I want to BIAB, but there are no paint strainer bags in this country :(

I live in Chile now and since Malt Extract is hard to find here, I need to change to all grain. To save space I would love to go with the BIAB style, but upon scouring a ton of hardware stores and talking to contractors and the like I have discovered that paint strainer bags are simply not in this country .

My question: Are there any alternative to using a paint strainer bag? Such as pantyhose (not too sure about that one, but it was suggested).

Thanks in advance. Cheers!

Look for fine mesh laundry bags (there are even some made for laundrying women's "unmentionables") at a department store, or go to a sewing/ material store and look for a mesh like material called Cotton Voile or Cotton Gauze ;



And have someone sew you up a few bags.

Also look around your local markets and see if there are any fine meshed bags used for fruit or anything like that.

Folks have used pantyhose to strain or even as grain bags for small steeping grainbills, but for BIAB where there is a large amount of grain it may be difficult to handled. But there's no reason not to experiment.

You might need to double up on the material if it appears too thin.

Pantyhose works great for keeping hops pellets and various other additions like orange zest, coriander, etc. contained.

I would suggest looking for nylon material for a bag instead of cotton, it can take a bit more heat without burning/melting/failing in some way. It also doesn't absorb any smells/odors from your previous brew making cleanup easier.

The voile is fantastic, but I'm not sure if it's called that in Chile.

Shear curtains is another source for voile fabric.

The most widely used material for bags is polyester voile, this is what curtain sheers are made of...best to stitch a bag like a pillow case with a rounded bottom and drawstring top closure. You can also just line the brew kettle w/ a large piece of voile and gather it into a sack to remove the grain.

I bought voile fabric and took measurements for my kettle. Then searched on Craig's list for sewing. Two days later I had a great, cylindrical, tough bag for $30 all in.

There is also a fellow that sells them on his website. I'm sure they are good too.

seatbelt123 said:

There is also a fellow that sells them on his website. I'm sure they are good too.

Click to expand...

That would be Wilserbrewer, 2 posts up.

Thanks guys! Thanks to you all I will be brewing this weekend!!