Boiling with a mesh bag - melting risk??

[Rev2010]

Since my first pumpkin ale that went straight into the boil and also into the fermenter I would like to bag my pumpkin for the next batch. My pumpkin is in the boil for 30 minutes and the thing I'm worried about is with all that weight in the bag it will be sitting directly on the bottom of the kettle. I will be using a Blichmann floor burner and am thinking, from a lot of what I've read, is that the bag stands a high chance of melting. Is this the case? If so, how do I boil the pumpkin in the bag for 30 minutes without that happening? I don't have a false bottom, which I'm not sure if that would be the solution anyway.

Please share your wisdom on this guys!


Rev.

 

[JasonToews]

tie it to the handle?

 

[unionrdr]

Set something across the top of the BK,then tie the bag to that to keep it off the bottom.

 

[Rev2010]

Both great answers and I feel stupid to have missed this lol. Thanks guys, sorry for the silly question now that I think of it haha.


Rev.

 

[70Cuda383]

and yes. the bag can melt! happened to me one of the first times I was using specialty grains in an extract kit. using a stove top electric burner I heated the water up to 155, and set the grains in the bag into the pot, left the heat on low to keep the water temps up during seeping.

went to pull the bag out and it melted on the bottom and my grains spilled out all over.

did my best to salvage the brew, spooned out as much grain as I could before the boil. I got lucky and it still tasted great....but then again, it was a dark, smoked stout, so all those burnt flavors from the bag probably HELPED the brew!:rockin: (I say melted, but I'm not really sure that's what happened...I thought the cheese cloth "bags" were organic fibers that more "singed" or "burned" a hole, not really melted)


now, I heat the water up, set the bag, then remove all heat and keep the pot covered during seeping.


although I am now thinking that i'll be doing a lot more all grain batches instead of extracts with specialty grains.

 

[unionrdr]

Since I use a 20qt SS stock pot,I just put a cake cooling rack in the bottom & use a muslin grain bag. Works well,& keeps water circulating around the grain bag.