BIAB + Cooler = finally made it!

[Dan_K]

Previously I did full-volume mashes in my kettle. My beers didn't really turn out ideally, poor efficiency, bad attenuation. My temps dropped too fast and then I would direct fire them. (which may have killed some enzymes?) Ended up getting 67-69% efficiency in 3 diff batches.

Anyway, I made a small-batch beer mashing into a 5-gallon insulated water jug/cooler. Not only did it hold within 1 degree for 5 minutes, but my efficiency was off the charts.

I did multiple calculations, but based on my Pre-boil gravity I had something like 82-83% efficiency. I also triple-crushed my grains because the mills at my LHBS aren't very tight and the gap is crooked.
The downside to such efficiency is that my 5% English Brown Ale will now be closer to 6.5% ABV...

Another benefit is I seem to have just a bit less trub. You can use your bag inside the cooler, and you have no chance of a stuck mash because you can just lift your bag a bit if you need to.

I mashed in at 1.25 qts/lb which gives me lots of wriggle room in case I undershoot my mash temp, I can add some boiling water and bring it up which still keeping it in the 1.25-1.5 qts/lb range.

Next plan is to buy a 10 gallon cooler that'll work great with my largest BIAB bag.

 

[crunch1224]

The only thing im worried about is adding boiling water. Wouldnt that over heat your malt?

 

[brokebucket]

A couple things to consider:

-Maybe your problem from the get go on your previous batches is the crappy crush you are getting from the LHBS mill.

-were you insulating your kettle during mash? Myself, I dont worry if my mash temp drops 2-3 degrees during the mash, as I feel that the bulk of conversion is happening at the front of the mash. However, I do insulate my kettle so as to not get a massive drop in temps.

-If you are going to use multiple vessels, why not just do a standard 3 vessel approach? The number 1 reason (for me anyways) to even do BIAB is to simplify.

Best of luck.

 

[Dan_K]

A couple things to consider:

-Maybe your problem from the get go on your previous batches is the crappy crush you are getting from the LHBS mill.

-were you insulating your kettle during mash? Myself, I dont worry if my mash temp drops 2-3 degrees during the mash, as I feel that the bulk of conversion is happening at the front of the mash. However, I do insulate my kettle so as to not get a massive drop in temps.

-If you are going to use multiple vessels, why not just do a standard 3 vessel approach? The number 1 reason (for me anyways) to even do BIAB is to simplify.

Best of luck.

I don't currently have 3 vessels to use. Obviously there are benefits to that type of system but I can't drop a ton of money on brewing equipment right now.

 

[C-Rider]

Previously I did full-volume mashes in my kettle. My beers didn't really turn out ideally, poor efficiency, bad attenuation. My temps dropped too fast and then I would direct fire them. (which may have killed some enzymes?) Ended up getting 67-69% efficiency in 3 diff batches.

Anyway, I made a small-batch beer mashing into a 5-gallon insulated water jug/cooler. Not only did it hold within 1 degree for 5 minutes, but my efficiency was off the charts.

I did multiple calculations, but based on my Pre-boil gravity I had something like 82-83% efficiency. I also triple-crushed my grains because the mills at my LHBS aren't very tight and the gap is crooked.
The downside to such efficiency is that my 5% English Brown Ale will now be closer to 6.5% ABV...

Another benefit is I seem to have just a bit less trub. You can use your bag inside the cooler, and you have no chance of a stuck mash because you can just lift your bag a bit if you need to.

I mashed in at 1.25 qts/lb which gives me lots of wriggle room in case I undershoot my mash temp, I can add some boiling water and bring it up which still keeping it in the 1.25-1.5 qts/lb range.

Next plan is to buy a 10 gallon cooler that'll work great with my largest BIAB bag.

I've been doing 2 gallon batches using a 5 gal cooler like you have w/a 5 gal pot and 2 gal paint buckets from HD for years. I've found pre heating the cooler for say 1/2 hr helps as well as piling a bunch of flannel shirts over it. Also ifyou have head space in the cooler cut a piece of cardboard just big enough to slip in over the mash but wrap it in tin foil. That keeps ht heat down on the grain/liquid and not in the dead space above it.

Oh yea, small amounts of boiling water won't hurt the cooler. I wouldn't add say 3 gallons of it.

 

[madscientist451]

-If you are going to use multiple vessels, why not just do a standard 3 vessel approach? The number 1 reason (for me anyways) to even do BIAB is to simplify.

I use the bag in a cooler method. Mostly because of temperature swing issues of BIAB in a kettle. Also I hated pulling the bag out and getting wort spilled on the stove. Adding the cooler made it a little less simple, but its still not a 3 vessel system. I can also do step mashes if I want and can brew a higher volume than if I BIAB in the kettle.

 

[RM-MN]

Previously I did full-volume mashes in my kettle. My beers didn't really turn out ideally, poor efficiency, bad attenuation. My temps dropped too fast and then I would direct fire them. (which may have killed some enzymes?) Ended up getting 67-69% efficiency in 3 diff batches.

Anyway, I made a small-batch beer mashing into a 5-gallon insulated water jug/cooler. Not only did it hold within 1 degree for 5 minutes, but my efficiency was off the charts.

I did multiple calculations, but based on my Pre-boil gravity I had something like 82-83% efficiency. I also triple-crushed my grains because the mills at my LHBS aren't very tight and the gap is crooked.
The downside to such efficiency is that my 5% English Brown Ale will now be closer to 6.5% ABV...

Another benefit is I seem to have just a bit less trub. You can use your bag inside the cooler, and you have no chance of a stuck mash because you can just lift your bag a bit if you need to.

I mashed in at 1.25 qts/lb which gives me lots of wriggle room in case I undershoot my mash temp, I can add some boiling water and bring it up which still keeping it in the 1.25-1.5 qts/lb range.

Next plan is to buy a 10 gallon cooler that'll work great with my largest BIAB bag.

Please explain how this is a downside...

The biggest factor in efficiency is the crush of the grain. If you want good and consistent efficiency you need your own mill. If someone else controls the mill your efficiency will be all over the board. Even triple milling on a poorly adjusted mill will not overcome this. Corona mills are cheap and work great for BIAB.

If you mill your grains fine, the temperature drop you get in an uninsulated pot will not matter because the conversion will be done so quickly.

 

[brokebucket]

Looks like there are a few people taking this approach (a BIAB in a cooler)...I guess with smaller batch sizes? Who knows. I myself have kept the mashing and boiling side at least pretty simple with a keggle and full volume, but I guess if you arent mashing with close to 9 gallons, temperature drop is a much bigger issue.

All in all, I still think your original problem is a really crappy crush. I think you fix that, and everything will fall in line.

 

[schatzke]

I use a BIAB in my 10 gal cooler and it works great. No vorlauf needed, after sparge pull the bag up give it a spin and sqeeze, and I can just dump the remaining wort in the cooler so dead space is 0. It's also much lighter than the keggle I used to mash in.

 

[Dan_K]

Looks like there are a few people taking this approach (a BIAB in a cooler)...I guess with smaller batch sizes? Who knows. I myself have kept the mashing and boiling side at least pretty simple with a keggle and full volume, but I guess if you arent mashing with close to 9 gallons, temperature drop is a much bigger issue.

All in all, I still think your original problem is a really crappy crush. I think you fix that, and everything will fall in line.

You are absolutely correct. However I think the kettle thing is another one of my problems.

I think BIAB + Cooler solves a ton of issues that can arise from either using BIAB + Kettle or even Cooler mashing. For instance, with my BIAB + kettle I build a hoist to lift the grains, even then I got wort all over the place. And I think I was leaving a lot of sugar still in the grains.

The 5 gallon cooler is good for 3-gallon batches or even low-gravity 5 gallon batches. The 10 gallon cooler should handle pretty high gravity 5 gallon batches, which is as big as I'll be going.

 

[kh54s10]

This is really a traditional mash, just using the bag as a filter instead of the grainbed and a false bottom or braid. There are plenty that use 2 vessel traditional. Heat the strike water in the BK, either go no sparge and drain back into the kettle. Or, heat sparge water in the kettle, drain the first runnings into a bucket, sparge and drain into the BK then add the first runnings to the BK and proceed with the boil.

 

[RM-MN]

This is really a traditional mash, just using the bag as a filter instead of the grainbed and a false bottom or braid. There are plenty that use 2 vessel traditional. Heat the strike water in the BK, either go no sparge and drain back into the kettle. Or, heat sparge water in the kettle, drain the first runnings into a bucket, sparge and drain into the BK then add the first runnings to the BK and proceed with the boil.

Save a step and sparge with cold water. You'll get nearly the same efficiency without the extra heating. It will take a bit longer to heat the wort to boil with the cold water.

 

[kh54s10]

Save a step and sparge with cold water. You'll get nearly the same efficiency without the extra heating. It will take a bit longer to heat the wort to boil with the cold water.

True but that is not really my point. My point is the process described here in not pure BIAB. It is really a form of traditional all grain.

 

[TexasWine]

True but that is not really my point. My point is the process described here in not pure BIAB. It is really a form of traditional all grain.

Not sure about that. I think there's a distinction between single vessel brewing and BIAB. BIAB does not necessarily have to be single vessel, even though it is oftentimes used in that manner.

 

[ch19]

Not sure about that. I think there's a distinction between single vessel brewing and BIAB. BIAB does not necessarily have to be single vessel, even though it is oftentimes used in that manner.

This!

In its purest form, BIAB is just using a bag as a fabric filter. Folks often conflate the terms BIAB, single vessel and no sparge. While the Aussies who first came up with BIAB did single vessel, fabric filter, no sparge brewing, it can also be done using multiple vessels and with sparging.

 

[Dan_K]

Regarding Cooler + BIAB:
I think there are similarities to a standard type of mash but there are also differences. For example, if you are doing BIAB you aren't necessarily needing to vorlauf to settle the grain bed, and you can't really get a "stuck mash" with BIAB (well I guess anything is possible?).

Also calling it BIAB vs. All-grain is pretty inaccurate, as BIAB is a type of all-grain brewing obviously.

 

[PADave]

I can hold 1-2 degrees over an hour doing this. Head space and volume are the key.

 

[JohnSand]

BIAC: Bag In A Cooler
I do it this way now. I started grain brewing on the stove in a single pot with a paint strainer. But I always spilled some while lifting the bag. Now I have a 10 gallon cooler with a voile bag that holds temps well and drains through a spigot. I brew outdoors on a burner. The boil starts and the bag stays in the cooler. Then I put a colander under the bag to drain the rest. I could even do that from the start. It does take more gear, but it also is convenient. I can always use my first pot indoors for extract, partial mash, or simplest BIAB. But I can also make bigger batches outside. There is a method for everyone.