 2 things, the tun, and the BK which is the same as what I have to do in a three pot system. The benefit of the HLT is lots of hot water on demand, it doesn't need cleaning. Having this hot water on demand speeds up a brew day when you mash out, to get your preboil volume up to boil temp too. I fail to see the time/cleaning savings you get by using a bag instead of false bottom.

In my false bottom set up I batch sparge wide open too.

Nothing wrong with your setup or anything I just don't see how it is a time saver. On my rig I can crank out an 11G brew day in about 4 hours, what are you getting? i.e. you can't brew "faster" with BIAB than another system. You still need to mash, boil, chill.

I have no issue with BIAB because that is what gets a lot of new guys into all grain (did for me too). It is a great way to set up on the cheap and brew. However I wouldn't consider your setup BIAB, I would call that a 2 pot system with a BIAB bag instead of a false bottom. BIAB is typically a 1 pot setup that you use the bag in to mash, followed by your boil. No tun or HLT.

CidahMastah said:

In your set up you still have to clean 2 things, the tun, and the BK which is the same as what I have to do in a three pot system. The benefit of the HLT is lots of hot water on demand, it doesn't need cleaning. Having this hot water on demand speeds up a brew day when you mash out, to get your preboil volume up to boil temp too. I fail to see the time/cleaning savings you get by using a bag instead of false bottom.

In my false bottom set up I batch sparge wide open too.

Nothing wrong with your setup or anything I just don't see how it is a time saver. On my rig I can crank out an 11G brew day in about 4 hours, what are you getting? i.e. you can't brew "faster" with BIAB than another system. You still need to mash, boil, chill.

I have no issue with BIAB because that is what gets a lot of new guys into all grain (did for me too). It is a great way to set up on the cheap and brew. However I wouldn't consider your setup BIAB, I would call that a 2 pot system with a BIAB bag instead of a false bottom. BIAB is typically a 1 pot setup that you use the bag in to mash, followed by your boil. No tun or HLT.

Click to expand...

It's still brewing in a bag - just not a single vessel.

If I had a practical way to do a single vessel BIAB and maintain mash temperature while I'm out grocery shopping, etc. I would. I only recently started using the cooler because my keggle was losing way too much heat. With that being said, the cooler BIAB setup allows for more flexibility because I CAN sparge if I want to, freeing up space in the cooler for a larger batch or a higher gravity brew. The extra time required for the cooler BIAB vs standard BIAB is VERY minimal. With this method I can brew a batch is 3.5hrs from setup to everything cleaned and put away...there's no way I was doing that on my old 3 vessel system.

As for cleaning the mash tun...There's no need to scoop grain out of the cooler or get in the nooks & crannies - just pull the bag out and all that's left in the cooler is a bit of wort. A quick spray will clean it out completely. It's literally a 1 minute procedure.

It all comes down to what works best for you. This is my 3rd variation of brewing that I've used (3 vessel single tier, 1 vessel BIAB, 2 vessel BIAB), and for me, it works the best.

Jimmy_B said:

It's still brewing in a bag - just not a single vessel.

If I had a practical way to do a single vessel BIAB and maintain mash temperature while I'm out grocery shopping, etc. I would. I only recently started using the cooler because my keggle was losing way too much heat. With that being said, the cooler BIAB setup allows for more flexibility because I CAN sparge if I want to, freeing up space in the cooler for a larger batch or a higher gravity brew. The extra time required for the cooler BIAB vs standard BIAB is VERY minimal. With this method I can brew a batch is 3.5hrs from setup to everything cleaned and put away...there's no way I was doing that on my old 3 vessel system.

As for cleaning the mash tun...There's no need to scoop grain out of the cooler or get in the nooks & crannies - just pull the bag out and all that's left in the cooler is a bit of wort. A quick spray will clean it out completely. It's literally a 1 minute procedure.

It all comes down to what works best for you. This is my 3rd variation of brewing that I've used (3 vessel single tier, 1 vessel BIAB, 2 vessel BIAB), and for me, it works the best.

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Totally fine this works the best for you. I commented because I don't believe there are any significant time or cleaning savings between the rigs (especially since you clean your tun/cooler while the boil is going). As you pointed out there are personal preferences which matter the most to each brewer

You pull a bag out, I dump my tun (we both spray with a hose). Both are literally a couple minutes to do. Tippy dumps take out the lifting for 3 pot system users.

I agree on the heat loss issue in the mash, but I don't personally like plastic so I opted to build an eherms and insulated my stainless kettles. Again a personal preference only.

I would guess that your 3.5hrs vs. my 4hrs would be heating time differences [I heat use 25g in my HLT and do 11G batches] . In either case a 30 minute difference isn't super significant in my book.

If I plan ahead a little I can wrap up a 60 min boil brew in just over 3 hours by prepping the night before (cleaned and put away). I am not trying to say I can brew faster, rather that I can get away with a batch with the wife easier because I can split up my time to less in one given day.

Happy brewing

Yooper said:

That's fine, that you're speaking from personal experience. But I think that I'd quit brewing if I had 8 hour brew days!

Depending on if I'm fly sparging or batch sparging, my brewdays vary from 4-4.5 hours total, including clean up.

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Yooper, please review for me how you do an all-grain batch in 4.5 hrs. I'm not doubting you or trying to trap you, rather I'd like to get my sessions down to that short. I'm a 3-vessel brewer and even on my best days I'm in it 5.5 hrs.

thanks

Beavdowg said:

Yooper, please review for me how you do an all-grain batch in 4.5 hrs. I'm not doubting you or trying to trap you, rather I'd like to get my sessions down to that short. I'm a 3-vessel brewer and even on my best days I'm in it 5.5 hrs.

thanks

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I totally agree if I had 8 hour brew days I would hardly be able to brew.

I don't know yoopers process but I can tell you what I do to get those same length brew days.

Doing 5 gallon all grain and batch sparging I average probably about 4-4.5 hours with cleanup. The trick for me is good preperation and multitasking. l always have the next step ready to go and I utilize my mash and boil time to clean up what I can and prepare other things like my yeast. I weigh out and crush my grains while my strike water is heating up. While I'm mashing I weigh out and divide up my hop additions and whatever else ill need for the boil. I start heating up my first runnings as im doing my sparge. I find little things like that add up to a huge amount of time in the end. I'm huge on efficiency, I can't stand taking 5-6 hours to do something I know I could do in less time. Some people enjoy kicking back and having an all day brewing event...not this guy. Hope you find that helpful.

Thanks Thirsty. So, I am always trying to do all those time savings things too but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I should clarify, I said I'm a 3-vessel brewer which, technically, I am, but I'm also a single burner guy. I think that's a big time adder. My "HLT" is really a 7.5 gal pot that I bring my water to temp in and then lift up by hand and pour into my MLT for both strike and sparge water. So I can't start my boil kettle for the boil until I'm draining my 2nd sparge as the only burner I have is being utilized to heat sparge water. I really would love to build a true 3 vessel, single tier, electric system but I just don't have the electrical knowledge or welding expertise to build such a monster. That's sort of my dream system though.

I do 5 gallon BIAB batches in under 4 1/2 hours on a stove. Straddling 2 gas burners I can get the nearly 7 gallons of water I need to a rolling boil. While I'm mashing, I'm getting things cleaned and 'starsanned' and even have time to relax a bit.
After the mash, I take half the grains out (as the bag is too heavy to lift) and use a Lowe's paint bucket and another bag to hold the wet grains while they drain. I then lift the bag out the kettle and set on a colander to drain, light the fire (and FWH if desired).
Sometimes I need to mini sparge to get to my liquid level and I squeeze the bags well too. As it's starting to boil, I get my hops ready. Before and during the hop additions, I clean the grain bags and other things I've dirtied and prepare the fermenter for use.
I could go on but the only time it takes me longer is a few months in the summer when chilling my beer goes from 15 minutes to 35-35 (painful). Included in this time is mopping the kitchen so my wonderful wife won't beat me up.

I do 5.5 gal. batch sparged brews on a single burner in 4-4.5 hours from the time I start drawing water til the time I finish the cleanup. Grain crushed the day before.

Denny, would you please list out the approximate times it takes you to do each step as clearly I'm screwing something up. My grains are always crushed before brewday as I have them crushed at the brewstore.

I'll try....

Heat the mash water as I organize other things...put the pickup tube in the kettle, get out the fermenter, get my water addition ready...maybe 20 min.

Mash in and rest...about 65 min. Meanwhile start heating sparge water, sanitize fermenter, clean off IC

Vorluf and runoff mash, take first runnings gravity sample, stir in sparge water, vorlauf again, runoff sparge...about 15 min., 20 if I'm slow

Bring 7.5-8 gal. wort to boil....maybe 20 min.

Boil for 75 min., starting hops after 15

Chill to 60F....about 15, maybe 20 min.

xfer to fermenter, pitch yeast, aerate...maybe 15 min.

cleanup whatever i haven't cleaned as I went...20-30 min.

I think that all....just over 4 hours if I added right.

I figure I will throw in my 3:15 minute brew day in the mix, which turns into about 4hrs when I don't do some of the night before prep I listed below. This is for 11G batch

1. Fill HLT the previous night and turn on the heat set to 180F and heat (fill 2 more 5 gallon buckets with water) Shut off once at 180F and hit the sack.
2. Prebag grain previous day
3. Morning of brew day flick on HLT, mine is well insulated, so it only take a few minutes to reach 180F. (15mins)
4. while hlt is heating up, crush grain.
5. put in 180F into HLT and use cold water to offset to strike temp. (5-10 mins)
6. Mash in (start clock) (60 mins)
7. Add cold water to HLT to offset heat from 180 to mash temp (say 154F), set recirc, etc. (this lets me get my HLT nearly full for the use of my eherms)
8. in last 10 minutes of mash, shut off recirc and heat HLT to 180F
9. at end of mash, add full volume of batch sparge water for preboil volume, stir, vourlaf one minute and transfer. (10-15 mins)
10. Boil, chill, clean, etc. (bring to boil (15?), 60 to boil, 15 to chill; 10 to transfer; 15 to clean BK)

(I prep hops, yeast, and clean the tun in the down time of the boil)

number 3-10 (which I would do on a brew day) can be accomplished by me in a little over three hours (~3:15).

My times are estimates for each process but I must be wrong because they don't add up. I do know I started my bitter brew day at 8:45 and was done at 12:00pm.

An 8 hour brew day would be hell. If I wanted to keep brewing I knew I would have to learn to speed it up or my wife would not be having it.

First I have to say that brew day is not a chore nor is there any reason to try to rush through it. I like to brew with a friend and usually we brew a 10 gallon batch and each take 5 gallons home to ferment and bottle.

Still, I'm about 4.5 hours on a 5.5 gallon batch and 5 hours on an 11 gallon batch. That's from taking the kettle out for heating water to putting the last thing away and drinking and socializing as much as possible while its all going on. I think the big variable is how much time it takes to heat water. Since I got my high pressure burner, it's shaved a good hour off the process. I only have one burner but don't find that to be much of an issue.

It takes about 20 minutes to get 7.5 gallons to strike temperature of 170F. During that time I get out all the mash equipment and set it up.
My grain is ground at the LHBS. I add the water then the grain to the Rubbermade mash tun and now I have 60 minutes to socialize and drink beer though I do have to get another 7.5 gallons of water to my mash out temperature of 180F.
Getting the first run out takes about 20 minutes. Then I add about 6 gallons of the sparge water, stir and let it set about 10 minutes.
Here is a time saver, during that 10 minutes I put the first run on the burner and start getting it to the boil. I run the second runnings into the BK while its still heating. As the water level drops to just above grain level I add the 1.5 gallons of sparge water that is left, careful not to disturb the grain bed. The process for the second runnings is also about 20 minutes, but when I'm done the BK isn't too far from boiling, say another 10 minutes for about 13 gallons of wort.
The boil is 60 minutes. Again more time for drinking and socializing. On a cool evening its nice to huddle around the BK on the deck. Now is a good time to bring out the starsan and get things sterilizing as well as the chillers.
Cooling the wort is a pain, this process can be shortened. I'm still using an immersion chiller. Actually I use two. One is in an ice bucket so the hose water is chilled going into the one that's chilling the wort. This process still takes a good 30 minutes for a 10 gallon batch, half that for a 5 gallon batch.
Draining the BK into the fermentors is about 30 minutes. This includes giving it a chance to settle after the chiller comes out.
So let's see, that's 20+60+20+10+10+60+30+30 so far for 4 hours on a 10 gallon batch. There is a few minutes between some of these steps, and I am drinking the whole time too, so say 4.5 hours to get the fermentors set and loaded with yeast. 30 minutes for cleanup.

A brew buddy helps make the whole day more fun though doesn't speed the process a lot. I enjoy brew day, it's not a race, however you do it, just enjoy.

I've done BIAB and I currently use a 3 vessel system. Handling a back of 170f grains that's heavy as hell (I brew big beers, and a 5.5G batch has 15+lb of grain and 15+ lbs of water absorbed in it) and is a sticky mess is my primary reason for not doing it.

One more vessel to clean is preferable to me then handling that mess. The pulley system would probably help this, but getting the right bag, making sure you have the right crush, setting up a pulley, and still getting slightly less extraction from your grain makes me glad that I do it the traditional way.

I understand that for money or other reasons though, another vessel isn't always an option, but if it is, it's preferable to me..and as yooper mentioned, it adds the flexibility of herms for temperature control.

"

Still, I'm about 4.5 hours on a 5.5 gallon batch and 5 hours on an 11 gallon batch.

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"

That's super fast. I need at least an hour to clean after I pitch, and that's usually about 45minutes from flameout. I also do 90minute mashes and 90 minute boils. I realize I could save an hour right there, but like you, I'm not in a race, so I prefer the results of the long mash and long boil.

jbaysurfer said:

" "

That's super fast. I need at least an hour to clean after I pitch, and that's usually about 45minutes from flameout. I also do 90minute mashes and 90 minute boils. I realize I could save an hour right there, but like you, I'm not in a race, so I prefer the results of the long mash and long boil.

Click to expand...

Maybe its in the clean up where another set of hands is helping cut the time.

Frogmanx82 said:

Maybe its in the clean up where another set of hands is helping cut the time.

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Yeah, probably. I did do an entire brewday in just under 5 hours once. But I WAS trying to be as efficient and fast as possible, but in the end, my attitude is a bit like yours: It's a hobby, it's fun, it's not a race. So now I just block out 8 hours and if I'm done in 6 I'm pretty stoked.

Still kudo's on your process, sounds dialed and efficient.

Knocked out a BIAB in 5 hours last night after work.


That being said I'll never do it after work again. After a 10 hour day plus the brew I was exhausted. Still, 5 hours with cleaning and sanitizing ain't bad for a 700sq ft apartment home brew.

Here's my 4-4.5 hour BIAB brewday in a nutshell. This assumes a 60 minute mash and boil, I crush the night before, and (if I need to be fast) don't drink too much while brewing haha.

Sometimes I don't mashout if I'm short on time. I suggest writing down all of your steps and look for places to save time such as gathering equipment while strike water is heating etc. This goes for BIAB or Traditional 3 vessel.

I use a mash tun made from a 52 quart cooler that has a stainless grill fitted to the bottom. The grill rides about 1/4 of an inch from the bottom and fits against all four walls. The one end has been shaped so it rests on top of the inner spigot. The spigot has been replaced with a CPVC valve. Before mashing I fit a Voile curtain into the cooler so it fits against the walls and flat to the grill on the bottom.

Once the cooler is preheated I drain the water, dump in my water then dough in the grains. Never had the voile come off the walls or away from the bottom even with vigorous mixing. After a good batch sparge I tilt the cooler to get out the small amount of bottom runnings.

The curtain panel lifts out (still have enough muscle left for 12-13 pond grain bills.LOL) and is usually pretty well drained.

I quess this is a hybrid method, but it gives me great numbers on the hydrometer and am always in the 80% range.

bosco

My brewday is really fast.

Yeast starter made at least 36 hours in advance.
About 10 minutes of setup (getting the propane burner out, carrying up the equipment from the basement.
Then 5-10 minutes measuring ingredients (typically done the night before)
15-20 minutes heating strike water. The last few minutes of this I preheat my mash tun with the hot water from my faucet.
Mash for 1 hour. During this time I heat sparge water and mixup starsan in my fermenter.
Batch sparge (less than 10 minutes with the drain, add water, stir like a mad man, drain again)
Boil for 1 hour. During this time I clean my mash tun and put away all equipment not needed (IE bowls for hops after the addition, etc).
Cool the wort for 15 minutes (During this time I take everything out of the fermenter and fill a spray bottle with starsan from the fermenter)
Whirlpool wort for 10-15 minutes
Transfer wort to fermenter 2-3 minutes tops
Decant and pitch yeast (1 minute tops?)
Move fermenter into basement and attach airlock.
Clean boil kettle (around 10 minutes)

Total time is a little over 4 hours, sometimes a little under 4 hours. The trick is to clean as you go, not to brew then clean.

DonMagee said:

My brewday is really fast.

Yeast starter made at least 36 hours in advance.
About 10 minutes of setup (getting the propane burner out, carrying up the equipment from the basement.
Then 5-10 minutes measuring ingredients (typically done the night before)
15-20 minutes heating strike water. The last few minutes of this I preheat my mash tun with the hot water from my faucet.
Mash for 1 hour. During this time I heat sparge water and mixup starsan in my fermenter.
Batch sparge (less than 10 minutes with the drain, add water, stir like a mad man, drain again)
Boil for 1 hour. During this time I clean my mash tun and put away all equipment not needed (IE bowls for hops after the addition, etc).
Cool the wort for 15 minutes (During this time I take everything out of the fermenter and fill a spray bottle with starsan from the fermenter)
Whirlpool wort for 10-15 minutes
Transfer wort to fermenter 2-3 minutes tops
Decant and pitch yeast (1 minute tops?)
Move fermenter into basement and attach airlock.
Clean boil kettle (around 10 minutes)

Total time is a little over 4 hours, sometimes a little under 4 hours. The trick is to clean as you go, not to brew then clean.

Click to expand...

Thread drift.....but I'm glad you're so fast. Some things can't be cleaned as you go...like a kettle (which I soak for 30minutes in PBW with my IC), a pump an IC, tubing, fittings, burners, starter container, the floor, the towels etc...and also, while it's ideal to multi task, there's a modicum of attention that has to be paid to whats going on during the brew itself..but that's just my experience.

I have no problem with my brewday process or timetable. I know I have room to improve, but again, it's not a race. It's a craft afterall. Stoked you guys have it so well dialed....and btw, I DO BIAB sometimes, and have done that hybrid bag/false bottom thing before too, but I found the bag to be an unneccesary step.

BTW, whether you do stuff the day before or not (starter, crush grain etc) I still count it as part of my brewday, because it's required work. But that's just me.

My BIAB IPA scored a 36 in the MALT Turkeyshoot contest this year. Didn't win, place, or show, but it apparently "advanced to a mini-BOS round," whatever that is. My highest score was a 38, and no flaws were documented other than a lack of balance noted by one judge (which I thought was a good thing for an American IPA, but OK).

Takes me 4-5 hours start-finish and I don't stress about it along the way.

i built a 3 vessel single tier system from a partial boil extract system after about 2 brews. EBIAB is intriguing to me but i think the weight keeps me from trying it. but i love seeing the process evolve.

chalkdust41485 said:

If/when I move to a 10+ gallon brew, then I'd definitely have to move to a three vessel system. I agree with you there!

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or get a bayou classic 20.5 gallon kettle. Works great every time

boscobeans said:

I use a mash tun made from a 52 quart cooler that has a stainless grill fitted to the bottom. The grill rides about 1/4 of an inch from the bottom and fits against all four walls. The one end has been shaped so it rests on top of the inner spigot. The spigot has been replaced with a CPVC valve. Before mashing I fit a Voile curtain into the cooler so it fits against the walls and flat to the grill on the bottom.

Once the cooler is preheated I drain the water, dump in my water then dough in the grains. Never had the voile come off the walls or away from the bottom even with vigorous mixing. After a good batch sparge I tilt the cooler to get out the small amount of bottom runnings.

The curtain panel lifts out (still have enough muscle left for 12-13 pond grain bills.LOL) and is usually pretty well drained.

I quess this is a hybrid method, but it gives me great numbers on the hydrometer and am always in the 80% range.

bosco

Click to expand...

I just ordered my cooler today, and this is exactly what I plan on doing; mash in cooler with voile curtain. Two reasons for me are: 1) being able to maintain temp--which was a problem in my last brew day since it was low 30's outside, and 2) not having to mess around with lifting the grain by myself. I suppose a third reason for this is not having to mill the grain at home with my cheap mill--it does work, but it takes time and muscle...again, this is saving me some me time by not having to continue to reheat pot, and having to mill grains for 45 minutes.

So are you going to put a ball valve on the cooler to drain it? I still use a cooler for my mashtun on bigger brews and just wrap the stainless steel braid with voile cloth from a curtain. This gives me very clear runnings from the start and I have never had a stuck sparge.

msa8967 said:

So are you going to put a ball valve on the cooler to drain it? I still use a cooler for my mashtun on bigger brews and just wrap the stainless steel braid with voile cloth from a curtain. This gives me very clear runnings from the start and I have never had a stuck sparge.

Click to expand...

Yes, already have the SS ball valve as I was going to add it to my 10.5G pot, but since there is really no need to add it to the pot at this very moment, I might just add it to the cooler to drain back into the pot.

I was going back and forth regarding the SS braid. If I just use the viola curtain, I don't see a huge need to do so. But, I just might add one and experiment with and w/out it.

I initially tried things with the curtain and found it was much harder to stir the mash evenly with the curtain. Just my experiences with it.

msa8967 said:

I initially tried things with the curtain and found it was much harder to stir the mash evenly with the curtain. Just my experiences with it.

Click to expand...

Hmmm...well, you've just given me a reason to go ahead and make the braid. If I'm going this far, why not?

By the way, if it weren't BIAB, I would not have gotten this far. I've only done one BIAB, and before that, AG just seemed too complicated with all the equipment and water/grain ratios. But once you do just one BIAB, you can see how easy it is to make the transition to AG. Now, I'm taking one more small step and will begin batch sparging in a mash tun. There's still a lot more to learn I know, but I now have the confidence to know that I CAN do it w/batch sparging method. Did not think I would get to AG just a month ago.

Kudos to BIAB.

subbed for later research

I don't because I don't feel like lifting all that grain my last batch was 20 gallons and around 50lbs of grain before adding water. Plus because of the fine weather in upstate new york at the moment I mash inside and then have to boil outside. I moved the water out to the BK 5 gallons at a time, their is no way I could move it all at once. The total brew day took about 5 hrs.

When I went AG, I built the 10 gallon round cooler mush tun and enjoyed the process, but from there I went to BIAB for my 5 gallon batches. I can also make 10 gallons. I can lift the grain out with my pulley system, as I brew in my garage.