Does anyone line their mash tun with a BIAB?

[Home_alone1]

I’ve been doing this since my 3rd batch a couple years ago. My false bottom was crap so I improvised and got a bag from my LHBS . I brew with a lot of wheat and haven’t had a stuck sparge since going this rout.

 

[greywolf]

I line my basket with voile and it works great. I was astonished at the drain rate. I was getting frustrated with stuck sparges in mt igloo with hose braid. This soooo much better.

 

[Jayjay1976]

+1 for @wilserbrewer 's BIAB bags and his ratcheting pulleys; awesome quality and stellar service, his bags are easy to hoist but will never let you down!!

After mashing out with a good squeeze I drop it in a bucket to cool off before dumping into a trash bag. Some days I am too worn out to dump it right away so I let it sit for a day or two, in which case the naturally occurring lactobacillus in the grain has taken over and my garage smells like yogurt. I never "wash" the bag beyond spraying out with hot water and rinsing thoroughly, then hang dry it from the hoisting hook over my kettle.

If I had any doubts about the old bag's durability I would have a backup on hand, but 35 batches in it is as strong and trustworthy as ever.

 

[nebulabrewing]

A friend of mine gave me his BIAB. I used it in my 5 and 10 gallon coolers and it works flawlessly. Some of the clearest beer I've been able to brew to date. I highly recommend it!

 

[4ferraras]

Yes, started with the 10 gal igloo and used it with a bazooka tube. Then upgraded to SS brewtech mash tun and did one mash without the bag. Back to the bag in the mash tun ever since. Wouldn’t mash any other way.

Did you replace the SS Bretech false bottom with the Blichmann one as well as using the bag? I had a rough first brew day with the Infussion mash tun... Seems like the drain port should be larger.

 

[RevA]

I use BIAB as well with my mashtun. Largley because I have a corona style mill that tends to grind fine. The bag makes cleaning easier and the cooler tun is easier to keep on temp that a pot.

 

[Velnerj]

At one point in my brewing experience I used mash in a bag with a 5 gallon igloo round cooler. I ran into an issue which ultimately made me go away from this method.

My issue came to lautering. I didn't pull the bag out but rather just opened up the ball valve and let it drain. I wasn't using a false bottom and if I recall correctly, I also remove my bazooka braid... This caused some problems for me. What was happening is that the ball valve was draining faster than the wort was coming through the bag. This caused a suction effect which abruptly stopped the lauter... Basically a stuck sparge. The suction made it really hard to pull the grain bag out in order to restart the lauter. It was a wrestling match the whole way.

I understand now that the best approach is to pull the bag out (best if you have a pulley system) and let it drain either in the mash tun or the kettle. I don't have a way to set that up properly so I abandon this method. Eventually I got an all in one system and I really like it.

 

[PberBob]

I’ve been using a bag in my round cooler mash tun. I also have a flower petal vegetable steamer as a false bottom. I’ve never (knock on wood) had a stuck spare in about 40 batches.

 

[bwible]

At one point in my brewing experience I used mash in a bag with a 5 gallon igloo round cooler. I ran into an issue which ultimately made me go away from this method.

My issue came to lautering. I didn't pull the bag out but rather just opened up the ball valve and let it drain. I wasn't using a false bottom and if I recall correctly, I also remove my bazooka braid... This caused some problems for me. What was happening is that the ball valve was draining faster than the wort was coming through the bag. This caused a suction effect which abruptly stopped the lauter... Basically a stuck sparge. The suction made it really hard to pull the grain bag out in order to restart the lauter. It was a wrestling match the whole way.

I understand now that the best approach is to pull the bag out (best if you have a pulley system) and let it drain either in the mash tun or the kettle. I don't have a way to set that up properly so I abandon this method. Eventually I got an all in one system and I really like it.

I was using a bag in my 5 gallon orange gott cooler for awhile. I ran into similar issues and I also found beers were not clearing. Even recirculating with a pump I was not able to get clear wort with the added bag. Did not have the problem with just the false bottom. Can’t explain that one but it did happen.

And no, you don’t want to pull the bag to drain. That stirs up all the junk you just spent time recirculating to get rid of.

I’ve since gone to the Anvil Foundry for most of my beers and I don’t use the orange cooler much now. I do not use a bag in the Foundry. I also do not pull the Foundry basket. I drain clear wort to my brew kettle and boil. Foundry serves as my mash tun. I like being able to do controlled step mashes.

 

[seatazzz]

+1 for @wilserbrewer 's BIAB bags and his ratcheting pulleys; awesome quality and stellar service, his bags are easy to hoist but will never let you down!!

After mashing out with a good squeeze I drop it in a bucket to cool off before dumping into a trash bag. Some days I am too worn out to dump it right away so I let it sit for a day or two, in which case the naturally occurring lactobacillus in the grain has taken over and my garage smells like yogurt. I never "wash" the bag beyond spraying out with hot water and rinsing thoroughly, then hang dry it from the hoisting hook over my kettle.

If I had any doubts about the old bag's durability I would have a backup on hand, but 35 batches in it is as strong and trustworthy as ever.

+1 to your 'cleaning' regimen. My old bag, and my new-ish wilser bag, have never seen any kind of soap, even if I sometimes forget and leave it a day or two. A good rinse in hottish water, while scrubbing between my hands, sees it good. Hang it up to dry, and next brewday give it a good shake to get the dried grain bits that always seem to stick just fly away. Unless your bag is covered in mold/mildew (in which case I would pitch it, or at least run it through the washer with a non-scented detergent, then soak it in clean water), nothing left on it is going to transfer to the next brew, since it's pre-boil. And I'll pound this again; nothing beats just pulling the bag out of the tun, dumping the spent grain, and having minimal cleaning to do. I HATE cleaning.