BIAB Beginner Question

[amartinez]

I was planning on trying my hand at AG in a few weeks using the BIAB method. One of the recipes I was thinking of is from the Jamil/Palmer book "Brewing Classic Styles" and it states in the intro (or somewhere, I'm at work so I don't have it in front of me) that a mash out isn't necessary, but I'm guessing they assume you're going to sparge the grain to stop enzymatic activity. If I'm going to do a full volume mash should I go ahead and mash out? What would happen if I did neither?

Feel free to ridicule me on my misuse of the lingo, I can finally talk about extract and know what I'm saying but now there's all of these AG terms:cross:

 

[Mysticmead]

is a mash out necessary? no. what will happen? well, the enzymes can continue to breakdown the sugars and you might have a slightly more fermentable wort resulting in a slightly drier beer. Of course, since you'll be applying heat shortly after removing the grain bag it'll be well past 170F and it will no longer be breaking down sugars.

now, should you do a mash out. personally, yes. it makes the sugars more fluid so the drain from the grain easier giving better extraction/efficiency. That said, I've done it both ways and the beers came out great either way.

The best advice is to not worry about the small stuff for your first AG (mash out or not to mash out IS small stuff) Relax, enjoy the whole process of turning grain in beer.

 

[Seven]

The all-grain brewing books I've seen usually say that you can skip the mashout. However, these books were written assuming you are brewing using the traditional all-grain brewing methods, i.e., sparging. With no-sparge BIAB things are a bit different.

Long story short, it's generally recommended to do a mashout with no-sparge BIAB because this will make the grain bed more fluid and will allow it to drain more easily when the bag is lifted from the kettle.

As Mysticmead said, I'm sure doing a mashout or not doing a mashout will work fine either way. I personally prefer to do a mashout with my BIAB brews and I've had good results.

Have fun and let us know how your brewing goes.

 

[amartinez]

Awesome, it's good to know I had the right idea, even if I didn't know the reason why.

Thank you both!

 

[brewmcq]

I BiaB/MiaB (I get yelled at sometimes because I have a mash tun... but anyway...)

After I mash the grains, I pull the bag out of my MLT and let it drip-drain back into the MLT... while I do this, I'm heating up ~2 or 3 gallons of water in my BK, and when it hits ~175 or so, I shut off the heat and drop the bag into the BK. I let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes before pulling it out and letting it drain into the BK. Setting on a stainless colander that spans the BK, or keeping it hoisted with a pulley will save your back.

While the bag is drip-draining, I empty the sweet wort from the MLT into the BK, and crank up the heat again to give it a head start on the boil. I'll give the bag a few good squeezes, then top off the BK with ~170 water I pour over the bag of grains.

YMMV, and this is just one guy's way to incorporate BiaB into his brewing process. I have no clue what my efficiency is, but the beer tastes great and does a more that sufficient job of getting your buzz on.

Cheers, and good luck!

 

[iijakii]

Every BIAB I've done without mashout I have terrible efficiency. When I do mashout, I have at least 75%.

Just my experiences,

 

[dancness]

With BIAB you have to be careful during a mashout that your bag doesn't melt on the bottom of your kettle, as the bottom is in contact with direct heat.

This is why I do a batch sparge. In my opinion it's easier and safer to heat a seperate kettle to 180F, turn off the heat, and simply transfer the bag holding the grain from one kettle to the other. Then after sparging for 10-15 mins, combine the amounts to make your preboil wort. My method is almost exactly the same as brewmcq's. The only difference is that I use my MLT as my BK, and add the sparge runnings to that. Either way works fine.

 

[Mysticmead]

there are plenty of ways to prevent scorching the bag during mash out.. stirring constantly works for me.. others have a cake rack or veggie steamer to keep the bag off the bottom.. what ever works best for you is what you should do... none of this is written in stone..

 

[iijakii]

My bag has a drawstring that holds it up decently. I've also seen people put weight on their lid (which pinches down the bag), bunjee cords, clamps.

 

[dancness]

there are plenty of ways to prevent scorching the bag during mash out.. stirring constantly works for me.. others have a cake rack or veggie steamer to keep the bag off the bottom.. what ever works best for you is what you should do... none of this is written in stone..

That's why I said it's my opinion.

 

[amartinez]

After looking at prices on Amazon, I think I might just grab a steamer rack. They're dirt cheap and it gives me an excuse to order more books

 

[kapbrew13]

Just do it and experiment. There's many different ways to do it and make a great beer. Just take notes and refine as you go.
One thing I would get are silicone gloves to squeeze the bag while still hot. Don't worry about tannins and stuff.
Good luck.
Btw love Amazon. A little addicted I guess or lazy. Point click click bring in delivery.

 

[Mysticmead]

That's why I said it's my opinion.

I wasn't disagreeing with you at all.. just saying that the way you do it is just as valid as the way anyone else does it.

 

[mfraier]

I use a paint strainer bag with an elastic top that fits the top of the pot nicely.....the bag never contacts the bottom of the pot.

 

[dcp27]

if you're doing no sparge, a mash out would probably be a good idea to help your lautering efficiency. if not, it will not effect anything.