BIAB Brewing (with pics)

[Mysticmead]

Actually, it's pronounced vwal. Rhymes with wall.

Well... since I was going by how it was pronounced by the lady in the fabric store.... you are however correct based on good ole dictionary.com.

 

[robcj]

Well... since I was going by how it was pronounced by the lady in the fabric store.... you are however correct based on good ole dictionary.com.

I'm just happy the ten years I spent in French immersion - from kindergarten to grade nine - were good for something.

I found my voile in the form of a set of sheer curtains at a discount home accessories retailer - they were on sale for ten dollars. I took them to the cashier and she said I must have picked up the package for the curtains on display because when she scanned them the price came up as one cent. She asked me to run and grab another package, which I did. It still came up as one cent. She said she couldn't override it so that's what she would have to charge me. I told her I didn't have any change so she shrugged, printed a receipt and handed me the curtains.

 

[Riseabovebb]

Happy Friday all! My first AG/BIAB batch has been in primary only a week and I'm ready to fire up the kettle again!

I'm attempting a Pliny clone this weekend. This method is so quick and clean and worlds better than extract brewing for me.

 

[h22lude]

Voile White | Online Fabric Stores | Upholstery Fabric | Discount Fabrics

I don't know voile pricing but what about this

 

[stux]

Voile White | Online Fabric Stores | Upholstery Fabric | Discount Fabrics

I don't know voile pricing but what about this

That looks like the stuff

 

[shuckit]

That looks like the stuff

That's what I use.

 

[h22lude]

I haven't sewed much at all but I think I'm going to try to make my own bag. I'm going to try to make a flat bottom and sew the sides. Not sure how this is going to come out but it's worth a shot.

 

[nate456789]

you have to watch the thickness on it. the second batch of material I bought at a different store was thinner. I haven't mashed with it yet. hopefully it is just as strong and can handle the weight of the wet grains.

 

[nate456789]

I haven't sewed much at all but I think I'm going to try to make my own bag. I'm going to try to make a flat bottom and sew the sides. Not sure how this is going to come out but it's worth a shot.

If you have patience it is not too hard. I never sewed before and I have made 2 so far. First one was the pillow case style and the second one was a round bottom and cylindrical to fit my keggle.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Rather than a rectangular square bottom, i believe a better shape is more like an overly tapered U. With this shape the bag will drain in one area rather than two...the analogy I read was something about a dogs private parts.

 

[tektonjp]

Don't you just love this hobby? Grown men playing in the kitchen, swapping recipes, and sharing sewing tips! Great!

 

[TrainSafe]

It may be a cooking type activity, but most of us prefer to rename the kitchen with a brewery title while we occupy it. This helps preserve our fragile egos.

 

[2brew1cup]

Don't you just love this hobby? Grown men playing in the kitchen, swapping recipes, and sharing sewing tips! Great!

I never looked at in that way..oh my god.

 

[Strangelove]

Don't sweat it. As long as you're drinking beer while you do it, it's still manly.

 

[Skrimpy]

$#!t, cooking is manly. Especially when you're cooking with meat and alcohol or when you're really, really good at it.

 

[Phillyphoodie]

Skrimpy, I second that one. I cook a lot, and whenever I am doing something like making a dessert for a baby shower, I swig some beer and talk about the pork butt I am going to smoke shortly.

 

[DisturbdChemist]

On the very first batch i did. I was smoking a brisket during. I had to do something to keep me occupied while the brisket cooked and not because of it I'm hooked

 

[seabass07]

I don't know about you guys, but I don't brew in my kitchen. I cook in my brewery.

 

[Antler]

I don't know about you guys, but I don't brew in my kitchen. I cook in my brewery.

You cook in a kitchen, brew in a brewery, lol

 

[TomSD]

I've been frustrated with my cheap alum pot for quite a few brews now. It is thin on the bottom so is deformed all to hell now which means scorching or extract settling in the valleys and not getting mixed in right. Well I have been looking at deals and reviewing options and finally decided to just pull the trigger on a 10 gal Blichmann. At the same time I'm ordering that strainer basket and plan to give BIAB a shot. It looks to me like all grain without all the extra gear, much simpler. Of course never actually doing anything but extract with specialty grains I could just be over simplifying it. One way or the other though I've read enough to know I could handle the process and am looking forward to it.

I still haven't made my way through the whole thread though so forgive me if I missed it but what burner is that that you are using? It looks sturdy as hell and is much nicer than the slagged out POS that I'm using, lol.

 

[2brew1cup]

No thats the right idea. Thats why i did all grains via BIAB. didnt wanna get a mash tun/lauter tun. Blah blah. Its been amazing.

 

[Seven]

I've been frustrated with my cheap alum pot for quite a few brews now. It is thin on the bottom so is deformed all to hell now which means scorching or extract settling in the valleys and not getting mixed in right. Well I have been looking at deals and reviewing options and finally decided to just pull the trigger on a 10 gal Blichmann. At the same time I'm ordering that strainer basket and plan to give BIAB a shot. It looks to me like all grain without all the extra gear, much simpler. Of course never actually doing anything but extract with specialty grains I could just be over simplifying it. One way or the other though I've read enough to know I could handle the process and am looking forward to it.

I still haven't made my way through the whole thread though so forgive me if I missed it but what burner is that that you are using? It looks sturdy as hell and is much nicer than the slagged out POS that I'm using, lol.

Glad to hear you're giving BIAB a shot! The cool thing about it is if you find BIAB doesn't work for you then you can use your equipment with other brewing methods as well. Although I'd recommend the 15-gallon kettle if you plan to make really big IPAs or stouts so you'll have extra room. The 10-gallon can brew most recipes but it gets close to the top when you brew high OG beers.

The burner is a Blichmann TopTier with the 24-inch leg extensions kit. This burner has performed great, no issues with it whatsoever and it's also very quiet.

 

[TomSD]

I won't be making big beers that often and don't plan on ever going larger than 5 gallon batches so I figure the 10 is plenty for me. I already deal with very little headroom with my current setup so when I do do a big beer I will already be used to it, lol.

 

[Mysticmead]

I won't be making big beers that often and don't plan on ever going larger than 5 gallon batches so I figure the 10 is plenty for me. I already deal with very little headroom with my current setup so when I do do a big beer I will already be used to it, lol.

yeah... I never planned on going bigger than 5 gallon batches.. trouble is I have family and friends that LOVE my beer since going to BIAB.. 10 gallons is where I'm heading now. Look at it this way.. if you get a 15 gallon pot now, you can make 5 gallon batches and if needed (like for a party) you can make 10 gallons with ease. oh yeah, while a strainer basket is a nice thing to have it's not a must have item.

 

[TomSD]

Nah I brew almost exclusively for myself and enjoy the process so can't ever see wanting to make two kegs in one batch. I'd rather do two batches in one session and maybe change something up between them than make one big batch.

 

[dynobyte]

I've brewed extract and mini mash so far but want to step up to AG and am thinking of trying BIAB. I will have to buy a larger pot and am looking at the 15.5 gal Bayou Classic pot, currently $116.45 on Amazon. Does anyone have experience with this pot or other Bayou Classic pots and if so are they good for brewing? As a whole they are quite a bit cheaper than Blichmann, Polarware, etc.

Also, I already have a 10gal Rubbermaid cooler. I can use the kettle to heat the water, whether I sparge or not, and put the bag of grains in the cooler to mash and then just transfer the wort to my boil kettle, right? Is this worth doing or should I just bypass the Rubbermaid cooler? I haven't used it but my inexperienced thinking tells me the mash would be more insulated in the Rubbermaid cooler and thus achieve a better mash, though I would not have direct heating capability if needed.

 

[Wingfan13]

I've brewed extract and mini mash so far but want to step up to AG and am thinking of trying BIAB. I will have to buy a larger pot and am looking at the 15.5 gal Bayou Classic pot, currently $116.45 on Amazon. Does anyone have experience with this pot or other Bayou Classic pots and if so are they good for brewing? As a whole they are quite a bit cheaper than Blichmann, Polarware, etc.

Also, I already have a 10gal Rubbermaid cooler. I can use the kettle to heat the water, whether I sparge or not, and put the bag of grains in the cooler to mash and then just transfer the wort to my boil kettle, right? Is this worth doing or should I just bypass the Rubbermaid cooler? I haven't used it but my inexperienced thinking tells me the mash would be more insulated in the Rubbermaid cooler and thus achieve a better mash, though I would not have direct heating capability if needed.

If you are going to go that far why not just buy the necessary parts to turn your 10g Rubbermaid into a mash tun and step up to AG ?

 

[Mysticmead]

I've brewed extract and mini mash so far but want to step up to AG and am thinking of trying BIAB. I will have to buy a larger pot and am looking at the 15.5 gal Bayou Classic pot, currently $116.45 on Amazon. Does anyone have experience with this pot or other Bayou Classic pots and if so are they good for brewing? As a whole they are quite a bit cheaper than Blichmann, Polarware, etc.

Also, I already have a 10gal Rubbermaid cooler. I can use the kettle to heat the water, whether I sparge or not, and put the bag of grains in the cooler to mash and then just transfer the wort to my boil kettle, right? Is this worth doing or should I just bypass the Rubbermaid cooler? I haven't used it but my inexperienced thinking tells me the mash would be more insulated in the Rubbermaid cooler and thus achieve a better mash, though I would not have direct heating capability if needed.

the bayou classic is fine for brewing.. I've been using one for years. As far as using the cooler, yes you can do that. Personally, I feel that's just an extra step in the process and if you're going to mash in the cooler might as well do a 3 vessel mash and skip BIAB. As far as losing temps during the mash, wrap the kettle with a sleeping bag and it'll hold the heat. there's a lot of thermal mass there and it'll only drop a couple degrees. Plus like you noticed, you can't direct fire to do a mash out. Of course, the beauty of brewing is there are many different ways to achieve the same result. My advice is to try both ways and find what works for you.

 

[dynobyte]

I was thinking the same thing myself relative to just using the cooler as the MT w/no bag but wanted to ask the question anyway. I will probably give AG a try at first with just one larger kettle and the cooler and then expand to a second kettle for HLT when the budget allows. I may have to pull the trigger on the Bayou Classic now. Thanks for the quick feedback.

 

[Charlieatthedisco]

Hey guys, the 44 qt stainless perforated basket seems to be really pricey, anyone use the 30 qt one? Would it be big enough for a decent grain bill?