Brew in a Bag Brew - brew stand.

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BargainFittings

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So I put together a new stand out of stuff I had laying around.

Its designed for brew in the bag method of brewing but with the 2 tiers I can do a traditional mash with my mash tun.

A couple more tweaks and it will be finished. About 5 or so hours of welding and wood work.

briabrig.jpg
 
Is that a 15 gallon pot?

Do you do 10 gallons?

I'm "fixin" to do BIAB shortly myself, and wondering how big a PIA it would be hauling out grain for a 10 gallon batch.

Have any trouble with your bag ripping/tearing near where the cord ties it up?
 
He has won a competition with a BIAB beer I think!

I also did the No Chill thing, and so far, dont see myself chilling my wort ever again.
 
Ya, BIAB is easy and it works well (especially if you batch sparge). My brewstand is built on the BIAB philosophy, but I use electric turkey fryers for mashing, sparging, and boiling.

beer1.jpg
 
This would be a dream come true! I hate chilling.

If you listen to the Jamil Show... you are a putz if you dont have a fancy whirlpool chiller setup. I grow very weary of the "brew gods" and thier "laws"
 

You clearly don't get it. There is nothing that says you can't rinse the grain (batch sparge) in the bag after you mash. The ONLY difference is better efficiency.

So, (1) follow the steps you linked to and (2) pour some water over the grain after the bag is removed. #2 is optional but helps improve efficiency.
 
Batch sparging defeats the purpose of the BIAB method. Of course you can batch sparge, I do it all the time. All I am pointing out is that if you are batch sparging and using more than one kettle you really are not using the BIAB method, you are just using a bag in your mash tun.
 
He has won a competition with a BIAB beer I think!

I also did the No Chill thing, and so far, dont see myself chilling my wort ever again.

Did you notice any effect on your hop bitterness, aroma or flavor? Higher IBU's than expected or less aroma and flavor?
 
Batch sparging defeats the purpose of the BIAB method. Of course you can batch sparge, I do it all the time. All I am pointing out is that if you are batch sparging and using more than one kettle you really are not using the BIAB method, you are just using a bag in your mash tun.

Ya, I suppose we can agree to disagree on this. The only deviation from the "standard" BIAB practice is the second kettle used to heat the sparge water.

I went with the BIAB approach because it's simple, cheap, and efficient (with the additional kettle for sparging). Otherwise, I'd be stuck with 65% - 70% efficiency.
 
Works for me, I wasn't trying to offend.

I agree that it is a great method, inexpensive, easy and with less equipment to clean.

If you are not already, run your grain through the mill a second time (or close the gap) you'll bump up that efficiency without having to sparge. I consistently hit 75% using this method. Your wort will be a bit more turbid but after fermentation and a crash cool clarity won't be an issue.
 
If you are not already, run your grain through the mill a second time (or close the gap) you'll bump up that efficiency without having to sparge. I consistently hit 75% using this method. Your wort will be a bit more turbid but after fermentation and a crash cool clarity won't be an issue.

Thanks. Ya, my barley crusher is set at 0.025" and I regularly hit 80% efficiency for beers with an OG of 1.070 or less. But, that's a limitation of batch sparing and/or BIAB - less than optimal efficiency for high gravity (1.070+) beers.
 
Wow this BIAB idea sounds catching. I bet we need to be careful to select fabric that doesn't melt, or impart flavors, or absorb flavors from batch to batch.

What have people been getting? I don't know diddly about fabric, I'll have SWMBO go to the fabric store and sow the bag for me.

I like the idea of using a pulley to lift the grain bag. It would be cool if it had a drawstring at both ends (that stayed shut) so it would be easy to empty.
 
Nylon swiss voile is standard for the fabric. If you do 10 gallon batches you might want some nylon webbing to reinforce it. Make sure that you use nylon thread, too.

Melting shouldn't be an issue, since the burner is not on when the bag's in the pot.
 
I got a voile fabric used for curtain sheers in white. I could not find the swiss voile from the Aussie experiments. I sewed it up myself, I folded the edges over 1/4" then folded again then stitched it up and that held ~13# of grains just fine. It was so easy to clean up after that brew session. My first AG ever and I got 69% with a standard crush.

I put a colander upside down in my fermentation bucket and put the grain bag on top of that to drain for a bit, that seemed to work fine but that stand is da bomb!

I just ordered up my 2nd BIAB to do on the Big Brew Day. Asked AHS if they could grind it finer for me but didn't get an answer and they sent what looks to be standard crush. My buddy has a mill. Should I run it through again at the same gap or close the gap and run it through again?
 
Did you notice any effect on your hop bitterness, aroma or flavor? Higher IBU's than expected or less aroma and flavor?

I have made some assumptions based on some charts of TEMP and HOP UTILIZATION that I have read. Based on the temps and time involved I have modified my late hop additions slightly.

The project is still ongoing, the beer is sitting at 1.007 a week after the pitch, the hydro sample tasted just like the other 6x I have brewed this same recipe... so far so good.

I will have a complete rundown on my process, equipment and the FULL outcome at Brewer's Friend, home brewing resources in a few weeks.

It is an EXTREMELY light ale, so it goes to the keg pretty quickly after brew day.
 
I have made some assumptions based on some charts of TEMP and HOP UTILIZATION that I have read. Based on the temps and time involved I have modified my late hop additions slightly.

The project is still ongoing, the beer is sitting at 1.007 a week after the pitch, the hydro sample tasted just like the other 6x I have brewed this same recipe... so far so good.

I will have a complete rundown on my process, equipment and the FULL outcome at Brewer's Friend, home brewing resources in a few weeks.

It is an EXTREMELY light ale, so it goes to the keg pretty quickly after brew day.

Great, I'm looking forward to the write up. This no chill method combined with using a hop tea may be a good way to get the appropriate bitterness, flavor and aroma while using less hops. (Assuming the utilization is higher with no chill.)
 
Great, I'm looking forward to the write up. This no chill method combined with using a hop tea may be a good way to get the appropriate bitterness, flavor and aroma while using less hops. (Assuming the utilization is higher with no chill.)

Utilization is relative though... I mean if you want bitterness, which is generally where people worry about utilization... boil longer. I always boil 90 minutes, past that you dont really get ANYTHING more from your bittering hops.

You cannot really extract more flavor or aroma, because these compounds are more volitile and will be driven off with temp and time. IF you want to increase utilization, I suggest First Wort Hopping.
 
I got a voile fabric used for curtain sheers in white. I could not find the swiss voile from the Aussie experiments. I sewed it up myself, I folded the edges over 1/4" then folded again then stitched it up and that held ~13# of grains just fine. It was so easy to clean up after that brew session. My first AG ever and I got 69% with a standard crush.

I put a colander upside down in my fermentation bucket and put the grain bag on top of that to drain for a bit, that seemed to work fine but that stand is da bomb!

I just ordered up my 2nd BIAB to do on the Big Brew Day. Asked AHS if they could grind it finer for me but didn't get an answer and they sent what looks to be standard crush. My buddy has a mill. Should I run it through again at the same gap or close the gap and run it through again?

Thanks for the info on the fabric. Time to set SWMBO onto the project :), and to rig up a mini crane with a pulley above the kettle - it never ends!

Negative on the remill if you were doing a regular mash tun with a manifold approach (as too fine a grind can lead to as stuck sparge). However, with BIAB, that is not an issue, so you might end with slightly more trub at the bottom of the kettle because of the second grind.
 
Wow this BIAB idea sounds catching. I bet we need to be careful to select fabric that doesn't melt, or impart flavors, or absorb flavors from batch to batch. .

The bag material is sheer voile if I remember right. I stitched the edge, folded and stitched it again with a zig zag seam to be sure it would not pull free.

The hardest part was figuring out the sewing machine. Wife said she would do it but I did not want to wait.

I have had zero issue with the seams because of the stitch, fold, stitch method.
 
Negative on the remill if you were doing a regular mash tun with a manifold approach (as too fine a grind can lead to as stuck sparge). However, with BIAB, that is not an issue, so you might end with slightly more trub at the bottom of the kettle because of the second grind.

The finer crush they use is one of the things that lets BiaBers hit 80% with what is essentially a no-sparge method.
 
Sounds like a market developing for someone to produce the bags for resale. Would love to try this method and have ZERO interest in sewing anything after doing a hop stopper with SS wire.

How about bargainfittings & bags!
 
I saw a vid about sewing the hop stopper and that would suck balls. Normal sewing is pretty easy, especially the kind of fabric that would be used for BIAB
 
Sounds like a market developing for someone to produce the bags for resale. Would love to try this method and have ZERO interest in sewing anything after doing a hop stopper with SS wire.

How about bargainfittings & bags!

I thought about it for about 6 seconds and decided it was a no go :)

I might be persuaded to do a howto and post it.
 
I thought about it for about 6 seconds and decided it was a no go :)

I might be persuaded to do a howto and post it.

A how to would be cool as my wife told me she wants to buy a sewing machine for daughters doll outfits. I guess I have to approve that idea! Might as well benefit from it.
 
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