BIAB/cooler mash tun combination

hey all. I am in the process of switching to all grain. I brewed a mild in my 13 gallon pot, using the BIAB method, however I was unhappy with temperature holding - specifically, how it didn't hold temp. so I bought a cooler, with the intention of making a mash tun out of it. I'm having trouble deciding whether to use a SS braid, or a copper or PVC manifold...

so on to the meat of my problem. I have a couple days off, and I want to brew biermuncher's OktoberFAST ale for the end of september, which means i should brew it now... could I use the cooler with my BIAB bag as the filter, and just use the stock spigot to drain? otherwise I'll have to build my manifold, and I won't be able to brew it for 2 weeks.

I was thinking to do the same - the only issue would be how to suspend the grain bag.

B

Sure you can line a cooler w/ a grain bag. Just drain the cooler out the spigot and if the flow sticks or slows, just simply lift the bag a little to restore flow. I believe the Biermuncher styled the recipe for a fast turnaround, as in weeks not months btw.

he did indeed, but every brew i've done this far has benefitted from an extra couple weeks before drinking. it is sort of a family brew competition. my brother made a traditional oktoberfest in early april, and we're going to tap them both at a party in late september/early october, when he gets back to the country. should be fun!

thanks for the words of confidence, guys.

You are going to BIAB in a cooler? So heat the water in your BK, pour it into your cooler, BIAB mash, pour the wort back into the BK to heat up to mashout temp, pour it back into the cooler to BIAB mashout, then pour it back into the BK to boil? Or at the very least, batch sparge to save the mashout boil step.

Why not just do everything in the BK, and to hold the temp during the mash, wrap an old blanket around it? That is true BIAB, and is much simpler than using a second vessel. I wrap my Keggle BK in old shipping blankets, and it holds temp within about 2 degrees for 60 and 90 min mash with no problem.

You can drain using the default spigot, yes; just keep in mind you have to depress the button the entire time it's draining (or rig up something to do so for you) .

I would be batch sparging, yes. An old blanket and hoping it holds temp properly is just too unrepeatable for the engineer in me.. I'm moving towards a cooler mash tun, but one step at a time

my cooler actually has a cap you put on or off the spigot. doesn't leak .. at least not with cold water... maybe I should test with hot water, so I don't accidentally get mash water all over my floor.