BIAB vs. Brewing with Mash Tun, Hot Liquor Tank, Sparging etc.

[slogger]

I've been brewing for years and about to make the jump to all grain. I would like to hear from all of you with experience in these two brewing styles - pros and cons. Thanks in advance. I appreciate all response.

 

[VikeMan]

To me, BIAB makes sense if you are space constrained and/or want to keep your process as simple as possible. But once you start talking about building hoists to suspend heavy grain bags, or even what kind of insulated gloves you need to get the best bag squeeze, that's where it becomes silly IMO.

As far as pros and cons... with a typical BIAB setup, you can't really do a proper vorlauf or sparge, and mash temps are hard to maintain. People can decide for themselves if those things are important.

 

[cmac62]

Slogger, I have been brewing for a few years now. I started with all grain. My first system was a cooler MT set up with a burner and boil kettle. This worked great, and was not too much trouble. Then I came into some cash and wanted the "system of my dreams" and I purchased a More Beer Tippy Dump three vessel system with a pump and all the bling, this also works well, but seems more trouble than it is worth for me. It is kind of a pita to use the pump and clean. I recently purchased a Anvil Foundry all in one BIAB system. I haven't gotten around to using it yet, but there are a lot of people on here who love them. One vessel is I'm sure easier to clean and it wasn't to expensive like some of the all on one systems out there. Good luck.

 

[ggriffi]

To me, BIAB makes sense if you are space constrained and/or want to keep your process as simple as possible. But once you start talking about building hoists to suspend heavy grain bags, or even what kind of insulated gloves you need to get the best bag squeeze, that's where it becomes silly IMO.

As far as pros and cons... with a typical BIAB setup, you can't really do a proper vorlauf or sparge, and mash temps are hard to maintain. People can decide for themselves if those things are important.

Not sure what you consider typical but I haven't had a problem with mash temp since I started wrapping my kettle with reflectix.

OP, when I went all grain I decided on BIAB because it made the most sense for me. I didn't want to spend $$$$ on assembling a 3 vessel system when I could use the money elsewhere. That was 10 yrs ago and I couldn't be happier

 

[bobeer]

I got into all grain brewing via biab. I did 2.5-3 gallon batches and had a blast brewing lots of different styles because a half batch is so cheap to brew and a biab is a pretty quick brew day. No mash tun to clean and all that... Biab definitely had a place in my homebrewing career.

With that said I moved to a 3 vessel system for a reason. After about 20 biab batches I really didn't like dealing with a hot bag of grain and having to figure out how to let the bag drain, holding the mash temp was a stress also. To goose the temp up a bit you have to make sure you don't burn the bag... Efficiency was a craps shoot as well until I got my own mill and figured out a way to mashout and sparge.
I even did one a few years ago just for fun and quickly realized why I quit the biab method during the sparge.

A lot of people have specialized equipment to make biab easier but I just do what works for me which is a 3 vessel system. No pumps, no issues during brew day, no burning my hands or breaking a sweat holding a bag over a hot kettle... I just like easy peasy.

 

[theglobalguy]

Hi Slogger,

I started out brewing in college with buckets of extract, and once I bought I house, like a poster above, I moved to a MoreBeer TippyDump 3 vessel system. It served me well for a while, and I enjoyed the process, but after a couple of long distance moves I quickly downsized to a single 15 gallon pot and Blichman hellfire burner that I BIAB in. I've done probably 25 5 gallon batches in it, and have honestly never been happier. The day moves so much faster, the cleaning is easier and I honestly can't taste any difference in what I remember to now.

I did buy my own grain mill and have it set to a very fine grain; that took care of any efficiency problems. At the conclusion of the mash, I pull the bag out of the hot wort and put it in a bucket with a false bottom. I let it drain for the first half of the boil and then dump whatever has collected directly into the pot for the 2nd half of the boil. Squeezing has never been necessary.

Yeah, my mash temps are not as precise as they were, but I'm not convinced that it makes all that much difference in the end result. I think a controlled fermentation temperature is FAR more important to the end result and flavor.

If you're looking to control every little variable in the process, BIAB isn't for you. If you just enjoy making good beer and serving it to your friends with a minimum of hassle and time, it's a great solution.

 

[TechFanMD]

I went from 3 vessel to BIAB (in a cooler)....basically I use an orange drink cooler with the Wilserbrewer bag to fit. I use an element on a timer (so it's ready to start mashing when I wake up) and heat to mash temp right in the cooler and temp stays right on. I can't say if this is what I'd do if I had to buy everything from a start but I already had the converted cooler.

Simplicity, ease, time spent brewing, and most importantly quality all improved greatly. I know about and understand all of the different things you can do with a mash, but I've yet to be convinced that they make an appreciable difference in 90% of beers, most of the time.

 

[broadbill]

I'll share where I ended up and how I got there. Started out homebrewing in college, extract. Went to All-Grain fly-sparging with a bona-fide Zapap system from Charlie Papazian (still have that bucket that I drilled hundred of holes in; it hold kid's bath toys these days). Then to cooler mashing batch sparging with a single Keggle (held runnings in a bucket until I emptied the keggle of sparge water). I still 5 and 10 gallon batches on that system now that I have a separate boil kettle, with the keggle now serving as a HLT.

I even dabbled with BIAB on this system, hoisting the huge bag of hot grain wasn't for me and I didn't like losing the control of the mash/sparge temp after cooler mashing for so many years.

That system got mothballed for a few years when I saw JKarp's electric CounterTop Brutus set-up on this site. I built one of those, tinkered with it a bunch of times and realize it was too much like work having to monitor wort flow with valves. I converted that to a single vessel BIAB system with electric control of the and a solar pump to recirculate. It only has a capacity of 4-4.5 gallon batches, but it so easy to brew on that makes up for the smaller size. Here I find BIAB just the right size, easy to manage, squeeze, etc.

 

[Stonehenge360]

It’s kind of an in-between for what you asked, but I have loved using the digimash 9 gallon electric kettle with the strainer insert.

Electric means indoor options in the winter, and because the grain is not in a bag, you can sparge easily without needing a whole 3 pot setup. Ihave brewed 50 gallons with it so far and never had an issue. Only thing I added was a recirc pump from amazon to keep it flowing during the mash. Seems to help with my efficiency

 

[Coastalbrew]

I tried BIAB before going to the Brewer's Edge Mash and Boil NO pump version. I love the simplicity of the all in one systems. There is less to clean, a smaller footprint for storage and setup, and once you get your brewing process in sync with the system I've been getting 80 - 85% brewhouse efficiency. I got the mash and boil without the pump because I didn't want the hassle of cleaning, fixing clogs and all the other complaints people have with the pump included all in one systems. I do manual recirculation with a Pyrex measuring cup during the mash and stir the grain bed every 15 minutes. The grain bed temp will drift about 1 degree on my 3 G batches and sits rock solid on my 5 G batches with no added insulation or other modification. I have brewed some really great beer on the system and can't imagine ever using anything but an all in one ever again. In fact I turned my old BIAB pot (just a thin walled cheapy stainless pot) into my swamp cooler for fermentation.

To me an all in one set up gives you the space and ease of setup and use benefits of BIAB, while giving you better efficiency and a more traditional process. And if you decide you'd rather do a full volume mash, BIAB style, you can easily do that too.

 

[McKnuckle]

The all-in-one systems represent the evolution of product development to realize BIAB with purpose-built equipment. The concept is entirely the same: The grain is suspended in a container which is removed from the hot wort after mashing. Contrast with draining the wort away from the grain in a traditional multi-vessel system.

The all-in-ones integrate electric heat, temperature control, and recirculation in addition to keeping the grain separate from the wort. Then they allow you to boil and chill in place. They are really "the" convenient solution for modern homebrewing.

That said, if your budget doesn't allow for this or it doesn't appeal to you, it's easy to do either the BIAB or the multi-vessel approaches inexpensively. There are a hundred threads on the pros and cons; you should do a bit of Googling. Both are 100% all grain methods which make equivalent quality wort in the hands of a capable brewer.

 

[Sammy86]

It really depends on how much money you are willing to throw at it. Personally, I was at a crossroads...I too started in college with extract and buckets. When i finally bought a house i moved up to cooler mashtun with a hlt/bk and burner or stove top.

When we sold our first house we made a killing (sold at the right time) so the wife said i could upgrade. Instead of going three vessel I went electric all in one (Brewzilla 65L). The brew day was so easy, the clean up was so easy and not having to lug around anything except hoses and malt pipe to garbage was worth every penny.

Now a friend of mine upgraded two years ago with her husband to a 1 BBL 3 vessel all electric in their garage. Yes, it is awesome to brew on, yes it's gorgeous...but it is ALOT of work! cleaning that sucker and keeping everything up to snuff not to mention they paid almost 5K and we both make delicious beer mine is just on a smaller significantly cheaper system.

 

[Bobby_M]

These threads tend to lean towards a false dichotomy where BIAB is a smash and grab job and 3 vessels represents a more refined approach. Complexity levers can be pulled in either case. A 3 vessel system with no pumps or temp control can be an absolute pain in the ass to operate and clean. On the other hand, my eBIAB rig is sophisticated but just short of fully automated. I have accurate temp control and I don't struggle with holding the bag over the kettle. Having brewed on enough system types to have a real feel for this, I would only brew on 3 vessels if I were practicing for going pro... which is likely never.

Long story short, I'm never giving up the eBIAB process. It makes great beer in 4 hours flat and has perfect temp control.

 

[yaakov]

Hi Slogger,

I started out brewing in college with buckets of extract, and once I bought I house, like a poster above, I moved to a MoreBeer TippyDump 3 vessel system. It served me well for a while, and I enjoyed the process, but after a couple of long distance moves I quickly downsized to a single 15 gallon pot and Blichman hellfire burner that I BIAB in. I've done probably 25 5 gallon batches in it, and have honestly never been happier. The day moves so much faster, the cleaning is easier and I honestly can't taste any difference in what I remember to now.

I did buy my own grain mill and have it set to a very fine grain; that took care of any efficiency problems. At the conclusion of the mash, I pull the bag out of the hot wort and put it in a bucket with a false bottom. I let it drain for the first half of the boil and then dump whatever has collected directly into the pot for the 2nd half of the boil. Squeezing has never been necessary.

Yeah, my mash temps are not as precise as they were, but I'm not convinced that it makes all that much difference in the end result. I think a controlled fermentation temperature is FAR more important to the end result and flavor.

If you're looking to control every little variable in the process, BIAB isn't for you. If you just enjoy making good beer and serving it to your friends with a minimum of hassle and time, it's a great solution.

+1 for common sense!

 

[yaakov]

It’s kind of an in-between for what you asked, but I have loved using the digimash 9 gallon electric kettle with the strainer insert.

Electric means indoor options in the winter, and because the grain is not in a bag, you can sparge easily without needing a whole 3 pot setup. Ihave brewed 50 gallons with it so far and never had an issue. Only thing I added was a recirc pump from amazon to keep it flowing during the mash. Seems to help with my efficiency

Yep! 26.50 from Amazon....recirculates Hot 2.1 gpm 12 volt. I changed brass fittings to stainless steel. I have two of them. They are great for transferring fluids. 2.75 inches big. Solar recirculating non-self priming pump. Submersible.

 

[LittleRiver]

To me, BIAB makes sense if you are space constrained and/or want to keep your process as simple as possible. But once you start talking about building hoists to suspend heavy grain bags, or even what kind of insulated gloves you need to get the best bag squeeze, that's where it becomes silly IMO.

A simple rope hoist is one of the best and easiest upgrades that can be made to a BIAB rig. To separate the grains from the mash, just tug the rope and tie it off, then watch gravity filter the wort through the bag. Leave it hanging over the kettle for the entire boil and it will fully drain. There is no need to squeeze a fully drained bag. When it comes time to dispose of the grains, the drained bag will be lightweight and it will have cooled off. There's no need for gloves.

As far as pros and cons... with a typical BIAB setup, you can't really do a proper vorlauf or sparge, and mash temps are hard to maintain. People can decide for themselves if those things are important.

With my simple BIAB rig I consistently hit low-mid 80's efficiency without sparging, and without recirculating. I routinely hit or exceed recipe targets without adding additional grain. I could add a sparge step, but there is no need to do so, and I have no desire to add unnecessary steps.

The only time I sparge is if I'm shooting for an OG above 1.065, which is rare for me.

I insulate my kettle with a $15 kids sleeping bag during the mash, and maintain temps within 1degF for a full hour (monitored with a remote probe digital thermometer).

Another myth is that BIAB doesn't make clear beer. Here's a recent brew:

 

[VikeMan]

Another myth is that BIAB doesn't make clear beer. Here's a recent brew:

While I support everyone's right to brew how they want (however silly I may think some things are), I feel I have to point out that I didn't put forth any myths in my post, so I'm not sure where "another" is coming from!

 

[MrBaloo]

This is definitely not a one size fits all thing. After a few conversations with Bobby over a year ago, I feel like he set me up with the perfect system for "ME". eBIAB with a blickmann controller and false bottom. I also added the steam slayer since I didnt want to put it together. I use a locking ratchet to hoist grain bag and then sweeze a bit... done.

holds temps easily, and can even program step mashes if I wanted to. This was my first all grain system and I see no reason to change to anything else.

Sometimes, while I am paying more attention to the football game, I feel like it is cheating... but it sure is easy to crank out 5 or 10 gals of beer.

Good luck in your decision.

Baloo

 

[NSMikeD]

fwiw i brew 2.5 gals BIAB and recently upgraded to eBIAB with the Anvil Foundry 6.5 gal (for same batch sizes).

I first started extract with specialty grains about 25 years ago (5gal batches).

Here are the benefits, IMO, of my current set up/method:

• 2.5 gal is 20 pints. Which is perfect fo me and as already mentioned, I don't have to wait as long to make my next batch thus I have more opportunities to mix up things or improve on a recipe.
• 
  
• The small batch bag is much easier to lift and drain. - and dispose.
• 
  
• I can brew indoors (initially on a stove top, now in the Foundry).
• 
  
• With the Foundry and pump, I can dial in my temps and ensure even distribution.
• 
  
• I use software (BeerSmith) to design recipes or scale published ones/kits.
• 
  
• With the Foundry, 2.5 gal batch is easy to clean up.
• 
  
• I have a DIY Kegerator and a DIY fermentation chamber with mini fridges (total cost for both = $25 plus some parts) - controlling fermentation temp is a game changer and kegging is dream.

I am not sure why 5 gallons is the homebrew standard, but I think it's crazy. I love that going all grain BIAB and the eBIAB got me off kits and that aside from a little temperature control was no harder that my extract day

 

[McKnuckle]

I also do 2.5 gallon batches, and I totally agree with @NSMikeD about the 5 gallon standard. I imagine it came about due to 5 gallon buckets and 5 gallon Corny kegs. But for a solo homebrewer without the aid of thirsty/greedy neighbors and friends, etc., it's way too much beer to play with. This is especially true when you're still learning, and frankly brewing mediocre beer.

With 2.5 gallons, you still have kegs in that size plus larger ones to ferment in. There are fewer bottles to fill. Everything is smaller and easier to deal with, especially when it comes to electric brewing where more volume is harder to heat up.

I don't relate to the whole "if I'm making the effort to brew, I might as well make more" argument. I'd rather brew twice, two different styles, half as much of each. Of course others disagree and that's totally cool.

I have a 10L Braumeister, but would get the small Anvil Foundry if I needed to replace it one day. I also brew 1 gallon batches with traditional analog BIAB.

 

[LittleRiver]

... I feel I have to point out that I didn't put forth any myths in my post, so I'm not sure where "another" is coming from!

You're overlooking the obvious.

...mash temps are hard to maintain.

I was being courteous by referring to it as a myth, but if you're uncomfortable with that language I'll be glad to call it what it clearly is: ********.

 

[VikeMan]

I was being courteous by referring to it as a myth, but if you're uncomfortable with that language I'll be glad to call it what it clearly is: ********.

As I said, with typical BIAB (not eBIAB, not recirc'd, not wrapping a kettle in insulation), it's absolutely true. No need to be rude.

 

[moreb33rplz]

They're both good methods, and I think you'll be happy with either. I started mashing in a cooler with a bazooka screen, it worked great. I moved and started over, and went BIAB, which is also great.

To respond to something above, I have zero trouble maintaining mash temps, I drape an old sleeping bag over my kettle and it stays within 1-2 degrees of where I started after an hour. I also get clear beer if I try.

Dealing with the bag of grains after the mash is mildly annoying, but not that big a deal. Dealing with a stuck sparge was a pain on the cooler too.

 

[dtashmore547]

I did biab for years, no problems, keep precise temperature control with the use of agitation, I used the bag suspended on a geared motor attached to the lid of my 40lt boiler (initially used a windscreen wiper motor but have since changed to a small 220v geared motor) I have a custom made digital temperature controller switching a 30A solid state relay. I have upgraded now to a basket still suspended from the motor by hooks but this makes sparging easier as I built a frame to sit the basket on, it also allows me to Lauter, my brew efficiency has gone up to the upper 80's, I only crush my malt and have never had a problem with stuck mashes as I always stir the mash first to get it saturated and even temperature. my setup is easy to use and clean and I can't see the point of a 2 or 3 stage system, I can brew indoors or out with it and it doesn't take up too much space.

 

[ChiknNutz]

I recently moved to all grain and BIAB was the easiest and cheapest means for me to get there. All I needed was a bag, a hoist and some gloves. I have a good spot for the hoist, so it's easy for me. Some don't squeeze the bag, I don't mind it at all and have so far achieved excellent results (high efficiency) with very little added work. To me, the added cost and effort of a traditional 3 vessel setup is more than I want to invest at this point. BIAB has allowed me to go AG so I can produce what I feel is much better beer for very little change or cost. I am a fan of this method.

 

[zacster]

I started doing all grain with BIAB over 10 years ago and I haven't had any urge to move on from it. The beer comes out head and shoulders above any extract brew I'd done. A three vessel system may produce better beer still but it is expensive.

I do 5 gallon batches and have no hooks or hoists. I lift the bag by hand and do a "sparge" by holding back some of the water and rinsing the bag with it. My "system" consists of a flat bin with a large cookie sheet resting on an inverted stainless bowl at one end to give it a slope. I rinse the grains in the bag and then pour off the liquid back into the pot from the bin. I get decent efficiency this way, 80% or so.

For any batch size you can lift I don't see the need for mash tun/liquor tank/sparge. It is the weight of a large amount of liquid and grain that makes it too difficult to do BIAB. 5 gallons yes, 10 gallons maybe, 20 gallons no way.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

1.) how much space do you have ?

2.) do you like to tinker?Or just make beer?

I did 3V for 7 or 8 years and then I saw BIAB. The huge reduction in space taken up had me sold. Recently got a robo brew. Love it.

Beers made on all brewing systems were fine, no difference in beer quality at all.

 

[zacster]

I looked at robo-brew systems but they weren't worth the money to me. My beer making goal over the last 5 years is to NOT spend any more money on equipment. The thing that is getting in the way of that thinking is that I did a kitchen remodel and brewing in the new kitchen isn't as convenient. I now have to worry about the countertops and the floor, and the table I used as a mid point in height is no longer there so siphoning is a little harder. Even the faucet had changed and I can no longer screw my wort chiller into the kitchen sink, nor my carboy jet washer. I worked around all these the first and only time I brewed in it, but I need to look at a few improvements. The quartz countertops are so hard that glasses have cracked when they've tipped over. Imagine hitting a glass carboy on it...

 

[Dancy]

I looked at robo-brew systems but they weren't worth the money to me. My beer making goal over the last 5 years is to NOT spend any more money on equipment. The thing that is getting in the way of that thinking is that I did a kitchen remodel and brewing in the new kitchen isn't as convenient. I now have to worry about the countertops and the floor, and the table I used as a mid point in height is no longer there so siphoning is a little harder. Even the faucet had changed and I can no longer screw my wort chiller into the kitchen sink, nor my carboy jet washer. I worked around all these the first and only time I brewed in it, but I need to look at a few improvements. The quartz countertops are so hard that glasses have cracked when they've tipped over. Imagine hitting a glass carboy on it...

Hmmmm... sounds like the kitchen remodel was perhaps more wife friendly than home-brewer friendly - just maybe?

 

[zacster]

Hmmmm... sounds like the kitchen remodel was perhaps more wife friendly than home-brewer friendly - just maybe?

Actually the kitchen was for me. I just wasn't thinking about brewing when we designed it as I hadn't brewed in 3-4 years at that point.

And here is my ghetto jockey box for the wort chiller. I have to use the garden hose for the chiller and run it through the window. The water at this time of year is 72, and I wanted the wort down to about 70. The hose is wrapped around the bottom ice pack twice.

 

[Spartan1979]

I don't see where it's that much more work to clean a 3 vessel system than a BIAB. The MLT only contains water and doesn't really need much cleaning. The MT only needs a light scrub and a rinse. The kettles would be the same for both. It would seem to me that getting all the bits out of a grain bag for BIAB would be a PITA.

 

[McKnuckle]

Cleaning the bag is not too bad. Dump it, turn it inside out, hold it in the sink and spray it down, using one hand to help wipe the grain bits away. After that, hang to dry. Any remaining small pieces will dry on the bag, and it can be shaken out later to remove everything.

Remember that 3V systems also have tubing, pumps, and other connecting hardware to clean. A single vessel is, well, just that - one thing vs. three.

 

[Spartan1979]

Cleaning the bag is not too bad. Dump it, turn it inside out, hold it in the sink and spray it down, using one hand to help wipe the grain bits away. After that, hang to dry. Any remaining small pieces will dry on the bag, and it can be shaken out later to remove everything.

Remember that 3V systems also have tubing, pumps, and other connecting hardware to clean. A single vessel is, well, just that - one thing vs. three.

Are there no pumps in BIAB systems? Only immersion chillers? I could see where people would have no pumps and use immersion chillers. OTOH we brewers tend to complicate things.

 

[eric19312]

If I was starting fresh I'd probably go eBIAB but I started out as a 3v brewer and built my system and brew day around that.

I solo brew 15 gallon batches (17 gallons into the fermenter) with typical grain bills in the 30-35 pound range. I know this can be done with BIAB - I actually do use a bag as a fabric filter in my mash tun to make mash tun cleanup easy, but even my largest 20 gallon kettle would be too small for BIAB. It's borderline too small for my current batches as is but in the boil fermcap-S is my friend.

I don't aim for a super short brew day. Usually it looks like this:
60 minutes to collect, treat and heat strike and sparge water, weigh and crush grains and load up the mash tun
90 minute step mash
45-60 minute lauter
15 minutes end of lauter to end of hot break
60 minute boil
20-30 minute whirlpool
30-60 minutes to chill and transfer to fermenter depending on time of year. Hot summer day I'm probably not chilling to pitching temps.
60 minutes clean up (the boil kettle and chiller are only major equipment left to clean at this point)

I guess that is about 7 hours. Normally start at about 10am and wrap up about 5pm. I've got good temperature control on the mash tun but run the HLT and boil kettle burners manually. Burners are all on household natural gas which is a little slower than propane on things like heating the strike water and getting to a full boil but they are super quiet and I never run out. Overall brewing process is pretty hands off but I'm pretty busy throughout the session. In addition to brewing I am also cleaning kegs, kegging my previous batch, and cleaning and sanitizing my fermentor during the brew. I'm pretty tired by the time I'm done but it's a solid process I can handle.

I'm not sure eBIAB would be that much of a time saver for me and none of my current equipment would be able to be used. So I voted traditional.

 

[hopkincr]

I’m a BIAB brewer for ~6 years now and went that way because when going all-grain I really didn’t need any additional equipment. Holding the mash temp has never been an issue - I simply use and old moving blanket and never lose more than 1-2 degree over 60 or even 90 min mashes. I’m also a bag squeezer as I don’t like to wait - so I just put a large baking rack over the kettle, set the bag on top and use kitchen rubber gloves to squeeze the bag. It’s a simple set up and process that delivers, in my humble opinion, pretty darn good beer. My efficiency is almost always the same - with double milling of grains at my LHBS. I don’t get wrapped up in efficiency numbers as long as they are consistent - grain is cheap - and mine are always close.
That being said, I usually brew in the 3-5 gallon range, and could see really large batches being cumbersome using BIAB.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

I use a traditional set up and I'm really happy with it, although I brew 1 gallon batches and I'm making my own brewhouse so improvements are a bit slow and it's pretty rudimentary by now

 

[hopkincr]

Cleaning the bag is not too bad. Dump it, turn it inside out, hold it in the sink and spray it down, using one hand to help wipe the grain bits away. After that, hang to dry. Any remaining small pieces will dry on the bag, and it can be shaken out later to remove everything.

Remember that 3V systems also have tubing, pumps, and other connecting hardware to clean. A single vessel is, well, just that - one thing vs. three.

I actually turn my bag inside out to dump the grains and then let it dry. Once dry, the left over grains come off really easy and then a quick soak and dry. Always had issues getting wet grain out of the bag.

 

[MikeCo]

I went with BIAB because I like the simplicity of it, and I didn't want to take up a lot of space with brewing equipment in my current house. I only do 5 to 6 gallon batches. My experience brewing with others using systems with pumps and hoses is that they often have problems with air bubbles and getting the flow going properly. Then there are stuck mashes. Of course these additional items need to be cleaned and maintained. Below are my experiences with BIAB.

The bag is super easy to clean. Hose it off; let it dry and shake any loose grains off.

I sometimes use a pully with a step ladder for a hoist. It's very simple and easy to use. I also have a pair of inexpensive rubber coated gloves I use to squeeze the bag and handle other hot items. Another method is to use a large colander on top of the kettle to drain the bag. Also quick and easy. I'm not sure why some think these things are overly complex or silly.

Mash temps are easy to maintain with some form of insulation like a sleeping bag or reflectix jacket. You can also use low heat during the mash occasionally with a burner or electric element while stirring to keep it at the target temperature.

I don't sparge. I use a fine crush and get good mash efficiency. Not sparging saves time, and stuck sparges are not an issue with BIAB.

My brew days are usually around 4.5 hours for a 60 minute mash and 60 minute boil, including clean up.

One difference I see between the BIAB and 2 or 3 vessel systems is that the wort going into the kettle with BIAB is generally a bit more cloudy without any recirculating or vorlauf. I haven't worried about this, but some people may. My beer clears in the fermenter.

For 5 gallon batches, I think it's hard to beat BIAB. Once you get into 10 gallon or bigger batches, the lifting of the bag gets more unwieldy, but other do it. Some brewers I know do BIAB for 5-gallon batches and use their 3-vessel systems for larger batches.

It's easy enough to try BIAB before going full 3-vessel. Just get a bag for your kettle.

 

[eric19312]

I don't see where it's that much more work to clean a 3 vessel system than a BIAB. The MLT only contains water and doesn't really need much cleaning. The MT only needs a light scrub and a rinse. The kettles would be the same for both. It would seem to me that getting all the bits out of a grain bag for BIAB would be a PITA.

You are onto something here. The MLT is pretty easy to clean (especially if you use a brew bag in it ) and can be cleaned while boiling and chilling so cleaning it doesn't have to add any time to your brew day. The kettle, however, is some effort to clean and cleaning it adds time at the end of the brew day. The bigger the kettle the more work to clean and BIAB kettles are normally larger than 3v kettles. I think I'd need something in the 30+ gallon range for current batch and that sounds like a heavy and awkward piece of gear.

 

[McKnuckle]

The comparison is ultimately much ado about nothing, in my opinion. There are some physical differences in the process, but no smoking guns on either side that represent a much more difficult or inferior experience. While we can enumerate those differences, it's mostly academic and both are fine methods.

I personally like a single vessel approach, as it's a much smaller footprint and just fewer things to deal with throughout the hot side of brewing. Whether it's a mesh bag or a stainless basket of some kind, a basic kettle or an all-in-one electric rig, I prefer it to having multiple vessels on my table and around my sink.