wilserbrewer BIAB bags

Just wanted to add my positive vote for Wilser, after reading this thread on Monday, I ordered a complete set, and even got an email from Wilser at 4 something AM my time saying he had to add an extra panel due to my 22 gallon pot, but that it was done and ready to ship. They came in yesterday or today and I am totally happy with the quality, speed and responsiveness on the order. I can't wait to brew my first BIAB with them, unfortunately it will probably be a week or two, but I know it is going to rock!

Thanks again Wilser!

Chef Jay

I purchased a 2nd kettle, and went back to wilser for some more bags. The first set I purchased are still performing as new after 6 mos of repeat use.

He worked quickly, and inside of a couple days I have some more high quality bags to use.

I may expand to a third kettle, but not for a few mos I'd image.

Thanks again!

Just an update -

I've used both bags that I ordered from wilserbrewer basically every 2-3 weeks since I started this thread in November 2013. The bags are holding up very well and I'm consistently benefiting from the fact that these voile bags are far superior in filtering out husk material than the nylon bags that I used previously.

Reading back at this thread, I thought I'd throw in my opinion regarding bag squeezing, which I know has been a debated topic on this forum. I do squeeze with these bags and haven't had any apparent adverse effects in doing so.

That being said, I can't help but think that if you use a bag that is too coarse in its thread spacing, when you squeeze the bag, more husk material will push through the bag. While the act of squeezing itself doesn't cause tannin extraction, perhaps excess husk material would cause astringency once you proceed to boil?

Jason

I hate to get off topic as there are many places here to discuss bag squeezing, but if husks contributed to astringency and tannins, every decoction recipe in history would be guilty.

sfrisby - I've never done a decoction before. I just went to read a little bit about it, and, yeah, I agree with you and retract my previous opinion. The amount of husk material that could get through a very course bag is probably relatively small in comparison to the amount that gets boiled in a decoction.

Back on topic, I can't emphasize enough how great these bags are. If anyone reading this is contemplating ordering one of them, I'd highly encourage you to just do it!

Jason

I ordered some bags from Wilser on Monday night and he said they would ship on Tuesday. i was just hoping I'd have them to brew on Sat, but they were delivered on Wed! I'm pretty impressed so far and am looking forward to brewing my all Equinox IPA on Sat with them.

Just got my new(and first) bag. Cant wait to use it on Sunday.

I also just received my bags and pulley from wilserbrewer. I went for the grand slam package, and I'm very excited to brew with it soon!

I used mine this weekend for maybe the tenth time. When I went to pull it out I thought for sure I had ripped it catching onto my Brew-mometer. But no, all was fine.

While it may not outlast the Blichmann kettle, it'll probably outlast me!

I just got my 15 gallon kettle and ordered the grand slam 4 piece package....cant wait for it to come in!!!

Just wanted to give another approval of these bags. Did my first biab Sunday and couldn't be happier with the results. Used the main bag and the hop bag. Both did great. The hop bag seemed to hold a fair amount of liquidity i squeezed out at the end of the boil with no problems. Highly recommend these for any new biab person!

I ordered my grand slam on sat morning and recieved it tue morning..FANTASTIC. Still waiting to use them hopefully will break them in on sunday

Another A++ review here. Excellent quality and quick delivery to whatever specs you deliver to him.

Just ordered mine! I'll finally be able to use my big kettle for mashing and the boil!


Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk!
- Bubs from homestarrunner.com

Used mine for the first time last Saturday. I had much less trub in the bk after cool down. I should now be able to really dial in brewsmith for future batches. Unfortunately I have misplaced the dry hop bag so I can't comment on that. The hop bag works great too.

OzzyBrew said:

Unfortunately I have misplaced the dry hop bag .

Click to expand...

PM me an address, a forevah stamp should get it there NP.




Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

Wilser, my bags arrived safely yesterday. I can't wait to mash in! These are a remarkable improvement from a paint strainer

Did a partial mash pale ale last week, nailed the numbers using my wilserbrewer bag. Used it again this week unexpectedly when I had a mash tun malfunction for an AG batch. Saved the day (or at least made it a bunch easier). Its an essential item in this home brewer's toolbox.

I use one of his bags also. I don't do "BIAB" but do line the mash tun (cooler tun) with one just as insurance against any probs. I can lift the grains out of the tun if need be... The sewing and handles are well done indeed.

Brewed my first BIAB batch with wilserbrewer's bags (the grand slam pack), very pleased with the performance. They got to me quickly, were perfectly constructed, and it was totally worth the money spent to not have to go find all the materials and parts. I'd spend at least 10% of what I paid in gas alone, and the hours it would have taken me to hund down the fabric, pulley, rope and do all the sewing...it was a no-brainer. For the first batch I skipped the pulley and just rested the bag on my potato masher, and twisted it until I got my pre-boil volume. Even Beersmith's equipment profile for a 10-gallon BIAB nailed the efficiency numbers (75%) dead on! While I've done 3-vessel brewing for 15+ years, I found this to be just as enjoyable, just different, with less clean up.

I've been happily using Wilserbrewer's bags and pulley arrangement for BIAB (see the pic). Quick question about the hop bag:

During the boil, I use the hop bag with a spider as well. One thing I noticed is that the hop bag tends to fill with water during boil. Does this happen for other folks? Do you squeeze it to release the water trapped in it, or just let it drain?

Woodbrews said:

I've been happily using Wilserbrewer's bags and pulley arrangement for BIAB (see the pic). Quick question about the hop bag:



During the boil, I use the hop bag with a spider as well. One thing I noticed is that the hop bag tends to fill with water during boil. Does this happen for other folks? Do you squeeze it to release the water trapped in it, or just let it drain?

Click to expand...

It will hold some water until it drains, just like the bigger bag. I always pull my hop bag out and after letting it drain for a minute or two, dump it. Since the hop material is finer, it will be slower to drain through it so I tend to move the bag around a bit to let it drain a little better.

Btw, nice setup there brewer!

Cheers!

I tried squeezing it, but even with neoprene gloves, it's too easy to scald yourself. I think I can release it from the spider and clamp it to the side of the pot while it drains and then, as you say, dump it. BTW, thanks for the complement on the setup. It's constantly evolving and (hopefully) improving. Here's the build thread. The most recent (and critical) addition is a window fan to vent the steam from the boil -- essential for brewing during the summer.

Do you mean neoprene as in like diving gloves? I use a black rubber glove. I think I bought it at HD or lowes. I can't feel the hot wort with them on and I paid $12 +/-

I misspoke. They're actually made of silicone. Here's the link. They work great for squeezing the grain bag, but not as well for the hop bag which is full of boiling water.

As a new brewer ( nine months ) , I have been doing full boil five gallon extract batches, and I believe my boil kettle is around 7 gallon (I started with 6 gal. of water last weekend and still had a little head room left). I am doing the reading to plan the next step, and I really l like what you guys are saying about Wilserbrewer's equipment. If I go BIAB, I guess that I will need to invest in a larger boil kettle? What would be a good size to shoot for with planning five gallon batches ? I presently siphon from my kettle, but I presume when ordering a new kettle I should get a ball valve. Should I consider getting a thermometer built in, or use one of the flexible lead remote thermometers?
Bob

Hey Bob! I'm a new brewer myself and have only been brewing since Jan. The hobby quickly became a passion and then an addiction so I upgraded equipment rather fast. I first upgraded to the "North Brewer" ( specific names allowed for vendors on here?) kettle burner kit they had a special on. Still use the burner but have since upgraded to a much larger kettle. All your upgrades will depend on how much you want to spend and what you want to make. As for Biab I think you could get away with a 10gal kettle for 5gal batches with no issues. Might even be able to use 8gal kettle for that. Personally I feel larger is better as it gives you more room to expand in the future without having to get another new kettle. Ball valve was a great $20 spent if you can drill the kettle yourself for it. Thermometer is the same and was actually done before I did the ball valve. You could also try to source an old keg to use as an upgraded kettle. However you decide to go wilser Can make the bags for you that work great!

I'd go 10g on the kettle minimum and 15g if you can swing it. I have an 8g and it's tight. I'm planning on upgrading to a 15g very soon. Ball valve is handy. I'd skip the kettle mounted thermometer and go with a handheld digital unit. I'm partial to a Thermapen myself, but I hear the $20 models from Thermoworks work well.

I second the 15 gal recommendation. I started with a 5 gal for extracts, and then got an 8 gal for BIAB. I outgrew that after three brews, and have upgraded to a 15 gal. 10 gal would be large enough for low gravity BIAB with no sparge, and higher gravity with sparging. If you want to do high gravity with no sparge, you will need 15 gallons. You are $$ ahead by not making intermediate upgrades.

Ball valve drain is a convenience, but you can easily use an autosiphon to get from kettle to fermenter (I do, at least until I drill my pot for the ball valve I bought. But you'll need to use hop bags/spider if you use whole hops and siphon.)

Brew on

Bobb25 said:

I have been doing full boil five gallon extract batches, and I believe my boil kettle is around 7 gallon (I started with 6 gal. of water last weekend and still had a little head room left).

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Bob,

The "next step" is only as far as you want it to be. You can certainly continue with your 7 gallon kettle and AG 5 gal. BIAB with a $2 paint strainer bag, yet a larger kettle and a "better" poly voile bag will make the process easier and perhaps more enjoyable. As you probably figured out, a small kettle is a tad inconvenient, but lots of people brew 5 gallons in a 7 gallon pot. With BIAB, a small pot is a slight inconvenience, but if you add a sparge step you can even brew very large beers! Hell, with some cheating one can brew 5 gallons AG in a 5 gallon pot....it can be done, perhaps not ideal and slightly inconvenient

There are a few small pot "work arounds" that can be done....

1. sparging, either dunking the bag in a separate bucket, or pouring sparge water gently over the grain bag while held over the kettle
2. reserving some of the sparged wort and adding it back to the kettle as you boil off a bit....note all the wort must be boiled for at least 20 minutes...
3. topping up the fermenter with a bit of water, while this will decrease efficiency a bit...it is a viable option!
4. kettle valves while a convenience, also require cleaning....not mandatory at all IMHO
5. kettle mounted thermometers are for show IMHO, a basic hand held digital stick is all you really need, again JMO

Don't feel you NEED a 15 gallon kettle to BIAB a 5 gallon batch....my advice is to let your brewery grow in the direction you feel comfortable. Nothing wrong with running what you have and gaining a little experience....

A talented brewer could brew in his hat....just an old joke I favor....cheers!
wilser

Thanks to all who replied, esp. Mr. Wilser. Last night I checked my kettle, and filled to within an inch of the top it holds 8 gallons. Based on your encouragement, I think my next "baby step" will be a partial mash kit, with a digital thermometer and Wilser's bags. I'm thinking about sticking the large plastic brewers funnel into the top of the grains inside the bag, so that when you pour some sparge water into the hoisted bag, it could go into the center of the grain mash, and not just trickle over the outside.
P.S. thanks for the hints on the thermometer.
Bob

Bobb25 said:

I'm thinking about sticking the large plastic brewers funnel into the top of the grains inside the bag, so that when you pour some sparge water into the hoisted bag, it could go into the center of the grain mash, and not just trickle over the outside.

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Bob,

I shared your thinking that the sparge water would just sheet over the outside of the bag, that is until I tried it and was very surprised.

The bag is so porous, that the sparge water goes right through the grain and not really over the outside, with a small pitcher pouring slowly all over the top of the hanging bag. The funnel would likely shoot a stream through a small portion of the grain bag and not be ideal....be warned sometimes it's easy to devise a clever "improvement" that results in a disadvantage....an electric fork of sorts.





Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

edit: Thanks for updating your page and offering the listed price.

jahdub said:

I noticed on your site ......

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Sorry about the slight inconsistency with the bag / pulley combo, I will revise the site. My apologies, as you likely noticed, I'm not much of a web page designer...PM sent to hopefully resolve.

cheers

wilser

Hiya Bob, I too have made the jump to BIAB recently. I am using a 10g pot(tall boy) I haven't had any issues with space while making a 5g batch. It all comes down to grain bill. If, like me, you brew mostly moderate beers then a 10g pot will suit you just fine. If you are brewing mostly big beers(barley wines, ris, or big Belgians) then maybe a 15g pot would be better. Or you could just do a sparge step and stay with the 10g pot.

Oh yea and defiantly get some of wilserbrewer's bags they rock.

Well I used my bag for a second time, and kind of forgot about my temp probe. It was a heavy grain bill and I really thought it was just the weight of the grains causing my issue of getting the bag out of the wort, but unfortunately it was my temp probe ripping into the bag. I ended up putting a small gash into my bag. I liked the bag so much I quickly ordered a new one and explained what I had done to the first.

Wilserbrewer was kind enough to inform me that if I returned the first he would repair it free of charge, then could mail them back to me together. I picked up my bags today and the repair looks great. He also threw in a new dry hop sack and hop sack free of charge. So now I have a back up in the event that I mess my primary bag up again. I've also eliminated the temp probe because apparently I can't pay attention to it!

Today I also noted after my first post regarding his bags (where I indicated I had lost my dry hop bag) he had offered to send me a new one. I missed that post entirely, but it's obvious he provides great customer service. So for a second time, thanks for the great bags!

My bag for my Northern Brewer Tallboy kettles arrived and the fit is perfect! I can't wait to brew with it! Thanks WilserBrewer!

Just ordered another bag for my new 15 gallon kettle. Can't wait til it gets here so I can brew with it!

Just did my first brew with my wilserbrewer bag. Everything went great, definitely a good buy.

I didn't have any issues holding the bag over my kettle to drain for a couple of minutes before moving to my bucket draining setup, but I could see how someone that doesn't workout regularly could let the bag get away from them. Most people will probably want to look into some sort of pulley system.

Thanks for the support, all recent orders shipped.
wilser


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/