Has anyone found a solution to keggle BIABing?

[PasbitinusBluinusRibbinus]

Hey guys,

Used a certain brand of brew bag for the last year and a half that has worked great. Unfortunately, it's becoming clogged with sugars I can't get out, which is making it tough the drain. It's time to replace it.

I have no complaints except for large grain bills, the bag is larger in the kettle than the opening, so it gets squeezed coming out and wort spills all over the floor and kettle, which then gets burned on and caramelized on all kinds of stuff.

Has anyone found a bag stiched in a way that it clears the opening? Or a good steel mesh container that fits?

Thanks!

 

[brdb]

Maybe get a stock pot basket that will fit into your keggle opening and then line the basket with your grain bag that way the grain will be contained within the basket.

 

[redshift76]

I use a wilserbrewer bag with a keggle, no issues for me.

 

[LLBeanJ]

This guy makes excellent bags and offers one designed for a keggle.

Also, if you contact HBT member Wilserbrewer, I'm sure he could make you a custom bag designed for a keggle. EDIT: looking at Wilserbrewer's website, it looks like he already offers keggle bags.

 

[PasbitinusBluinusRibbinus]

Didn't want to mention names but I was using Wilserbrew's bag. Great bag, good durability, but with 20lbs+ of grain, it gets too "wide" inside the keggle and scrapes on the edges when youre pulling it out, effectively spilling wort everywhere.

Totally fine with almost all 5 gallon batches but 10 gallon batches are tough.

It seems this solution could be fixed with the way a bag was stitched, didn't know if that existed yet.

 

[Timzabel12]

I have been looking at using brewinabag.com for my biab keggle setup. There designs on there bags has 4 handles with each stiching running from handle to handle adding structured side support and also stitching around the bottom to help hold the shape of the keggle.

 

[RaisingCaine]

When I first started using the BIAB method I had the same problem. When I built my latest system I cut the keggle differently. Tale a look. For a lid I just cut a flat piece of stainless to sit on top.

 

[haeffnkr]

Didn't want to mention names but I was using Wilserbrew's bag. Great bag, good durability, but with 20lbs+ of grain, it gets too "wide" inside the keggle and scrapes on the edges when youre pulling it out, effectively spilling wort everywhere.

Totally fine with almost all 5 gallon batches but 10 gallon batches are tough.

It seems this solution could be fixed with the way a bag was stitched, didn't know if that existed yet.

I have the exact same issue as mentioned above.
I make 12 gallon batches (post boil) in a modified Keggle
See pics below.

When I had 25 pounds of grain in it the grain bulged up above the taper in my bag and I had a mess.
Anything under 21 is fine... but over that the grain volume exceeds the taper and is too wide in bag, created the bulge and wort runs down the pot and on the floor.
I think I need bag that is tapered longer and possibly made with 4 pieces of cloth vs 2.

I am thinking if the bag was tapered more/higher up, so the diameter was smaller I could hoist the bag and the draining wort would cling to the bag and drip back into the pot.
Then as I do... put the bag/grain into the sparge bucket.

BTW - Pabist.... what do you sparge in with 2X pounds of grain?

thanks Kevin

 

[tmendick]

I use wilser's bags they are awesome.

 

[Homercidal]

Have you tried some OXICLEAN on that bag?? I used some on some old curtains and it cleaned all of the old dust and crap and even brightened it up to look like new.

And FWIW I am seriously considering cutting the top of my BK that same way, but with a taper from the top of the handle down to the top of the rim. It will help with evap and beign able to see inside.

 

[drgoodbrew]

stumbled on this one looking for some BiaB info...been thinking about switching over to BiaB and this thread pretty much convinced me. great info and pictures.

anyway, i contacted the guy from wilserbrewer and he makes a bag designed for keggles--i will be ordering mine this weekend and should have something to contribute in a week or two. i'm a fan of BIG beers and larger batches, so hopefully this will work.

haeffnkr--how did you cut the inside of your keggle down like that? mine has a 1.5" lip and i would love to remove it. did you cut it or grind it down?

thanks!!

 

[haeffnkr]

stumbled on this one looking for some BiaB info...been thinking about switching over to BiaB and this thread pretty much convinced me. great info and pictures.

haeffnkr--how did you cut the inside of your keggle down like that? mine has a 1.5" lip and i would love to remove it. did you cut it or grind it down?

thanks!!

Yes cut and grind

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f244/has-anyone-found-solution-keggle-biabing-493350/

 

[wilserbrewer]

This is NOT one of my bags, just an idea??? A little nip and tuck, double stitch would likely solve the issue.

This is a catch 22 situation. With BIAB, the intention is to have the bag fully line the kettle for a full volume mash. When choosing a keggle with a smaller top opening than the interior of the keg, the problem is born. If the bag were to be made quite narrower than the keggle, such that removal of the grain bag easily fits through the keggles smaller top opening, this would diminish the interior volume of the bag, and might be an issue for smaller batches.

For 10 gallon BIAB batches, a 20 gallon kettle would work much better than a 15 gallon keggle.

Don't shoot the bagmaker, he's not the problem I would strongly advise a kettle over a keggle for BIAB. If you are dead set on using a keggle, completely remove the top to a straight sided vessel without a top rim. The top rim on a kettle is always rolled outward, whereas the top rim of a keg is rolled inward, making the top opening smaller than the interior.

80, 100, and 120 qt pots available below.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CONCORD-Sta...06351809?pt=Cookware&var=&hash=item20da980ec1

 

[haeffnkr]

A little nip and tuck, double stitch would likely solve the issue.

Exactly
I was meaning to tell you the same thing.

I think a bag that was 12" flat across the bottom 25" across the top and 22 inches long would work.
The taper as you have drawn it would be 18" long - from the bottom - with approximately 4 inches full diameter at the top.

make sense?

thanks Kevin

 

[MaxStout]

This is a catch 22 situation. With BIAB, the intention is to have the bag fully line the kettle for a full volume mash. When choosing a keggle with a smaller top opening than the interior of the keg, the problem is born. If the bag were to be made quite narrower than the keggle, such that removal of the grain bag easily fits through the keggles smaller top opening, this would diminish the interior volume of the bag, and might be an issue for smaller batches.

This is exactly what I have discovered in practice and why a keggle leaves something to be desired. But for now, a keggle is cheap and does the trick for me until I decide which kettle to buy.

That said, you can minimize the grain-removal troubles by using a ratchet pulley and 2 mash paddles or narrow boards. Hoist up the bag until just before it becomes wedged in the keggle opening. Insert the paddles on opposite ends of the bag and gently shape the bag from an oblong profile to a more rounded cross-section. Apply a gentle prying motion with the paddles. Hoist up the bag some more until it is just shy of becoming stuck again, repeat the paddle work, etc. After a few iterations of this the bag should emerge somewhat freely and the amount of wort dripping out the sides should be minimal.

Your success also depends on the size of the keggle aperture. I bought my keg already cut, but the opening was only about 10" in diameter. I used an angle grinder with a 4" coarse grinding wheel to grind the opening around and around, until it was about 12" in diameter. Then I sanded off the burrs. BTW, in addition to eye protection, you will need earplugs, as grinding this is LOUD.

 

[Beernik]

This has been an interesting read. I've done a couple 5 gallon batches but haven't tried to do 10 gallons in my keggle yet. I've thought about 10 gallons but I figured I'd try 8 gallons first.

Now I know what I need to be on the look out for.

 

[MaxStout]

I've never done a 10 gallon batch, but I brewed a 5 gallon RIS last spring with a 24 lb. grain bill. It took some work to get that bag of grains out of the keggle.

I'd like to do a 10 gallon batch some day, but won't attempt it until I have a regular kettle, preferably in the 20 gallon range.

 

[Beernik]

Thanks for the reminder. I do have a 5 gallon barleywine and a 5 gallon Trappist on my brew schedule and they are both just over 20lb grain bills.